“Why are you crying?”
“I’m just so relieved that we’re back to normal. God is so good, Alice! I’m so thankful He guided us right here so we would remember how precious our friendship is. Friends like you are what is important in life.”
“Now you’re going to make me cry.” Tugging on Irene’s hand, she said, “Come on. Let’s go buy brownies and coffee, then go to your apartment. It’s close by.”
“That sounds perfect. We can sit on the couch, eat brownies, and drink lattes—and I can show you my latest knitting project. But if we do all that, it’s going to be dark. How will you get home?”
Alice smiled. “I can call Calvin and ask him to pick me up.”
“He’d do that?”
“Jah. He said that he didn’t want me walking home by myself until he takes care of that vandal.” Realizing that he was probably driving over to the school right then, she winced. “Uh-oh. We better hurry. If I don’t call him real soon, he’s going to think something happened to me.”
Irene nodded. “We can walk as fast as you want. It’s awfully cold. Come on. I’ll race you,” she said with a grin.
Alice laughed. If they hurried, she could maybe catch Calvin before he got to the school. He usually gave her an hour after school let out to clean up and prepare for the next day’s lessons.
“You girls need to stop right there,” a voice said from behind them.
Releasing Alice, Irene spun around and then gaped.
There, standing in front of them, was John Yutzy. He was staring at the two of them, pure venom in his expression.
He was also holding a rifle and pointing it straight at them.
Chapter 27
Thursday, March 1
Calvin had always assumed he wasn’t going to have a long life. He’d endured too many nights as a little boy with next to no food, and had a father who was so angry at the world that he thought nothing of taking that bitterness out on his sons.
Later, Calvin was sure his dumb mistakes would lead to his downfall. He’d drunk too much and tried too many drugs when he’d been alone, hurt, and afraid.
Most recently, Calvin resigned himself to the fact that he was going to die working for West’s organization. He was in over his head, and certain that sooner or later he was going to make one mistake too many. He’d simply started hoping that his death wouldn’t be too hard on Mark.
But now, as he stood in the woods by the skating pond, watching John Yutzy point a gun at Alice and Irene—Calvin felt as if he’d never looked at death as closely as he did that very minute.
West had shown up at Mark’s house just as Calvin was getting into his truck to pick up Alice. He was alone for once, having ignored Smith’s concerns about traveling without a bodyguard. If that hadn’t been confusing enough, West then invited himself to go along with Calvin, since he’d heard at the diner that Irene was with Alice.
Calvin felt vaguely as if they were going on a double date . . . until West started listing jobs he wanted Calvin to work on. Knowing West didn’t repeat himself, Calvin concentrated on his boss’s instructions.
But all thoughts of work and dates disappeared when they found the school empty, with two pairs of footsteps leading toward Floyd’s Pond.
Calvin cussed a blue streak as they strode off to find the girls, deciding to walk and follow in their footsteps. He’d told Alice not to go anywhere by herself.
West grinned. “But she’s with Irene. You know that’s what she’s going to say.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” he’d said right before they heard a man yelling, followed by the faint murmur of women’s voices.
They picked up their pace, then started flat-out running when they heard a gunshot.
Now they stood on the outskirts of the pond, half-hidden by a cove of scraggly trees. Both were assessing the situation while staring in shock at Alice and Irene. The women were standing on the ice. They were visibly afraid and holding on to each other. An Amish man who looked vaguely familiar held a gun on them. After a moment, Calvin realized it was John Yutzy. He and John had once been asked to work on a charity project when they were twelve or so.
John was yelling at the girls, the majority of his words drifting toward them like oncoming traffic.
“You never changed! Even after almost killing me, you still acted like you were better.”
“I never thought that,” Alice said.
“Of course you did. I saw how you treated Mary Ruth. Giving her gifts like I couldn’t take care of my own.”
“You know it wasn’t like that,” Irene fired back.
John responded by waving the rifle in the air. “Don’t talk anymore. Don’t say another word.”
Irene complied, but her chin lifted as she stared back at him in open defiance.
Calvin winced. “Sure wish they were still looking scared. Yutzy seemed a little calmer then.”
West’s expression was murderous. Pulling out his gun, he said, “We’ve got to get over there now.”
“Hold on,” Calvin said. “Not yet.”
Pure fire lit West’s expression as the ice cracked loudly enough to make one of the girls gasp. “What are you talking about? We can’t just stand here doing nothing. Those girls are going to fall through the ice.”
“I don’t think so. The girls grew up here,” he said in a rush before West could interrupt him again. “They know that pond as well as anyone. They know where not to stand or walk.”
“He’s got a rifle pointed at them. They’re not going to be thinking about anything.”
Calvin knew everything West said made sense. And if they were in the middle of downtown Louisville or on the streets of Cincinnati, he would have absolutely followed every directive that West gave.
But he knew this area, knew the girls, and he had a pretty good idea of how awkward John Yutzy was feeling at the moment. Men in Kentucky grew up hunting and fishing. They knew how to handle a rifle and were confident when it came to hunting deer and turkey.
But raising it to his shoulder to shoot two women in cold blood?
“We don’t have time to plan,” West practically growled.
