Page 55 of Chasing Secrets

“Yeah, it’s just…”

“It’s just what, Cam?” I prodded.

“It’s probably nothing but me being an overprotective dad and shit, but there’s been this guy who’s been hassling Sawyer. He’s a dangerous fucker, and even though I told him to leave town, I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who takes those kinds of messages lightly. There’s no reason he’d be at the house but…”

Panic began to consume me, and I hit the gas even harder.

“But what?” I asked even as I tried to tell myself I was freaking out for no reason. Yet there was that strange sensation again… the one that felt like some kind of nebulous weight on my shoulder.

“An anonymous call came into the station reporting an accident in Greenville. It turned out to be bogus. My deputy, Alex, got there before I did so luckily, I’m only about fifteen minutes out from home—”

“I’ll be there in less than a minute, Cam. I’ll have Riley give you a call,” I said. In my gut I knew something was wrong. Greenville was nearly an hour away, so having Cam out of the picture for two hours or more would be particularly useful if someone wanted to get into the house for a reason.

The second I reached the driveway, I slowed the car to a crawl so that the gravel wouldn’t make any sound. I was at least a quarter of a mile away from the house itself when I pulled the car over. I couldn’t risk the sound of the vehicle alerting anyone to my presence.

I sprinted along the tree line that would ultimately lead me to the kitchen. I couldn’t see the front of the house where everyone parked their cars, so I was going to have to risk going in blind.

Once I reached the kitchen door, I found that the main door was open, leaving just the screen door in place, probably to let some fresh air in. Even before I opened it, I could hear raised voices.

One I knew… Sawyer.

The other I didn’t. But I didn’t have to because Cam had pretty much told me who the guy was. Riley’s phone going to voicemail, Sawyer’s presence, raised voices, and a man who’d already been warned by the sheriff to leave town meant only one thing.

The guy was desperate or deranged.

Either made him dangerous. The mere fact that he’d managed to set it up so that the house would be virtually empty was proof of that. Knowing he’d likely used a terrified teenager to lure Sawyer to the house in the first place made him more than just dangerous. It made him unpredictable.

I managed to keep the screen door from making any sound as it closed behind me. It felt like I was in slow motion as I carefully pulled the wooden door forward enough that I could get to the tall but narrow gun safe set against the wall. I thanked Cam for having had the foresight to have installed digital locks that were controlled by a person’s thumbprint. I pressed my thumb on the pad and heard the lock click. I pulled out the first gun I could reach, a shotgun, and made sure it was loaded before approaching the voices. I couldn’t make out all the words but I heard Sawyer attempt to urge the man to leave with him so they could go somewhere and talk alone.

That statement told me what I had been hopingnotto hear. Theo and Riley were both likely in the same room as Sawyer and the assailant. I had no idea if the guy was armed but based on his behavior and the outrage in his voice as he screamed at Sawyer, my gut was telling me he had to have at least one weapon on him.

It wasn’t until the man called Sawyer by someone else’s name that I knew there was something really wrong. Sawyer confirmed it when he softened his voice and asked who Jeremy was.

“What?” the man responded, clearly confused.

“Theo, take Riley and slowly leave the room,” I heard Sawyer say in an even, quiet voice. “Marcus, who’s Jeremy?” he repeated.

I could hear footsteps and the rustling of clothing. The second Theo and Riley came around the corner, I managed to grab them both and yank them against me, slapping my hand over Riley’s mouth in the process and covering Theo’s with my forearm.

Theo recovered from the scare faster than Riley did. He pulled the teenager from me and held one finger over Riley’s lips to indicate he should be quiet. The teen nodded and allowed Theo to put him behind him.

My relief at seeing Theo and Riley unharmed was short-lived because I knew Sawyer was still in danger. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it. I held it out to Theo who immediately took it. I pointed to Maddox’s name since he and Sawyer’s boyfriend, Jett, didn’t live very far away. It didn’t hurt that both men were ex-military, either. I then mouthed Cam’s name in the hopes that Theo got what I was trying to say. When he nodded, I knew he understood that his second call needed to be to Cam to tell him what was going on.

I locked eyes with Theo and pointed at the kitchen door. He hesitated for only the briefest of seconds, but I didn’t have time to study his eyes to try and figure out what he was thinking. I mouthed the wordgoand watched as Theo grabbed Riley’s hand and hit the button on the phone. The pair barely made a sound as they hurried outside.

Knowing Theo and Riley were safe helped my mind shift back to my days in combat. I’d been the unit medic but that didn’t mean I hadn’t had the same skills and abilities as my brothers-in-arms.

The voices in the other room had dropped considerably, so much so that I had trouble catching all of the conversation. The pieces I did hear had to do with the guy, Marcus, talking about what I assumed was a former lover. I had no pity whatsoever for the man, so I took advantage of his apparent despair and quickly peeked around the corner of the doorframe. Sawyer was standing just feet from Marcus, whose gun was hanging loosely in his hand and pointed at the floor. I quietly shifted my position so I was nearly inside the room and aimed the shotgun at Marcus.

When Sawyer saw me, I ignored the blood on his face where Marcus had clearly punched him and gave him a slight nod which I hoped like hell he’d understand. If he could talk Marcus down and safely get the weapon from him, I was all for it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger if I thought for even one second that Sawyer’s life was in jeopardy.

I heard tires on gravel at the same time I saw Sawyer reach for the gun in Marcus’s hand. I kept my finger poised on the trigger even after Sawyer took it from him. I wasn’t taking any chances. Marcus could easily have some other weapon on him.

It wasn’t until Sawyer took several steps back, gun in hand, and Cam entered the house yelling that he was a police officer and for Marcus to put his weapon down and kneel on the floor with his hands behind his head, that I marginally relaxed. Marcus did as he was told. Once the cuffs were snapped into place, I let out the breath I’d been holding for way too long and tried to focus on calming my racing heart.

It had been close.

Way too close.

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