Page 127 of Fatal Witness

Dani fought for air as his hold tightened on her neck. She had to stop him before he shot Mark. He stepped to the back side of the door, forcing Dani to move with him. If Mark opened the door, he wouldn’t see them until it was too late.

The doorknob twisted. Dani couldn’t let Mark get hurt again. She bunched her legs and lunged back, ramming the back of her head into Kyle’s chin and nose. He screamed, and his grip loosened on her neck.

Dani twisted away and kicked him in the groin. He staggered, and the gun went off. The bullet went wide just as Mark threw open the door and Lizi burst into the room with Mark and Gem right behind.

Kyle grabbed for Dani just as Mark tackled him. She wrenched away from him as the two men went down. Mark slugged him in the jaw. Kyle scrambled away and turned his gun toward Mark’s chest.

Dani screamed. “No!”

Lizi and Gem lunged at Kyle as Dani kicked his hand and the gun sailed across the floor.

“Free!”

“Release!” Both dogs released their hold on the man, and Mark quickly subdued him and slapped on handcuffs.

“Why, Kyle?”

“I got nothing to say. I want a lawyer.”

62

Blood dripped down Kyle’s nose as Mark sat him in a chair in the kitchen. “Guard,” he said to Gem, then turned to Dani. “Can you and Lizi check on the deputy that was guarding the house? He was out cold when I got here.”

Mark’s heart had almost stopped when he saw the deputy slumped over his steering wheel. He barely took time to check for a pulse. Mark checked his phone.All emergency vehicles dispatched to accident.

One of the minuses of living in a small town. He looked up as the back door opened and Dani returned inside.

“The deputy is dazed and said his head is killing him, so he probably has a concussion. You want me to call an ambulance?”

“There aren’t any available—there was a big wreck on the highway into town,” Mark said. “I need to get Kyle to the jail.”

“Why don’t I take the deputy to the hospital in his SUV and you take Kyle to jail?”

He hesitated. Kyle had lawyered up, and Mark couldn’t question him about any accomplices.

“Okay,” Mark said. “Just be careful. We don’t know if Kyle has any accomplices out there.”

Mark prayed Dani’s ordeal was over. His heart skipped a beat. If it was, then they could get on with their lives.

63

A week later, Dani inspected the heating and air-conditioning unit the contractor had installed at Mae’s house. She had no idea what she was supposed to be inspecting, but both the contractor and Mark seemed pleased with the unit. All Dani cared about was that it worked.

She handed the contractor a check. “Thanks for installing it so quickly.”

“Thank you, Ms. Bennett. Good to see you again, Mark.” The man shook hands with Mark, then pocketed the check and climbed into his pickup.

Dani turned and surveyed her grandmother’s house. With Mark’s help, she’d cleaned out the flower beds and added a few rosebushes and azaleas along the front of the house.

Mark nodded toward the front porch. “I really think we should build a ramp.”

“I agree, but Nonny insists that it isn’t necessary.”

He shook his head. “Why does that not surprise me? But I suppose she can manage the steps since she’s only using a cane.”

She chuckled. “A cane that she carries half the time instead of relying on it. Has she always been so independent?”

Dani still hadn’t recovered any childhood memories of her grandmother, or ... anything.

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