Calvin feared if they didn’t take a moment to gather their thoughts, John would get spooked and do something even crazier. “I hear you, but hold on.”
“I’m not just going to stand here while they are in danger.”
Lowering his voice, Calvin said, “Look at what’s happening. The girls are talking to him. Everyone’s calm. Give me a second to think this through.”
West placed his finger on the trigger of his gun. “You’ve got one minute, then I’m going in.”
Calvin braced himself, then realized he didn’t care about anything anymore. “I am going to text Sheriff Brewer.” Without waiting for permission, he quickly ran his thumb across the screen and typed out a quick missive. The moment he pressed Send, he felt better.
West narrowed his eyes. “You have the sheriff’s number in your phone?”
Calvin had a feeling he’d just given himself a death sentence. “Yeah,” he said. “I grew up with a girl who is married to Deputy Beck now.”
West narrowed his eyes again. “Is that so?”
“That’s so.” It was clear that West wasn’t buying the story. Calvin didn’t care. All he cared about was getting Alice off that ice and shoving John down to the ground. “I’m thinking that we should divide up. I’ll distract him, catch him off guard. You go in behind him and take him out.”
Suspicion still clouded West’s eyes, but he nodded. “That’s better than my plan, which was shooting the guy and then drowning him in the middle of the pond for good measure.”
Calvin wasn’t going to lie. West’s plan didn’t sound all that bad to him. And it was then that Calvin realized just how much West cared for Irene. Cared about her more than killing Calvin on the spot for betraying him. That was saying something. Of course, once Irene was safe, all bets were off. But he was going to have to worry about that la
ter.
“I liked her,” he said.
“Irene? Yeah, I know.”
“No. I liked her a lot. Maybe even could have loved her, if things had been different.”
Calvin would have gaped at him if he wasn’t so worried about the girls. In all the time he’d known West Powers, he’d never seen him sound so vulnerable. “No need to talk in the past tense, boss. Maybe something can still work out with y’all.”
“I’m president of the Kings. I can’t leave my life for some innocent Amish girl. I sure can’t bring her into my world. I’d ruin her.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.”
“Don’t give up hope. I know she likes you, too. Alice told me that.”
“Your Alice told you that,” West repeated. After a beat, he looked at Calvin directly in the eye. “Who are you?”
He knew. West knew he’d been lying.
Please God, he prayed. Don’t let West kill me before I help Alice and Irene. Playing for time, he said, “You know who I am. I’m your newest lieutenant.”
West cursed under his breath. “I bet you had quite a party the day I gave you the news.”
“Course I did. A lot of guys in the organization work their whole lives to be in your inner circle.”
“Cut the crap, Calvin. I’m talking about you and whoever you are working for.”
Realizing he had nothing to lose, he shrugged. “I made my peace with what was going to happen if you found out a long time ago.” Feeling West’s fury, Calvin knew that all of them had just run out of time.
Just then, John’s voice cut through the air. “Are you takin’ me serious now?”
Calvin started walking. “Do what you want to me when this is over. Right now we have to work together to rescue the girls.”
“Agreed,” West bit out.
Increasing his pace, Calvin weaved his way around an old band of rusty barbed wire and walked over a rocky shallow creek. West stayed firmly by his side, his movements smooth and fluid.
As they got closer, they heard John Yutzy ranting. Talking about how unfair his life was, how so many women had played a part in hurting him.
It was time to split up. Calvin gestured to the more direct path toward the ice. “You go to the right. If you stay on this path, it will keep you hidden until you can approach Yutzy from behind. I’ll wait a minute, then start walking toward him on the ice.”
“He’s going to shoot you.”
“He might. If he does, it will save you the trouble,” Calvin said with a grin. “Look, you’re a good shot. If Yutzy kills me, you shoot him . . . but make sure the women are safe.”
West eyed him closely. “No. I’m going on the ice.”
“No. That wasn’t what we decided.”
West grunted. “Do you think I actually care about that?”
“But—”
“Who are you working for?”
“The DEA,” he said reluctantly.
West laughed under his breath. “At least it wasn’t the cops.” Then he turned and started walking.
“West—”
“You got two women to keep safe. Maybe even me, too. Go do your best, Undercover Cal,” he said over his shoulder.
Calvin waited the beat of a heartbeat, then tore forward. He didn’t allow himself to think about anything but getting to Yutzy.
With each step, all he heard were the girls’ voices. The rustle of the bushes and brush around him. The frost in the air. Just as he was about to call out to John Yutzy, like a scene out of a movie, West strode out onto the icy pond like he owned it, his gun pointed at Yutzy.
Calvin broke into a sprint as pandemonium broke out.
The ice cracked. Irene cried out. Yutzy raised his rifle and with a shaking hand, started screaming obscenities.
He took a shot, but thankfully it missed everything but the ice. Alice and Irene screamed and fell to their knees. West took his shot, but his foot slipped. His arm went wide as he, too, fell. A second later he scrambled for his footing.
Yutzy fired again, but it went wide. When he attempted to reload, it jammed.
Alice tugged at Irene, but Irene was fighting her. To his amazement, Calvin realized that she was struggling to get to West.
