by Jill Sanders
He entered the living room just as Dale and Nolan rushed through the broken glass doorway on the back of the house.
He watched in horror as Mel tossed a very large blond man in a police uniform down a set of stairs. The man broke a few of the stair’s glass railings along the way as he fell downwards.
He expected Mel to stop, to rush to her parents. Instead, she rushed towards the stairs, pulling out the gun from the back of her jeans as she went.
“I’ll kill you,” she screamed.
“Stop her,” Dale said to him. He rushed over and grabbed Mel’s arm, pulling her into his arms, making sure to take the weapon from her hands as he did so.
“He killed him,” she cried into his chest. “He killed him.”
“Roy!” Belinda cried over and over again. That’s when Brent glanced over and noticed Mel’s father. Turning his body, he tried to shield Mel from the sight, then realized that she’d probably witnessed the entire thing firsthand.
“Easy,” he said, glancing down the stairs. “Get him.” He motioned to Nolan, since Dale was helping cut the duct tape from Belinda’s body.
Nolan was halfway down the stairs when another shot rang out. Going with his instincts, Brent pushed Mel down to the ground as two more shots sounded.
He heard Nolan fall the rest of the way down the stairs and guessed that the man had been shot.
“He still has a gun,” Mel said to him. Then she tried to take the gun from his hands. “Let me,” she said.
“Melinda, what have you done?” someone called from the basement. “Why have you killed your parents?”
Mel stopped. All of the fight died in her, and Brent saw her face pale.
“He’s going to try and pin this all on me,” she whispered.
“Now you’ve gone and killed… whoever the fuck this is.” They heard another shot and then a laugh that had Brent’s skin crawling. “Damn if the man won’t die.”
He let his guard down for just a split second, and that’s all it took for Mel to twist free of his hold. He watched in horror as she yanked her gun back out of his hands. Instead of darting towards the stair, she ran towards the back door and was outside before he could respond.
He listened, unsure of what to do, as they heard a few grunts from the basement. He could only assume that Ethan was kicking Nolan, playing with his prey before he dealt the final blow.
“Talk to him. Stall him,” Dale said quietly and then followed Mel quickly out the back door. He’d stopped cutting the duct tape on Melinda and the woman was still tied to the chair, crying for her husband.
Brent crawled on his stomach towards the stairs, trying to think of anything that would stall a killer. Then he remembered Mel’s conversation about how Ethan was a true patriot.
“Do you know who that is?” he called out. “He’s a state trooper.”
“The fuck he is,” Ethan called out. “No one would hire an Injun as a cop.” He heard another grunt.
“It’s true,” Brent called out. “If you kill him, you’re killing one of your own.”
“I’m no Injun lover,” Ethan called out. “Besides, it’s not me doing all the killing. It’s my deranged mentally ill wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Brent called out, causing Ethan to laugh.
“No, Melinda’s still my wife. You see, because of her mental instability, I had the divorce cancelled. Everyone has known for years she’s been sick.” The more he talked, the louder he got, and the surer Brent was that the man had lost it. “Where are you, sweetie?” Ethan called out. “It’s time we ended this game of cat and mouse.”
Brent could see the man now through the broken glass. He was standing over Nolan, the gun pointed at the man’s head. There was a large red pool underneath Nolan’s shoulder and leg, but the man was glaring up at Ethan.
He opened his mouth to say something more, but then he saw a grey blur rush from behind Ethan, tackling him away from Nolan’s body. When he realized it was Mel, Brent rushed towards the stairs, watching in horror as Mel kicked out, knocking the gun from Ethan’s hands. Then she punched him in the nose with an impressive right hook, which sent the man back two full steps. Brent was at the base of the stairs when Mel twisted around and put Ethan in a chokehold that rivaled those from any MMA fight that he’d ever witnessed.
