Page 54 of Setup In Montana

Which meant if she was going to fire, she couldn’t just wound him. She had to go for a kill shot. She aimed for his jutting chin.

As she did, Vernon looked down at her. Surprise registered on his face at the sight of the gun in her hand. She fired.

* * *

DUB SAW THE gun in Clancy’s hand and what she was about to do. He closed more of the distance between them at the sound of the gunshot.

Then he watched in horror as Vernon reached down and grabbed a handful of Clancy’s hair in his fist. He jerked her to her feet and in front of him, knowing Dub wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot, especially with the shotgun. Blood had splattered on the man’s face, making him look even more like the monster he was. But Dub couldn’t tell how badly he was hit.

“Drop the weapon, you bitch,” Vernon cried. Dub watched her try to get off another shot before he slammed her arm holding the weapon into the front of the SUV and put the gun to her head again. “Drop it or I blow your brains out.”

The man gave another hard jerk on Clancy’s hair. With a cry of pain, she dropped the gun, and Vernon kicked it away. The man seemed to be in pain as he drew her close to shield himself with her body and tried to work his way around the SUV to the passenger side. While not wounded enough that Dub could take the man without risking Clancy’s life, at least Vernon wasn’t moving as steadily as he had been before.

Dub had no doubt that Vernon would kill her, since that was what he’d come here to do. But things hadn’t gone the way the man must have planned them. He’d have to do a lot more killing to get away with this.

That only meant that Vernon no longer had anything to lose. He would kill out of frustration and anger, and not hesitate to kill them all, because he had to know he was going down for this. Dub had witnessed the man’s cruelty. Had he not gotten here when he had, he had no doubt Vernon would have burned down the cabin and Clancy and the others in it.

“She’s coming with me,” Vernon yelled. “Don’t try to stop us.”

“I don’t think so!” Dub yelled back.

As Vernon attempted to drag Clancy around to the passenger side of the SUV, Dub charged. He wasn’t letting Vernon get her into that vehicle, let alone drive away with her.

He saw a moment of indecision on the man’s face before Vernon lifted the barrel of the gun from Clancy’s head and pointed it directly at him—exactly what he’d prayed the man would do.

* * *

CLANCY SCREAMED WHEN she saw the gun was pointed at Dub. She drove an elbow into Vernon’s side. He let out a cry of pain only a moment before she heard the report of the gun.

She didn’t dare look in Dub’s direction. Instead, she went for Vernon’s face, scratching and jabbing, her nails digging in as she saw more blood from where she’d shot him in the side of his neck.

The sound of the siren grew louder and louder as Vernon was forced to release her hair to push her away. As he did, Clancy saw Dub out of the corner of her eye just before he brought the butt of the shotgun down in Vernon’s face. The man staggered for only a moment before he went down.

Dub peeled the gun from Vernon’s fingers as the sheriff’s SUV roared up. Max was out and rushing toward them, at first to her, and then to Dub, who was leaning against the side of the black SUV, bleeding from his right shoulder.

Clancy rushed to him. He put an arm around her and grinned, exposing those two adorable dimples. “Don’t worry. I’m still going to marry you whether you like it or not.”

She grabbed for him as he began to slump to the ground. She heard Max calling for ambulances before he rushed over. Clancy dropped to the ground next to Dub, terrified he was no longer breathing.

But even as he fought consciousness, he was still grinning at her. She took his hand, her heart jammed in her throat. “I don’t remember ever agreeing to marry you.”

“You will.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Clancy spent the next few hours at the hospital. Sarah sat with her while Dub was in surgery to remove the bullet from his shoulder.

“How can you forgive me for thinking you were a murderer?” Clancy had cried when Sarah showed up at the hospital and hugged her.

“Vernon had a lot of people believing it, including the sheriff.”

“But we were friends. I should have known,” Clancy said. “You saved my life by getting me out of the guesthouse. I almost got your cousins killed.”

“Stop, it’s over. Vernon is locked up, Abel and Dub are both in good hands here at the hospital and we’re still friends.”

Clancy nodded and wiped her tears. “I was so glad you and Max showed up when you did.” She blew her nose, then asked, “The bank. Was there anything there?”

Sarah smiled. “There was. More money than I will ever need.”