by Geri Foster
“What about Dad?”
“He’s at David’s tonight. I don’t think Theo did anything intentionally wrong. Perhaps misguided, but not with evil intent. I only wish he’d confided in me. Together, perhaps he and I could’ve gotten Lonnie the help he needs without any property damage.”
Standing, she walked over and cupped his face, kissing him tenderly. “Please be gentle with him. He’s old and has lost his wife and his home. Please don’t take his freedom.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to help Theo.” He kissed her again and straightened. “I have to go. Keep the doors locked and don’t let anyone but me inside.”
With her promise that she would, he ran out the door and jumped into the back seat of the cruiser. They met David at the station and Lucas gave the deputies orders while he called the fire station. Beck answered. “Listen, we’ve just learned Lonnie is behind the fires. If he comes around, don’t do anything. Just call me on my cell. We’re out looking for him now.”
“You’re kidding me, Chief. He just left here ten minutes ago. Said he had some things to take care of.”
“Did he say what?”
“No. Didn’t say where he was going either.”
“Okay, you guys stay alert. Close the bays and don’t let him back in.”
“What if we get a call?”
“Pray we don’t. Not until he’s caught. I have a feeling he might try to return to what he considers his safe place when he learns we’re after him and, right now, that’s the station.”
Hanging up, Lucas came over and they set out. They decided to head toward the station in hopes of cutting Lonnie off before he had a chance to do any damage or set anymore fires.
“Let’s stay between the station and mine and Olivia’s houses. That’s where Theo said Lonnie threatened to strike next.”
Sirens blaring, they raced down Main Street only to find the streets deserted. Widening their search, they went to his house and all the places he’d been known to hang out, but he was nowhere to be found.
An hour into the hunt, his cell phone rang. Beck was on the line. “I think you better come to the station, Chief,” Beck said nervously.
“Why, what’s wrong?” he asked, his heart beginning to race at the fear in Beck’s voice.
“Lonnie’s here and is demanding you come right away.” Beck swallowed audibly then said a sentence he never wished to hear again. “He is holding a gun to Olivia’s head, boss.”
* * *
Olivia had never been this frightened in her whole life, and with good reason. No crazy man had ever held a gun to her head before. Lonnie had her in the living quarters of the station with the firemen on the other side of the room. No matter how they tried to talk him down, he wouldn’t listen.
“I want all of you to shut up and sit down. Anyone moves and they’re dead.”
“But, Lonnie, you have to know the Chief isn’t going to let you get away with this,” Cody tried to reason.
“Neither is David.” Beck nodded toward her. “That’s his sister.”
“I don’t care!” Lonnie screamed so loud she had to turn away but he held the gun barrel shoved hard against her left temple. She feared he might accidently pull the trigger.
“Lonnie,” she said, her voice trembling. “My dad loves you. He’s protected you all these years. Do you want to disappoint him?”
He tightened his arm around her chest and shook her. “Shut up! You hear?” Spittle splattered on her cheek. “You don’t get it. I want to kill you.”
“Why?” she asked, dumbfounded.
“You always snubbed me. Acted like I wasn’t even there. A nobody. Not worth your time.”
“I never did that, Lonnie, and you know it.” She gripped his forearm. “Who rushed you to the hospital when Steven wasn’t here and you’d burned your chest? I did. If I didn’t like you why would I do that?”
“It’s all a show to you, Olivia. You want the whole town to think you and your whole damn family are nothing but martyrs.”
“That’s not true.”
“Hey, Lonnie,” Griff called out, easing around the corner slowly, and she took a shuddering breath. “I’m here like you asked.”
“Where’s Lucas, David and that FBI guy?” Lonnie glanced behind him, jerking her with his movement. “Are they thinking of sneaking up on me from behind? Because if they do, she’s dead. Dead, do you hear me?”
“This is between me and you, Lonnie,” Griff raised his hands, palms out, in front of him. “I’m the one you’re mad at. I’m the one who figured out it was you who set all those fires,” Griff responded.
“You didn’t figure out shit.”
“You were clever. You’re right. You kept setting those fires in a different way every time, trying to throw me off. But you and I both know, you’re a flamer. You can’t help yourself. You were bound to screw up eventually.”
“I never screwed up! And I can stop whenever I want. I’m in complete control. I’ve done what I’ve done because I wanted to. I have the power here!”
Lonnie laughed maniacally, and his dark hair fell across her face in long, unwashed strands. His nails, digging into her shoulder, were dirty and he’d obviously been wearing the same clothes for days by the smell of them.
“You think you can control it, but once you’ve started the pull is too great, Lonnie,” Griff goaded him, confusing her. What was he doing? “The bright red, blue and yellow colors of the flames as they climb skyward are so majestic,” he continued. “The heat is so palpable you can actually see it radiating off the fire.”
