"Ah. But therein lies the rub," Lionel said. "Because I think, perhaps, you've already called the police." There was a pause, a deep breath. "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to get the package and bring it to me. You're going to walk right up to the front door, package in hand, and you and I are going to leave together."
Brady met her eyes. Shook his head.
She looked into the woods. Blew out a long breath. "Okay. First, you send out the teens."
"Where are you?"
"If you look out the front window, you'll see my car. I'm near it."
The phone went dead.
Chapter 49
Samantha got away?
Thank God.
When the phone rang, Garrison had known they must be close, that his time was almost up.
Based on Lionel's questions, not only was Samantha free, she'd done something to the other man. Good for her.
Garrison listened to Lionel's end of the conversation, watched the man's facial expressions. The rage only lasted a moment. It was too soon replaced with resolve.
Not the reaction Garrison would have hoped for. Obviously Lionel was quite intelligent, but it was clear from the way he'd behaved so far, from the way he was reacting to the news of his partner's capture, perhaps death, that he lacked something even the worst criminals shared. He lacked a conscience. He lacked the ability to empathize. Which meant Lionel could kill without a twinge of guilt.
Garrison heard his demand that Samantha return to the cabin, package in hand. Surely Sam had called the police. And Brady would never let that happen.
Then Lionel ended the call and stood.
"Which one of you dies first?"
He looked at Matty, then at Aiden.
"Nope. You two are my best collateral."
He met Garrison's eyes, smiled. "Your brains splattered everywhere would convince her I mean business. On the other hand, maybe your girlfriend would lose it then. I need her rational."
He yanked Frank up by the arm. "Nobody will miss you."
Frank stood, stumbled, but Lionel kept him on his feet.
Baldie aimed his gun at Aiden.
Garrison had to think. Cops were out there. They had to be. He imagined the outside of the cabin. If he were in charge, there'd be cops guarding every exit and aiming through every window.
The windows. That was a thought.
Garrison looked at Baldie. Where he was standing, it would be nearly impossible to shoot him through the windows on either side of the fireplace. Maybe that was why he'd chosen that spot. If Garrison was right, then maybe if he could get Baldie to move forward...
Frank stumbled toward the front, Lionel's gun pressing into his temple.
"Listen," Frank said, "don't do this. This was all one big misunderstanding."
Lionel pushed him to the window. "Pull the curtains back."
Frank turned like he was going to try to grab them with his bound hands, but Lionel whipped him back to face the window.
"Use your teeth."
Frank bit the fabric and managed to slide it to the side.
Lionel stayed hidden behind the wall. Lionel knew he was surrounded. Garrison would have had snipers, but he doubted there were any on call in this little town on a Tuesday night.
"What do you see?" Lionel asked.
Frank faced Lionel. "Listen, man. You know I'm on your side. You and me, we're alike, right? If this goes south, I have as much to lose as you do. More, considering my kid's here. Let me—"
Lionel's gun pressed against Frank's forehead shut him up. "What do you see?"
Frank blinked, backed away from the gun, and turned to look outside. "It's dark. But...through the trees, there's that SUV that was here earlier."
"You see any people?"
"No. No people." There were tears in Frank's voice now.
Garrison wanted to draw the gunfire away, but Lionel was too far to reach. He'd be able to shoot Frank, and Baldie could easily take care of Garrison before he made it halfway across the room. Which meant he was helpless.
Lionel backed up a step, kept the gun pointed, yanked the phone out of his pocket, and pressed a button. Garrison heard the phone ringing. Lionel must've put it on speaker.
"Hello?"
Samantha's voice, so calm and sweet. He wanted to scream at her to run, to get away as fast as she could.
"You hear me, Samantha?" Lionel asked.
"Yes."
"You're on speaker so everybody in the room gets to hear what you have to say. Can you see Frank?"
"Nobody has to get hurt," Sam said. "I'll give you the package if you'll just free the boys."
The boys. Sam was trying to save Aiden and Matty. She was fighting for the boys, for his son.