It seemed Irene cared for West as much as he did for her.
Before he could say a word, West called out to her. “Irene, go on now.”
She shook her head. “Not without you.”
He tried to get up and go toward her, but the ice cracked again. “I can’t worry about me if I’m worried about you. Go!” West yelled, his voice firm.
“West—”
“Now!” he ordered before his tone turned almost tender. “It’s going to be okay.”
Yutzy was furiously jacking his rifle, trying to clear the jam. Calvin had to stop Yutzy before he could get his rifle working again. His lungs were on fire as he ran. Why hadn’t West waited? If only he’d stuck to the plan!
Fifty yards to go. Forty. Adrenaline propelled him along, over tree roots and over an outcropping of rocks.
Irene and West were still visibly straining to get to each other. “Please, be careful,” she called.
Just like that, an expression of vulnerability raced across West’s face. It passed so quickly that, if Calvin hadn’t witnessed it, he would have sworn that it couldn’t have happened. Then the hardest man Calvin had ever met looked like he had tears in his eyes.
Suddenly, West tugged off his coat and threw it on the ice. Tried to get it under his feet, so the fabric would provide his boots something to grip. He was able to, and got up, started toward Yutzy, surefooted and determined, even though each pounding step created more cracks in the ice. He lifted his gun and took aim.
As did Yutzy. He’d finally cleared the jam.
Calvin ran harder. Just ten more yards . . .
Yutzy fired just as West pulled the trigger of his weapon. With a wounded cry, John fell backward onto the ground. The women screamed.
Relief surged through Calvin as he stopped to throw Yutzy’s rifle far from his body, then continued running toward Alice. He just needed to hold her. To make sure she was all right.
West seemed to have the same notion about Irene. He had tucked his gun back into the waistband of his jeans and set his sights on Irene. Then everything seemed to slide into slow motion. He didn’t seem to even notice the blood soaking through the front of his shirt.
“West!” Irene cried out. “West, you’re hit.”
As though shocked at the idea, he glanced down.
But he didn’t answer, because right then the ice gave way and he plunged into the water. Within seconds, the whole area of ice around him shattered into a thousand pieces, just like broken glass.
Calvin didn’t break step as he ran toward him. Didn’t stop at Irene’s terrified shrieks. Didn’t stop when the freezing water shocked the breath straight out of him. Didn’t stop when Alice’s voice pleaded with him not to go in.
He couldn’t think about Alice right now. If he did, he’d turn back to her, grab hold of her, and never let go. He swam toward the spot where West had gone under, Calvin’s skin feeling oddly numb and on fire at the same time.
“Calvin!” Alice screamed.
But he couldn’t stop. Not even after he dove under the ice—five, six, seven times into the bone-chilling darkness. Not even knowing that the man would likely kill him if he survived the light of day.
Calvin knew he could take the easy way out and just let West go, let him and the secrets they shared die in this pond.
But Calvin wasn’t that man. Maybe he had been at one time, but he wasn’t anymore.
“Calvin, please!” Alice was calling out. “Please come back! I need you.”
His heart clenched as he reached the surface of the water. It was over. West couldn’t have survived. He was gone and Calvin was going to be unable to save himself if he didn’t get out of the water.
Feeling as desolate as he ever had, Calvin raised h
imself out of the water and headed over to Alice, each muscle in his body screaming with the effort. When he got to her, Alice reached for his hands and pulled him closer. “Oh, Calvin!” she cried through her tears. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He was vaguely aware of sirens approaching. Of car doors slamming. Of Alice covering him with her coat, then wrapping her arms around him.
But all he seemed to realize was that Alice was crying.
He knew why that was . . . because he was crying, too.
Chapter 28
Thursday, March 1
Here, honey,” the female EMT told Alice as she pressed a thin brown wool blanket around her shoulders. “You must be freezing.”
With a murmur of thanks, Alice gripped the blanket and cuddled into its warmth. It did feel good, but to be honest, she hadn’t noticed the cold. Ever since she’d run onto the ice with Irene, realized that Mr. Yutzy intended to shoot them, and then experienced the nerve-wracking, horrible, terrible moments when Mr. Yutzy was waving his rifle and West fell into the frozen pond, she felt as if she was in a daze.
She probably was. All she could do was stare out to the pond. To the water, the break in the ice-covered pond where West had fallen, which now looked smooth and tranquil. So deceptive. So horrifying to realize that West was somewhere in its depths.
Oh, that poor man!
He’d risked everything in order to save them. And he had. He had given the ultimate sacrifice for her and Irene. It was humbling and heartbreaking, too. She knew she would be saying prayers for him and the family he left behind for the rest of her life.
But as for Irene?
Alice looked over in her direction. Irene was sitting next to Deputy Beck and crying inconsolably. She was heartbroken that Calvin hadn’t been able to save West. That, combined with the guilt Irene said she felt, was a terrible burden to bear.
Alice knew Irene was going to be having a difficult time for many weeks and months to come.
“Here you go. It’s hot tea with some honey in it,” another emergency worker said, pressing it into Alice’s hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait in the ambulance?”
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