Renee still couldn’t believe she had managed to make it safely into the barn. Her distraction tactic had worked. A little too well.
She had hurried to the nearest stall facing where Tamara had been standing when Renee had made her run. Almost instantly, the woman’s eyes had met hers through the tendrils of gun smoke and dust drifting on the breeze. If looks could kill, Renee wouldn’t still be standing.
Now she could see Tamara working her way around the back of the barn, undoubtedly intent on following through with her earlier threats.
Renee tried not to think about what might be happening outside. Gunfire had sounded so many times in the past ten minutes that she craved the moment she would once again experience silence. A shout by Ace followed by Kade’s voice gave her comfort that they had both survived their encounter with Owen Werthcamp. Now she had to hope Tamara wouldn’t manage to finish what Werthcamp had started.
A shuffle of feet nearby sent Renee out of the stall and into the tack room. Though not ideal, her earlier hiding place was the best cover she had available to her at the moment. She ducked beneath the heavy metal wheelbarrow and pulled her knees to her chest. Each breath added more heat to the already unbearable temperature.
Though air could filter through the opening on either side, the metal hiding her didn’t exactly boast good ventilation. To the sides, she could peek out from her hiding place, but with how she was tucked into the corner of the tack room, she couldn’t see beyond the wooden walls that boxed her in. Her eyes itched from the dust trapped with her in this tiny space, and her palms were damp with perspiration. She shifted her gun to her left hand to wipe off her right before shifting it back again. A minute stretched into two and then three. Movement near the barn entrance sent her heartbeat racing even faster. Was the newcomer friend or foe?
She closed her eyes and tried to visualize where everyone would be in relation to one another. Had Tamara used the past several minutes to slip away and escape, or was she finding a way to kill all of them one at a time?
She didn’t know how much ammunition Ace had with him, but she had four shots left, and she knew Kade had to be low. That thought had barely finished forming when she heard a flurry of movement on the far side of the barn.
An automatic weapon fired rapidly, bullets thudding into the walls where the hay was stacked across from the tack room. It took a second for Renee to compute what was happening. Tamara was shooting the hay in the hope that Renee was hiding there. Five seconds later, gunfire sparked all around her, striking saddles and walls and ricocheting off the metal in front of her.
A squeak of alarm escaped her, and footsteps rushed forward. Renee gripped her weapon tighter, her breaths coming in shallow gasps.
Then suddenly the wheelbarrow was yanked away, and fresh air filled her lungs. Instinctively, she rolled to her left, her eyes lifting to see Tamara standing above her, sheer hatred on her face. As though her hand had a will of its own, Renee lifted the gun, aimed, and fired twice.
The next seconds passed in slow motion. Tamara’s finger jerked against the trigger as the bullets from Renee’s gun drove into her chest. As she fell backward, bullets from Tamara’s gun sprayed into the air and wedged into the beams of the ceiling.
Horror and sickness swamped through Renee as she gulped for air, her eyes wide, her face pale. Bile rose in her throat, and she fought the urge to vomit.
More footsteps raced toward her, and terror clawed at her. What if Werthcamp and Tamara weren’t alone?
Then she saw that the figure in the doorway rushing toward her was familiar. Kade was beside her in an instant, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her close. Her weapon dropped from her hand, and her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s okay. You’re okay now,” Kade murmured.
Renee struggled to breathe for a moment before she managed to ask, “Is she . . . ?”
Kade turned to look at the woman, and now Renee could see Ace standing behind Kade. A shake of the older man’s head confirmed what Renee had already suspected. The woman was dead. Renee had killed her.
* * *
Kade held Renee close, not quite able to believe this whole ordeal was over. Her tears undid him, and he would have done anything to make her pain go away. He understood it, that unmistakable sickness that came when a human life was lost. It didn’t matter that the kill was justified. The emotions were overwhelming and indescribable.
To his relief, Renee’s tears slowed. In the distance, he could hear sirens and suspected the gunfire had drawn someone’s attention.
With Ace shielding the dead woman’s body the best he could, Kade stood and used his good hand to help Renee stand.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” Kade said.
“What happens now?”
“Ace will call Hannah, and she’ll set up a cover story for all this.”
“We’re at a U.S. senator’s house. How do you cover something like this up?”
“It’s about to become a drive-by shooting in southeast D.C.”
Her eyes still moist, she looked up at him. “You can do that?”
“Yeah.”
As they started for the door, Ace called after him. “Their buddy is locked up in the basement. Do me a favor and check on him when you get down to the house.”
“I will.” Kade led Renee down the path and into the house, guiding her through the living area to the security office. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Though she didn’t look thrilled about being left alone, she nodded her assent. After a quick look at the security cameras to ensure they didn’t have any more unexpected visitors, Kade headed downstairs to check on their prisoner. Once satisfied that the unhappy man was still tied firmly to a pillar, he made his way back to the security office.
She turned the moment he walked inside, her face still pale, her hands trembling.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked, realizing it was a ridiculous question the moment it escaped his lips. He hated it when people asked him things like that when the answer was obvious.
Renee took a deep breath, and again he could see another tremor work through her. Surprisingly, her voice was mostly steady when she motioned to the laptop. “Hannah posted an update. The senator is at the church with his wife. Their security detail will take them to a safe location until we give them the all clear.”
“Good.”
“Kade . . .” Renee began, clearly searching for the right words.
He had known this conversation would come, and he was certain he wouldn’t survive it. More than anything, he wanted Renee in his life, but if he truly loved her, he had to let her live in a world filled with light and hope rather than in the shadows where he had to dwell.
Renee seemed to muster her courage. “What you said before—”
“We’ll talk about that later,” he said, knowing he was lying. He didn’t know if she sensed his deception or if she needed some sort of reassurance. Seeing the crestfallen look on her face, he sighed and crossed to her. His own heart breaking at what was to come, he offered her what little comfort he could. “Just know that I meant what I said.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she whispered, “So did I.”