Page 19 of Mountain Murder

“He chose not to, Audrey.” Lance urged her chin up by framing her face with both hands. “He made his choice, and it had nothing to do with you. He just…” He glanced at the man on the floor. “He was in a lot of pain.”

“I know.” And she meant it. She buried herself back against Lance’s chest as several more officers moved into the apartment.

Easton Ford crouched in front of the body, testing the killer’s neck for a pulse. He unclipped the radio from his belt. “Dispatch, this is Ford. I need a bus and the coroner sent to my location. Suspect down.”

***

Every cell in his body urged him to make a run for it.

But Lance knocked anyway.

The sound of passing cars and rustling trees weren’t enough to hold his attention as long as Audrey held his hand. It was amazing how her simply standing at his side comforted his brain’s habit of considering every shift around him a threat.

Though now they were literally headed into the belly of the beast.

Every muscle in his body tensed as a flutter of footsteps echoed from inside.

“Easy, soldier.” Audrey tightened her hold around his hand. “You’ve got this, and if you don’t, we can leave. Try another day. Okay? We have all the time in the world.”

“No. I want to do this. I need to do this.” At least, that was what he was going to tell himself. Nervous energy simmered beneath his skin as he took in the seventies-style rambler he’d come to from tour. A place he’d once considered home. Though he wasn’t sure what it was now. “Just don’t…leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She ran her hand up his arm, leaning into him, but the truth was, Audrey was the one holding him up. The bruising around her neck had darkened to a frightening color, but the staff at the clinic had ensured him—too many times to count—that was normal. She was healing. In more ways than one. Once the initial shock of nearly being strangled to death had worn thin, she’d become quicker with a smile, able to sleep in her own room at the ranch again. She’d sung to nineties music the entire trip into Denver and surfed the wind with her hand out the window. The past had lost its grip on her smile lines. Leaving nothing but a pure version of the woman he’d fallen in love with. Hell, she was everything he needed and everything he’d been missing in his life up to this point. “At least not without you.”

Without anyone to claim Inez McGarthy’s remains, she’d been buried at Whispering Pines with a small ceremony at Audrey’s suggestion. Right between two solid pine trees she’d visited frequently during her stay. As for Jake Dugan, the coroner was still trying to track down next of kin, but it looked like the city would be taking on his burial. Same with Dominic Cote.

His leg threatened to give out right from under him as Audrey rose onto her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. But it wasn’t enough.

The danger had passed, making way for a clean start. For both of them. And Lance intended to make the most of every second they had together. He latched onto her arms and hauled her closer. He’d built an entire wall between him and his future with his grief. He’d fueled it with aggression and isolation and excuses as to why he’d never get better, but somewhere along the line—within the past week or so—that wall had taken on a new purpose. One that helped him climb free of the past, that supported him in moving forward.

He wanted that. He wanted to see what was on the other side. And he wanted Audrey right there with him. Because for the first time in a long time, living mattered. The men and women he’d left behind in enemy territory would always be a part of him, but they didn’t need him to guard their memory anymore. Just as Dominic’s sister wouldn’t have wanted the ending he’d suffered for her brother, they’d want him to live, to find a way to be happy. Whatever that meant.

Lance pressed his mouth to hers. “Good. Because I need you. No matter what happens next, I want us to be there for each other. I want us to be partners.”

Like Officers Hudson and Dwyer. They had lived and nearly died for one another, creating their own little family. One Lance found himself wanting for himself.

It was uncomfortable to admit, but he couldn’t do this living on his own. Not without Audrey’s courage and help. All those years of training, of learning the ins and outs of weapons, and preparing for an attack at any moment were useless against her. And he was beginning to like it. The unknown.

“You’ve got it, Sergeant Whitcher.” Her smile lit him up from the inside, and suddenly, facing off with his fear didn’t feel so intense.

The door swung inward, revealing the six-year-old Lance wasn’t every sure he’d get to see again. Every word he’d practiced for this moment fled his mind, and he was left with nothing but a strangled sound. “Hi.”

“I know you.” Excitement vibrated from his niece’s clenched fists.

“You do?” Hope caught in his chest.

“Yeah. You’re the one who brings us food sometimes.” His niece searched his hands. “Did you forget it? Mom’s going to be mad.”

Heavier footsteps coming down the hall toward the front door pierced through his senses.

“Jamie, you’re not supposed to answer the door by yourself—” His sister pulled up short as she set her gaze on his. A flush robbed her skin of color, and Lance knew in that moment the exact images assaulting her mind. Of him pulling a knife on her daughter, of her trying to get to Jamie before something awful happened. She slipped her fingers through his niece’s hair and maneuvered the girl behind her. “Why don’t you go finish watching your show? I’ll get you a snack as soon as I’m done here.”

“He forgot the food!” His niece raced down the hall.

His sister waited until her daughter was out of earshot before turning back to him. Folding her arms across her chest, she seemed so much…stronger than he remembered. Ready to do anything she had to, to fight for her family. And he couldn’t help but think it’d been because of him. Because of what he’d done. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” He felt Audrey’s hand slide back into his, and a shot of clarity flooded through him. He could do this, but ultimately, whether or not his sister accepted him would be her choice. And he wouldn’t push. He wouldn’t make the same mistake Dominic Cote had made. “I’m sorry. About what happened. I could tell you I wasn’t in my right mind or that the things I was seeing felt real in the moment, but that doesn’t change the fact that I put your daughter in danger. I wanted you to know I’m sorry. I’ve lived with what I’ve done every day since it happened, and I understand why you had me arrested. I don’t blame you, and I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I wanted you to know I’m getting help. At Whispering Pines Ranch down in Battle Mountain. I’m trying to fix the mistake I made, and that might not be enough for you. So if you never want to see me again, I won’t hold it against you.”

“I know.” His sister leaned into the doorframe instead of slamming the door in his face.

But he didn’t understand. “You know?”

“After what happened with Jamie and things settled down, I started looking into post-traumatic stress disorder. I didn’t understand at first. You’d seemed like your normal self when you came home, but I guess I didn’t really know what to look for then.” His sister straightened, tears brimming her eyes. “I do now. I tried reaching out to you about six months ago, but your number wasn’t working, and you’d moved out of your apartment. I checked in with the officers who arrested you. One of them said he’d made a call to Whispering Pines Ranch on your behalf. Told me you were getting help.”

“Oh.” This wasn’t going like anything he’d rehearsed in the days leading up to this moment. “I didn’t think you’d want to see me again.”

“I didn’t.” His sister maneuvered to one side, giving him a straight shot view of the house. And to his niece. “But now I’m glad you’re here. Because that means we can start over. If you’re up for it.”

“I’d like that.” Lance took that first step toward the future, with Audrey at his side. Whatever it took, he’d fight. For his family. For her. For his recovery. He was ready to start living. “Jamie might be mad I didn’t bring any food, though.”

* * *

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