“Let me talk to him,” Alex said. “Let me ask him if knows anything about the trunk.”
“He’ll lie to you!” Tanner’s voice rose. “Don’t you get it? He’s trying to find it, too. You can’t let him have it! Or he’ll stop me from being with his sister. You can’t make me do something that means I can’t ever see Mandy again.”
Emmett’s eyes met Alex’s, dark with rage. An arrogant, powerful, litigious man whose family hired them to watch his sister now lay bound at his feet. Emmett shook his head forcefully. No, he seemed to be saying, no he didn’t know anything about the trunk. The only reason Alex had to not fight Tanner and free Emmett was the word of a petty criminal.
Lord, I need Theresa here now. Please, help me to think like her and see what she’d see.
Theresa didn’t think Tanner was a killer, and it was worth trying to talk him down. Theresa thought the love Tanner and Mandy shared was real. But was Alex really willing to risk everything he’d built on her snap assessment of someone who’d clearly kidnapped a man and was now holding a gun on them?
“I don’t know everything that’s going on.” Alex took a deep breath. He could see Tanner shaking. “But I do know one thing for certain. Theresa tells me that Mandy loves you, Tanner. Mandy loves you, like, a whole lot. And she doesn’t want you to spend the rest of your life in jail for hurting her brother and me. She’s waiting right outside by my truck. She wants to see you. But I can’t let you go out there and see her as long as you’re waving a gun and holding people hostage. Love means protecting people—you told her that. Sometimes that even means protecting them from the worst parts of ourselves.”
For a long moment he prayed silently as Tanner stood there, frozen, with the gun in his hands, like he couldn’t decide whether to shoot or run. Then he yanked his scarf off and Alex looked into the face of the guy he’d met on the lake so many years ago.
“I never killed anybody,” Tanner said. “I promise. I did some bad stuff. I sold and bought drugs for Castor. But not that. I never hurt anybody. I wouldn’t. You got that, right?”
What on earth could he say to that? What would Theresa say?
“I hear you,” Alex said again. “Now, I’m going to count to three and you’re going to drop the gun. Once that’s done I’m going to let Emmett go, and we’re going to take you to the hospital, okay?”
“Am I going to jail?” Tanner asked.
“Probably.” Alex took another step forward. “But being jailed is much better than dead. Second chances are worth risking a lot for, especially when you’ve got somebody who cares about you. Now, you’re going to drop the gun for me. On three. One—”
Tanner hesitated.
“Two—” Alex stepped to the side and, in one smooth movement, twisted the gun from Tanner’s hand and simultaneously dropped the young man to the floor.
“Three,” Alex said softly. Firmly but gently, he pulled Tanner’s hands behind his back and tied them together with a piece of boat rope. The look of regret in Tanner’s eyes was so deep, Alex’s heart ached. Lord, have mercy on this foolish man. Help him find his way. Alex set him down carefully on the bunk in the corner. Then he walked over and swiftly pulled off Emmett’s gag.
“You’re fired,” Emmett snapped, “I’m suing you and destroying your life, your family and your private security company.”
There wasn’t a mark on the man’s face or any obvious bruises on his body. However Tanner had gotten the better of him, he clearly hadn’t struck him hard, let alone gotten up the courage to hurt him. Alex stepped around behind him and released Emmett’s hands. They were huge.
“I’m sorry you feel that way—”
“You’re sorry I feel that way!” Emmett’s voice rose to a bellow. Anger tore like fire through his voice. Emmett stretched his long arms out and cracked his knuckles. “You took my baby sister up here without doing me the courtesy of telling me that my parents had hired you. You let some creep kidnap me and then stood around listening to him rant while I was tied up. I knew the moment I saw your name attached to Ash Private Security that it was a total joke.”
“Again, I’m sorry,” Alex said. His jaw clenched but he didn’t give Emmett the satisfaction of letting even one inch of his frustration sound in his voice. “I took your sister over to your family cottage on the other side of the lake. There was some trouble, but we’re all together now and can all head back to the city. Now, where did you park your car? I’ve only got the one truck and there’s not enough space for all of us.”
