Page 23 of One Last Promise

“He’s not going out that door,” Roz said, her voice steady. “You stay right here until the police come.”

“The police aren’t coming,” Rigger said, andMoose hoped his phone was still on. Except it if was—why hadn’t his team rushed in to help?

Roz took a step toward him. “Get down on your knees.”

Rigger laughed at her.

She pulled off a shot that zinged past Moose into the wall behind Rigger. And Moose could almost hear his words again.“Now you did it.”

Rigger roared and leaped at Roz.

She shot again, and missed him, because he didn’t even slow, just tackled her, shoving her back into the kitchen table.

Another shot went off, and Moose found himself in the fray. He yanked Rigger away, but Roz and Rigger fought for the weapon, and Moose got his hand on it too, twisting with them, jamming it down, away from them?—

“Rigger, let go!” Roz, shouting.

And then, another shot.

Just like that, Roz went down.

Rigger ripped away.

Moose held the gun.

And then the door slammed open, and Flynn and Dawson and who knew how many SWAT officers stormed into the house. One of them yelled, “Down, get down!”

Moose dropped the weapon and hit his knees beside Roz. She lay on her back, her sweatshirt swimming with blood, and he bent over her. “Where are you hit?”

But she simply writhed, her hands over her body, and he couldn’t find the wound.

Hands grabbed him back, threw him to the ground, and he held his hands out. “It’s not me! It’s not me!”

A knee went into his back, however, and a hand grabbed his wrist, wrenchedit behind him.

“C’mon!”

The other wrist, and said hand forced his head down. “Don’t move.”

“Don’t let him get away!” He tried to look for Rigger, but so many legs filled the room, he couldn’t see him.

Rigger certainly hadn’t been forced to the linoleum.

And behind him, Roz was shouting. “Tillie. Run. Run!” So that didn’t help.

But he lay, facedown, hands cuffed, breathing hard, thinking the same thing.Run, Tillie, run!

Roz then went painfully quiet. He glanced over at her, but she was lost behind so many shouting bodies.

Flynn’s voice—“We need a bus—now!”

And another voice—his cousin Dawson—“He went out the back!”

Aw. Moose closed his eyes, jaw tight.C’mon!

Moose rested his forehead on the floor, listened to the thunder of his heartbeat. And tried not to feel the mountain crashing down over him, again.

Shep thought that London left covert life long ago, on the top of a mountain.

---