Fatal Reunion

by Jessica R. Patch

  “I don’t know if I can make it. Just...just leave me. I’ll be okay and if I’m not... I deserve whatever I get.”

  Piper reached over Luke and gripped Harmony’s face. “You’re right—you deserve a lot, and when this is over you’ll have to face the consequences, but right now...you get mercy. Nobody’s leaving you.” Piper peered up at Luke, squinting in the rain. “Right?”

  “Right.” Luke wasn’t sure what Piper had been wrestling with the past few days. But one thing was for sure. God was working inside her heart. “Harmony, if you can’t run, I’ll carry you.”

  “Then give me the gun.” Piper’s eyes held steady determination.

  “No. You stay to my left. We’ll sandwich Harmony. Now! Go!” Clutching Harmony with one arm, Luke grasped his gun in the other, ready for whatever was about to come.

  Ten feet in, Harmony dropped to her knees. “Go! I can’t... Leave me!”

  Luke snatched her, threw her over his shoulder and hollered, “Go, Piper!”

  She dashed to the tree line.

  A crack sounded!

  Piper tumbled to the ground.

  SEVENTEEN

  Piper sprawled on her stomach, a burning sensation reeling on her right side. She pressed her hand to her waist and brought it up. Rain smeared the blood from her fingers.

  She’d been hit.

  Another bullet hit the tree above her. Bark splintered around and on her. She drew into a ball when another boom broke through the atmosphere.

  Not gunfire. Thunder.

  Army crawling through the pine needles, mud and leaves, she butted up against a tree to catch her breath and shield herself from the man bent on destroying them. She lifted her T-shirt and inspected the wound. Grazed her. She sighed and leaned her head on the tree.

  The shooter knew her whereabouts, which meant if Luke tried to beeline it to her—and knowing him, he would—he’d never make it. Not that his chances alone were prime, but with Harmony on his shoulder it would be impossible.

  Piper touched her lips where he’d planted a frenzied kiss before ducking out the window. To see him shot down would kill her. But he was an open target where he was. The oak tree would shelter them for only so long.

  Bait. Piper needed to lead the shooter through the woods, giving Luke and Harmony a fighting chance. He wasn’t going to be happy about it, but if they made it out alive he might be grateful later.

  Glancing toward the oak, she hoped Luke would know what she was doing. Take his door of opportunity and haul it into the woods.

  Another splitting crack reverberated through the towering pines. She haphazardly pushed her hair from her face. Goose bumps raised on her drenched chilly skin. Her moccasins had soaked in the rain, and they squished when she moved, but the soles were rubber and kept pinecones and other debris from piercing the bottoms of her feet.

  God, please continue to show me mercy and keep us alive.

  Piper sprang up, ignoring the burning in her side, and blasted east toward the neighbor’s home. About a mile, Harmony had said. Either way, she had to get the focus off Luke.

  Hovering darkness and the freezing storm battering her head deafened any other noises in the woods.

  Branches toppled from the trees as they arched and strained from the howling wind. Don’t think about bullets. Don’t think about the shooter. Run. Just run.

  A shot piggybacked a booming explosion of thunder. Piper screeched as bark chipped off the tree, and she zigzagged. Chaz may want her dead, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Like sharp figure eights, she looped around and through the trees, barely making out the next one.

  Piper tripped over a branch and flung forward onto her knees. Crawling and scratching through the saturated muck on the woodsy floor, she crouched behind a large tree.

  Where are you, Luke? Did you run? Are you here?

  Lungs burning, Piper focused on breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Her calf muscles ached and her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Her chin quivered no matter how hard she bit down on her bottom lip.

  If she could track the shooter...if she could come in from behind without that gun in her face, she had a fighting chance to save them all. But he kept to the shadows, and with a rifle he could be hundreds of feet away.

  A beacon of lightning flashed. A dark blur moved about fifteen feet north of Piper and disappeared behind a large tree with a branch hanging low, split from the power of the lightning or wind.

  Up.

