The gun clattered across the rock, and the three men rolled toward the embankment. Brendan caught himself at the very edge and clung to a rock while the churning current tried to suck him away.
Reilly couldn’t help, though. He was bigger than Jonathan, but Jonathan seemed superhuman in his rage. He managed to pin Reilly beneath him. The blows came fast about his head and face until stars joined the spider lightning behind his eyes. Reilly struggled to get his arms free, using his legs to try to unseat the other man. It wasn’t working.
He saw Brendan gain some traction and pull himself out of the water, but he was too slow, too late. At the same time, Gracie grabbed a big stone and started forward, but Jonathan twisted off Reilly before she could reach him. He dove across the slippery embankment and managed to get the gun again. Reilly was already scrambling to stop him, and Brendan had finally made it to his feet. The kid knocked Analise off her feet just as Jonathan swung the gun wide and fired.
Reilly would never know if Chloe had been his target or Gracie, but in the seconds that moved like lightning, he saw Gracie duck and shove Chloe out of the way just as the bullet reached her.
“No!” Reilly shouted, clambering to catch Gracie as her legs crumpled and blood blossomed across her chest.
Brendan had Analise in his arms as Reilly lowered Gracie to the ground. Jonathan cocked the pistol and aimed again, this time at Reilly. From the corner of his eye, he saw something flare—one of the Dead Lights—and suddenly the shape he’d seen before lurched forward. For one, incredulous moment Reilly saw the face on the man that had formed, felt the sharp bite of recognition as he saw the familiar features of his brother and then the gun flew out of Jonathan’s hands again. He didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened, though.
“Gracie! Gracie, talk to me,” he said, trying to rip her shirt to see the wound. Analise was crying for her mother, Chloe lay on the ground, and the glowing female who’d materialized hovered around her, seeming to embrace the older woman.
Just then, the third orb darkened and solidified and became man from the picture inside the Diablo—the one who looked like Reilly.
“Where is it, Sawyer?” Jonathan screamed at the apparition.
Reilly knew that if he lived through this, he’d never be able to describe it.
The form leaned forward, looking right at Jonathan. Reilly felt as if the storm itself had begun to throb in time with the glow that surrounded the hovering man. Whatever Jonathan saw in the shape, it compelled him. He took a step forward, reaching out. Reilly saw greed on Jonathan’s face. Greed and satisfaction. Was it communicating with the man he saw bathed in light?
Reilly stood transfixed until a movement turned him—Chloe scrabbling across the slick surface, the small female apparition helping her gain her footing. He didn’t understand what she was doing until Chloe stood with Jonathan’s gun in her hand. The glowing female curved her fingers around Chloe’s and helped steady her aim.
“It’s time to move on, you bastard,” Chloe shouted.
Jonathan was up to his thighs in the dangerous floodwaters, unaware of anything but the apparition and his share, whatever that might be.
“You hear me?” she cried.
Jonathan turned and Chloe pulled the trigger.
“That’s for my grandma,” she said. “Who you treated like an animal.”
Her hands shook as she struggled to cock the gun. Once again, the apparition helped her. Jonathan looked down at the spreading blood on his shoulder. Angry, but not fatally injured, he took a step toward Chloe just as she pulled the trigger a second time. “That one’s for my mother.”
The bullet caught him in the arm and twisted him around for a moment. Furious now, he charged. Chloe was ready, though.
“This is for me,” she said, and pulled the trigger one last time.
The bullet hit him dead center, and Jonathan staggered back, looking down with shock at the blood covering his chest. Suddenly, the Dead Lights above them pulled together like a fiery sun. The female who’d helped Chloe, the big man who Reilly would swear had been Matt, and the last one who Aiken had called Sawyer, joined the others until the glow was blinding. The lights pulsed once, twice, and then with a crack of thunder, they vanished into the dark waters just as Jonathan fell back into the freezing embrace of the springs.
Reilly lifted Gracie in his arms, muttering terrified words as he carried her toward the house. Her eyes were closed, her breath ragged, but she was alive.
Brendan followed with Chloe holding on to one arm and Analise on the other. As Reilly made it to the door, he looked back, giving one last look at the dark waters that held so many ghosts.
CHAPTER 36
By morning, the storm had blown over, leaving the wreckage of its fury behind. The Diablo had held strong against it, but the rest of the fading town had taken a hit. Reilly doubted anyone would rebuild. In the clear light of day, the springs shivered placidly, but already the water had begun to drain into the underground caverns that had been opened all those years ago by Gracie’s grandfather.
The bullet Jonathan had fired at Gracie had passed through the soft flesh of her shoulder and exited the other side without too much damage. He and Chloe had been able to staunch the blood and patch her up until they could get her medical care. Bill was still alive by some miracle, but in much worse condition, and it was touch and go throughout the night. They’d all slept together on the floor of the saloon, horse-dogs snoring in between human bodies. Safe and alive. Bill held on until the ambulance arrived and was now safely at the hospital and expected to recover.
It would be weeks before the water dried up completely and the full extent of the damage could be accounted for, but more than one body had washed up from the caverns during the storm. The Dead Lights had vanished, though, so maybe Diablo Springs had finally taken its last victim.
Later, they talked about the night they’d barely survived, each of them filling in missing pieces.
“I didn’t know he was pulling me here,” Brendan told them, “but that first time I drove out to the springs, I stayed all night and most of the next day. I missed work. I didn’t remember any of it later. Just that I had to come back and bring Analise.”
Aiken, ever the manipulator according to Chloe, had brought all the players to the game so that he could get what he wanted—the share of wealth he felt had been stolen from him all those years ago.
