Cypress Lake

by Graysen Morgen

  "Nope. He could be long gone."

  "I stopped to see the car on my way in. He definitely hit her a few times. The driver's side has gray paint down the side of it, so his car should be damaged. The problem with that is, he may switch cars and then we'll really be screwed."

  "I talked to the mayor this morning about roadblocks, but he made a good point. We have no idea what this guy looks like or even what his name is."

  Dani bit the inside of her mouth. She trusted the sheriff, but she wasn't sure if the mayor knew the truth about his son or even how far he'd go to protect him. That was the reason Kristen's family hadn't trusted the legal system in the first place. Steve Olsen's father had been the sheriff and he'd had the mayor at the time in his back pocket.

  "Take a ride with me," she said.

  Sheriff Fisher furled his brow.

  Dani nodded towards the door for him to follow her. When they stepped outside, she walked into the middle of the parking lot.

  "I know who it is."

  "What do you mean?" he asked.

  "It's a long story that actually goes back to my senior year of high school, but the mayor's son, Steve Olsen, is behind the murders and he's also the person that tried to kill Kristen yesterday."

  "What? That's a huge accusation, Dani."

  "I found out recently that the three dead guys and Steve gang raped Kristen at the end of our senior year. That's why her family moved away so abruptly. Olsen's father was the sheriff at the time and they didn't trust him."

  "Oh my God. Why are you just now finding this out?"

  "Steve has been trying to frame her and she was scared. I don't blame her. If Mayor Olsen gets wind of this, he'll throw the book at her, evidence or not, that's a pretty strong motive."

  "Why did she come back?"

  "To sell the house and move on with her life," Dani sighed. "I know she didn't kill those guys."

  "Well, if there's no evidence, a motive alone isn't enough to prosecute anyone."

  "I wouldn't be so sure. This can't come out. Mayor Olsen will do anything to protect his son, including dragging her through the mud and she's a victim herself. Olsen let his kid get away with a lot when he was sheriff."

  "Yeah, but rape?"

  Dani shrugged. "Her parent's didn't want to take a chance at having their daughter destroyed any further. Hell, I wouldn't either. In my opinion, those bastards got what they deserved."

  "Why do you think Steve came back in the first place?"

  "I think one of the guys got wind that she was back in town and they got scared, maybe they thought she was going to finally turn them in."

  "The statute of limitations has passed."

  "They don't know that. We're talking about three lowlife drug users."

  Sheriff Fisher nodded his head in agreement. "If they were all friends, they probably kept in touch. That's probably how Steve found out."

  "Exactly. Who knows, maybe they were going to turn themselves in or something stupid. Either way, Steve killed them all and now he's after her."

  "What a cluster fuck!" he yelled.

  *

  Kristen closed her eyes to rest her head not long after Dani left and fell asleep on the couch. She was dreaming about Dani when something grabbed her. She jerked in her sleep, opening her eyes. She realized someone was holding her down. She fought to get free and tried to scream, but all of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain in her head and everything went black.

  Kristen came to a few minutes later. Her head throbbed like a bass drum and her vision was fuzzy and doubled. She could barely make out the person sitting across from her. She tried to move, but she was tied to one of her dining room chairs.

  The man waited, watching her get her bearings as the fog in her head cleared. Her eyes finally landed on him.

  "Did you miss me?" he sneered.

  Kristen froze when she realized it was Steve Olsen looking back at her.

  "I knew you were going to be a problem. I wanted to kill you twelve years ago, but no, Roger, Paul, and Larry were a bunch of pussies. They only wanted to fuck the little dyke bitch and toss you away because they were scared of my dad," he growled, shaking his head. His clothes were dirty and his face was scruffy. He looked like he hadn't showered in days.

  "Steve…I never told—"

  "Close your mouth, whore!" he shouted.

  She grimaced. His words felt like a slap across her face. "Why did you kill Roger, Paul, and Larry?"

  He lunged at her, squeezing her upper arms and shaking her violently. "I didn't kill anyone! You killed my friends and thought you could get me too, but I'm smart! I'm going to sit here and watch you die slowly, and then piss on your dead body!" he screamed.

  "Steve, I didn't kill them."

  "You fucking lying bitch!" he shouted, pulling a gun from his pocket and pointing it at her head. "You're going to call your cop girlfriend and tell her everything," he said, grabbing her phone from the counter and scrolling for Dani's number. "You tell her to come here and nothing else or I'll put a hole in your head." He held the gun to her forehead with one hand and the phone to her ear with the other."

  Tears ran down her cheeks as she listened to the phone ring.

  Chapter 23

  Dani walked back inside the building. Sheriff Fisher had returned to his desk, trying to figure out a way to catch Steve Olsen without alerting the mayor.

  "Hey, I just got a weird call from Kristen. I don't think she's feeling well."

  "Take the rest of the day off. I'd feel better knowing you were with her anyway," he said.

  "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I hated leaving her alone this morning, but she's stubborn and she insisted. I'll check in with you later," she replied, leaving the room.

  Kristen sounded upset, like she'd been crying, when she called and asked Dani to come over as soon as possible. Dani pulled out of the parking lot of the sheriff's office and drove towards Lake Drive, going much faster than the speed limit because she didn't like the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  *

  Kristen was sitting in the dining room, tied to the chair with a piece of duct tape over her mouth when she heard Dani pull into the driveway. She tried to make noise, but there was nothing she could do.

  Dani knocked on the door and it swung open, but no one was there. She stepped inside, looking around the living room. Suddenly, she was tackled from behind. Her instincts kicked in and she grappled with the person on her back, but he was twice her size and finally wrestled her gun away from her.