  Running made her a target, and Chaz would be hunting her from the ground. Piper lifted her chin and made a quick study of the branches. Reaching up, she couldn’t grasp the first branch of the pine. Her stitches on the left side pulled, and the fresh wound on her right burned and throbbed.

  Could she make the jump? She forced back the pain, focused and put everything she had into the power of her legs. God, I’ve done my part, but I can’t do it without You. I know that now. I’m weak. I need You to be strong for me.

  Never had she asked God to be her strength.

  She’d been her own strength.

  But it hadn’t been enough, and it wasn’t now.

  Piper crouched low then sprang, clasping the branch with one hand. Swinging her left hand up, she grabbed the branch, but with slippery hands she was having a hard time hanging on. Dangling from the tree branch, she might as well be a piñata.

  “God,” she whispered through gritted teeth, hot tears mixing with the chilled pelts of rain, “I need You!”

  Renewed strength filled her body, and she hoisted herself onto the sturdy branch. She heaved a sigh and thanked God. Like a gymnast, she climbed up until she was on the fourth branch, about ten feet from the ground.

  Under the heavy pine branches, she found shelter from the constant downpour. Earth, musk and spring filtered into her nose. Hanging on to the limb above for balance, she surveyed her surroundings. Where was Luke? Harmony?

  Chaz?

  A flicker of lightning graced the inky sky. To her left. Luke! If only she could holler for him. Let him know she was okay. And close by. Relief flooded her. He was safe. Tucked behind a tree. Harmony leaning against it, her hand on her wounded shoulder.

  Did Piper make the right choice? Should she have kept on and tried to make it to the nearest house?

  A shadowy figure skulked from one tree to the next. Big—or the night was playing tricks on her. He darted to another tree, moving with stealth. Six more trees and he’d find Luke. But he had to pass under her first.

  The urgency to signal Luke was overpowering, but she focused and kept her mouth clamped shut. Good thing heights didn’t scare her. Spiders—spiders she ran from, but heights were okay. Down below lay the biggest spider she’d ever seen, and she was about to be one big shoe. No running.

  Inching onto the branch, she kept her balance, poised to pounce.

  Just a few more feet left.

  Now that he was closer, she spied his gear. Rifle on his back. Smaller gun in hand—pistol, she guessed. Guns weren’t her thing. Dressed in black from head to toe. Looked as if a ski mask had been rolled up, using it as a hat. Unfortunately, Piper couldn’t make out his face.

  Three more feet was all she needed and he’d be directly under her. She’d catch him off guard, smack the gun from his hand and knock the stuffin’ clean out of him. Anxiety and fear morphed into a fiery blue blaze, the kind that rested under the licking flames of a fire. Hotter than red.

  This man had finished haunting her dreams. No more poking her head over her shoulder. It was over.

  Starting now.

  Piper dropped from the tree, colliding with the attacker, but she didn’t quite make her mark. Instead of dead center, she landed on his shoulder. The hard edge plunged into her sternum, stealing her breath. The gun skittered a foot or two away.

&nb
sp; The hulking man turned.

  But it wasn’t Chaz.

  * * *

  Luke watched in horror as the motion from the trees stole his attention. It took a few seconds for it to register. Piper was falling from a tree. No. Not falling.

  Jumping?

  “Harmony, stay put. You’ll be safe.”

  Harmony gave a weak nod, and Luke sprinted toward the action. He had to get to Piper. Whoever this was, he was moving like military. Luke let the scene replay in his head when they were run off the road, and even the dojo fire.

  Professional.

  Couldn’t have been Chaz. He might be sneaky when it came to burglary, but he’d never murdered anyone that Luke was aware of.

  And Luke’s apartment. It was disturbed, not destroyed. Someone had made it look like a burglary, but the way he’d attacked, as if lying in wait—that person wanted him dead. Why?

  Everyone else associated was either in prison or in a grave. Everyone except... Only one other person from that night could have known he and Piper were going to see Sly Watson in prison and could have easily put a hit out on him, followed them without Luke catching it.

