The Deep End
Page 21
A burst of gunfire sounded, and Matt gave a satisfied nod toward the wall of windows overlooking the backyard. Had any of them looked through the window, they would have seen Doug leaning over Malloy’s accomplice to verify that he no longer had a pulse. “It sounds like your friend is having his own trouble.”
“Or yours are,” Malloy retorted right before lunging at Matt.
Matt’s head snapped back when Malloy’s fist connected with his jaw, but Malloy didn’t keep the upper hand for long. Matt managed a clear punch to Malloy’s midsection, causing him to fall back against the kitchen counter.
CJ looked down at the baseball bat on the floor, wondering if she could get to it as Malloy and Matt continued their fistfight. When Malloy fell to the floor, he grabbed the bat and held it out to keep Matt at bay.
Realizing that Malloy was trying to get to the other side of the counter to retrieve his gun, CJ climbed onto the counter and then dropped onto one of the kitchen stools. Just then, Malloy took a swing at Matt with the bat, clearing the edge of the counter.
CJ looked down on the floor, and when she couldn’t see the gun there, she started looking on the stools. She saw the gun just as Malloy lunged for it.
“Run, Matt!” CJ shouted.
Malloy’s hand grasped the gun, and he aimed it at CJ as she tried to scramble past him. A gunshot sounded, CJ screamed, and Malloy crumpled to the floor.
CJ looked up to see Doug standing beside Matt.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked breathlessly.
Speechless, CJ started to cry as Matt moved forward and pulled her into his arms. Her whole body shook as Doug stepped on Malloy’s hand, removed the gun, and checked for a pulse.
“Is he . . . ?” CJ managed to ask, unaware of Jill running across the backyard toward the house.
Doug nodded, looking up as Jill opened the back door. She saw Doug immediately, then Matt holding CJ in his arms. Jill looked back at Doug before she spoke. “What happened? I heard gunshots in here!”
Doug closed the distance between them and pulled Jill into his arms. He was still stunned that she had engaged in a gunfight with Malloy’s accomplice after the man had tried to shoot her. Thankfully, he had hit the boat’s radio instead. Doug didn’t think he would ever be able to dislodge the image of her shooting at a trained killer. He took a deep breath before finding his voice. “Everything’s okay now.”
Still stunned, CJ motioned down at Malloy and then looked back up at Jill. “He was going to kill us.”
“It’s over now,” Matt soothed her, pulling her into the living room where she could no longer see Malloy’s lifeless form. She looked up at him with a pale face as he reiterated the words. “It’s really over.”
Epilogue
CJ watched the American flag rising as the first notes of the national anthem began to play. She felt the weight of the gold medal around her neck and watched the hand-held flags waving in the stands. Tears burned the back of her eyes as emotions overwhelmed her. She tried to blink back the tears as Kristin Hart put an arm around her shoulder, uniting her with the rest of her team.
This was the third time she had made it to the medal stand. The first had been when she won the silver in the 100-meter breaststroke. Then she had won the bronze in the 200-meter individual medley, surprising even herself. The U.S. national anthem had played then too, since Kristin Hart had won the gold, but it wasn’t the same. This time the music played for her and the three teammates she had grown so close to over the past several days. Although they had not been the favorites going into the race, they had beaten some of the best swimmers in the world to capture the gold in the 4-by-100-meter medley relay.
As with all Olympic Games, stories about the athletes filtered to the public as media attention grew—especially stories about medal winners. The stories about CJ that appeared right after the trials had taken on a life of their own, and CJ quickly became one of the faces of the summer Olympics. Her story had been told and retold so many times that she wondered if anyone didn’t think of her as “that girl from the Witness Protection Program.”
She thought of how much had happened in the past few years and the many detours in her road to the Olympics. Though she had only skimmed a few of the articles written about her, one had brought home a fact she hadn’t yet considered. Since Chase’s death, seven attempts had been made on her life, and seven times she had survived. The reporter had called her lucky, but CJ knew it was more than that.
She didn’t know why the Lord had chosen to spare her life so many times, but now, listening to the national anthem, she could only hope to be worthy of the many blessings that had gotten her here. Throughout the past week, she had felt the support of her friends, her country, and at times, even her father.
When CJ had failed to reach the finals in the 200-meter breaststroke, her disappointment had been keen, not so much because of her own desire to succeed, but rather because she felt she had disappointed an entire country. Despite that failure, the support from her newfound fans never wavered. The stories about CJ’s situation had struck a chord with the American public, and their interest in her continued despite her inability to make the medal stand in one of her best events. New opportunities in her career abounded, but CJ already knew where her priorities would lie now. For too long she had put her dreams, and her father’s dream, of swimming in the Olympics in front of everything else. Now she knew it was time to let the fame fade away so that she could finally redefine her priorities, with family at the top of the list.
As the final notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” rang out, CJ’s eyes found Matt in the front row a short distance away. As much as she didn’t want this moment to end, she could hardly wait for the moments still to come. For the rest of her life, she would be able to look back and remember this, the instant her Olympic dreams came true. As Matt’s eyes met hers, she knew that this was also just the beginning of many extraordinary days to come.
About the Author
Traci Hunter Abramson is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. After graduating from Brigham Young University, she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for six years before resigning to become a stay-at-home mom.
Traci currently resides with her husband and four children in Stafford, Virginia, where she serves as the stake young women’s sports director. She spends much of her free time writing, reading, and transporting kids to soccer games (usually three at the same time on opposite ends of the county). She also coaches the North Stafford High School swim team. The Deep End is her third novel.
Other Books by Traci Hunter Abramson:
Undercurrents Series
Undercurrents
Ripple Effect
The Deep End
Saint Squad Series
Freefall
Lockdown
Crossfire
Backlash
Smoke Screen
CodeWord
Lock and Key
Drop Zone
Spotlight
Tripwire
Royal Series
Royal Target
Royal Secrets
Royal Brides
Guardian Series
Failsafe
Safe House
Stand-alones
Obsession
Deep Cover
Chances Are
Chance for Home
Kept Secrets
Twisted Fate