Dan gripped the gun so hard his hand was beginning to cramp. Mayor Collins raced through the room. He slammed into the swinging doors to the kitchen and kept running.
“Collins!”
He ignored the sheriff’s yell. Chandler hadn’t called for Elliot to come and take care of Mei. Instead, he’d watched the mayor go outside, and they’d all heard him make his “statement.” Hot tears spilled down Dan’s cheeks. Collins had shot Olympia.
Dan whispered, “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.” He took a breath and continued through the prayer to, “…for Thy Name’s sake. Lord, have mercy.”
Behind him, Gemma whispered, “Lord, have mercy.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed at the aim Dan had on him. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
Across the room one of his men groaned and then fell to the floor. Then another. The sheriff pressed his lips together, and his torso jerked like he was going to throw up.
“Sheriff Chandler, we have you surrounded!” John’s voice boomed from outside. “Surrender now. Your army has been incapacitated, and there is no one left to fight for you.”
Inside the Meeting House another man fell to the floor. John didn’t know how right he was. The sheriff took one step and collapsed to his knees, moaning. His gun wavered, but he didn’t lower it. Gemma gasped as it centered back on the two of them again.
Dan should simply shoot the man. Plant a bullet in the sheriff for everything he’d done, and finish this. Finish the man. A person. Dan saw his mother’s face in his mind, even while he stared at the sheriff’s nasty sneer. Her body jerked from the impact of the shock, her eyes widened, and surprise washed over her face. Gemma shifted closer to him. Her arms came around his waist from behind, an embrace, and she surrounded him with her caring and support.
John’s voice infiltrated the room once again. “This is your last warning!”
Dan shifted his finger on the trigger. The sheriff was going to kill them first, and Dan couldn’t let that happen. He needed to do this even though his heart pounded. Dan heard every beat in his head. Every intake of breath rushed through his ears. Gemma’s arm tightened on his diaphragm, and her other arm moved, covered his arm that held the gun. Her hand slid down his forearm to cover his.
Dan’s breath hitched.
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “Where is the photo?”
Gemma spoke to the man, over Dan’s shoulder. “I burned it, Sheriff. Your campaign of terror is over.”
Chandler zeroed his gun’s aim on them. Dan tried to pull the trigger of his weapon, but his finger wouldn’t move. Gemma’s hand moved over his, just as his father had done. But this was nothing like that day, this was for them. Together. For Sanctuary.
A door slammed behind them, and Dan fired the shot. Another gunshot immediately followed at almost exactly the same time. Chandler flew backward and hit the floor as men poured in the room.
“Guns down!”
“On the floor.”
Dan dropped his weapon and heard it clatter on the floor. People ran around them, but Gemma didn’t let go. They stood still in the midst of the chaos, still in their embrace. He shut his eyes, and Gemma put her head on his shoulder. He heard her whisper quietly, “Thank You, Lord.”
Dan echoed her words. God had given him Gemma when he needed her most, to give him the strength to do what he’d needed to do.
“We need to talk.”
Dan opened his eyes to find John stood in front of him. Dan nodded, and then said, “Are you okay, Sheriff?”
“I’m having a real bad day, Dan. I’m not gonna lie.” John blew out a breath. “I’ll be glad when I can get to Andra and be done with this.”
Men, some of whom Dan knew and some he didn’t, ran around them, scooping up the sheriff and his men. Securing their hands behind their backs.
“Maybe we can talk tomorrow.”
John studied his face, then he nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.” He strode away and crouched beside Mei as one of the men cut her bonds. John pulled her arm around his shoulder. “Come on, partner. Let’s get you some help.” He stood, then slipped his other arm under her knees.
Mei glanced up and looked around. “Is he here?”
**
Ben watched the mayor round the corner from his position, tucked behind a door. The mayor’s face was flushed. His eyes flicked around frantically as he raced down the alley. Ben stepped out from the cover of the door, gun raised, and waited for the second the mayor spotted him in his way.
Collins cried out and pulled up short. He brought his gun up, and they faced-off against each other. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years.” His lips curled up, but not with humor.
“Put the gun down.”
The mayor shook his head. “Why would I do that when I have two years of pent-up revenge to satisfy?”
“Been up to a few things in the meantime. Bored, so you jumped on Chandler’s bandwagon. But not because you had the brains to figure out a coup all by yourself. No, you’re only a follower. Why anyone ever elected you leader over this town is a mystery to me. Probably always will be.” Ben sighed, feeling every one of his forty-six years at that moment. “I know who hired you and sent you here to Sanctuary. I know you owe a debt you can’t pay, and Chandler was part of appeasing them. I know you were sent to infiltrate this town, to make sure Chandler was doing his job—and to watch over things while he was gone. And I know you made a deal with them. One, sorry to say, you won’t be making good on.”
Ben should kill him right now. “I told you two years ago not to mess with my family, and I meant it. You’ve gone too far, haven’t you, Thomas Fingerling?”
The mayor gasped.