“My car is none of your concern.” Emmett’s huge bulk filled the doorway. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to take Mandy and that creepy little insect in the corner back to the city in your truck and make sure he gets dropped off at the police station. Then I’ll send somebody back here to pick up you, your sister and your finicky little princess.”
Finicky little princess. The words Alex had dismissed as meaningless, the words he’d spat out to his friends in anger the day the engagement had been broken, were now coming from Mandy’s brother’s mouth. Alex felt his smile go tight. He grabbed Tanner by the shoulder and steered him past Emmett to the stairs, praying hard with every step.
“Theresa’s a pretty amazing person,” Alex said. “She’s the absolute best. I’m very thankful to her for helping me see things I needed to see.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Emmett’s arm swing high. Alex let go of Tanner and swung back. But it was too late. Emmett was pointing a gun at him. A sneer turned on his lips. “You really shouldn’t have stumbled into this, Alex. You’re not cut out for playing with the big boys. You never were.”
Alex’s hands rose. “You’re Castor?”
But how? And why? How would he ever warn Zoe and Theresa?
Then, to his surprise, he saw Tanner shake his head.
“No, not quite,” Emmett snarled. “But I’m going to make sure he gets all the blame for killing you two.”
* * *
Theresa stood beside the truck, her feet in the snow and her gaze tracing Alex’s footprints leading down to the boathouse. Alex had been gone too long. The truck was mostly clear. The engine was warming up. She should go after him.
“What are you thinking about?” Zoe’s voice snapped her attention back to the truck.
“Nothing. Just wondering what Alex is doing.” Theresa flipped the snow brush around and used the scraper side to get the last of the ice off the driver’s-side window. The truck’s engine purred softly beside her. Mandy was curled up in the backseat, in a ball, claiming she was too tired to help. It was probably just as well. Mandy had dragged her feet all the way back to the cottage. Youthful angst could be exhausting. “I’m just thankful the truck is running and we should be able to get out of here soon.”
“Alex is a good driver and it’s a big truck with four-wheel drive. We should be okay,” Zoe agreed. “But are you okay? Things between you and Alex seemed a bit intense last night.”
Theresa shrugged. Were they intense? Probably. There’d always been some kind of spark between them. It was what to do with that spark that was the problem.
“I got the feeling there was a lot you two hadn’t said to each other that needed to be said.” Zoe hopped up onto the running board and stretched her long brush over the top of the truck. “You’d be the first person to tell me that living with unresolved things is hard.”
Theresa bristled. “I wouldn’t say we’d left a lot unresolved.”
Zoe gave her a pointed look over the top of the truck. “You never told him the full extent of your parents’ financial trouble.”
“I tried to tell him. He just didn’t listen!” But the old, automatic, familiar reply sounded hollow and tinny to her ears. She’d been telling herself that same version of the story for so many years. It had become her truth. Yet, was that how it had really happened, a
ll those years ago? Maybe not. “To be honest, I don’t know what I told him. I remember it very differently than he does. It was a long time ago. I know I told him that my parents couldn’t pay for the wedding and that he needed to get a job and start taking life seriously. But I don’t know how much of the blame for what happened is mine and how much is his. We were just a bad match. We were way too different. It never would’ve worked out. Everybody knew it, probably, and we were the last to know.”
“Are you kidding me?” Zoe snorted. “Nobody thought you were bad together or a mismatched couple. I might’ve only been a teenager back then, but even I knew how disappointed our parents were. Everyone on the lake felt gutted for you guys. The only real criticism I ever heard was that you guys were too young and not ready.”
She dropped her brush in the snow and hopped down.
