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Bernie scrambled on all fours, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the man in the mask.
Shelby erupted into the room, her gun drawn, followed by the Brotherhood Protectors, ready to protect and defend.
Gerard straddled the piece of shit who’d tried to kill Bernie. He wanted to slam his fist into the man’s face for even pointing the gun at his woman.
Shelby pulled a zip-tie out of her back pocket and secured the man’s wrists behind his back.
Gerard left the guy on the ground and pulled Bernie into his arms. “I just lost a couple dozen years off my life.”
“I thought you’d never get here,” she said.
“I was busy. Your friends Clayton and Willy found this guy’s partner behind your barn.”
“Dead?” she asked.
He nodded. “Shot.”
“All for a bag of cash,” Bernie said. “You know this problem isn’t going to go away until the money is located, don’t you?”
“Two men have died for that bag of cash,” Shelby said. “It might not even be here anymore.”
“Clayton and Willy confessed that they took it off your brother’s body and stuffed it into the base of a hollow tree. When they came back for it, it was gone.”
Bernie shook her head. “Who else would have known it landed here?”
“Word gets out,” Shelby said as she led her prisoner through the living room. “It might be a good idea to disperse the crowd. If the mafia gets wind the bag ended up in Bayou Mambaloa and traces it to Bellamy Acres, it could get ugly.”
“Leave the money where they can find it, and they’ll go away,” the prisoner said.
“How about we leave you where they can find you?” Shelby said.
He shrugged. “My days are numbered. They probably already think I stole it and killed the other two so that I could keep it all to myself.”
“Well, you’ll be safe in a jail cell for a very long time for the murder of your partner,” Shelby said.
The man snorted. “There’s nowhere safe from them. I won’t last a week, even in a maximum-security prison.”
Shelby snorted. “Guess you should’ve thought of that before you got involved with them.” She tossed her car keys to Remy. “Could you have someone bring my cruiser up to the front of the house?”
Remy nodded and handed the keys to Lucas, who immediately left the house to follow orders.
Bernie looked up into Gerard’s eyes. “I don’t want anyone else hurt because of that money.”
He nodded and dropped his arms from around her to take her hand in his. “Let’s thank everyone and tell them you’d like to call it a night.”
She nodded. “I’d rather be a party pooper than have anyone hurt.”
“It might be better if they don’t know about the danger,” Remy said. “There won’t be a mad rush to get out of here.”
Bernie’s hand tightened in his as they stepped out onto the front porch.
“Hey, Bernie,” a voice called out. “We have another surprise for you.” Mimi waved a hand toward a man walking up the road from where all the cars were parked.
As he neared, Gerard could make out the man’s features. It was the veterinarian, and he had a large hound dog on a leash.
As they neared, Bernie cried, “Howey!”
The vet bent, unclipped the leash from the dog’s collar and let him go.
