Forever Freed

by Kathleen Brooks

  Instantly his mind focused on what he’d seen and heard. He pushed his emotion out of the way as he grabbed Evie and covered her with his body. The shot hadn’t come from Cody. It was too big a caliber and came from the other direction.

  “There’s another sniper,” Jackson said, grabbing Evie’s hand tightly and yanking her into the doorway of the building across the street.

  “I know. I got a text. See.” Evie shoved the phone at him as Jackson read the text messages and then looked at the phone number.

  “Greer!” he yelled.

  “It’s all clear,” he heard his sister yell back from the rooftop above him.

  “That was your sister?” Evie asked with surprise.

  Jackson heard people pouring from the café and running up the street. He heard the sirens in the distance from Matt’s and Luke’s cruisers. Ryan wouldn’t be too far behind with Lucas and Talon, but for right now he reached out and brought Evie against his chest. “Don’t ever put your life in danger again. I about died when you ran out into the street.”

  “Okay, I promise if you promise to listen to me. I was telling you about the texts and you didn’t pay attention. I know you’re used to leading a command, but I’m not one of your team members.”

  Jackson released her and looked down at her frightened, determined face. “You were very brave. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I was so focused on getting you to safety. You mean too much to me to let anything happen to you. We’ll work together to defeat Jonathan from now on. I promise.”

  Evie hugged him tight. “I promise too.”

  Jackson turned to look at the body and shook his head. “Miss Lily, do not take a picture of the body and text it!” Jackson’s phone buzzed.

  “Too late,” Evie muttered.

  “I need to check on Cody. I hope the man by the apartment door is still alive. Maybe he can answer some questions for us.”

  Greer met them in the middle of street with her sniper rifle across her back. Evie beat Jackson to hugging her. “Thank you for saving us.”

  “Matt sent out an emergency text to the town telling people to shelter in place. Of course, you know we didn’t,” Greer said as a large van from the training center slammed on its brakes and men and women in full SWAT gear rushed out along with most of Jackson’s family.

  “Did we miss it all?” Uncle Miles asked as the trainees fanned out to form a perimeter around the shop.

  “Greer took out the sniper. I took out two of the men and disabled the other. I was just going to see if he was still alive,” Jackson explained to his family.

  “Miss Lily! Selfies with a dead body are not appropriate,” Matt groaned as he hurried over to the man Greer had shot. Jackson and his family began to walk toward them. He felt Evie slip her hand into his. It was shaking, and he realized she was probably not used to seeing so many dead people. Most people weren’t.

  “Stay here with Uncle Cade,” Jackson said with a nod to his uncle and then went with the others to look at the body. Matt was already pulling out the man’s wallet and handed it over to Jackson who took it to Evie.

  “Do you know him?” Jackson asked as he handed her the man’s driver’s license.

  Evie stared at the image and then closed her eyes. He could tell she was sifting through memories. “Yes!” Her eyes shot open in excitement. “He uses the same laundromat as we do.”

  “Let’s pull the IDs off the others,” Jackson ordered. “Stay here with Cade. Is that okay?”

  Evie nodded as more and more people began to join them. Before Jackson could walk around the building, he saw Aniyah hugging her. The Rose sisters were trying to feed her. Evie would be safe and cared for as he went to work.

  Cody was on the small landing bending over the man Jackson had shot twice. Both shots should have been nonlethal. Cody’s grim face told him otherwise.

  “The sniper took him out when I was reloading. Shot to the head. I saw him lean over and do it, but he was behind the wall by the time I got my clip in. I’m sorry.”

  “Not your fault, man,” Jackson said, joining him on the stairs. “Does he have a wallet on him?”

  “Sure does. Eric Kim from Seattle.”

  Jackson took the ID and patted Cody’s shoulder. “Thanks for the cover tonight. I couldn’t have protected Evie without your help.”

  “I’m just relieved I did those beta testing classes at the training center before they officially opened. You don’t see many snipers in Keeneston . . . I mean, snipers that are trying to shoot you. Lots of snipers in Keeneston, though. Which one took him out?”