  Only one other person could have known about the jewels.

  No.

  No way.

  Luke’s breath hitched, and he powered his legs forward. Piper wasn’t battling an old thug. Piper was fighting someone who knew how to fight, military combat style. Someone with tactical skills and years of experience taking down bad guys.

  She was in serious danger.

  From his old partner, Kerr Robbins.

  Piper had plummeted ten, maybe twelve, feet from above, throwing Kerr to the ground, but he rolled over quickly and threw a punch. Luke moved faster. If he hollered out, Kerr might shoot her.

  Piper dodged it and leaped to her feet.

  Luke darted left, maneuvering behind Kerr.

  “You’ve misjudged your opponent, little girl,” Kerr hissed.

  Piper danced on her legs as if this were a sparring match. She kept her eyes trained on Kerr. “I remember you. And you might want to take a better look. I’m not a little girl anymore.” A dare rode through her tone. Now was not the time to make challenges.

  The rain let up, only small rumbles of thunder in the distance, but the wind beat at them.

  “You didn’t fare so well the last time we did this. Seems I left you in a heap of books. This time, I’ll finish it.”

  The revelation gave Piper pause. Kerr lunged, and she seized his arm, slid under it and made a direct kick to his ribs, but he grabbed her leg as it made contact, dropping her to the ground, pinning her legs and arms. “Whatcha gonna do without your extremities?”

  She spit in his face.

  Luke aimed his gun at Kerr’s head, no choice but to reveal his presence. “Up and move slowly.”

  Kerr tilted his head and grinned. “Hey, friend.”

  “Don’t you ever call me that again. Get off of her. Hands in the air.” Luke glanced at Piper. “You okay, Pip?”

  Kerr eased off Piper into a squatting position. “We could share the money, Luke. I meant it when I said this one couldn’t be trusted. I really was looking out for you.”

  “You knew exactly who you were chasing that night.” Chaz must have run with the jewels. “You caught him after all and killed him for them.”

  Kerr’s icy eyes stared at him, his hands out to his sides, rifle on his back. Kerr was tricky. Luke kept his eyes locked on his face and hands.

  “So I caught him. An opportunity arose. Punk had all these rubies and diamonds. We make peanuts and put our lives on the line every day because of scum like him.” He nodded toward Piper. “Like her. I thought it was high time I got mine. And I’ll give you a cut. You can keep doing what you love and have a cushion for when you retire. And if you’re smart, like me, you can have a little extra now without calling attention to yourself.”

  Luke’s blood boiled. “You’re a murderer, and you are under arrest.”

  “I’ve saved your life. You’re going to repay me by this? And I didn’t murder anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

  “What about me? At my apartment? The dojo? Or when you tried to run me and Piper off the road?”

  Kerr’s eyes narrowed. “You gave me no choice! When you pulled those files, started digging. I knew you’d eventually put it together. I had to take drastic measures.” Luke had trusted him, and it hadn’t dawned, until now, that Kerr never mentioned the great-granddaughter reporting the jewels missing after Luke left the theft division. He’d kept it out of the case files and from Luke, then killed anyone involved in that night to keep his own behind safe.

  “Are you in on it with Harmony Fells?”

  “Hardly.”

  Kerr must not have known she was there the night he killed Boone. “Where’s Chaz’s body?”

  “Rotted and gone somewhere in the Mississippi.”

  The betrayal cut deep. “I know you didn’t do it on the scene.”

  “I’m not an idiot. I told him he could go, but I kept the jewels. Told him I’d split them and we met later.”

  Chaz had been the idiot. All these years he hadn’t been in hiding. He’d been dead.

  “He was a crook. And Sly? He nearly killed that old lady. Boone Wiley? Harmony? They were the ones who killed Baxter and Baroni, and hurt her granny, hunting for what’s mine.”

  Piper’s entire body shook. “You burned down my dojo! You tried to kill me then frame me for Boone Wiley’s murder, then kill me again!”