Lonnie squirmed and his grip faltered. “Shut up. You shut up.”
Griff took a slow, measured step forward as he said, “Doesn’t it make you want to reach out and touch it, Lonnie? Just to see how it feels? To have that much power in the palm of your hand?”
“I’m going to kill her if you don’t shut up!” Lonnie threatened, shoving the gun so hard against the side of her face she had to tilt her head.
Griff paused in his approach. “Let her go. She’s not in this,” he said in measured tones.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I have to punish Theo and David.”
“Why?”
“Because I hate this whole family!”
“Why?”
Lonnie started shaking furiously. “They never gave me a chance!”
“Didn’t they?” Griff took another measured step. “Theo welcomed you here, set you up to become a fireman if you wanted. Olivia baked cookies, laughed with you, made you part of the family.”
“I was never part of the family! Just some charity case so they could prove what good people they are. But they’re not!” Lonnie shook her some more. “David is the biggest player in this town and Olivia isn’t much better. She wanted to marry Butler because he was the next in line to be Fire Chief and look what happened to him. She ruined his life just because he saw her for who she really is. She got the whole town to turn against him. If it weren’t for Lucas, David would have taken him out for finding out their dirty little secret—that they’re just out for themselves. The whole lot of them! What kind of deputy is that? And Theo? Theo was always trying to make me into what he wanted me to be. It was always no, no, no from him.”
Her mouth fell open in shock at the things coming out of Lonnie’s mouth. Her family had opened their arms to him and all this time he’d thought so little of them? Hurt quickly turned to anger and she grit her jaw. Griff caught the change in her and widened his eyes a little, twitching his head in a small but firm ‘no’.
Focusing on Lonnie, he said, “Of course he told you ‘no’, Lonnie. You want to set fires and a fireman doesn’t do that. He puts them out. He saves lives. You only want to take them.”
“Shut up!” Lonnie screamed. “Now it all ends. I get the last laugh. Watch closely, because I’m doing you a favor. You should be thanking me. You won’t end up like Butler. I kill her, and Theo and David suffer as long as they live.”
Eyes widen
ing, her heart started pounding so hard she thought for sure Lonnie could feel it. Meeting Griff’s gaze, just as she went to say something her father appeared out of nowhere behind him. “No, Dad, go away. He’s crazy!”
Ignoring her, her dad held out a revolver and pointed it at Lonnie. “Put the gun down, son. It’s over.”
Lonnie laughed. “You won’t shoot me. You’re a good person, remember?”
The next thing she knew, Lucas came in through the kitchen and David rolled in the side window, both with guns in their hands.
“But I will,” Lucas said. “Put the gun down and step away.”
Lonnie turned frantically and looked at all those around him, his hand shaking.
“Put it down,” Griff said. “No one needs to die today.”
Taking a deep, rattling breath, Lonnie nodded. “Wrong again, Griff,” he said sadly, and a gunshot ripped through the air.
Chapter 24
Griff’s heart moved up to his throat as he watched Lonnie slowly slump to the floor of the station house. Without hesitation, he dashed forward and grabbed Olivia, who was shaking so badly she was no longer able to stand on her own feet. Rubbing his hands all over, checking that she was alright, he determined she was uninjured before glancing over at Theo, who held a smoking gun in his hand.
Theo looked at David and babbled, “I couldn’t let him kill Olivia, I just couldn’t do that.”
Lucas, being the closest to him, took the gun from Theo’s hand and shoved it in the back of his waistband and nodded once. Austin stepped up behind Theo then and put his arm around his trembling shoulders.
“I think you need to go home now, Theo. It’s been a long, tiring night.”
David, jaw clenched resolutely, stepped forward. “I’ll take care of him.”
“How did he get in?” Griff asked, looking at his crew.
Beck shook his head. “He had a key to the back door. We were all sitting in here watching the game show and in he strolled with a gun and Olivia. We all did our best to talk him down, but he was so wired.”
Steven knelt beside Lonnie’s limp body. “There’s no pulse. He’s dead.”
Olivia sobbed, clinging on to him tightly, and he focused on her. “Please, get me out of here.”
Wiping the tears from her cheek, he then gathered her in his arms and stood. “I’m taking her home. Steven, you and John deliver Lonnie’s body to the ME in Denton. I’ll be in tomorrow to do the paperwork. Lucas, will you notify his mom tonight?”
The Police Chief nodded. “I’ll handle that.”
“The rest of you men,” he said, “did a great job tonight. Our crisis is over. We can all relax a little knowing we’ve done our best for the city of Rainwater. I’ll be in bright and early tomorrow morning.”
Carrying Olivia in his arms, they drew up next to her dad on their way out the door. “There’s a reason I hired you,” Theo said. “I knew if anyone could stop Lonnie it would be you. I knew you were smart enough to figure it out and take the appropriate action.”