  “Greer,” Jackson answered as he looked down at the dead man once more. He had two more bodies to see to.

  “Your sister is a badass,” Cody said with admiration.

  Jackson’s eyes snapped to Cody’s. “You better not think anything about her ass besides that.”

  Cody held up his hands in surrender, but Jackson had heard the drop in his voice along with the admiration. Cody was thinking other thoughts about his sister, and while he was a good guy, he was very quickly making his way through the Belle directory with one-night stands.

  “Jackson,” Matt called out from below. “We got an ID on this one too.”

  Jackson hurried down the stairs and looked at the man who had been about to kill Cody before Jackson shot him. Another Seattle resident.

  “Why is the mannequin’s head chopped in two?” Luke asked as he joined them.

  “Evie took it out with an axe. Did you find an ID?”

  “Yup, here you go.”

  Luke handed him the license and Jackson glanced at it. “All four were from Seattle. Maybe his following isn’t as national as he wanted it to be.”

  “Does Evie know any of them?” Matt asked.

  “She recognized the sniper. Let’s see if she knew these guys.”

  Jackson and the Keeneston Sheriff’s Department headed out front where Ryan, Lucas, and Talon were just now pulling in. The door opened and Lucas, wearing a tank top and shorts, was the first out. Talon got out wearing a heavy winter coat and gloves.

  “Just couldn’t wait for us, could you?” Talon said with a slight Australian accent.

  “Thanks for coming, guys. Come meet Evie,” Jackson said as he led them over to the large crowd of people who were now calling out greetings to Jackson’s two friends and team members. Talon and Lucas liked spending a lot of time in Keeneston, and Keeneston liked them right back.

  “Y’all have to come to the wedding!” Aniyah cried as DeAndre joined them, having driven like a madman from Frankfort. Between Matt the local sheriff, DeAndre the state trooper, Ryan the FBI agent, and Annie with her ties to the DEA, and who knows who was at the training center, there were probably representatives from every law enforcement and military branch in the country standing within twenty feet of each other.

  “Of course!” Lucas said, his jovial attitude never diminished, even with dead bodies nearby.

  “Guys, this is Evie Scott. Evie, these are my team members, Talon Bainbridge and Lucas Sharpe.” Jackson placed his hand on her back and he saw both of his friends notice and then smile at each other.

  “Thank you for coming to help me. I’m sorry you had to cut your leave short. Lucas, how is Bertha?” Evie asked.

  And just like that, his friends loved Evie.

  “Come on,” Miss Violet called out and everyone quieted down. “We need to sit down. Let’s take this to the café.”

  “There’s no escaping a gigantic planning session now,” Jackson sighed. “I’ve seen it happen before but this is the first time it’s happened to me. I can’t say I like it.”

  “That’s because you’re a control freak, boss,” Lucas said as he punched Jackson’s arm.

  “Mmm, sexy! No wonder you were in handcuffs,” Aniyah said with a wink to Evie.

  “Oh god!” Jackson cried out as he spun around. “DeAndre! We need to talk for a minute. In private.”

  He heard Evie laughing as he headed off to warn D
eAndre about the oil.

  * * *

  “Do you recognize any of these men?” Jackson asked Evie as the packed Blossom Café was completely quiet. Jackson gave a brief rundown of events that had occurred. The trainees looked surprised, but quickly fell to business as Jackson continued. DeAndre had gone back to deal with the transportation of the bodies to the state coroner since Keeneston didn’t have their own. Apart from his absence, the entire town was crammed into the café.

  Evie looked at the three IDs Jackson set on the table before her. “This guy was at the meeting my brother had at the apartment.” She pushed one of the IDs toward Jackson so she could focus on the other two. “This guy also did laundry with us. He lived in the apartment building next to us. He has a sister two years younger than he is. Might be good to get her location since they shared the apartment. We used to joke about the trials of living with siblings.”

  “What about Eric Kim?” Jackson asked about the last ID after handing the previous one off to Ryan to check out.

  “I know him too. He’s a friend of Jon’s. They’ve played video games together since they were teenagers. I can’t believe he tried to kill me.” Evie’s hand shook as she handed the license to Jackson.