That was the last card Ben had left to play with the man. The game was over now. All he had to do was pull the trigger, and the mayor would hit the ground, dead.
And yet, he couldn’t. Had he lost his mojo?
Thump.
The mayor’s mouth dropped open, and he slumped to the floor. Daire stood behind him, jeans and T-shirt. That ugly, scuffed leather jacket. Ben’s associate shook his head. “What is wrong with you?” He shrugged, gun in hand. “A lifetime of being verbose and suddenly you’re giving him a long-winded speech. Bang. He’s dead. Conversation over.” Daire shrugged again.
“It isn’t like you killed him.”
Daire cocked his head to one side. “Why bother when he’ll be dead the minute his name hits the prison system database?”
“Then why are we arguing about killing him?”
“Because you’ve been in a funk since Nadia Marie’s thing, when you saw her in Denver.”
Ben turned to walk away but Daire’s phone rang. He didn’t want to talk about that, but nothing had been right since then. Daire was right, Ben was in a funk and it was starting to affect his work.
Ben waited through the short conversation, then Daire hung up. “Remy said Bogota checks out.”
“Then let’s roll.”
Daire said, “You don’t want to check on Mei?”
Daire’s feelings about his family weren’t a secret, but that didn’t mean Ben ran his the same way. He didn’t need Daire to tell him how to do this when it would only remind him how much he sucked at it. Ben could infiltrate anywhere, get information out of anyone, and complete every mission ever assigned to him. This, he couldn’t figure out.
“I’ll check in on her when I have more time.”
**
John stood out front of his office and watched Grant gesture wildly to the Air Force colonel who’d come with military police. He’d directed the entire town, organizing removal of every man that worked with the mayor. John was beyond grateful for his help, even if Grant had retired from the Marshal’s Service and gone to work for Ben. At least one of his brothers had stuck around. Ben had left for Bogota, of all places.
The Meeting House doors opened and two men walked out, escorting the mayor between them. Matthias broke from his conversation with Bolton and ran over. “You killed her!”
John sprinted over faster than his bruises wanted him to and intercepted his friend. He hugged Matthias around the middle. “Easy.”
“Easy? He shot my mother in front of all of us.”
John didn’t let go of his friend. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re not the one who should be sorry.”
At Matthias’s words the mayor lifted his head and smirked. A baby started to cry. That was what broke through the rage which coursed through Matthias. John felt the shift in him, and Matthias glanced back over his shoulder. Frannie stood watching, a worried look on her face. The baby in her arms squirmed and let out another cry.
“Go to your family.”
Matthias nodded and then heeded John’s words.
The mayor let out a snicker.
Matthias halted and turned back, halfway to his family. John didn’t wait for him to come back over, he strode to the mayor, balled his fist, and punched Collins’s cheekbone. The impact reverberated up his arm, and the men holding the mayor both took a step back.
John walked away.
Grant waited for him. “Feel better now?”
“You don’t know these people.” He got in Grant’s face. “You’ve never lived here, so don’t ask me if I’m going to feel better when people are hurt, and others are dead.”
Grant backed up and raised his hands.
John snapped, “Don’t you have some secret mission to go on with Ben?”
“He feels my skillset would be better used here.” Grant looked around. “Even though I never lived here, these people know me. I was there for each of them in some of the scariest times of their life.” He paused. “I sent them here, I put them in danger.”
“You didn’t know this was going to happen. How could you have?” If they had, then John would have protected them. Olympia wouldn’t be dead.
A muscle in Grant’s jaw flexed. “Bill Jones compromised this town. That’s the problem with putting criminals in witness protection. They don’t want to follow the rules.”
“A man like Bill Jones was never going to tow the line. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Just like the idea of a secret town.”
“And I put all these people at risk because of it.” Grant glanced over to where Dan stood, Gemma under the circle of his arm. “I didn’t even think much about the ones that were born here. How could they be in danger when this was a place of safety? I might as well have held a gun to their heads myself.”
“You aren’t to blame.”
“Well it feels like it.” Grant squared off with him. “And maybe it should. Maybe someone should feel responsible.”
John understood that need, the one which held him accountable for the authority he had within this town. The people who lived here hadn’t elected him sheriff, but they had trusted him to keep them safe. He grabbed his brother by the back of the neck, squeezed the tension he found there, and then pulled Grant in for a hug.
“Dad!” Pat’s voice brought John’s head around. Behind his son, Andra carried Nicholas in a sling. Aaron was with them, a wariness in his eyes John wasn’t sure would ever go away. John walked toward them. Pat started to run. John did the same. He caught up his son in his arms and hugged him. When Aaron got close, he pulled him and Andra and Nicholas into his arms.
“You’re back.”
John shifted his head so he could see in his wife’s eyes. He gave her a quick kiss. “I’m back.”
The question was, what would happen to Sanctuary now?
“I know that look.” Grant grinned, said, “Hi, Andra.” He turned back to John. Pat launched himself from John’s arms to his uncle Grant, who chuckled. “Hey, kid.” To John, he said, “The town is a mess, and this is going to take time to repair. But the advantage we have now is that exit plans are in place. If people want to stay here because it’s their home, we can do that. If they want to leave then they can opt out. There are also some other… options.”