“You bastard,” Mel said, holding onto Ethan’s arm and neck, using her thighs to choke the man out. “You killed him,” she said over and over again. “I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
Dale rushed in through the unlocked basement door and, after taking a look at Ethan’s blue face, rushed over and tried to untangle Mel from the unconscious man.
“Help,” Dale called out to him. Part of Brent wanted to let Mel get her revenge, but then he understood that Dale wouldn’t allow it. Nor could he live with himself if he allowed it.
Brent rushed over and pulled Mel away from Ethan’s unconscious body while Dale moved over to help Nolan.
“Damn, I guess we’d better call this in,” Nolan said, his voice laced with pain. “We’d better come up with a good reason why we’re here.”
“We were having a fun weekend, enjoying the sun,” Brent suggested as he held onto Mel as she cried. He’d gotten the idea when Mel had mentioned her parents selling their boat. “Then Mel’s crazy ex broke in, tied us up, killed her dad.” Mel cried out again and laid her head on his shoulder. He held onto her and glanced towards the stairs where her mother was still crying softly upstairs.
“We’d better get our luggage inside before backup shows up then,” Dale suggested, holding pressure to Nolan’s wounds.
“I’ll go get it after I untie Belinda and take them into another room.” Brent stood up and helped Mel stand too. “We should tie him up too,” he said, glancing towards Ethan. Mel stilled and then stepped out of his hold. He almost stopped her, but then she walked over, yanked a lamp from the wall, and proceeded to hog tie Ethan with the cord. He watched as she tied the cord tightly around his neck.
“Not too tight,” Dale said. “We want him to live so he can go to trial for murder.”
“Right,” she said dryly with tears still streaming down her cheeks. Then she stood up, dusted off her hands, cocked back her leg, and kicked the unconscious man once, very hard, in his balls. All three conscious men winced, including Nolan, who had just been shot twice.
“Low blow, but I’d say he deserved it,” Dale said. “Hurry, cops are only a few minutes out,” he said holding Nolan’s phone.
He and Mel rushed up the stairs to help her mother. It took both of them to hold the woman still while he cut the rest of the duct tape from her. Then Mel helped her walk down the hallway into what he could only presume was the main bedroom.
“You get the bags. Put ours in the room downstairs, the one with the open door, and put Dale’s in the other. We’ll have to explain that Nolan was just visiting for the day when it all went down.”
“What about…” He motioned towards the chairs. It was obvious that her parents had been tied up for more than a few hours.
“We’ll just…” She shook her head. “Mom, do you think you can change? It’s important.”
“He’s gone. My whole life is over,” her mother cried.
“Go, I’ve got this,” Mel told him. “My keys are on the entry table.”
“Your gun?” he said, motioning to where she’d stuffed it back in her jeans.
She reached back, handed it to him. “Put it in my purse. It’s registered.” She nodded. “I didn’t use it.”
“Right.” He nodded and rushed out of the room, leaving Mel to convince her mother to clean up a little so they could cover their tracks for Dale’s and Nolan’s sakes.
“The alarm code is seven-nineteen,” Mel called from the hallway. “Better set it off while you’re at it.” He punched the code in and hit the emergency button before he shoved her gun back into her purse, making sure to zip her purse up again. Then he took the keys and rushed to the car. In one load he grabbed all three
of their bags and raced back into the house and down the destroyed staircase, making sure to avoid the large shards of glass. He could already hear the police sirens when he tossed Dale’s bag into the other room.
Taking a moment, he opened his bag, tossed a few shirts around the room and then did the same to Mel’s bag, taking a second to put her makeup kit into the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
If this didn’t convince them, then nothing would.
He returned upstairs, a stream of sweat rolling down his back, just as two uniformed police officers rushed in the open front door.
“Freeze,” they both shouted. He lifted his hands quickly.
“Downstairs. They’re downstairs.” He made a point to keep his hands up. “Help him. He’s a trooper. He’s been shot.”
Both men jumped into high alert. One raced down the stairs while the other continued to hold the gun on him.
