Searching his mind for answers and hoping it was prudent to wait for backup, Finn decided to at least free Scout. He wasn’t sure the K-9 would let him put on his working harness but decided to give it a try. Even if Scout bit him or bolted, he would at least have added an element of support to whatever Selena was facing inside that house.
The harness wasn’t a problem. Fastening a leash to it was. The minute he finished snapping the K-9’s uniform in place, Scout shoved past him, leaped out of the SUV and headed across the lawn at a dead run.
Shouting “Stay here” to Sean, Finn followed the dog. By the time he reached the rear of the big house, Scout was scratching at the door and barking his head off.
A gun fired. Wood splintered. Inside the house a woman screamed. Realizing other shots might soon follow, Finn bravely grasped Scout’s harness and pulled him aside, out of the line of fire. Although the dog resisted and growled at him, he did stop barking and didn’t try to bite.
Two more bullets bored holes in the door, this time closer to where the protective K-9 had been moments before.
Finn held tight. “Easy, boy. Easy. We don’t have our vests on today.”
Although he knew Scout didn’t understand, it made Finn feel better to be talking to him. Seeing Sean’s head poking around the corner, however, did not.
Finn waved him back. “Get away.”
“I can help.”
“You’ve already helped quite enough,” Finn snapped. “Do as I say. Now.”
Sean pulled back. Disappeared. Judging by past experience, Finn only half believed the teen intended to obey. Well, half was better than nothing.
The notion to try the knob and see if the kitchen door was unlocked occurred to him. Letting Scout into the house might actually help. It might also get the poor dog killed, which would devastate Selena, so Finn inched closer to a window and, placing the flat of one hand on the peeling siding for balance, cautiously straightened and peered in.
Edward wasn’t visible, which was advantageous. Seated at the table, Selena spotted him immediately and shook her head, then cast her eyes to the side and down.
By raising on tiptoe, Finn could see what she wanted him to. His uncle was bent over with an ear pressed to the door, apparently listening to see if he’d injured the dog.
Making an okay sign with his thumb and forefinger, Finn pointed down, hoping she’d understand that he was telling her Scout was unhurt. Selena’s barely perceptible nod and momentary smile told him she had. When he continued to make hand signals, however, his uncle spotted him and fired, making a round hole with radiating cracks through the glass.
It took Finn a few heartbeats to realize he wasn’t shot. If Edward chose to come out after him, that might be for the best because he not only had Scout on his side; it would draw the older man away from Selena. He braced himself, waiting to be attacked. Nothing happened.
Now that the window pane was damaged Finn was better able to hear what was going on inside. That was not as comforting as he’d hoped because it sounded as if Edward was barely holding on to reality.
“I can still fix this,” Edward was muttering. “I can get the kid to help me load everybody into my truck before I shoot him, too.”
The one-sided conversation ebbed and flowed, giving Finn the impression that Edward was pacing. It would have been nice to know how many bullets that gun held and if he only had the one Sean had seen him use. At this point, since Selena was acting subservient instead of commanding, he had to assume Edward was also in possession of her firearm. Therefore, there was no earthly way to predict what would occur if he burst in.
Although Finn yearned to rescue Selena, he knew he’d be useless to her if Edward got the drop on him. Waiting for the ambulance and police backup he’d radioed for was the only sensible thing to do. But, oh, it was hard.
Finn reached toward the doorknob. His fingers closed around it.
The K-9 at his side strained forward, ready to charge. He was gripping the door and the dog’s harness so tightly his hands began to ache.
Listening, he prayed silently for wisdom. Open the door? Don’t open the door? And if he did take a chance and open it, how many seconds might he have to enter the kitchen before Edward got off another shot and dropped either him or Scout? Or suppose he decided to shoot Selena instead? It wasn’t worth the risk.
Several minutes ticked by. Then Finn heard the wail of sirens and saw flashing lights. Finally.
Selena had been pretending she didn’t hear sirens until Edward reacted to them. He kept the gun pointed in her direction while he peered out a side window. His eyes widened. He was sweating.
“There’s still hope for you,” she said quietly. “Give me the gun, and I’ll go out first to keep you safe.”
“No way, lady. You’re my ticket out, but not that way.”
“You know you won’t get far if you try to run.” Details about the RMK serial killer she and her team had been pursuing came to mind, silently rebutting her statement. Some murderers did escape punishment in spite of all the best efforts. Her only comfort at the moment was the conviction that Edward wasn’t going to be one of them.
The sirens wound down and fell silent. Selena held her breath. Now, it was just a matter of time and who the incident commander was. If it was Sheriff Unger, she might have to sit there all day before he worked out a plan and took action. A member of the MCK9 team, on the other hand, would be likely to make use of their dogs’ talents and break the stalemate sooner.