  Oh no.

  “Piper, don’t!”

  She rammed a foot into Kerr’s side with a force that sent him two feet over and onto the ground. Kerr came up with a pistol in his hand and fired.

  Luke dropped to his knees, fire racing up his right leg where the bullet landed.

  Kerr aimed the gun at Piper. “Like I said, a dumb little girl.” He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand.

  Piper slid in front of Luke and touched his bloody leg. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

  “I’m touched, really,” Kerr said with a deflated tone. “You can’t say I didn’t give you a chance, Luke. I was willing to bring you in at this point.”

  “You’re just going to kill us and think you’ll get away with it?” Piper clung to Luke, her hand trembling over his as he applied pressure to his leg. Could have been worse. Could’ve hit an artery.

  “That’s exactly what I think. Let dead ole Chaz take the fall. He ran away with the jewels that night. Been lying low. No one will be alive to say any different. Sly won’t make it this time. And Harmony Fells? Don’t think I don’t know she’s hiding behind one of these trees, Luke. It’s over.”

  “I don’t think it is.” Eric’s voice boomed from the shadows. “Drop your gun, Robbins. You know the drill.”

  Sirens. Was that...was that sirens? Luke puffed his cheeks and released a breath. “I am so glad you’re here. Where’ve you been?”

  “Oh, you know, the usual—gettin’ pistol-whipped and left for dead.” Eric read Kerr his rights. “Good for you, I have a really hard head. Not so great for you, Robbins.”

  Sirens grew louder and probing lights lit up the woods. Flashlights. Luke collapsed onto his backside, Piper clinging to him, her face buried in his neck.

  “It’s over, Luke. It’s really over.” She kissed his cheek, his ear, his neck. “I thought we were gonna die.”

  So did he. “When I saw you drop to the ground... I’ve never been more scared in my life.”

  “Just grazed me.”

  “I didn’t know that.” He’d wanted to roll in a ball and die right then, but she popped up and ran. He wasn’t sure if she’d been hit or not. All he knew was he had to get to her as fast as he could. “
You were amazing.”

  “God saved me. Saved us both. And it helps that I liked climbing trees and not playing with Barbie dolls when I was little.”

  Had Luke heard that right? Piper was giving God credit over her own ability? Over Luke’s? Hope ballooned in his chest.

  Eric cuffed Kerr, and several uniforms hauled him off. Paramedics headed their way.

  “I didn’t mean your bobcat move from the tree.” He peered into irresistible hazel eyes, dirt and blood crusting her face. Hair hung limp down her shoulders. “I meant for showing Harmony mercy. You could have let her die, but you put your life at risk for her.”

  Piper brushed her hand along his cheek. “As Mama Jean would say, I had a Come-to-Jesus meeting these last few days. I betrayed Him. We’ve all betrayed Him, and He died anyway. Shown me more grace and mercy than I could even express. Has to be His grace giving me strength to do that for Harmony.”

  Was this God’s way of letting Luke know that he wasn’t going to have to give Piper up forever? What if he’d chosen not to let her go? Would things have turned out differently? Would she still be trying to fly with a broken wing? God, thank You for showing me that letting her fly means letting You mend her wings. It wasn’t Luke’s job to push her from the nest or catch her if she fell. It was his job to trust God, and maybe one day, he could fly beside her.

  Lord, whatever You ask, I’ll do. You know how much I love her.

  She let out a strangled laugh through a few tears. “Luke?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you. I know it’s not fair to tell you that. Wasn’t going to because it’d make things tougher for you, but—” she grinned “—fair’s still off the table.”

  “Sir?” Paramedics stepped in, taking vitals, placing oxygen masks on them. Again. Might be a good thing they’d been interrupted. Luke was about to kiss her senseless and he wasn’t sure that would have been the right thing.

  Separate ambulances carried them away. God had done some pretty big and amazing things this past week.

  One of which was administering healing balm to their wounded hearts and using this horrible night to do a lot of it.