Maddie’s fingers tightened on the trigger and her eyes narrowed.
A chill chased the length of his spine and a roaring pounded in his brain. Holy hell, she was going to kill Charlotte. He recognized the murderous intent in her eyes, the subtle micromovement of her hands before shooting. He’d witnessed it too many times in combat. With every ounce of willpower he possessed, James tamped down the spiraling sensations that threatened to tunnel him back in time and place. Right here, right now, he had to save Charlotte.
He launched his body in front of Charlotte.
Please don’t let me be too late.
* * *
JAMES’S BODY FLASHED in front of her, blocking Charlotte’s view of Maddie’s madness.
The crack of gunfire exploded.
Blood. A thin stream of crimson arched upward and then fell like droplets of red rain. James pitched forward, landing face-first on the concrete.
Charlotte swallowed the acrid, burnt scent of gunpowder. She registered the chaos of noise and movement coming from behind her back, and the screams of Jenny curled on the floor, hands over her ears.
Not James. Dear God, no.
She had to touch him, had to know he still breathed. Charlotte dropped to the floor and touched the back of his head, fingers curling over his short, sandy hair.
The whistle of a speeding bullet passed inches above her head. Unfazed by the danger, she moved her hand lower, down to the familiar, sensitive nape of his neck. Miss Glory had told her to open her heart, but right now her heart felt as if it were breaking. Her fingers probed and explored, finding the beat of his pulse.
He lived.
Hope renewed her mind and heart. They still had a chance to get out of this alive...and together. She homed in on the pandemonium surrounding them, crystallizing her focus.
“Drop it, Stowers.”
It was Harlan. And he wasn’t alone. A cavalcade of footsteps treaded the wooden floor, and from the corners of her eyes she noted dozens of black shoes and the hems of suit pants.
Maddie retreated a step. “You have no right to be here,” she screeched. “This is my house. My property. My land.”
Charlotte didn’t have to look up and see Maddie’s face to know that the woman was losing it. Her shrill voice trembled with panic and fury. Charlotte imagined that Maddie felt trapped as officers pressed in and surrounded her. A criminal mastermind like her might be unhinged at her lack of control in the situation. And that made her very, very dangerous.
Any moment, and Maddie could fire off a round of bullets, killing many of them before she was shot or taken down.
She had to stop her. Maddie’s attention was on Harlan. Now was her chance. Charlotte lunged forward, latching onto Maddie’s right ankle. Charlotte yanked at the woman’s leg with all her strength.
Maddie shrieked and tried to kick her hand away, but Charlotte held on like a bulldog and pulled on Maddie’s leg with both hands.
The elegantly thin Maddie crumpled to the floor, landing on her skinny ass.
Officers stormed from all sides, seizing Maddie’s weapon and cuffing her.
“Do you know who I am?” Maddie screamed. “You can’t do this. I’ll sue you. I’ll—”
Charlotte ignored her desperate ramblings and all the mayhem from above. She crawled to Jenny. The girl’s stunned, wide-eyed stare was fixed on James’s bleeding wound.
“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “All my fault. He kept trying to get me to go with him, and I wouldn’t. And now he’s d—”
“Shh. He’s not dead,” Charlotte assured her, patting Jenny’s hand. “But he needs an ambulance, quick.”
She left Jenny and hurried over to James.
He moaned and the sound was heavenly to her ears, much as she hated that he was in pain. She flipped him over onto his back and assessed the damage. All the bleeding stemmed from his right shoulder. It probably hurt like hell, but his heart and vital organs should be fine.
“Here, take this,” Harlan said, handing her his jacket. “Medics will be here in a moment. I had them on standby. They said to staunch the bleeding as much as possible until they arrive.”
She took the jacket and pressed it against the wound.
James groaned again and his eyelids lifted. Blue eyes shimmered with an equal measure of humor and pain. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“Trying to save you.” She cried and laughed through tears. “Don’t you ever jump in front of a bullet again. You got that?”
He grimaced and raised up on one elbow. “I don’t plan on it.”
“Hey, buddy,” Harlan said, bending down on his knees. “That was a damn fool thing to do. Don’t try to get up. Medics will take you out on a stretcher.”
James clenched his jaw and raised to a half-seated position. “I’m fine.”
“Like hell you are.” Charlotte barely suppressed a snort. James was pale and had lost blood. “Just stay put and—”
“Are Amy and Lisa okay?” he interrupted.
“They’re upstairs with Sammy.” Charlotte turned and motioned Jenny over. “So is Jenny, or she will be, once she sees you’re going to be alright.”
James mustered a smile for the young girl. “Told you I wouldn’t leave you behind.”
Jenny threw himself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got hurt.”
Charlotte winced. That hug had to hurt.
James patted her with his uninjured arm. “You’re not to blame. Not at all. I’m fine.”
Charlotte placed a hand on Jenny’s shoulder and drew her away. “He’s hurt. Give him a little breathing room,” she said lightly.
EMTs clamored down the steps as fast as they could with their bulky stretcher, and Charlotte exhaled a sigh of relief. She hated seeing James in pain. He needed to be stitched up, medicated, and then put to bed.