He loved her. How he loved her. Please, don't let anything happen to her. To any of us.
Lionel scoffed. "You think I'm stupid enough to believe that if I let the kids go, we can make a trade, and I'll walk away?"
"I don't care about this package," Sam said. "You can have it. All I want is the people in there to be free. Don't hurt them."
Garrison stared at Frank's back.
Frank seemed to be staring out the window, probably desperate to be on the other side of that thin pane of glass. "Please." Frank's voice was high, laced with tears. "Please don't."
"This is your fault, Samantha." Lionel's voice was loud. Calm. "Next time, it'll be Aiden."
He pulled the trigger.
Sam's scream carried through the phone.
Garrison nearly showed his freed hands, his desire to reach out to Aiden and Matty was so strong. He clamped them together behind his back, angled so his hands were hidden from Baldie, and scooted forward. He pressed his shoulder against Matty's. At least the body had fallen on the other side of the sofa, so the boys didn't have to see it. "Matty, I'm sorry."
Matty turned and wept onto his shoulder.
Garrison twisted and glared beyond Matty to the man standing beside the window. His gun was trained on Aiden's head.
He wanted to look at his son, to say something, to comfort him. Instead, he kept eye contact with Lionel. Pick me, you coward. Pick me. I dare you.
No chance. Lionel was afraid of Garrison. If he shot Garrison, it would be from the other side of the room. No way he'd let Garrison get that close.
Garrison turned to Baldie. He had to get the man to move. There was no time left. "What's your name?"
The man didn't even flinch.
"Come on, man. We're all going to die. You know that, right? You're going to die, too."
That had the man's eyes narrowing, his gaze flicking to Lionel.
"You heard him," Garrison said. "He knows there's no way out of this. I mean, if you walked out with your hands up, I assume they wouldn't shoot you. And of course, we'd tell them the truth. You haven't killed anyone. Yet."
Lionel lifted the phone, ended the call, and looked at Garrison. "Shut up."
"Why should I?" Garrison said. "When we both know, we all know, that nobody's leaving this cabin alive. You're going to die tonight, and you're going to take the rest of us with you. Isn't that right, Lionel?"
Baldie eyed Lionel. "You have a plan."
It was the first time he'd spoken, a deep voice that resonated through the room. Both Matty and Aiden looked up.
"Of course I have a plan." He looked at Garrison. "You're next."
"Right," Garrison said. "Then the boys. And Sam, if you can get to her. And then, what? You think she didn't bring cops? You know she did—there are cops all around this place. Your only hope is to surrender." Then Garrison opened his eyes wide, as if something had just occurred to him. "I know what you're going to do. You're going to shoot us all, then shoot your man here, and then tell everybody he went crazy and did it. I bet that's it."
Lionel looked at Baldie. "Shoot him. I don't have time for this."
Aiden gasped. "No!"
But the man didn't move. "What is your plan, Lionel?"
Lionel lifted his gun
, aimed it at Garrison.
Baldie aimed at Lionel. "It's not a hard question."
Lionel's face flushed red. "My plan is to get the package and use the woman as a shield to get us out of here."
Garrison laughed. "Right. That five-foot-tall woman is going to be a human shield for both of you?" He nodded toward Lionel. "You, maybe. Scrawny guy like you. But him?"
Baldie didn't lower his weapon.
Lionel sighed. "You know me. After all these years, don't you trust me? Are you really going to listen to this...this accountant?"
Garrison stared at Baldie, willed him to fire his weapon.
Save them all.
But Baldie shifted his aim to Garrison.
Crap.
Lionel lowered his weapon, lifted his phone, and dialed. The ring was loud—speaker again.
Garrison looked at Baldie and whispered, really low. "Except he doesn't seem to care that your other partner is probably dead."
Baldie's gaze darted to Lionel, who'd seen their exchange even if he hadn't heard it. The phone stopped ringing, but nobody said hello. All they heard was a sniff on the other end.
