Page 100 of Second Chance Savior

“But then you vanished with her. I couldn’t make that go away. And you attacked a gas station attendant and knocked him out! Which didn’t help you look more innocent, you know.”

I was sick and tired of this.

I walked over to my friend. “Just lower your gun, all right? We’ve had a rough few days. As I’m sure you’re well aware.”

Brynn side-eyed me, not willing to take her attention from River for more than a split second. “Yeah, I do know. But he’s the one who burst out pointing a rifle at me before I had a chance to say a word.”

“I’m still protecting Charlie. Against all threats. No matter the source.”

“And I’ve been trying to do the same thing! So back off, buddy. There’s such a thing as being too protective.”

River was grumbling, but I held up a finger at him.Don’t say it.

“Come on, Brynn. Whatever danger I’m in, it’s not because of River. Would both of you please just put your guns down?”

“He started it,” she muttered. Sighing, Brynn lowered her gun.

I glared at River until he did the same.

“Thank you,” I said. “Now can we please go inside and play nice?”

We went into my parents’ living room. The first thing I did was give Brynn a hug, and she returned it fiercely. “Thank God you’re all right, Charlotte. Where have you been?”

River followed us inside, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He was still in the midst of a rare grumpy interlude. “Before anything else, you’re going to answer some ofmyquestions, Agent Somerton. You claim you’re here alone. But how do we know the rest of the FBI isn’t going to follow you?”

“Because I’m not an idiot. I know how to run counter surveillance. I wasn’t followed, and state troopers have already been out to check this location. When they didn’t find you or Charlotte, they moved on. If they do come back, it won’t be for a while. People are flooding tip lines with sightings of you two from all over the state, and both state and federal law enforcement have their hands full checking after them.”

A tip line. I wondered how many of those calls were just people with big imaginations, and how many actually came from people in River’s extended friend network. Like Hodge. I wouldn’t have put it past him.

We went over to sit on the couch. “Then why did you come looking for me here?” I asked. “How did you know?”

“Your parents called me.”

Brynn had met my parents when they visited Denver in the past, and I knew they liked her. “What did they say?”

“They’re pretty upset, as you would imagine. I know you sent them a message after the fundraiser, like the one you sent me, but they’ve been trying to figure out where you are. I talked to them again this morning, and they mentioned the art studio. I made sure I wasn’t being tailed and drove out here to check for myself. How long have you been here?”

“Maybe an hour. We came looking for Jud. He’s the one who’s been hiding in the art studio.”

“Jud? What’s he got to do with any of this?”

“We have a lot to catch you up on. It turns out Jud is working for Stillwater. He knew about the attack on the fundraiser before it happened.”

“Jud? That’s… Are you sure?”

“Completely. He just confessed everything on video. Like I said, a lot to catch up on.” I glanced over at River, who was guarding the door and watching us silently.

“Jud is here?” Brynn asked. “Where? You’ve been questioning him?”

“Charlie.”

I turned at River saying my name. He nodded toward the door. “A word?”

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Brynn, who looked annoyed, but she didn’t protest.

I got up and followed River out the door. We went several steps away, I guessed because he didn’t want her to overhear whatever he was about to say.

He spun on his heel to face me, reaching for my hand. “I need to tell you what I learned from Jud,” he murmured. “There’s a list of every government operative Stillwater has on their payroll. Jud stole it in the hopes of blackmailing Stillwater. That’s how this started. That’s why Stillwater struck out at you. Most likely they wanted to trade you for the return of this list.”

---