Maddie’s voice rose again over the crowd. “You can’t do this to me. Wait until my attorneys hear this...”
Charlotte watched as officers grabbed Maddie by both arms and forced her to move forward.
“Richard, do something,” Maddie ordered.
The two guards and Richard Stowers were on their feet and their gags removed. They were also being read their rights.
“Shut the hell up, Maddie. It’s over,” Richard snapped.
Jenny hugged her knees to her chin, making herself small, watching Maddie’s imminent approach. They’d have to pass close by on their way out. Charlotte moved to shield Jenny from the sight, but Maddie spotted her.
“You little bitch,” she screamed, venting her ire at her former captive. “Everything was fine until you came along.”
A change swept over Jenny’s face. Her eyes flickered from fear to fury and she jumped to her feet, hands clenched into fists. “I hate you,” she screamed, her voice even louder than Maddie’s. “Hate you, hate you, HATE you.”
Maddie blinked. The woman had probably never had a comeuppance before from one of her young, vulnerable victims.
Charlotte wanted to applaud. She’d much rather see her angry than scared. Jenny had spirit. With lots of counseling and her mother’s love, she would have the strength to move on with her life.
And hopefully it would be a damn good life.
“Get the Stowerses out of here,” Harlan ordered.
His officers hustled Maddie up the steps, her husband and their two guards close in tow. Maddie didn’t say another word.
Charlotte put an arm around Jenny. “You’ll never have to see that woman again,” she promised. “We’ll do all we can to see she stays in prison until she’s a very old lady.”
Jenny swiped at her eyes and nodded. “I want my mom now.”
“Of course.” Eagerness burst inside Charlotte like a dam. This was the moment she’d been waiting for ever since she came to Lavend
er Mountain.
Harlan handed her his cell phone. “Call your friend. She’s waited a long time to hear this news.”
Charlotte punched in the numbers with shaking hands. “Tanya? Hey, I called because...no, Jenny’s not hurt. Just the opposite. Deep breath, hon. I have good news.” Charlotte inhaled deeply herself, relieved the ordeal was almost over. She caught James’s glance, and he smiled and gave a thumbs-up as an EMT bandaged his wound. For a moment, her lungs choked and she couldn’t speak. “Tanya, there’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”
Wordlessly she handed the phone to Jenny.
“Mom? It’s me.” Tears, mixed with black mascara, streamed down her heavily made-up cheeks. “Can you come bring me home?”
There wasn’t a freaking dry eye in the basement that was still swarming with law enforcement officers—supposedly hardened men and women used to horrendous crimes. Harlan’s chest rose and fell and he cleared his throat.
James was suddenly beside her. Stubborn man. He shouldn’t be standing at all. But she nestled into his solid warmth. Leaving her job and coming to Lavender Mountain was the best decision she’d ever made.
She’d found Jenny, and so much more.
Chapter Seventeen
James shifted in his seat. The stitches on his right shoulder pinched uncomfortably under his shirt. Not that he’d admit that fact to anyone. Charlotte and Lilah had fussed over him for the last two days and he’d had enough.
“You okay?” Harlan asked, leaning back in his chair.
He groaned. “Don’t you start with that, too. I came back to work to escape.”
“Nothing but desk duty for you, at least for another couple of weeks.” Harlan shoved over a mound of paperwork and gave him an evil grin. “This should be loads of fun for you.”
“Yeah, right. Looks like you’ve let filing go for at least six months. What the hell does Zelda do around here?”
“Everything but filing. She hates it.”
James rifled through the papers. Escaping the incessant nursing at home wasn’t the only reason he’d returned to the office. But he dallied, reluctant to state his real reason. He changed the subject. “How are Amy and Lisa? Heard any word?”
“Lisa was returned to her home. Unfortunately, Amy tried to commit suicide again. But the good news is that she’s been placed in an intensive psychiatric care facility. Hopefully they can put this behind them. How are Jenny and her mom doing?”
“Healing. Glad the nightmare’s over, but struggling. It will take time. Charlotte plans on paying them a visit in a couple weeks.”
Harlan scowled. “Never would have imagined a human trafficking ring had connections with Lavender Mountain. I’m trying my best to keep Elmore County crime-free, but by the time I clean up one mess, something new and unexpected pops up.”
“No need to beat yourself up. The ring hadn’t been here long.”
Investigation had already revealed that the trafficking ring had been in Lavender Mountain for less than six months. The Stowerses were based in Atlanta, but they’d felt heat from the cops closing in, so they’d decided to cool things off a bit by temporarily switching their base to Falling Rock.
“After all, they’d been running this operation close to a decade in Atlanta,” James continued. “There’s always something new popping up, too. It’s the nature of the job.” And his brother-in-law was doing a damn good job. Credibility in the sheriff’s office was finally returning after the disastrous tenure of the old sheriff. “What’s the latest on the Stowerses’ case?”
“Nothing new there. They’re still awaiting trial in Atlanta. The real news is that Captain Larry Burkhart was arrested. Created quite the shake-up in their police department.”
“Nothing worse than a dirty cop. After the way he treated Charlotte, I couldn’t be happier to hear he’s gone.”
