The door opened and Sean was relieved to see Lucy emerge. But he didn’t have time for a reunion. “Patrick’s grabbing their weapons. Get in the truck.”
The gunfire stopped. Sean ran into the house and saw Noah behind a table he’d turned on its side. Noah took aim, but instantly saw it was Sean and tilted his gun down. “Out back,” Sean said. “I’ll cover.”
Staying low to the ground, Noah ran past Sean while Sean fired four rounds out the front window that had already been broken by the earlier gunfire. As soon as Noah was clear, Sean followed him out the back.
He was punched from behind as soon as he was about to exit. A gun was pressed into his head and his.45 was taken from his hand.
“Sean Rogan. My boss wants to see you. Come quietly, and she won’t kill Henry and Emily. You remember them, right? You visited them yesterday. He said he didn’t talk to you, but who do we believe?”
From the corner of his eye, he recognized the blond guy Bobbie had been talking to at the bar on Friday night. Ian.
“I should tell you, if I don’t return with you or your girlfriend, Bobbie will kill the old farts slowly. She enjoys it. Come with me, and she’ll shoot them in the head so they won’t feel a thing.”
Sean gauged the seriousness of the threat. He didn’t know where Bobbie was staying, and they didn’t have time to track her down. And after seeing what they did to Deputy Weddle, he knew they’d do the same to the Callahans.
“Sean! Come now!” It was Noah.
“I can shoot that guy, too. He’s kind of bossy.”
“I’ll go,” Sean said.
“Out the front. We don’t need your friends getting trigger happy.”
Ian snapped handcuffs around his wrists and Sean felt a surge of rage. He hated being cuffed, but went willingly. Ian pushed him to one of the trucks and into the backseat.
Sean recognized the guy sitting in the passenger seat. It wasn’t hard; he was the only black man he’d seen in Spruce Lake.
“Go get the others,” Ian told him. “Dead or alive. I’ll wait here.”
Sean fought against his cuffs. He may have just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Lucy helped Patrick secure the two men who Sean had shot in the hand. Both were bleeding, but neither injury was life-threatening.
“Noah, Sean hasn’t come back out.”
Noah went back inside the house. Something didn’t feel right. Someone was watching her.
She reached for her gun at the same time she whirled around and faced a tall man with a gun pointed at her head.
“Frank!” a voice shouted from the corner of the house.
The man turned, taking his eyes off Lucy, and she dove toward the truck. A gun fired and Lucy almost thought she’d been hit, but she felt no pain.
Noah ran out of the house. His gun was aimed at a black man with a rifle. “Omar Lewis.”
“Well shit, just go blow my cover after I saved the girl’s life.”
“Where’s Sean?” Noah demanded.
“Bobbie wants him. She doesn’t want you.”
Omar fired his gun twice, into the side of the house next to the heads of two men who were tied up. “Don’t say a word,” he told them, “or I will kill you.”
“What the hell did you do that for?” Noah said, not taking his gun off Omar.
“Keep it down,” Omar said, his voice a low growl. “I have to leave the impression with the others that you and the girl are dead. If I bring you to Bobbie, she’s going to only keep one of you alive. Trust me.”
Lucy fumed. “Trust you? After you shot at us at the mine?”
“We’ll chat later, sugar,” Omar said.
Patrick also had his gun on Omar with one hand, and with his other helped Lucy up from where she’d dove away from Frank. She said, “There’s four of us, we’ll find a way to end this now. Noah-”
Omar interrupted. “I finally have Bobbie Swain Molina in the palm of my hand with Sherwood Lowell almost within reach and y’all come in and fuck it up. Do you know how long I’ve been setting up this sting? Tomorrow the biggest gunrunner in the U.S. would have been here, but I’m sure even Bobbie can’t keep a lid on all this shit. Now I’m going to lose him, and have that bitch to deal with. Stay here until I’m clear. Meet me at the Lock amp; Barrel at midnight and I’ll tell you where your man is.”
“You have to tell him we’re alive!” Lucy said.
Omar shrugged and slipped back around to the front.