In the ensuing silence, Selena was positive she heard creaking and perhaps even footsteps in the front of the house. Wishful thinking? Maybe. Probably, since the police hadn’t been nearby for very long. Still, anything was possible.
While Edward paced, limped and muttered to himself, she considered specifics. He had her gun, yes, but she still had the Taser and the advantage of knowing Finn was taking care of Scout for her. It was surprising that the K-9 was allowing someone other than her to handle him. He wasn’t supposed to do that. It was, however, especially advantageous. If somebody managed to get her Malinois into the house without getting him hurt, she might be able to take command by voice. That was providing Finn realized he should let Scout loose to do the job he’d been trained for.
Selena recalled what she had told Finn about Scout and was not at all sure she had mentioned that his primary training had been suspect apprehension. Give that awesome K-9 the chance, and he’d disarm even the most determined criminal.
Did Edward Yablonski fit that description? Yes and no. The difference between Finn’s uncle and the average shooter was his unbalanced mind. That definition introduced an unknown element to the standoff. No one was totally predictable under duress, of course. Nevertheless, most people tended to react within normal parameters. What Edward would eventually decide to do was still up in the air. The man probably had no idea himself. At least not yet.
Wondering what had become of Finn, Selena sent her gaze back to the window where she’d seen him before. It had been a while since he’d peeked in at her, and although that meant he was no longer in the line of fire, as she’d prayed, it also made her feel abandoned.
If she hadn’t been afraid of setting Edward off, she would have chuckled at herself. Make up your mind, she lectured silently. Do you want Finn here or not?
That was a question with no clear answer, and this was definitely not the time to decide. What she did or didn’t want at the present moment had little to do with what she yearned for in the future. Truthfully, the mere notion of a happy future made her tremble. There was no point in imagining details of coming years when there was no guarantee she’d live past the next few minutes.
Logic agreed. Faith had different ideas. Selena Smith was not finished on this earth. She had work to do, wrongs to right, perhaps even a personal life to live, if not with Finn, then with someone else.
Only she didn’t want any other man for a husband, did she? Perhaps that was what had been holding her back, and she had to come to Idaho and see Finn again in order to realize the depth of her feelings for him. Something inside her kept insisting that he felt the same. He loved her. He had to. Any other outcome was so unacceptable it made her stomach knot.
A floorboard creaked. Selena held her breath, hoping and praying that the sheriff and some of his men had entered the house and were sneaking up on Edward. She strained to listen for footsteps. There were none.
Out of the corner of her eye, she cast a fleeting glance at her captor. His mumbling had ceased. He raised the pistol and pointed it toward the main part of the ground floor. When there were no more strange sounds, he frowned, then resumed pacing.
Selena was not convinced. Faint, rapid taps, like rain on a tin roof, caught her attention. She knew that sound. It was made by the hard toenails of a dog striking a hardwood floor. Scout? It had to be. Other handlers from her team would have either carried their K-9 partners or put foul-weather boots on their feet to muffle the sound. The only one unaware of that stealth tactic was Finn Donovan. And Sheriff Unger.
She froze. Waited. Watched the interior doorway. Shadows. Panting. Whispering? Yes!
Atmosphere in the kitchen crackled with excitement and fear. Selena took a deep breath, ready for action.
As Edward turned to start back toward her, she sensed a presence close by. “Please listen to me,” Selena began quietly. “You don’t have to die here today.”
“Why shouldn’t I? I killed my only brother.” Temporarily standing still, Edward stared as if Zeb might be present, then blinked back unshed tears. “It was supposed to be painless, you know. He was just supposed to go to sleep.” He swiped at the tears beginning to wet his cheeks. “I only shot him to put him out of his misery. It was awful.”
Distracted, Edward was half turned away. Selena stiffened. Toenails started scratching for traction like the spinning, slipping tires of a race car leaving the starting line.
She braced to counterattack if she got the chance. A brown blur rushed in through the doorway. All she had time for was a guttural shout: “Gun.”
Teeth bared, Scout came off the floor in one long leap and clamped his muscular jaws around both the man’s hand and the handgun. Momentum carried them halfway across the farm kitchen, and they landed almost at Selena’s feet with Edward on the bottom, screeching, and Scout worrying his hand as if he was shaking a toy in play.
Edward was definitely not playing. Matter of fact, he was bleeding. Selena wasted no time ordering Scout, “Out,” and retrieving her gun while Sheriff Unger and two of his deputies cuffed the suspect.