"Well, Samantha. How'd you like my show?"
Silence.
His voice was sing-songy when he said, "Sa-maaaan-tha?"
"You shot him."
Her voice was trembling.
"You need to show yourself, or Aiden dies."
Garrison shifted to look at his son. Tears streamed down the boy's face. Fear, horror. Garrison met his eyes. Kept his whisper nearly silent. "If he takes you, when you get to the window, fall."
Aiden's eyes narrowed.
"Fall."
Maybe, maybe Lionel would shift in front of the window, and the cops would take him out.
Aiden nodded, and Garrison turned back to face Baldie. Baldie was his best chance.
Lionel was focused on the phone, on the window. "Are you in sight, Samantha?"
Silence.
"Aiden, come here."
Garrison scooted fast, grabbed his son's arm. "No."
Lionel turned, eyebrows lifted. "No?"
"You want someone, take me."
Lionel looked at Baldie. "I told you to shoot him."
"No, no!" Aiden wrenched out of his father's grip. "I'll go. I'll go."
God, please. Please not Aiden.
Through the phone, Samantha cried, "No! I'm coming. I'm coming."
They heard a scuffle through the phone, then, "I'm out. You should see me now."
Lionel looked. "Walk all the way to the front door and let yourself in."
Garrison screamed, "Samantha, don't!"
Lionel aimed his pistol at Aiden's head. "One more word—"
Garrison had to stop. Had to breathe. He closed his eyes. Think. Think.
He looked at Baldie, whispered very quietly. "Your last chance."
The man's eyes narrowed. He glanced at Lionel, who was facing the front door.
Garrison lowered his voice more. "The other man trusted him, and now he's dead."
The man leaned forward a twinge. It was human nature, wasn't it, to lean in when you couldn't hear someone? Garrison resisted the urge to look at the window. He knew where it was. Knew where Baldie was. The question remained—was there a shooter out there?
Another inch. Just one more inch.
"If you want to survive..." Garrison's words were barely a whisper now.
A knock sounded on the door.
The man leaned forward another inch.
The front door opened. Lionel pulled Sam into the room.
The window exploded, and Baldie collapsed.
Garrison dove, grabbed the gun from the dead man's hands, and aimed at Lionel.
Lionel was turning, aiming not at Garrison, but at Sam.
No time left.
The gun went off.
Chapter 50
These things were supposed to happen in slow motion.
That's how it worked on the big screen.
But in real life, it happened so fast.
One minute, Samantha had stood on the stoop, trembling, still reeling from the whispered fight she'd gotten into with Brady. Brady, who'd said that Samantha was absolutely not, under any circumstances, going to show herself. Brady, who'd actually grabbed her arm to keep her from running into the yard when Frank had stood at the window. Brady, who'd been as surprised as she when the gun had gone off. When Frank had fallen.
Somehow going back into the cabin had started to feel inevitable after Frank was murdered. She was drawn to it like she was drawn to the trees. But it wasn't the same. Because the trees called to her like the voice of death. The cabin didn't represent death to her. With Garrison and Aiden inside, the cabin represented hope. Terrified as she was to die, she would go back if Lionel insisted.
And she knew he'd insist.
When Lionel threatened to shoot Aiden, Brady muted the phone. "You promised."
"I can't let him shoot Garrison's son."
"You think Garrison wants you both to die?"
"I have to try. I have to."
"I will handcuff you to this car, Samantha."
"But—"
"You said you trusted me."
She did trust Brady. She did. But she wasn't going to hang Aiden's life on it. "You're right. I trust you."
Brady let her go, spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Keep your eyes open. Any shot. There's no more time."
She paused, nodded like she agreed with this plan. Then she ran.
He'd almost managed to grab her. She felt the whoosh of air behind her elbow. She feared he'd run into the yard and tackle her, but the cops were worried if they showed themselves there'd be a shooting match, and nobody inside would survive that. The best option was to keep up the lie that she hadn't brought cops.