  “Get everything on who Kim and Ellis played online with. Get Seattle FBI to visit the laundromat and see if they have any security footage we can go through. Also see if there are any others Jon met with there. And find the sister and bring her in,” Jackson told Ryan, who nodded his agreement.

  “They sent people who would know you. Do you think they were supposed to kill you or take you?” Ryan asked.

  “They want to take me to Jonathan. They think I know the final target, but I don’t.” Evie felt herself begin to panic. It felt as if all these innocent lives were dependent on her and she had no idea what the answer was to save them.

  “You’re not alone,” Jackson told her as he took her hand in his. “I have a plan.”

  “What is it?” Evie asked. A plan was good. A plan would help her focus instead of wanting to run every which way.

  “I was going to suggest you coming out of hiding, but it appears Jonathan already knows you’re here. Instead of running and hiding, I want you out and about as much as possible. I want you to text him and tell him you know what he has planned. Send him the pictures Miss Lily took and taunt him that his men are dead.”

  “Why would she do that? He’ll just come after her.” Jace said exactly what she was thinking.

  “We want him to. We’ll be ready for him,” Jackson answered before turning to Nash and Ryan. “I need a phone with tracing and GPS software on it. I want to know not only where the phone is at all times, but I want to be able to trace any number that contacts her.”

  “Nabi was working on some software that will give numbers for all callers or texters, even if they use an unknown number. Do you think it’ll work?” Nash asked Nabi.

  “I do. I might have tested it on my daughter’s phone and it worked great,” Nabi said.

  “She didn’t know, did she?” Cy Davies asked with a laugh.

  “Goodness no,” Nabi said, almost offended.

  “Ah, fond memories of having a teenager,” Miles Davies sighed.

  “What are you talking about, Dad? You still trace my phone, and I’m not a teenager anymore. I’m a married woman,” Layne Greene said as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared down her father.

  “Anyway,” Jackson said, drawing the attention back to the plan. “I will get a phone for you tonight with all the bells and whistles and we’ll begin drawing him out. One thing I’ve learned is when you make people emotional—sad, angry, happy, fearful, doesn’t matter which—they all start messing up.”

  “Y’all need to make a note of that,” Cade Davies told the trainees who all nodded.

  Jackson answered questions and discussed the plan further with his team members and family while Aniyah whisked Evie away to join a group of women talking about the wedding. Luckily Aniyah had left her family at her house blissfully unaware of the downtown shootout.

  “Seattle FBI is on it. They only gave me a small amount of posturing, but then the FBI director called while I was talking to them and suddenly they were happy to work with me.” Ryan said with a roll of his eyes. “Gee, I wonder who told the director I was having trouble with Seattle?”

  “Who, me?” Jackson asked, blinking his eyes in faux innocence.

  Ryan laughed at him, but then Jackson saw Ryan’s smile fall and a look of fear take over. “Oh no.”

  25

  “Who’s that trying to dry-hump my boyfriend?” Evie asked as calmly as she could as she watched the woman with beautiful mahogany hair and an ass that only a mediocre plastic surgeon could make crawl over her boyfriend.

  Greer slammed her hand on the table so loudly glasses rattled and the entire café stopped talking. She shot up from her seat with a huge grin on her face and Evie was left blinking in surprise. Greer had even surprised the woman trying to wear Jackson like a sexy man-coat.

  “She said boyfriend!” Greer yelled out as then all eyes turned to Jackson. “Jackson, can we get a confirmation on girlfriend status?”

  “Oh, Jackson,” the woman purred. “I’d love to be your girlfriend. You won’t believe the things I can do to you.” She leaned forward and Jackson leaned back to escape her enormous eyelashes.

  “Why is she attacking Jackson with a feather duster?” Evie whispered to Aniyah who was digging around her purse. She’d placed her phone, some make-up, and some of the scary dick-on-fire oil onto the table.

  “Nikki is evil. Father Ben needs to perform an exorcism on her. But don’t worry. I’ll just shoot one of her butt implants. I think every morning she uses an air compressor to fill them up,” Aniyah said, finally pulling a gun from her purse.