Lucy almost ran after him, but Noah grabbed her and held her tightly around the waist. “Lucy. We’ll find him.” He turned her around to face him and gripped her firmly by the shoulders. “If anyone can get out from between a rock and a hard place, it’s Sean.”
She said, “But if he thinks we’re all dead, he’ll be reckless.” She prayed Omar did the right thing.
Sean listened to the two men-Ian and Omar-but all he could think about was Lucy, dead.
“Where’s Frank?” Ian asked as they drove away.
“The girl got the drop on him.”
“I didn’t like him anyway.”
“Any word from the other team?”
“They’re waiting for the kid to show.”
Sean pulled at his handcuffs, rage fueling him. A primal cry escaped from deep in his chest and Ian glanced in the back with a smirk. “Don’t hurt yourself, now.”
“I’m. Going. To. Kill. You.” Sean’s breath came hard and fast and his vision clouded.
I’m sorry, Lucy. Oh, God, no.
His chest tightened to the point of physical pain, but he didn’t care. Lucy was dead. He couldn’t see her, hold her, kiss her good-bye. Just one last kiss.
Unshed tears burned his eyes and something deep inside twisted so tight that he felt broken. Paul Swain’s words came back to him, in a haunting tone.
Vengeance is mine.
How could Sean live without her? It would be no life. If he got out of this alive, he would kill Ian and Omar and Bobbie Swain. He’d shoot them or choke them, but either way they’d be dead.
“Everything’s working just fine now,” Omar said from the passenger seat.
Ian disagreed. “Everything is fucked up, she’s not going to be happy. Word is Lowell is backing down.”
“That sucks, but maybe we can resolve it.”
Ian laughed humorlessly. “He’ll never work with her again. She’s going to take out her anger on someone. Better him than me.” Ian glanced in the rearview mirror.
Sean kicked the bench seat in front of him, over and over, the pain and anger still building inside until he thought he would explode, and still it grew.
Omar laughed. “Look, Ian, he’s all choked up. Sorry, Romeo, it’s not personal. But man, was your Juliet one fine lady.”
Sean threw his body against the seat in front of him, not coming up with a plan, just reacting out of raw rage. Omar smacked him hard and Sean fell on the backseat, biting his lip to keep from screaming.
But his mind worked separate from his emotions. He repeated Omar’s words over and over until he realized exactly what they meant.
Romeo thought Juliet was dead, but she wasn’t.
Pushing the grief and anger aside, Sean focused on coming up with a plan. His emotions were still on overload, but he mentally repeated that Lucy was alive. He had to focus on his current situation, listen carefully, and take advantage of any opportunity.
He knew he didn’t have a lot of time.
THIRTY-SIX
With Adam following in the ATV, Ricky drove his car to the Kelley Mine’s main entrance. He was worried about being seen, but it seemed Gary Clarke and Uncle Butch were still at the Foster house waiting to surprise Sean.
He was preparing to send Sean a message about the trap and tell him what he was doing, but as he was about to press send, he feared that Sean was already in trouble-or dead. Instead, he called. A man answered who sounded nothing like Sean. Ricky almost hung up, then the man said, “Who’s this?”
“Who’s thi
s?” Ricky responded.
“FBI Special Agent Noah Armstrong. You’re calling the cellular phone of Sean Rogan.”
Ricky sighed in relief. “I’m Ricky Swain.”
“Are you all right?”
“Adam Hendrickson and I are looking for Tim. Three men came to the Foster house where we were hiding. They were driving Tim’s truck, and are now waiting at the Fosters’ for Sean to show up. My Aunt Bobbie wants him.”
“And you are looking for Tim Hendrickson where?” asked the FBI agent.
Ricky hesitated. How could he be certain the man he was talking to was a real agent? And even if he was, he could be a bad cop-Ricky knew Deputy Weddle worked for his aunt.
“You still there, Ricky?”
“Yes.”
“Sean’s partner Patrick is with me. He says Tim was heading to the mine.”
Ricky sighed audibly. He had to be legit, right? “I’m almost there.”