“When he—it—whatever was in the light touched me,” Gracie said, “I knew it was Sawyer and knew he was there to help. It was like he shared his memory with me. I saw Aiken murder him and toss him into the springs, never realizing that he had all of the saloon’s money packed around his body. He sank to the bottom, taking it with him.”
“I saw a woman,” Analise said. “Out there in the storm. She was young.”
“Chick,” Chloe said sadly but didn’t explain.
Michael, who’d been silent since they’d found him in the basement, finally spoke up. “When I found the ledger, I saw what had happened all those years ago. Chick was Chloe’s grandmother. She died when she took a bullet meant for Ella, Gracie’s great-grandmother.”
“Was she the reason for the curse Ella believe in so passionately?” Gracie asked.
Michael nodded. “And now the curse is broken.”
“How?” Gracie asked.
“You stood in front of the bullet meant for me,” Chloe answered.
Reilly felt a shiver go through Gracie’s body. Then she turned and looked at him. “I thought ... in the middle of it all, I could’ve sworn I saw ...”
“Matt,” Reilly finished. “You did. I still can’t believe it, but he saved my life.”
The words were almost hard to speak but saying them felt cathartic, the first step to healing.
“I think Aiken has been messing with my loved ones for a long time, Gracie,” Reilly went on. “It didn’t make sense until Brendan said Aiken had been in his head. I think he was in Matt’s, too. I took Matt’s ashes o
ut to our old house this morning, and I buried them in the backyard, next to the dog.” Reilly’s mouth tilted at that. “I think he’ll like it there. He always loved that dog.”
“I still need to decide where Grandma Beck would want to be,” Gracie said. “It’s just too painful to think about, yet, but she deserves to be somewhere peaceful, at rest.”
Reilly pressed a kiss to her temple. “I don’t think she’d mind if you wait a bit to make that decision. You’ll figure it out. I think the ghosts have finally moved on from Diablo Springs.”
“What about Matt?” she asked softly.
“I can only hope my brother moved on with them and has found peace at last,” Reilly murmured.
“He has,” Chloe said with a knowing smile.
“So is there a lot of money out there waiting to be found?” Brendan asked.
“Not enough to die for,” Reilly answered. “You need to stick around. You’re going to have your hands full.”
***
The next morning the roads had cleared, the tow truck pulled Gracie’s car out of the ditch, and Chloe left as abruptly as she appeared, stopping only long enough to collect Bill on the way. Gracie felt strangely sad to see her go. Saying good-bye to the woman who’d been haunted for so many years made Gracie think about her own life and where she would go now.
Would Reilly be a part of it? Did he want to be? Life with her wouldn’t be a picnic. Aside from her own issues and quirks, there was Analise and yet another baby coming into the world. She wouldn’t have wished it for her daughter, any more than it had been wished for herself, but Analise was a blessing that she wouldn’t have missed for anything. Perhaps the same would be true for this baby. And Brendan had proved to have more grit than she’d given him credit for. Maybe they would be happy together. Maybe not. But that’s what life was, wasn’t it? Taking chances and celebrating when they paid off, changing course when they didn’t.
As if reading her mind, Reilly moved closer and took Gracie in his arms, holding her like he’d never let her go. He looked deeply into her eyes and asked, “What about us, Gracie?”
In that question, she sensed so many others, questions neither of them could answer. But Gracie knew one thing for certain.
She smiled at him. “I think you and I have enough history between us,” she said softly. “I’m ready to start living for today if you are.”
His smile started a fire deep within her.
“I like the sound of that. And if I’m lucky, maybe you’ll want to think about tomorrow, too.”
Gracie wrapped her arms around him and whispered. “I have a feeling you’re about to get very lucky, Reilly Alexander. Very, very lucky.”
Reilly’s grin made her fall in love just a little more. She caught her breath as he bent his head and whispered against her lips.
“I’m already the luckiest man alive.”
Then, he kissed her, which was exactly what she’d been hoping for.
The End
Thank you!
Thank you for reading DIABLO SPRINGS and I hope you enjoyed it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erin Quinn is an NYT bestselling author. Her books have been called “riveting,” “brilliantly plotted” and “beautifully written” and have won, placed or showed in the Booksellers Best, WILLA Award for Historical fiction, the Orange Rose, Golden Quill, Best Books, and Award of Excellence.
She lives in Arizona with her husband, two daughters and three dogs (all of whom have made debuts in her stories—the dogs, that is, not the husband and kids.)
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BOOKS BY ERIN QUINN
The Beyond Series
Book 1: The Five Deaths of Roxanne Love
Book 2: The Three Fates of Ryan Love
Book 3: The Seven Sins of Ruby Love
Novella 1.5: The Forbidden Life of Alex Moore
Novella 2.5: The Resurrection of Sam Sloan
The Mists of Ireland Series
Book 1: Haunting Beauty
Book 2: Haunting Warrior
Book 3: Haunting Desire
Book 4: Haunting Embrace
Bad Boys of the Night
Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances
Bad Wolf
Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer Ashley
Shadow Fall
Copyright © 2010 Erin Kellison
Warrior's Heart
Copyright © 2015 Laurie London
The Vampire Voss
Copyright © 2014 Colleen Gleason
Hunger
Copyright © 2014 Felicity Heaton
The Mating Challenge
Copyright © 2015 Bonnie Vanak
Dark Flame
Copyright © 2015 Twin Bridges Creations LLC
Diablo Springs
Copyright © 2014 Erin Grady
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Bad Boys of the Night: Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 195