Page 97 of Cold Light of Day

No. No, no, no, no.

“Put the gun down, or I’ll blow a hole into you.” Hank’s voice rang out, echoing through the woods.

A standoff.

“You’re surrounded!” Sandford?

“On all sides!” And Otis too?

Flanders gripped Autumn even tighter, pulling her impossibly close. No one would risk the shot or they could hit Autumn—and Flanders knew it.

Autumn elbowed Flanders, then dove forward. Gunfire rang out. His heart in his throat, Grier climbed up the hill. Who had taken the shot?

As he topped the hill, he saw Autumn on her knees and Flanders lying motionless on the ground from a gunshot wound to the middle of his chest. Grier raced forward and helped her to her feet, then pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She held on to him just as tight. He had so much to say, and yet no words could adequately convey the emotions flooding through him. His heart pounded against his ribs. He felt her deep breaths as he tangled his hands in her hair, wanting more—so much more.

“You know this isn’t over yet,” he whispered. “Mateo is still out there, and he wants the wallet, plus he wants you.”

Cap dashed forward and jumped on him, and he released Autumn, though he didn’t want to. He knelt and hugged Cap. “I missed you, boy.”

Cap licked his face. Hank, Sandford, and Otis approached, and the three of them looked at Flanders’s lifeless body.

“Well, who took the shot?” Grier asked.

Otis cleared his throat. “Hank got him.”

“Hank,” Autumn said. “Thank you for your help. Thank all of you for your help. But how did you know?”

“I didn’t. Sandford and Otis were at the house.” Hank frowned and peered at Grier. “All this news about our boy Grier here upset us. I guess you could say we were commiserating. Then something stirred the dogs up. You know I pay attention. I let them out, and we all followed them. I was hoping to find Bigfoot, but instead, I found this guy holding you hostage. Can’t have that, now, can we?”

“No, I guess not.” The chief smiled. Thinking of her as anything but the police chief would be hard.

“So we spread out and planned to take the two hiking you up the hill out. But things got dicey when this guy showed up. He hadn’t seen us, but we hadn’t seen him either. Sorry we let him get to you.”

“I can’t thank you men enough,” Grier said.

Autumn looked at Grier. “Where is the cold wallet? Where were you taking us?”

Grier crouched again, and while Cap licked his face, he took off the dog’s collar. He opened it up and removed the USB drive from inside a protective covering, then held it out for Hank, Sandford, Otis, and Autumn to see. “This is it. This is what they all want. This is why Brown killed so many people.”

“And you kept it on your dog’s collar?” Incredulity edged her tone.

He gave her an indignant look. “Not just any dog, this isCaptain America.”

She burst out laughing, and he’d never heard anything so beautiful. He longed to hold her, to kiss her thoroughly, but this wasn’t the time. He wasn’t sure it would ever come.

“Besides, it’s in protective plastic and has a tracking device, so I won’t lose it.”

“You’ve thought of everything.” Autumn’s eyes widened. “But there’s still a bad guy at the cabin. We need to rescue my brother. Hank? Sandford? Otis? You ready to surround the cabin in case we need your help?”

“Always,” the three answered.

“I’m here!” Nolan hiked up the trail with a bloodied temple. Autumn rushed to him.

“Are you okay?”

He touched his head, then brought his fingers back to look at the blood. “I’ll live.”

She reached up as if to touch his head but resisted the urge. “You look terrible.”

---