“Mel? Belinda? Are you okay?” he called out towards the bedroom. “They’re in shock. They’re just in there. I didn’t want them to wait in there. He killed Roy, my fiancée’s father.” He motioned towards the living room.
Just then, two more police officers rushed in and he and the other cop relaxed a little.
Over the next two hours, Brent sat beside Mel and Belinda while everyone retold the story that they had hastily come up with, all while they waited on word of how Nolan was doing and waited for the coroner to come and take Roy’s body away.
Ethan’s unconscious body was taken away by medics, handcuffed to the gurney. He had yet to open his eyes, but they had been assured that he was still breathing.
Every room in the entire house was photographed. Every spent bullet casing was collected and marked as evidence.
He’d never really watched the process firsthand but had watched enough shows to understand the procedures.
Thankfully, Mel had added a little tidbit about them returning from the mainland that morning, after missing the ferry the night before when they had gone to the mainland to shop and have dinner. He hadn’t thought of the fact that they would have been seen riding the ferry first thing that morning. Thankfully, she had.
“I don’t want to stay here,” Belinda said when the police were wrapping up. “Please, take me home,” she said, looking into Mel’s eyes.
“Of course, Mother.” Mel held onto her mom. Her eyes met his and he nodded.
Almost four hours after they’d arrived on the island, Dale traveled with Brent in the shiny red Vette as they followed Mel and her mother in her BMW.
“I’ve always wanted to drive one of these,” Dale said as they sped down Highway 5, heading back towards Seattle.
“You’re too tall,” Brent said, motioning to how squished he was behind the steering wheel. Dale had a good three inches on Brent. As it was, Brent had to squish down to see the mirrors and not bump his head on the top of the car.
“Yeah, shame,” Dale commented. Just then he got a call and Brent listened while he talked to Nolan. When he finally hung up, Dale was smiling. “That man is made of stone.” He shook his head.
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s already trying to check himself out of the hospital.” Dale chuckled.
“Damn.” Brent shook his head.
They had gathered their belongings from the rooms downstairs before leaving. He didn’t know how long he and Mel planned on staying in Washington, but he figured Trey and Dale could head back to Haven once they reached Mel’s parents’ other house.
The police were done with them. It was the word of two decorated officers against the word of one who had been relieved of duty two months previous, by his own father, nonetheless. Having Belinda and Melinda Hawk as witnesses helped as well. Every single one of the police officers who had shown up had known instantly who the family was.
“You’ll be heading back to Haven tonight?” he asked Dale.
“Yeah, I see no reason for us to stick around. The police are done with us. They have our information if they have any more questions,” Dale answered. “Hopefully, Trey got some rest so he can fly us back. If not, as soon as he’s up to the fly, we’ll head back.”
They were silent for a while.
“Nolan wanted to shoot the bastard the moment we saw him holding the gun to her dad’s head.” Dale glanced over at him. “I stopped him. I wish I hadn’t.” He sighed. “Her dad would still be alive.”
“It’s not your fault. None of us could have known he’d shoot the man,” Brent said.
“No,” Dale agreed with a sigh. “Still, I wish it had been me beating the shit out of him.”
“Ditto.” He smiled slightly remembering how Mel had taken the larger man down. “Still, I’m glad Mel got her chance. For all the shit he put her through in the past, she deserved the opportunity to do it first.”
“Yeah,” Dale agreed, then he chuckled. “It’s kind of scary, knowing what a woman that small can do. I mean, did you see her right hook?”
He chuckled. “Forget her right hook, that kick…” They both winced and Dale grabbed his own jewels.
“You’ll have to watch that one. If I were marrying her, I’d make sure I never pissed her off. Not after seeing what she can do to a man.”
“Trust me, I have no intention of ever pissing her off,” Brent said with a smile.
“Smart man.” Dale slapped him on the shoulder.
Chapter 28
It took less than a week for them to bury her father. Standing next to her mother and watching the black casket being lowered into the ground was the second hardest day of her life.