  “Please don’t. I have a better idea. Have you used this oil before?” Evie asked.

  “Not yet. I was going to tonight if we can find a moment away from Granny. It’s been so nice reconnecting with family, but having them live with you is something else.”

  “Then trust me when I tell you that I’m saving your vagina’s life,” Evie told her as she grabbed the bottle of oil and hurried across the room. “Hi!” Evie said brightly.

  The woman turned so that for the first time Evie could see her face and she took an involuntary step backward. While the woman was stunning, there was a reason Jackson had been ducking and bobbing like a prizefighter and now Evie knew why. One kiss with those injected lips and he’d be knocked out.

  “I’m Evie. I’m new here. I wanted to say thanks to everyone welcoming me. Here’s some special oil to keep you warm on a cold night.” Evie handed the oil over, smiled at Jackson, and then practically skipped back to the table.

  Greer was shaking her head at Evie as she took her seat. As the room whispered about Evie and Nikki, Greer let out a sharp, ear-piercing whistle and the room quieted once more. “Jackson, do you have a girlfriend?”

  “I do,” Jackson said as his lips turned up into a large smile. Evie couldn’t help but return it as she filled with pride. Not at having a boyfriend. She didn’t need a man to define her. But with pride because Jackson was a good man and together they lifted each other up.

  “Oh, Jackson,” Nikki cooed as she rubbed her hands over his chest. “I’ll make you so happy.”

  Jackson took Nikki’s hands in his and pulled them off his chest. He smiled kindly at her, though. “I’m sorry, Nikki. It’s not you. You’ll meet the right guy for you and he’ll cherish and love you but I’m not him.”

  “Jace, do something,” Evie whispered to Jackson’s cousin sitting nearby. “I can’t stand the thought of her being embarrassed like this.”

  “She’s a she-devil. Serves her right,” Greer whispered.

  “I want her off him but I don’t want to be mean.”

  Evie looked at Jace who sighed. “Fine.” He looked around and beckoned a younger man over to them. “Evie doesn’t want Nikki embarra
ssed. Any of your guys want to escort her home?”

  “I don’t think she’ll go with a lowly firefighter.” A man who had muscles for days and kind hazel eyes turned to Evie. “I’m Colton. I’m Jackson’s cousin.”

  “How many cousins are there?” Evie asked as she shook his hand and as Camila grinned.

  “I told you!” Camila said laughing. “There’s like a hundred.”

  “Not that many, but a goodly amount.” Colton grinned back. “I’ll see if I can find someone to pry her off Jackson.”

  Evie watched as Colton talked to some men. One even went over, but Nikki was clinging to Jackson like a tick on a hound dog. Finally, Jace sighed and turned back to Evie. “You owe me big time.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t let her use the oil on you. And I will totally pay you back in cooking,” Evie promised.

  “I’ll take food, especially the kind that can be frozen since my hours are so crazy. Mom used to cook for us all the time, but since our little sister was born, I think we’ve been cooking for her now.”

  Jace walked over to Nikki looking like a man being led to his execution. It took a minute of talking, but finally Jace pried Nikki’s talons from Jackson as she turned and latched onto Jace. When Jace looked over his shoulder, Evie mouthed, “I’m sorry. Thank you,” as Jace led her out the door.

  Poppy stopped by the table and nodded to Greer who whistled again. The room went quiet. “Greer wins the pot for the date of Jackson and Evie officially becoming a couple. Bets are still open for engagement.”

  Greer let out a whoop of celebration, jumped up, and began to dance.

  “Honey, it’s not polite to brag,” Paige said with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “It’s not polite to be a sore loser, Mom.”

  “I’ll get you on the engagement. A mother always knows.”

  Greer rolled her eyes and sat back down. “Sorry, what were you saying about a carriage?”

  “The Davies family pulled together and painted old Mrs. Wyatt’s horse drawn carriage. I was thinking of having it take me to the ceremony. I just need the horses to pull it. The farms have all the fancy race horses but we can’t use them,” Aniyah said, leaving Evie to wonder what the heck Paige and Greer had been talking about.