“I need to advise you that it could be dangerous. It would be safer if you came into town. We’re on our way to secure the Lock amp; Barrel and use it as a staging area.”
“Adam is worried about his brother. We’re headed to the mine first.”
He heard voices, but couldn’t understand what they were saying.
Then the cop said, “I’m not going to lie to you, Ricky. Your aunt has Sean.”
“It’s my fault. I should have found a way to warn him.” Ricky frowned, wishing he knew what to do.
“It wasn’t your fault, Ricky.”
In the dark, he almost missed the road that led to the main entrance to the Kelley Mine. He turned quickly, and his car bounced down the long gravel and dirt road leading to the entrance. Adam was still right behind him. “I’ll call you back,” he said. “I’m at the mine.”
“Ricky, promise me you’ll find a place to hole up or get to the Lock amp; Barrel,” the FBI agent said.
“All right.”
“Keep your phone on you.”
“I will.” He hung up and stopped his car in front of the boarded-up building.
Adam was off the ATV before Ricky got out of the car.
“Tim!” Adam called, heading toward the mine entrance.
The door to the boarded-up building opened, startling both of them. Ricky reached for his gun, then recognized Jon Callahan.
“Jon!”
Adam turned around. “Where’s my brother?”
“Gary Clarke shot him in the leg, but he’s okay. Ricky, give Adam your car keys. Adam, take Tim to your house. Stay there; it might be the only place you’re safe. Ricky, I need your help.”
Ricky walked toward Jon. He didn’t know what Jon had planned, but his mother had trusted him. Ricky needed to as well.
“No!” Tim shouted from inside.
“What’s going on?” Adam said running toward the building. When he passed Jon, Jon grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. A gun appeared in his hand and Jon ordered Ricky, “Take his gun.”
“What are you doing?” Adam asked. Ricky wasn’t sure if the question was addressed to him or Jon. “Dammit, Jon! Are you part of this?”
He shook his head. “I’m part of the solution.”
Ricky searched Adam and pulled his gun from his waistband. “I’m sorry.”
“Did you plan this?”
“No, but he won’t hurt anyone.”
Jon grunted out a bitter laugh. “Not anyone who doesn’t deserve it,” he said. “Adam, Bobbie had your father killed. I have no choice anymore. She has to be stopped.”
Adam slowly rose from the ground. “Sean told us he suspected my dad was killed because he’d contacted the authorities about some pot farms.”
“It wasn’t the marijuana; it’s so much bigger,” Jon said. “I turned my back on the pot because the town was surviving. What harm could growing a little weed do? It was better than the meth labs. But Joe figured out something else was going on. I agreed to help him find out what, but by then it was too late. Bobbie learned that Joe planned on turning over photographs he’d taken of her meeting with a gunrunner, a really nasty guy who’s on the Most Wanted list. It’s all coming to a head at dawn.”
“Bobbie has Sean,” Ricky said.
“I’m sorry.” Jon turned toward the building.
Adam grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. Jon pulled back, held up his gun. “Don’t do that again. I don’t want to shoot you, but a bullet in the leg will slow you down.”
“Didn’t you hear Ricky? Bobbie Swain took Sean. He’s in danger. You can’t let her hurt him.”
“I’m not letting her do anything,” Jon said. “Until this week, she thought I was still in her pocket, that I was another one of her loyal lap dogs. I haven’t been there for a long time. Just waiting for the right opportunity.” He shook his head and stepped into the building. “I waited too long. She killed Joe, she killed Victoria, and I’m not letting her live through the night. But first, I have to make her suffer.”
“Listen to yourself, Jon!” Tim spoke up from his spot on the lone metal chair in the building, which was really nothing more than a large, crumbling shack. His leg was bandaged, but he was pale and his eyes were bright with pain. Adam knelt by his side and checked the dressing.
“I know what I’m doing,” Jon said.
“Who’s Victoria?” Ricky asked.
“The woman I was going to marry.” Jon motioned to the last three boxes in the room. “Ricky, that’s the end of it. Grab them, one at a time, and take them to my truck.”
“Don’t help him,” Tim said.
