What is he planning?
“Drop the rope, and take five steps toward me,” said Tessa. “We’ll work this out.”
Good job, Tessa. Make him feel there is hope. That he hasn’t gone too far.
Chris threw down the rope and took three steps away from the rock, his gaze still on Emma.
Cate held her breath. He’s not done. She shifted her weight onto her toes, Chris still lined up in her sights. He turned his head in Tessa’s direction, and Cate wondered if he could see her yet.
“Kneel, and then lie on your stomach,” ordered Tessa.
Chris didn’t move.
He’s going to do something.
He glanced over at Emma on the rock and then back to Tessa, his hands in fists at his sides.
Don’t do it.
He lunged toward the rock and grabbed something near Emma’s feet.
Knife.
He lurched and swung the knife toward Emma’s throat as Cate fired until he dropped.
She froze, echoes of the shots ringing in her ears, and stared at the man collapsed against the rock.
Damn you, Chris.
“Cate.”
Something touched her arm, but she didn’t move, Chris’s body still in her sights.
“Cate.” Suddenly Henry was there, concern in his eyes as she met his gaze, his hands on her shoulders as she lowered her arms.
“I’m okay.”
“I know. I can see that.” His tone didn’t agree with his words; he was worried about her.
She looked past him. Tessa, Mike, and Bruce were at the rock. Tessa attended to Emma, and Bruce handcuffed an unmoving Chris as Mike wrapped his belt around Chris’s arm.
“Go check Emma. And Chris,” she told Henry. “My ears are ringing, but I’m fine.” She exhaled forcefully. “Holy shit. Why did he make me do that?”
“You did the right thing.”
Cate shifted her gaze to Chris’s still form on the ground.
Did I?
She numbly followed Henry to the rock, where Tessa was talking to Emma. “It’s Tessa, Emma. You’re safe. Abby is safe too. Everything is going to be fine,” she repeated over and over.
Emma’s eyes barely focused. Her lips moved but formed no words.
Henry took over. “Her pupils are huge. Pulse and respiration’s okay. I’ll need to know what he gave her.”
“Chris is out,” said Mike. “He’s breathing, and his pulse is steady, but he’s bleeding from the shots—nothing heavy, just seepage.”
Cate bent over to see. Blood soaked Chris’s shoulder and left arm.
He’d lived.
“We need to get them both to the clinic,” said Henry.
“I’m more than happy to leave this place,” muttered Cate as her ears continued to ring. Chris’s blood dotted the rock and had sprayed over Emma’s shirt. The woman opened her eyes and looked directly at Cate.
She’ll be okay.
13
“I’m glad Emma is fine,” Cate said to Henry two days later as they sat on a bench at Widow’s Walk, enjoying the ocean view.
The woman had mostly regained consciousness by the time they’d gotten her out of the forest and had steadily improved on the way to the clinic. Henry had kept an eye on her overnight and had reunited her with Abby the next morning.
Chris Corbin had been picked up by two more FBI agents and taken to a hospital on the mainland. He would live. Cate suspected he’d lunged at Emma at the last second in an effort to draw fire. His quiet words about the urge never going away had repeated in her mind ever since then. Suicide by cop. He had known he was finished but hadn’t wanted to live with the consequences.
Too bad. Plenty of consequences were headed his way.
Investigators were taking another look at his mother’s murder now that they had a suspect in Jeff Lamb. Mike had gone with them, after giving Cate a tight hug and Henry a firm handshake.
“What did Mike say to you when you shook hands goodbye?” Cate asked. She’d noticed he’d leaned forward and spoken quietly, making Henry grin, but she had forgotten to ask about it until now.
Henry put his arm around Cate’s shoulders. “He said for me to keep you on the island.”
She frowned. “That wasn’t nice. Did he mean that I’m better off baking scones than returning to the FBI?” The comment stung more than she was willing to admit.
“I don’t think he meant that at all.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m done. I called Phillip this morning and told him to put through my final paperwork. This sabbatical nonsense has gone on long enough.”
He met her gaze. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. You saw what I went through when Tessa knocked on that front door. I was a wreck with anxiety. I could put someone at risk if that happened when I was on the job.”
Henry shifted forward and looked her full in the face. “You just saved Emma’s life. I watched you. You were cool and calm in a high-intensity situation. You haven’t lost your edge. And I saw how much you enjoyed working the case over the past few days. You welcomed the challenge.”
She had enjoyed it, but shooting Chris had haunted her dreams for the last two nights, and she knew it would continue. She never wanted to be in that situation again.
Cate sighed. “Why are you trying to get me to take that job back?”
“I’m not. I just want you to be absolutely positive that you’re where you want to be.”
Cate had no doubts. She smiled and lifted a hand to his cheek. “I am.” As she touched him, something tingled from her spine to her fingertips.
Henry blinked and covered her hand on his face with his. “What was that?”
A puff of icy air touched the back of Cate’s neck.
You approve, Ruby?
“I must have shocked you.”
“It didn’t feel like any shock I’ve ever experienced.” He visibly relaxed. “I’m glad you know what you want.”
“I do. I want to be right here on Widow’s with you. If I need something to solve, I’ll order a puzzle. One of those five-thousand-piece ones.”
His eyes lit up. “I love those.”
She laughed. “I didn’t know that. I’ve never