  "Sit down you dyke bitch!" he yelled, pointing the gun at her head.

  Dani barely recognized Steve Olsen. He looked much older than thirty. She looked around for Kristen, hoping she wasn't too late. She finally saw her in the dining room. She moved back towards Kristen, sitting in the chair next to her.

  He walked over, snatching the tape from Kristen's mouth. "Tell her!" he shouted. "Tell your whore what you did!"

  "Steve, I didn't kill them," Kristen said.

  He pointed the gun at Dani's head. "I'm going to kill her first, and then you so it looks like you did it before shooting yourself you guilty bitch! Everyone will know the truth. They'll know what you did."

  "I didn't kill anyone, Steve," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please don't hurt her," she whispered.

  "Stop lying!" he yelled, pointing the gun back towards Kristen. "You're dead you fucking bitch! Dead!" he screamed.

  "I did it, you mother fucker!" Dani shouted as a loud bang echoed in the room. Steve's limp body collapsed in front of Kristen.

  She looked down at the hole above his right eye and the crimson blood pooling under his head, before turning her eyes to Dani, who was sitting next to her with a blank stare on her face and a small black revolver in her hand.

  "Dani?" she said softly.

  Dani finally looked over at her. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I couldn't let them hurt you again."

  "No, never be sorry for protecting me." Kristen wished she could ge
t out of the bindings holding her to the chair as she struggled to free herself.

  "Wait a second." Dani tucked the gun away in the ankle holster on her leg and untied her.

  Kristen flew into her arms. She'd never felt safer in all of her life than at that moment. "I love you so much," she said, kissing her with everything she had.

  Dani kissed her back and pulled away. "You don’t hate me?"

  "No! Why would you say that? I'm shocked, but I could never hate you."

  Dani nodded towards the dead body. "I'm a murderer," she sighed, turning her eyes back to Kristen.

  "All you did was protect me."

  "I—"

  "Those bastards hurt me once and he was trying to kill me. They got what they deserved. I just wish you would've said something to me, but I understand now. If you'd told me it was you, I may have tried to stop you and this needed to be done. As far as I'm concerned, you gave me my life back, Dani." Kristen moved back into her arms. "I love you."

  Dani was slightly shocked to see Kristen's reaction. "I love you too, but what are we going to do about the dead man on the floor?" Dani shook her head. "I need to tell the sheriff about all of this."

  "Steve killed the other guys and came after me, and you saved me. That's what happened here and that's what you're going to tell him," Kristen exclaimed, looking at her sternly. "I lost you once because of these assholes and I'm not about to do it again."

  Dani raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "I better call this in."

  Epilogue

  Kristen was lying on her back in a red bikini, shielding her eyes from the hot sun beating down above her.

  "Have you made your decision?" she asked, looking at the woman next to her. Dani was sitting on the end of the dock with her feet swinging back and forth above the water, holding a fishing pole.

  "I don’t know," she sighed, looking back at her through the dark lenses of her sunglasses. "With everything that happened a few months ago, do you really think I should be running for anything?"

  "Yes and so does the rest of this town."

  Dani shrugged. "But, mayor?"

  "Why not? You said it yourself, Joe Fisher is a good sheriff and you trust him. There's no need to replace him. Besides, think about what you can do for this community as the mayor. You can keep everyone safe and stop the influx of city folk that are trying to ruin the laidback, lake house lifestyle that you love so much, at the same time. Since Olsen announced his retirement, no one has come forward saying they're running, because everyone is waiting for you to step up to the plate."

  "What about you?" Dani asked.

  "What about me? If I'm not mistaken you moved into my house, so the entire town knows about us." She ran her hand over Dani's thigh. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Unless, it's inside to get naked with you," Kristen teased.

  Dani chuckled, pushing her hand away. "You look sinful enough as it is. I don't think those couple of pieces of cloth you're wearing can be called a bathing suit."

  "You like it don't you?" she whispered seductively.

  "Yes, of course. I'm not dead, and neither is Mr. Cranston for that matter," Dani replied, waving to the old man who was sitting on his dock, looking their way.

  "Oh, good God." Kristen shook her head, following her line of sight. "Poor bastard," she giggled.

  Dani laughed as the pole in her hands shook. She snatched it back, reeling hard. Kristen watched as she fought the pole. The end of Dani's line reached the dock and she flung it towards Kristen.

  "Dani!" Kristen shrieked, fumbling with what she thought was a fish in her lap. She looked down to see a small plastic vile with a scroll inside of it. She opened the end, pulling the paper out and squinted in the sun to read it. I'll be the mayor, if you'll be my wife. "Wow. I…are you sure?"

  "I won't do it unless you're beside me." Dani smiled.

  "I guess we're turning in the mayoral paperwork and applying for a marriage license in the morning," Kristen squealed and climbed into her lap, kissing her passionately.

  Dani kissed her back, running her hands over the nearly naked body in her arms. "If you're trying to kill Mr. Cranston, I know a lot better ways than a heart attack," she whispered playfully in her ear.

  "Oh, I'm sure you do," Kristen laughed, rolling her eyes.

  About the Author

  Graysen Morgen is the bestselling author of Falling Snow, Fast Pitch, and Bridesmaid of Honor, as well as many other titles. She was born and raised in North Florida with winding rivers and waterways at her back door and the white sandy beach a mile away. She has spent most of her lifetime in the sun and on the water. She enjoys reading, writing, fishing, and spending as much time as possible with her partner and their daughter.

  You can contact Graysen at graysenmorgen@aol.com and like her fan page on facebook.com/graysenmorgen

  Other Titles Available From

  Triplicity Publishing

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