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“I’m on my way.” Nate’s voice came over the line. “Be there in five. You keep those men in the cabin. They should be safe there.”
Everyone knew she was living in a fortress except her.
She heard another ping as the man tried again. Or maybe he was mad because Van had found his phone and was rolling video.
“My brother is going to find out who you are now, asshole,” Van shouted. “Once Jake has a face, it’s only a matter of time. You fucked up, buddy.”
Hale frowned as he watched him. “I want to know why.”
They didn’t have time for an interrogation. She wanted this asshole in the jail cell and then she would ask him questions.
The man turned as though ready to run off and then stopped, his whole body freezing and a look of pure terror coming over his face.
“Oh, shit.” Hale’s jaw dropped. “That’s Maurice. He pulled a gun on Maurice.”
Motherfucker. That was not happening. Maurice wasn’t going down on her watch. She’d heard endless stories from her dad and stepmom about how Maurice was the town mascot, though her dad used some mythical words to describe the animal. The town loved Maurice. Her first couple of weeks in her new home were not going to be marred by moosicide.
“You two, stay inside,” she ordered and threw open the door, training her Glock 22 firmly on the suspect. “Get on the ground. Do not shoot that moose. You shoot that moose and I shoot you.”
The moose looked pretty reinforced though. Like as reinforced as the cabin. That moose was solid.
The man turned, and the minute he saw the gun on him, he dropped his. And it looked like he’d peed himself. She hoped urine came out of designer jeans.
“Down on the ground.”
His hands were up in the air, his whole body still as Maurice began to walk by.
That fucker was huge. And beautiful in his way. His stately antlers rose from his head, spreading out over his big dark eyes. She stood on the top step of the porch, putting her eye to eye with the large bull as he began to walk by. He sniffed the air and then huffed her way, steam coming from his large nostrils. He turned his head toward the cabin across the way and huffed once more before he made his way over.
She took the opportunity to deal with their would-be attacker. Though she supposed he had totally attacked the cabin. “On the ground.”
The man had tears running down his face. “But it’s cold.”
“It’ll be colder in hell, buddy. I’m not joking.” In the distance she could see the red and blue lights coming down the road. She could also see that they’d attracted some attention.
“Morning, Elisa.” Marie Warner was standing at the edge of her property, and she had a shotgun in her hand. She held it casually, as though it was merely an accessory to her normal wardrobe. “You need any help? Looks like you might need to shoot a son of a bitch.”
He got on the ground real fast, holding his face over the snow. “I’m on the ground. I’m on the ground.”
Nate chose that second to turn onto the driveway they shared with Jake’s place. He stopped the SUV and had cuffs in his hands as he approached the man now crying on the ground. Nate sighed. “I hate it when they cry. It gives me a headache. All right, buddy. You are under arrest. Let’s hope I remember how to do this because most of the time guys who do what you did end up in the morgue, not my jail.”
“You should mirandize him,” Elisa encouraged. She hadn’t been on the job long, but she already knew that much. “He has rights and stuff.”
Nate hauled him up. “Yeah, well, good luck with that. Elisa, get down to the station with Hale and Van. I’ve got a nice lady lawyer who’s been looking for them. I think she’s got a story to tell.”
He turned, dragging their would-be assassin with him as the SUV Jake was driving pulled in. The kids had their faces pressed to the windows, eyes wide.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Nate began.
Jake pulled the car to a stop, hopping out with a worried look on his face. “What the hell happened? Is everyone okay?”
“We’re good.” Van stood on the porch. “That glass works. You should think about putting some in.”
Hale stood beside him, but his eyes were on the SUV where Nate had settled the prisoner. He looked so lost, like nothing made sense. She hustled up to get beside him.
“Why is there a moose in our yard?” Adam stood by his wife, Serena, staring at Maurice, who was standing next to their porch, his head down. It was obvious he’d found something fun to eat.