"Get down," Brady whispered. "Get back here."
So she made it to the stoop.
And knocked.
There was a cop in a tree in the yard, aiming at the door. If Lionel showed himself, she'd drop on the ground, give the man a good shot.
Only Lionel's hand came out. He grabbed her arm, yanked her inside.
And then, a bang. The sound of breaking glass, all while she was stepping inside.
Garrison flew across the room.
Lionel's eyes went wide, and he jerked the gun toward Garrison. She knew Lionel would shoot him, kill him, and then kill the rest of them. She wrenched away from his grip, felt a scream climb up her throat.
A gunshot. And another.
And then Lionel collapsed.
Screaming, lots of screaming. Maybe it was her.
Garrison crossed the room, nudged her aside. He kicked Lionel's weapon away, then felt at the man's neck.
"Dead."
Garrison jogged to the bald man and checked his neck. Then he looked at her, looked at the boys.
"It's over."
Just like that. Ten seconds. Probably less.
He stood, crossed to the boys, and wrapped them both in his arms.
She stood there, staring, as police streamed inside. Shouted questions. Lowered their guns and surveyed the scene.
Brady stepped in front of her. "You lied to me."
She couldn't respond.
He stared, waited for a response, and then stepped in and hugged her. "You okay?"
"I don't know." She wanted Garrison. Brady was one of her best friends, but she needed Garrison.
A moment later, Brady stepped back, and he was there. Garrison wrapped her in his arms, kissed her hair, her forehead, her lips, and held her close.
He didn't speak. He didn't have to. She knew. She knew.
Chapter 51
It was all a blur.
Aiden sat on the floor beside Matty, close enough their shoulders could touch. He didn't know what to say to his best friend. All he could do was be there.
Matty stared into space.
Dad had tried to get them to go into Aiden's room, but neither of them wanted to move. Neither of them could.
His dad had been calm after it happened. Right up until he'd stepped away from Sam. Then he'd rounded on the police chief, the dude from the party the other night, and started yelling at him.
The dude's hands went up, and he stepped back. Aiden wasn't sure what the guy said. Whatever it was, it didn't help. Dad still looked like he wanted to kill somebody.
Somebody else. He wouldn't think about that right now.
Then Sam had nudged him, and he turned and hugged her again.
Now he was telling the chief what happened. Brady. That was his name.
A couple of guys came inside—paramedics. One stopped and spoke with Dad, who pointed to Sam, then to Aiden and Matty.
One paramedic laid a blanket across Sam's shoulders. He tried to get her to sit, but she shrugged him off.
The others came over and threw blankets over Aiden and Matty. Nuts to need thick blankets. It was August. But despite the heat, Aiden shivered. He had to work to keep his teeth from chattering.
The dudes started asking questions. Were they hurt? How did they feel?
Stupid questions with no answers. They responded as best they could.
Cops were everywhere. Some in uniform, some not. Some snapping pictures. Some making notes. Some standing around. All muttering in a language Aiden couldn't seem to make out.
Lionel and Matty's father were on the far side of the room, hidden beyond the sofa and the many people. And there were a lot of cops standing between Aiden and Matty and the bald guy, too, so they could hardly see that body, either.
Then white fabric was snapped. It fluttered slowly over Baldie. Two more snaps, two more sheets, and all three of the bodies were covered.
Other guys with stretchers took the bodies away.
Dad left the cluster of cops, came over, and sat on the floor in front of them. "How you guys doing?"
Aiden shrugged.
Matty looked like he wanted to say something. Nothing came out.
"Yeah." Dad rested his big hand on Matty's shoulder. "It'll take some time to process." He looked at Aiden. "How are you, son?"
"I don't know." He did know, though, and he felt terrible about it. Because while he knew it really sucked that Matty's father had died, he was happy to be alive. His father and Sam and Matty were alive, and it was all over. They were safe. He kept telling himself that, trying to get the truth to sink in.
Generous Lies Page 27