“Which are?”
Grant said, “I’ll have to discuss those with you at a later date.”
Which meant, when they were alone. Which meant, after Grant told him, John would go home and tell Andra.
She smiled at him.
John would never, not ever in his life, get tired of seeing his wife’s smile.
**
Dan waited for a break in conversation and then pulled Gemma aside so he could talk to her without anyone listening. Yes, they were only curious because of the suddenness of their relationship, but there was plenty of time to explain that, in a way, Gemma and Dan had been together for years.
“Are you okay?”
Dan kissed the frown above her eyes because he could. “No, but I will be.”
He tugged her all the way to the sheriff’s office and into the alley so they could have some peace and quiet. Gemma touched his cheeks, lifted up, and planted a kiss on his lips. “So will I.”
“A while ago…”
“Yes?”
“You said you were planning to leave Sanctuary.”
She pressed her lips together.
“Gemma…”
“Looks like I’ll have to save you all over again.”
Dan froze and turned. He shoved Gemma behind him before he even processed the fact that Terrence stood there. Blood dripped down his face and sliced strips of tape clung to his clothes. He’d freed himself from his bonds.
“No.” Gemma’s voice was breathy and full of terror.
Dan saw it then, the gun in Terrence’s hand. He was really sick of having a gun pointed at him.
Terrence clicked his fingers. “Next to me, Gemma. Or he’s dead.”
She didn’t hesitate, just scrambled over there.
“Gemma!” Why did she do that?
Terrence grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “You belong to me.” His free arm across her, he pulled up her arm and showed it to Dan. “This mark means she’s mine.”
“I’m not yours.” Gemma struggled.
“Fight and I’ll shoot him. I will. Do not test me.” Terrence narrowed his gaze on Dan again. “You don’t win. I got her first, and you can’t have what’s mine.”
“Because you stuck me with a cigarette, you coward?”
Dan stared, unable to process what he should do. If he called out to anyone for help Terrence would shoot him and then take Gemma. He was not going to take Gemma anywhere. Dan wasn’t letting her out of his sight this time.
“Well guess what, moron?”
“Gemma,” he cautioned her. She shouldn’t push the man. Gemma had gone over there to save Dan’s life, he knew that. Now her plan was to antagonize him?
She didn’t listen. Go figure.
Gemma lifted her other arm, shoved Terrence’s arm enough she could show him the tattoo on the outside of her right arm. “Guess what?”
“WHAT?” Terrence was losing patience.
Please let that have been loud enough that someone heard.
Gemma’s smile was hard to see, it was so full of love for him. “You aren’t the first one that ‘marked’ me. Dan is. This tattoo covers a scar far older than the ones you gave me.”
Dan’s stomach dropped. He’d seen the scar, and asked her about the tattoo. She’d told him it was an ugly cut she got hiking that she wanted to cover up. “Gem…” He did that? Not recently, it had to have been years ago. He didn’t even remember. How could he not remember?
She shifted to face Terrence. “So I guess you lose and Dan wins. Boo hoo.”
His face morphed into rage, and he lifted the gun. Gemma kicked him in the stomach.
Terrence grunted but brought the gun up. Dan raced over, pulled her out of the way. The gun went off. Dan shoved her out of the line of fire and jumped on Terrence. He wasn’t going to hurt her, not if Dan had anything to say about it.
He punched and kicked. The gun was dropped and a crowd raced around the corner. Boots. Dan saw them out the corner of his eye, but he didn’t let up.
“Enough.”
Dan stilled at the sheriff’s voice.
“That’s enough.”
He dropped Terrence on the floor, each breath like shards in his throat.
“Dan.”
Her voice was soft. When he turned to her, Gemma ran into his arms. How could she even touch him after everything he’d done to her?
She burrowed into him. “Do you want to stay?”
He wanted to be where she was, wherever that might be.
“I hurt you.”
“I don’t care. You didn’t know, and you didn’t mean it. It was an accident, and I forgave you a long time ago.”
Over the years, Sanctuary had torn him open and wounded him down to his soul.
“I…”
Dan wanted peace. He wanted to marry Gemma. He wanted to find a quiet mountain where he could farm the land and she could write books from the kitchen table. Or the porch, where he’d be able to see her when he rode Bay back to the house.
She moved back and then pulled him from the alley back onto the safety of Main Street. “What?”
Dan glanced toward the farm, where Chase and Miranda lay dead on the dirt. “There’s too much death here.” He didn’t even know if he could stay here and face it every day.
Gemma hugged his middle. “Do you want to see the world with me? Get married. Settle down somewhere quiet; you can farm and I can write.”
“On the porch.”
Her smile was blinding. “From the porch.”
Dan leaned in and kissed her. When he was done telling her everything he had to say, he leaned back.
Gemma chuckled. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”
Dan lifted her in his arms, spun around, and kissed her again.