Page 71 of Hidden Shadows
“Maybe he wanted her close in case Rad didn’t believe him? Needed to show the guy evidence that he had her.”
Her belly rolled at the mention of Rad. She still couldn’t believe what he’d done. Yes, he’d shot at them as a means to protect himself and his cousin, but he should have chosen another option.
As Beth was loaded into the ambulance, two more stretchers rolled into the parking lot, but this time from the old warehouse building. These stretchers had sheets pulled over the bodies.
A shudder raced down her spine. A part of her was still in disbelief that the guy had gone so far as to kill two police officers. From comments on her social media to murder…it was crazy.
“None of this feels real,” she whispered, speaking her thoughts out loud.
A kiss pressed to her head. “I know, honey. At least he’s dead.”
Hewasdead. But that didn’t take away from the damage he’d done.
When police came out of the warehouse with Rad in cuffs, she straightened. He almost looked unrecognizable from the man she’d met a week ago. His chin was on his chest, and he looked…dejected. In shock.
Was he comprehending the error of his ways now?
Rad was almost at the police car when he stopped, head lifting, gaze colliding with hers. He tried to move toward her, but the officers stopped him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, loud enough for his voice to cross the distance. “He said he’d kill Beth if I didn’t do what he wanted. I wasn’t planning to kill either of you. Just shoot in your direction. I thought that would appease him enough to leave me alone…to let Beth go.”
She frowned as Rad was pushed into the back of a police car.
The second he was out of sight, the air rushed from her chest. “I know this sounds crazy, but I almost feel sorry for him.”
Nixon tensed. “Why?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Because two police officers were shot and killed in front of him, and he was threatened. I feel guilty that he got caught up in this because of me.”
Nixon turned, cupping her cheeks. “Not because of you. Because of that asshole who targeted you. And the second Rad had the opportunity, he should have called the police. Hell, he should have shot your stalker the second the weapon was put in his hand.”
She nodded, knowing he was right but still hating it.
When a police officer stepped in front of them, Finley glanced up.
“Hi. I’m Officer Phillip, and I’d like to hear both your accounts of what happened today.”
* * *
Nixon listenedwith gritted teeth as Finley gave her version of events. He already knew most of it, but hearing it hit different. And listening to her describe how the asshole had chased her…shot at the fucking snowmen, trying to find her…it gutted him.
The only part of the story he liked was the ending, where the asshole got a bullet in the fucking head. He also didn’t mind the parts where she’d nailed the fucker with the shovel and broken his nose.
Damn, he was proud of her. Her strength. Her smarts. The way she’d dragged Beth to a new location, then protected a woman she barely knew.
It just cemented everything Nixon already knew about Finley…that she was fucking made for him.
The officer nodded as she finished up, the pen in his hand moving across the paper.
When the final stretcher was carried out of the woods, the asshole’s body clearly underneath, the officer looked up, then excused himself to meet the officers walking with the body.
Finley was so damn tense beside him. All he wanted to do was give her just a shred of peace. He lowered his mouth to the top of her head and kissed her. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I know. I just…I want to know who he is. I want to know why he did what he did.”
Nixon wanted to know all of that as well. He knew the guy was a sick fuck, but he still wanted to know everything there was to know about the man. What had motivated him to target Finley? Had he done this to anyone else?
Nixon watched as one of the cops handed a card to Officer Phillip. He looked down at it before walking away. He was passing them when Nixon called him over.
