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“These are your children, Daniel,” Kellan says, his voice calm and even. “Are you really going to kill your own children?”
“If I have to,” he replies coldly.
I’m speechless.
Time seems to stop altogether. It’s as if I’m being forced to watch a movie I don’t want to know the ending of. I take in a deep breath and hold it. Movement in the window behind Daniel catches my eye. A tall man with broad shoulders. An assault rifle. It’s aimed at the back of Daniel’s head, and Daniel has no idea he’s there since he’s got his back to the window.
My brain nearly shorts out as I spot Kellan’s subtle nod.
The bullet cracks the window, piercing Daniel’s skull.
It’s over in a split-second. He drops Miley.
“Keep your eyes closed!” I scream at her.
Miley screams as she falls to the floor but thank God she clenches her eyes shut. Annie continues to wail from her hiding spot.
“It’s okay, honey,” I hear Kellan say. I didn’t even register the speed with which he got to her.
Daniel is dead on the ground, blood pooling around his head. Oh, God, it’s over. I look up to see Luke outside the cabin window as he takes his hat and mask off. He’s the one who fired the deadly shot. He killed Daniel. He saved Miley and Annie.
He saved all of us. It’s finally over.
27
Luke
Ididn’t want for things to come to this but it was the only way to keep Fallon from destroying his life by taking Daniel out. And it was the only way we could make sure the girls and Avery would survive. Once we found the cabin and completed our thermal imaging of the entire structure, we knew that Daniel would use his own daughters as leverage one way or another. We also knew that the fucker could not be allowed to see another day on this earth. I had to do something to protect Fallon from the darkness and to protect Kellan’s career.
Kellan deputized me before we got to the cabin. It was a legitimate shot and legally I had every right to do what I did. I was protecting innocent lives, lives that would have been snuffed out if I hadn’t pulled the trigger. I lost a small piece of myself in the process but Avery is safe. Miley and Annie are safe. That’s all that matters.
“Annie, stay where you are and keep your eyes closed, honey!” Avery shouts as she rushes into the bedroom.
Kellan has Miley in his arms. The little girl sobs and hides her face against his chest while Avery scoops a crying Annie up. Together, they take the girls out of the cabin, and I meet them out front as the rest of our crew handle the situation inside. Fallon joins us, his weapon hanging from his shoulder.
I left mine in the snow for evidence.
Sirens wail in the distance as Kellan’s deputies make their way up the narrow country road leading to the abandoned cabin. It’ll be one hell of a mess to clear up, but I find comfort in knowing that we did the right thing.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” Avery cries as she holds Annie close.
Miley reaches out from Kellan’s arms and hugs her mother. Avery kisses her softly and whispers soothing words in her ear. They will need some time to recover from this horrendous trauma. Annie is red-faced and tired, having cried her tiny heart out. The smoke couldn’t have done any good, either.
“We had an incident a while back,” Kellan explains. “We decided to plant GPS trackers on every weapon issued to Wolfhound Security agents.”
“Yeah, Fallon mentioned something about that,” Avery replies, blinking slowly.
The adrenalin must be wearing off. She is clearly exhausted, physically and emotionally drained. Relief is a double-edged sword in situations such as this. The body leaves its fight-or-flight state, suddenly depleted and unable to process much else. She will be sleeping for days, I reckon. But she will be fine. One way or another, Avery will pull herself back together. And we’ll be there to help.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get here sooner,” Kellan says. “We had to make sure we knew precisely what we were walking into, and to be certain we could get you and the girls out safely.”
“Oh my God, Kellan! I didn’t think you’d be able to find us at all,” Avery sighs deeply. “But you did. You saved us.” She looks at me, and the pain in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. “You saved us Luke. I can’t even imagine how this must feel for you.”
“Look at you, still worrying about my feelings,” I can’t help but chuckle softly.
“None of this matters,” Fallon intervenes. “It’s over, Avery. You hear me? It’s really over.”
“Yeah.”
