Page 63 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

“Why?” he asked, then shook his head. “Never mind. I came here to warn Lukas about our partner.”

Heads popped up, and Conrad gasped for air. They almost immediately went back underwater.

Under normal circumstances, Conrad would be able to overpower Heath in a heartbeat. The fact it was a contest meant Conrad was seriously injured.

“He’s hurt,” she said.

“I know.”

“What are we going to do about that?” she asked.

“Firing a shot is too risky,” Beau said. “I’ve shown my hand to Heath. He won’t trust me any longer.”

“Why didn’t you grab your brother and leave?”

“He would never have gone for it,” Beau said. “Have you seen the way he looks at you? The man wouldn’t leave you here with Heath to fend for yourself.”

Those words would bring comfort under normal circumstances. But the man she was in love with was fighting for his life a few feet away, and there wasn’t anything she could do to help him. If anything happened to Conrad, her heart would die with him.

The realization should scare the hell out of her. It didn’t. Instead, a comfort like a warm blanket on a cold night wrapped around her and spread through her.

For the first time in Nikki’s life, she knew what true love felt like.

The wrinkles in the water stopped. And then a flurry of bubbles were followed by nothing.

“I need to go to him,” she said, knowing full well that would be a mistake. If Conrad did have the upper hand, she could ruin it.

Standing here, doing nothing, shattered her.

One more second.

Conrad struggled to hold his breath as Heath’s body went limp. The man wasn’t dead. Contrary to popular belief, drowning meant drifting away, passing out never to wake again.

When Conrad was certain going limp wasn’t an act and his own lungs felt like they might explode, he pushed off the bottom of the lake.

He broke surface with a gasp and a chug. Water had gotten in his lungs, causing a coughing fit. Before he let go of Heath, Nikki and Beau were in the water, flanking him, lifting him up as Heath sank.

Once he was securely above water, they pulled Heath up.

“Is he…?” Nikki couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.

“No,” Conrad managed to say through a coughing jag.

Beau nodded, pulled Heath from the water, and then began CPR. His brother must have realized Conrad didn’t want Heath dead. Justice wouldn’t be served unless Heath was punished for what he’d done. The only way justice could be served was by Heath living out the rest of his days behind bars with plenty of time to think about what he’d done wrong and plenty of folks around him ready to remind him that he was no longer the big man in charge.

Conrad lay on his back on the embankment, trying his level best to catch his breath. There was something he needed to say to Nikki, and it couldn’t wait.

He closed his eyes and dug deep to find the words.

Fear like he’d never known welled up, trying to consume him. What if she didn’t feel the same? Shouldn’t he play his cards right? Wait? See what happened next? Not stick his neck out?

And worse, would he lose her by speaking up?

“Nikki,” he managed to get out.

“Shhh,” she said. “We don’t have to talk right now.”

He found her gaze. Hers flitted to his before shifting back to the blood pumping out of his neck.

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