“I regret that I listened to his nonsense about Charlotte’s mental stability.”
“You should tell her, not me.”
Harlan nodded and cleared his throat. “I intend to.”
It was clear that Harlan wasn’t looking forward to eating crow, but when he was wrong, he was man enough to own up to it.
“Speaking of Charlotte...” Harlan began. “What are her plans for the future? I’m assuming she’ll be offered her old position, given that Burkhart was behind the firing.”
“They called this morning. She told them she wasn’t interested.”
And hadn’t he breathed a sigh of relief at that announcement? But Charlotte hadn’t said she’d stay with him, either. It was an issue they hadn’t discussed yet. But now that he’d recovered from his injury, there was nothing to tie Charlotte to this mountain—or to him.
Their living arrangements were in limbo and it made him uneasy.
Harlan tapped a pencil on his desk, a sure sign he was about to speak on a topic that made him uncomfortable. “You know our office policy. Since you obviously have some kind of—intimate relationship—the two of you can’t work together anymore as partners.”
“I’m aware. That’s another reason I came back to work today.” James opened the folder in his lap and took out its only contents—a single typed sheet of paper. “This is my official two-week notice, although if you need me to stay a little longer, I will. But I’m resigning.”
He reached across Harlan’s desk to hand him the notice, but Harlan didn’t take it. James shrugged and let it fall onto the rest of his boss’s paperwork.
“There’s no need for this. You can both stay on, but work different shifts with different partners.”
“The job isn’t for me. I appreciate the opportunity, but I’d—”
“You’ve done damn good work,” Harlan interrupted. “What don’t you like about it?”
He knew his brother-in-law wasn’t going to take the news well and he hated disappointing him. Harlan had given him a job when he’d returned from military duty, and he was floundering on what he wanted to do next.
“I’m pursuing an old dream. I want to go in business for myself as a carpenter.”
“I always knew you were good with your hands...but are you sure about this?”
“Positive.” He’d stayed up most of last night, resolving everything in his mind. Nothing like getting shot at point-blank range to make a man rethink his direction in life.
“I may be leaving, but you should keep Charlotte on. She’s a fantastic cop.”
“Agreed. Although I could find a place for both of you. If you change your mind, the door’s always open.”
James stood and they shook hands. “Guess I’ll be getting a start on all this.” He nodded at the stack of papers Harlan had unloaded on him.
“Count on me working you like hell for the next two weeks, buddy.”
James grinned. “No problem. I’ll see what I can do to get this stuff filed and organized—since you and Zelda obviously won’t ever get around to it.”
He turned to leave and had almost slipped out the door when Harlan spoke again.
“It’s none of my business, but I hope you intend doing your part to get Charlotte to stay on here at Lavender Mountain. Seeing as how you’ve left me shorthanded. Least you could do.”
James narrowed his eyes and gave a slow smile. “I believe you may be as nosy as Lilah.”
And with that nonanswer, he made his exit.
* * *
“YOU SHOULDN’T BE DRIVING,” Charlotte scolded. “You worked late and then insisted on helping me clean up after dinner. Don’t you need some rest?”
“Stop fretting over me. I’m fine.” James backed the car out of the driveway and eased onto the dark road.
“Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular,” he lied. “I was cooped up in the house for two days and then spent all day at the office. Thought it’d be nice to get out for a spe
ll.”
They settled into a comfortable silence as they traveled up the steep mountain road. A deep peace filled him since he’d turned in his notice. His career path was clear. At least that part of his life was in order.
Charlotte played with a lock of her hair. “I’ve been thinking—”
“Always dangerous,” he teased.
She gave him a hard stare. “I’m going back to Atlanta this weekend.”
His chest squeezed tight. “Why?”
“My apartment is a wreck. Remember? I need to clean it up and take care of my bills. You know, all the daily routine stuff that’s gone undone.”
His chest relaxed a fraction. “A temporary visit, then?”
“For now. The police commissioner asked if I’d meet with him.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he rounded a bend. “They really want you back.”
“Maybe. Or maybe he wants reassurance that I won’t go to the press about the way Burkhart ordered me to quit the case and then fired me when I refused.”
The Atlanta news media was having a field day with the news that a high-ranking member of the police department had helped cover up a human trafficking ring.
“When are you leaving? Friday?”
“Bright and early.”
Seemed like he was already losing her. Could she really be happy working and living in such a remote area? He didn’t want Charlotte to settle. He wanted her to live out all her dreams. And if that meant living in Atlanta, he wouldn’t stop her.
The confidence he’d felt earlier vanished. She hadn’t told him yet that she loved him. He’d been so sure he’d seen it in her eyes down in the Stowerses’ basement after he’d been shot. Had read a desperate concern in her eyes as she’d hovered over him once he’d been shot.
But he might be wrong.
Another silence descended—though this time not as peaceful. James continued up the mountain, then turned onto the familiar dirt driveway. Headlight beams illuminated the charred remnants of his old family cabin.
Charlotte glanced his way, brows raised. “You really want to see this place again? The last time we were here was so sad.”
Appalachian Abduction (Lavender Mountain Book 2; Appalachian Magic) Page 18