Hands full, he nodded once. “Thanks, Theo. I appreciate the confidence.”
He left the station and put Olivia in the Fire Chief’s car and drove her home. He knew tomorrow would be a busy day with lots of questions and hopefully more answers, but for tonight, he had to let it all go and care for her.
Instead of taking her home, they went to his house. Lifting her out of the car, he carried her into the bathroom and got the two of them in the shower. The hot water rushed over them and he held her in his arms, washing her body soothingly. By the time he was done, she was practically asleep in his arms. Drying her off, he took her to the bedroom, pulled back the covers, and tucked her between the sheets.
Kissing her forehead, he turned out the light and eased the door most of the way shut. He then went into to the kitchen and took a beer out of the refrigerator. Standing at the counter, he screwed off the cap and gulped down half the bottle without pausing.
As he fell onto the couch, it finally hit him how close he’d come to losing Olivia. Tears gathered in his eyes. Life was so precious and meaningful and yet it could be snatched from you in the blink of an eye.
At the sound of scuffling feet on the carpet, he wiped his eyes and looked up to see her walking toward him, wearing one of his T-shirts. “I can’t sleep without you.”
Letting out a chuckle through his clogged throat, he held out his arms and she ran to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and settled on his lap. They held each other for what seemed hours, yet he knew it was only a moment in time. A moment they shared together.
Gathering himself, he leaned back and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I was so scared tonight,” she said. “I thought, I didn’t want you to watch me die. I couldn’t bear the pain in your eyes.”
“I didn’t want to lose you so soon after finally getting you back. I don’t want to lose you ever.”
“Now that it’s over, it kind of brings home how important it is to love and forgive,” she said. Raising her head, she stared deeply into his eyes, tears threatening to spill onto her face. “I hate all the time we lost because I couldn’t see past my jealous rage.”
“Shh,” he soothed, rubbing her back. “It’s all going to be all right. That’s over now, behind us. There is nothing left to forgive. We’re going to make it.”
Her chin wobbled, and she rested her forehead against his. “I love you, Griff.”
Sighing deeply, he pulled her in closer. “I love you, too, Olivia. Now and forever.”
They sat together in peace for a few moments, breathing one another in, before he stood, cradling her in his arms, and headed for bed. “Now, tomorrow, we’re going shopping for an engagement ring.”
She groaned as he headed toward the bedroom. “I want to marry you, I really do, Griff. But how can I ever have a wedding in Rainwater? The people will laugh me out of town.”
He smiled. “Not if you have the grandmas make all the arrangements. Who in this town is stupid enough to step out of line with them in charge?”
She threw back her head and chuckled. “You’re right! Oh, this is going to be one fun wedding.”
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Brave the Storm in the Storm Warning series. I know there are millions of books out there by great authors, and your choices are limitless. I’m flattered that you’ve decided to read my book. There are additional books in this series and if you enjoyed Olivia and Griff’s story, I hope you’ll read the others.
If you’d like to learn what I’m up to and when I have new releases, please sign up for my Newsletter at:
http://www.gerifoster.com/subscribe
Again, I appreciate your interest and I hope you’ll check out my other books.
Sincerely,
Geri Foster
Also by Geri Foster
Accidental Encounters
Wrong Room
Wrong Guy
Wrong Plan
Wrong Bride
Wrong Holly
Wrong Fling
Wrong Valentine Date
Storm Warning Series
Fear the Storm
Chase the Storm
Perfect Storm
Ride the Storm
I Am the Storm
Brave the Storm
Inside the Storm
Eye of the Storm
Embrace the Storm
Women of Courage Series
Part One: Love Released
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Five
Episode Six
Episode Seven
Christmas Episode
Episode Eight
Part Two: Love Renewed
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Five
Falcon Securities Series
Out of the Dark
Out of the Shadows
Out of the Night
Out of the Past
Out of the Depths
Out of Luck
Out of the Blue
Out of the Abyss
Sleeper SEALs
Broken SEAL
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Geri Foster is a multi-genre author with over 30 titles. They include her bestselling Romantic Suspense series Falcon Securities, the Historical Romantic Suspense serial Women of Courage and cute, short, sexy ERoms, Accidental Encounters. She stays busy continuing her series and consistently coming up with new and exciting stories for her readers.
She’s been writing for years and enjoys hearing from her fans and chatting on her Facebook Groups, Women of Courage Book readers and Smart Women’s Romantic Suspense Readers Group. She’s been a member of RWA for almost twenty years, and belongs to two local chapters.
She enjoys her grandchildren, friends, family, and traveling. Europe is her favorite destination. She always has fun at conferences and can usually be found at the bar.
She lives with her husband and their shy rescue dog, Lola, in the DFW area of Texas.
Geri loves connecting with her readers. Join her Facebook group to join the conversation!
For more information:
www.gerifoster.com