She’d been a rock. She’d had to be, for her mother’s sake. Her mother seemed to sink further into depression and denial about the entire ordeal.
When Mel overheard her talking to the same pastor that her parents had hired for her marriage counseling, she yanked the phone from her mother’s hands and verbally threatened the man with a lawsuit if he ever contacted her mother again.
The day after her father’s funeral, she heard that Ethan had sat in front of a judge and had been refused bail, as the judge had considered him a flight risk.
It was all over the news that the son of the chief of Auburn’s police had been arrested for murdering Roy Hawk, CEO of RIC. Ethan’s father was asked to step down from his position and had complied less than twenty-four hours after official charges were brought against his son.
Every single time they turned on the television, her family’s photos were on the screen. There were pictures of her and Ethan’s wedding day and pictures of Ethan and her father on a fishing trip. They had pictures that she hadn’t even known had been taken.
No matter what happened now, Ethan was never going to be a free man. He’d killed a king in the eyes of Seattle, in the eyes of the world.
The fact that the fourth richest man in the States had been taking down by his ex-son-in-law hadn’t sat well with the media.
Reports even surfaced about how Ethan had abused her. All the police reports that he had buried or had dismissed suddenly were found and highlighted, and people were finally able to see that he had convinced everyone to believe Mel had mental health issues. Everyone who had worked with him had believed his stories, and they were coming out of the woodwork to expose his lies.
Even the photos of her bruised body when Ethan had broken into her apartment were leaked and flashed on the screen for the entire world to see.
One reporter, the same woman who had verbally attacked her that day at the Hard Way, did a piece on Mel’s new life. The image she’d taken of Mel sitting behind her desk in her office with a very protective Brent standing next to her filled the screen. The woman, a Gabby Collins, went on to tell how she’d been the one to find Mel’s hiding place and how Mel had tried to move on after living such a tragic life with Ethan. She talked about her new life in Haven Montana and even mentioned the Hard Way Bar and Grill and how Mel was now engaged to Brent McCaw, the owner.
As they listened to the reporting, Mel had to admit that
she was happier about this piece than all the others. Especially since the woman took the last few moments of her report to apologize for her own assumptions of Mel’s guilt.
They’d heard Nolan had been released from the hospital the day after he’d been admitted. She’d seen him at her father’s funeral, standing in the distance at the cemetery.
When she’d started across the grass to talk to him, he’d disappeared quickly into the crowd of mourners. Brent had mentioned that Nolan had talked to him and said that he felt guilty about her father’s death, since he’d chosen not to take out Ethan when he had a chance.
It wasn’t until the day they were set to return to Montana that she’d seen the man again.
He showed up on the doorstep to her parents’ home. Just seeing him standing there, she melted. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around the man and held onto him.
“Thank you,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thank you.”
She felt the man’s iron body shake and glanced up to see a single tear roll down his cheek.
“I should have…” he started to say, but she shook her head, stopping him.
“You saved my mother’s life. You save my life. That’s all that matters.” She reached up on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she said again.
“I came here to apologize.” He looked down at the flowers he held, which she’d crushed when she’d hugged him. “To tell you that I should have…” He shrugged.
“Come in.” She took his hand and tugged the giant man inside. You couldn’t even tell he’d been shot only a few days ago, which made her smile. She didn’t think she could bear it if he’d been seriously injured. “My mother wanted to thank you herself.” She smiled.
They sat in her parents’ formal living room, a room they had only ever used for special guests, while her mother cried on Nolan’s shoulder and thanked him as much as Mel had.
She and Brent had tried to convince her mother to return to Montana with them, but she’d turned them down, claiming she had too much there to deal with. She’d talked about selling the house on the island, about getting rid of some of her father’s things, and how she was even thinking of selling RIC, since it had been her father’s baby. She’d told them that in the past few years, he hadn’t really taken a part in the business anyway.