“Okay,” Zoe said, “I’m going to tell you something I thought you already knew, but now I’m guessing you don’t. You remember your old wooden hope chest? Well, Josh and his father saved it from the bankruptcy auction. They bought it back for you two. It sat in his cottage living room for days, and people filled it with notes of encouragement and money to help you get started. People even went and returned their wedding gifts and showed up with envelopes of cash to give you guys a fresh start. For whenever you were ready. But you were both so angry, Josh wanted to wait to tell you until you calmed down. Then, of course, he got deployed. But your wedding chest sat there, forever. Because Alex’s best friend refused to get rid of it. Because even he thought that whatever you were going through was temporary and you would want it back one day.”
Tears rushed to Theresa’s eyes. “I always thought it disappeared to some stranger.”
“I wanted to tell you.” Zoe shook her head. “I don’t know why Josh didn’t say anything. He’s the kind of guy who likes to hold things in and has never been much of a talker. He’s a reserved military guy, through and through. My guess is that he didn’t want to put pressure on either of you. My mom told me to stay out of it. So I held my tongue. Because what do I know about romance? I’ve never met anyone I clicked with like you did with my brother. Besides, I was furious at you for way too long. But don’t go around saying that nobody believed you two were a good fit. Everybody thought you were perfect for each other. I guess it doesn’t matter who believes in your love, if you’re not convinced and don’t believe in it yourselves.”
A gunshot split the air. The glass in the boathouse’s upper window shattered.
“Alex!” Theresa dropped the scraper. She tore through the snow toward the boathouse. Fear pounded hard in her heart. Alex was in trouble. She needed to help him.
“Theresa! Stop!” Zoe shouted.
She didn’t turn.
Lord, please help Alex. Save him. I don’t want to imagine this world without him—
“Theresa, please!” Zoe caught her around the middle and nearly brought her down to her knees. Theresa spun toward her, adrenaline pumping so hard through her veins she almost tried to toss her off. Zoe held her firm. “Stop.”
“But Alex is in danger!” A sob of fear choked her voice in her throat.
“I know,” Zoe said, and Theresa could see the fear filling her eyes. “And I’m going to help him. But Alex wouldn’t want you in danger, too. Please, go back to the truck. Keep Mandy safe. Do your job. Let Alex and I do ours.”
Tears filled Theresa’s eyes. Was this how Alex had felt when he’d charged across the unsafe ice to save her? Was this how he’d felt when she’d fallen through the ice and when she’d fought for the gun?
“Keep him safe, please. Don’t let him get hurt. Don’t let him die.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that won’t happen,” Zoe said. “I promise.”
Another gun blast shook the air. Zoe dashed across the snow toward the boathouse. Theresa felt her legs go weak and wobbly beneath her. She sank down into the snow on her knees.
Lord, please, keep them safe. Forgive me for being so hard on Alex and blaming him for mistakes we both made. Please give me the opportunity to tell him.
Then she stood. She might not be a bodyguard, but she was a psychotherapist and a good one. Mandy needed her. She turned back.
The truck door was open. Mandy was gone.
“Mandy!” Theresa screamed. Mandy’s footprints disappeared into the woods. Theresa followed. She saw Mandy’s back and the flash of blond hair as the teenager disappeared through the trees. “Mandy! Come back!”
What do I do?
Theresa ran after her.
FIFTEEN
Alex wrestled Emmett for the gun. The larger man had managed to get off two shots. Alex had rolled beneath the first as the window shattered above him. Then he had caught Emmett by the knees just as the second bullet hit the wall.
Alex wasn’t going to let him get off a third.
Tanner had taken off, racing down the stairs with his hands still tied behind his back, leaving Alex and Emmett locked in a battle for the gun. Alex’s hands were clenched over Emmett’s hands. Emmett’s hands clutched the gun. Alex had never won any kind of physical challenge against Emmett Rhodes before. But there was no way he was going to lose this one.
With one swift move he kicked the car salesman’s legs out from under him. Emmett swore as they tumbled to the ground, Alex on top. But Emmett punched out hard. Pain exploded through Alex’s jaw, so fiercely that for a moment he almost let go.
