Page 91 of Montana Freedom

“Can you blame me?”

He huffed a laugh. “I should have killed you a long time ago. This is far enough.”

The click of his gun was loud in the darkness, and it was pointing straight at me.

“Let her go, Simon,” Daniel’s voice called out.

I could have cried harder at the sound, but I was staring down the barely visible barrel of a gun.

“You Resting Warrior people are surprisingly hard to kill.”

“I know. Now let her go.”

“I don’t think so.”

Closing my eyes, I raised my voice. “Daniel. I love you. I just want to make sure you hear me say it. None of this is your fault, and I don’t want you to live thinking that, okay?”

“What makes you think he’s going to live?” Simon asked. “As soon as I kill you, he’s next.”

“Then why haven’t you done it? Maybe you’re sentimental and can’t kill your only daughter, even if you do hate me. Even if I ruined your empire. A small sliver of you can’t kill what’s a part of you.”

Simon stared, and then he laughed. “Your mother was right about me. I’m someone everyone should stay away from. Because you’re wrong, Emma. The only thing I want to do is make it hurt more. So I changed my mind.” He turned his body. “Mr. Clark dies first.”

* * *

Daniel

Simon turned his gun on me. I could see him perfectly in the night vision. “I die, you die, Simon,” I said. “I can fire just as quickly. You know that.”

Behind me, I heard gunfire and shouting. The cavalry had arrived, and they were fighting the Riders.

“Then we go down together,” Simon said with a shrug. “I’m just one head of the hydra I’ve created. You think killing me will do a fucking thing?”

“I think it will, yeah.” I kept my voice steady. “I think you keep such a tight hold on everything that your empire collapses into chaos when you’re gone.”

“You can try. Or rather, they can keep trying. You won’t be around to see it.”

His body tensed, and everything happened at once.

Emma screamed, jumping on Simon to move the gun. A force with the weight of a truck hit me from the right as the shot rang out. And another shot. I hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of me. Instantly, I rolled out from whatever it was and aimed. Simon had shoved Emma to the ground, and his gun was almost in position.

Three shots.

One.

Two.

Three.

Simon staggered, the gun falling out of his hand as my bullets struck him. I moved, grabbing his weapon off the ground and keeping mine trained on him. He was gone, body sagging and limp, but I checked anyway. No pulse. Simon Derine was dead.

“Emma,” I gasped.

She launched herself at me, and I caught her, holding her to my chest. Alive. She was alive. That was the only thought in my head.

“Daniel,” Emma said. “Look.”

I turned and found Phillips on the ground, holding his leg. It was bleeding. The bullet had gone straight into his thigh. He’d jumped into me, taking me down and out of the way of Simon’s shot.

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