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The sound of Laura’s scream set Cade’s nerves on edge. His body tensed for a beat before he raised his own weapon at Jenson. He wasn’t too late, but things could go south very quickly. “Give it up, Jenson. There’s no way to talk your way out of this one. Sheriff’s deputies are on their way here right now. Don’t make things worse for yourself than they need to be.”
Jenson finally glanced his way, but kept his handgun trained on the spot where Laura had taken cover. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I came here looking for my daughter and found everyone dead. No one will question the word of a grieving father and husband.”
“Mom,” Laura cried. “He shot my mom.”
Her cries were like a cleaver to the chest, but he had to keep his focus on Jenson. A flash of motion caught the corner of his eye—Brooke. He couldn’t let anyone know she was there. If she could approach the side of the house without being noticed, she could disarm Jenson.
Cade took a step forward, making sure Jenson’s sights were set straight on him. “Won’t work. We already know too much. We know you stole money from the community fund and used Matthew’s name to buy this property. Even if you weren’t going down for whatever the hell this is, you’d be charged for embezzlement and money laundering.”
Jenson’s eyes grew wide. “All I did was help my son and this town. Anything Matthew did on his own…well that’s on him.”
Taking another step, he mentally calculated the distance between him and Laura’s father. Close to a hundred feet separated them. He’d need to close the distance by at least half if he stood a chance at taking him down.
“Don’t move another inch,” Jenson warned. “Trust me. This isn’t how I wanted things to end. But when people don’t listen to me, I have to take matters into my own hands.”
His calm and steady tone almost activated Cade’s gag reflex. How could a father choose to gun down his own daughter?
“Let Laura go,” Cade said. “You know you don’t want to hurt her.”
Jenson laughed again, then jumped off the porch, closing the space between him and the car.
Cade took off at a dead sprint. Sweat trickled down his spine. His heart thundered in his ears. He couldn’t lose Laura. Not like this. Not after everything they’d been through. He loved her, and he’d never even gotten a chance to tell her.
“Stop right there before I put a bullet in your back.” Brooke emerged from woods, weapon aimed at Jenson. “Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air.”
Jenson stopped but he aimed once more at the car.
Brooke squeezed the trigger, the blast deafening.
Jenson fell to the ground, the gun dropping on the gravel drive. “Sonofabitch,” he yelled through gritted teeth.
Cade hurried to Jenson and kicked the gun far from his reach as Brooke removed a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on his wrists.
“Laura,” Cade yelled, rounding the vehicle. “It’s over, baby. You’re safe.”
She sat on the ground with her hands over her ears. Tears ran down her dirty face, and her hair fell in a tangled curtain around her shoulders. Her bottom lip trembled, and she stared up at him with large, terrified eyes.
He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. “Are you hurt? Did he touch you?”
Shaking her head, she clung to him. “My mom. He hurt her. She needs help.”
The faint call of sirens interrupted her words.
“Hear that? Help’s coming.” He supported her weight as he guided her to her feet, an arm remaining tight around her waist. “I can’t believe we found you. I was so damn scared. I love you, Laura. I love you so much.”
She offered a small smile and threw her arms around his neck. “I lov—”
“You bitch!” Isaac screamed and tore from the house like a madman. Blood stained his white shirt. He pressed one hand against his side and trained his gun at the back of Laura’s head with the other. “I told you, you’re mine forever.”
Cade spun as fast as he could, placing himself between Laura and the blast that erupted milliseconds later. Pain shot through him in giant waves before his body went numb.
Another shot exploded into the air followed by the sounds of Isaac’s cries of pain.
“Stay down, you asshole!” Brooke yelled. “You’re not getting away this time.”
Cade collapsed onto the hard stones. Darkness edged out his vision. The soft touch of warm hands on his face and the sound of his name made him smile.
“Laura?” He squinted. Her beautiful face came into view. Her pouty lips, the soft curve of her chin, the delicate slope of her nose. “So pretty. So special. You’re my everything.”