It didn’t matter who else was in the room. Selena had eyes for only one man, and she didn’t care who knew it. Holstering her weapon she dusted off her hands and crooked a finger at Finn. “Donovan. Over here.”
“I can explain,” Finn began. “I saw that you were in trouble and I figured letting Scout out was the smart thing to do.”
“Hush. Not another word.”
“But, I—” The press of her fingers on his lips silenced his voice while his eyes kept asking questions.
“I have something important to say, and I want to get it out before I lose my nerve,” Selena said softly. She briefly eyed the chair where she’d been sitting while captive. “I thought I might die before I had a chance to tell you, and I made up my mind that if I lived I’d say it.”
It helped to see tenderness in his expression and the glint of unshed tears sparkling in the blue of his eyes like moonlight on the surface of a rippling lake.
Struggling to control her roiling emotions Selena said, “I love you.”
“No, you don’t.”
That may not have been the mutual confession of undying love she’d hoped for, but she wasn’t about to give up. “Yes, I do. I don’t care whether you like it or not, it’s true. You know it and I know it.” Casting a lopsided smile at Scout, she added, “Even that dog knows it, or he’d never have let you touch him the way you did.”
To her relief, the corners of Finn’s mouth began to twitch. “I figured there was a good chance he’d take my arm off, but I had to try to use him.”
“I’m glad you did,” Selena said, giving a nod to the deputies who were bagging the murder weapon, then smiling at Sheriff Unger. “I take it you heard Edward’s confession.”
Unger nodded. “Loud and clear.”
“Good.” Selena knew her grin was so broad it probably looked silly, but she couldn’t help it. The joy was nearly uncontainable, particularly coming so soon after her encounter with the very real threat of death.
Directing her focus back to Finn, she put her hands on her hips. “Okay. You’re going to be exonerated. That means you’re out of excuses why we can’t be a couple.”
“There are plenty of other reasons.” Standing firm, he folded his arms across his chest.
“Name one. And it had better be a doozy.”
“Don’t be silly. We decided all this a long time ago.”
“No, you decided.” She poked his chest with her index finger. “You did that all by yourself. Why didn’t you consult me?” She stepped back, shaking her head. “I would have followed you to the ends of the earth.”
“Which would have been a terrible mistake.”
“I’ll give you that,” Selena replied. “We were too young and starting down different paths. That’s not true anymore. Neither of us will have to give up anything when your name is cleared and you go back to being a detective or tracking down missing people and adoptees. You can do that anywhere. Your mom and Sean aren’t tied to Sagebrush anymore, either. They can come with us, with me, wherever my assignments take me. You don’t hate Wyoming, do you? Our base is there for now, and—”
Finn interrupted. “Whoa. Slow down. You haven’t even asked how I feel about you.”
Her grin was almost as wide as her face. “You love me.”
“I’ve never said that.”
“Okay. Deny it.”
A bright blush rose to color his cheeks. That was enough answer for her. She pointed a finger at him and laughed. “Gotcha.”
“Okay, so maybe I do. It’s a big leap from admitting that to moving my whole family out of Idaho. How do you know they’d even want to leave?”
“I’ll go,” Sean piped up from where he was standing with Scout. “It beats witness protection.”
Selena laughed. “Wrong Donovan brother.” Looking into Finn’s eyes, she was certain she saw the lasting love she craved so desperately. “Well, Finn. What’ll it be? Wanna stick with me and the rest of your family or not?”
A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. His eyes sparkled. “Well, when you put it that way.”
Sean made a fist and playfully slugged his big brother in the bicep. “Way to go, Bro. She’s pretty cool when you get to know her.”
“So glad you approve.” By this time, Finn was smiling, too. “I suppose I’ll have to consider it since I’m crazy about her.”
Selena could barely breathe. Finn opened his arms, inviting an embrace, and she stepped into it as if they had never parted. As she lay her cheek on his chest and listened to the pounding of his heart, she knew she was finally home, finally had the loving family that had been denied to her for most of her life.
Only one thing was missing. The words. She murmured, “I love you,” against Finn’s chest and waited.
His “I love you, too” was whispered in her ear and went straight to her heart. She didn’t need to have it shouted down from the top of a ski lift for the whole valley to hear. She just needed him to finally admit he shared the deep affection that was warming her heart as never before.
They had survived multiple attempts on their lives, and there they stood—together. What the future brought could only improve on the blessings already received. Selena knew it. And now Finn did, too.
“I don’t care how long it takes for your permanent release,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Finn lifted her chin with one finger and kissed her, gently at first and then with the promise of forever.
In the background, Sean pumped his fist in the air and hollered. “All right!”