Alex bent Emmett’s wrists back, forcing the gun from his hands. Emmett bellowed in pain. In one desperate yank, Alex twisted the gun from his hand. It flew across the room. Alex leveled a blow to Emmett’s face and dived after the gun. Emmett leaped on his back. Alex’s jaw hit the floor.
Then they heard footsteps on the stairs below.
“Is that your useless little princess?” Emmett’s hateful voice hissed in his ear. “I ruined her life, you know. I was so sick of her. The finicky little china doll, who was always so slow, weak and fussy about every little thing. She didn’t belong up here. She wasn’t one of us. But she got all the best toys because of her parents’ work. All those perks she didn’t deserve, zipping around the lake on fancy sports equipment like she was better than me. So I took everything that mattered to her. Because I could. Because she didn’t deserve it. But she didn’t know when to quit. So now, I’m going to kill you in front of her and then I’m going to kill her.”
Something snarled inside Alex’s heart as he heard the teasing, dismissive, bullying blather that had been whispered about the woman he’d loved far too many times in his youth, now echoed back in his own ears by a monster. Never again. He hadn’t stood by her when he should have. He’d never let her down again. Strength coursed through Alex. He reared back. No creep was ever going to hurt her again. He tossed Emmett off and delivered a decisive blow to his jaw. Emmett crumpled to his knees.
Something clicked. They looked up.
“Hands up. Now!” Zoe was standing in the doorway. The gun Emmett had dropped was held steady in her small hands. Alex stepped back, respecting his sister enough to let her take the shot. But Emmett sneered and swaggered toward her.
“Your kid sister? Seriously, Alex?” An ugly snarling laugh filled his ugly mouth. “You think I’m afraid of a little girl?”
He charged at Zoe. She didn’t even flinch. A gunshot sounded. Emmett yelped and fell to the floor, a bullet shot clean through the side of his calf. Alex yanked his hands behind his back and tied them tightly.
“Gag him, too. I don’t think we want to hear what he has to say,” Zoe said. “I never liked him. He always talked to the girls on the lake like we were all beneath him.”
Alex slapped a fresh strip of duct tape over Emmett’s mouth. “Did you see Tanner?”
“Yeah, Tanner came running past me at a clip and nearly knocked me off my feet. I don’t know
where he thought he was going, but I didn’t let him get far.” She grinned. “He’s tied up downstairs by the boathouse door. I didn’t want Mandy seeing him.”
“Probably wise.” Now Mandy would have to handle seeing both her boyfriend and her brother.
Alex walked a gagged Emmett slowly down the stairs holding his hands behind his back, taking it slowly. Tanner looked up at them from his seat on the floor.
“Did you figure out which one of these is Castor?” Zoe asked.
“They say that neither of them are,” he said. “But Emmett has an interesting claim about ruining Theresa’s life. I look forward to finding out what that’s all about. Are you okay watching these two if I go tell Theresa what’s going on?”
Zoe nodded. “Absolutely.”
He didn’t know how they were going to handle this. But it was about time he included Theresa in making the decisions. He hurried outside and around the corner. The sight hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. The truck door was open. Theresa and Mandy were gone.
He ran back to Zoe. “Where’s Theresa? They’re both gone.”
“I don’t know.” Zoe’s face blanched. “Mandy was in the truck and I told Theresa to stay with her.”
His eyes searched the footprints leading into the woods. Oh, Lord, what should I do? He and Zoe were a team. He’d spent so much of the day before panicked for her safety. He couldn’t just leave her alone with two thugs, even if they were bound.
“Go after her.” Zoe’s face was calm and firm. “I’ve got this covered.”
Emmett started to snicker. It was an ugly, threatening sound. Zoe took his hands firmly and forced them upward. Emmett winced. The muffled laughter stopped.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked.
A determined grin spread across Zoe’s face. “Trust me. They’re not going anywhere.”
He helped her propel Emmett into the truck, where they left him bound and gagged in the backseat. They left Tanner, more gently bound, in the warmer and more comfortable cottage living room.
Rescue at Cedar Lake Page 15