Jon ignored the comment. “Ricky, I need you to help set the trap. It’s the only way I can make it work under the circumstances. It’s my leverage to get my aunt and uncle to safety, and Sean if I can. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you are safe. I owe it to your mother. I owe it to Jimmy.”
“Jimmy?”
“I couldn’t protect him, but I never wanted him to die.”
Ricky asked, “Why did Bobbie kill him?”
“She didn’t want him dead,” Jon said. “She was furious that Victoria’s body had been found. Jimmy didn’t dump Victoria into the pit like she ordered. He’d laid her out properly. I promised him I was going to bury her this summer …” His voice trailed off.
“I don’t understand,” Ricky said.
“Victoria was my fiancee. I loved her. She was helping me plan a way to take down Bobbie, but Bobbie found out she was a Fed. And it’s my fault she’s dead because I told her it had to be off the books, I just needed some information. I didn’t want her to get involved, but she overstepped and Bobbie found out. I don’t know how, but she did.
“I couldn’t have her dumped at the bottom of the mine! She wasn’t garbage, she deserved a proper burial. Jimmy was just helping me. Tyler Weddle was freaking out that Bobbie had poisoned a federal agent, so Jimmy told him he’d take care of the body and Bobbie wouldn’t need to know he flaked.
“Reverend Browne ordered Gary Clarke to bring Jimmy in alive. Bobbie would have killed him after the deal was signed, sealed, and delivered tomorrow, because then she can disappear again. She’s real good at that. After she gets the money, she can hide. Certain people are definitely going to want her dead when we turn over the evidence that she killed her husband to start a drug war in Miami, all so she could prove something to God knows who.”
All this was overwhelming, but it came down to the fact that Ricky’s aunt was a monster. He picked up the box that Jon wanted him to carry. “Let’s go.”
“Thank you, Ricky.”
Adam said, “Don’t do it, Ricky. Don’t be part of this.”
“She killed your dad, Adam. She stole money. She is going to kill Sean Rogan, who you said was your friend. You don’t know Bobbie like I do.”
Jon said, “Adam, if you really want to help, get Henry and Emily out of the house.” He glanced at his watch and began to grow more impatient. “They’re tied up in the back bedroom, downstairs, where Uncle Henry moved my aunt after her strok
e. I’m afraid Henry is going to do something rash, and I won’t be able to get to them for a while.”
“You should put aside whatever foolish plan you’ve made and help your family!” Tim shouted.
Adam concurred. “We’ll do it together.”
For a split second, Ricky thought Jon waffled. He had no idea what Jon wanted his help with, but right now he could go either way. Whatever Jon thought was best. Because he was right about Bobbie-she was pure evil. She had to be stopped before anyone else got hurt.
Jon shook his head. “Uncle Henry understands. I have to do this. Victoria deserved better.” To Ricky he said, “Take that box. We need to go.”
They loaded the last of the boxes into Jon’s truck while Adam helped Tim into the passenger seat of Ricky’s Camaro. “I hope you both know what you’re doing,” Tim said solemnly as they drove off.
Jon followed them up the mine road to the highway. Ricky said, “I want to help Sean. I barely know him, but he was trying to help me and I feel like I owe him. And what about your uncle?”
“I’m hoping that when we start this series of events that Bobbie will be distracted enough for Adam to get Henry and Emily out of the house. I’d planned to get back there, but this works out much better.”
“Is that where she took Sean?”
“I don’t know. It’s the best I can do for now.” He glanced at Ricky. “I am really sorry about Jimmy.”
Jon continued. “Jimmy called me for help. I couldn’t. There was nothing I could do at that point, and I knew Bobbie didn’t want him dead because of what your father and I have on her.”
Ricky didn’t respond at first, torn over what Jon was telling him about Uncle Jimmy. Then he asked, “Why didn’t you and my dad just turn over the evidence you had on Bobbie when you got it? Why keep it?”
“Paul isn’t a saint. Before he went to prison, Bobbie was playing a dangerous game with big-time drug dealers. Paul was having her watched. She killed a high-ranking lieutenant, and framed a rival cartel, then walked away with money and information.
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