Megan’s skin crawled. He was twisted and sick. She parted some leaves on a bush, as if she was looking for the journal.
“And then?”
“Well, I’ve shot Sheriff Franklin. I’ll put out feelers for another sheriff, one who can be bought to look the other way. The rest of the plan will remain the same.” He chuckled again. “Once I eliminate you, I have a syringe full of barbiturates with June’s name on it. Everyone who is a threat to me will be gone.”
Heat rose in Megan, and her hands tightened on the branches. He wasn’t getting anywhere near her family as long as she had breath in her body. There had to be a way to stop him.
“How did June get Franny’s journal?”
“My stupid cow of a wife.” Heath’s mouth hardened and his eyes narrowed. “She thought she could turn on me. Karen was meeting with June at the mall in Woodville periodically. I installed spy software on my wife’s phone a long time ago. Amazing stuff. You can turn the phone into a listening device and I overheard their conversations. The last time they met, June convinced her tell Luke everything.”
“You put steering fluid in the brake line so my aunt would have a car accident while she was meeting with Karen.”
“Yep. I wanted to kill my wife too, but I couldn’t afford the attention.” He formed a fist and shook it. “I taught her a lesson, though.”
The implication was clear. He’d beaten Karen and terrorized her into silence. He’d probably been doing it for years. When Karen had gotten a glimpse of freedom, a helping hand from June, Heath had taken it away.
“After June’s accident, I locked Karen in the house,” Heath continued.
Yet, she’d used a prepaid phone to warn Megan. Did Heath know? It was possible he’d found out afterward. Karen had only called once. Megan winced thinking that Franny’s mother had been beaten for helping.
“Enough playing around. You’ve examined every bush in this area.” Heath raised the rifle. “Where’s the journal?”
She licked her lips, her gaze darting into the woods.
“You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?” he snapped. “You have no idea where it is.”
Could she make a run for it? It was the only option she had left. Megan edged toward some thick underbrush. “I…”
“Don’t even think about it. You won’t make it ten feet.” Heath grinned. “I’m a hunter after all. Nice knowing you, Megan.”
A shadow flew out of the trees and tackled Heath with a fierce roar. The two shapes rolled across the dirt and crashed into a tree. A familiar voice let out a grunt.
Luke!
Thank you, God.
The slap of flesh hitting flesh accompanied another roll across the forest floor. Heath’s rifle was spit out of the fight and Megan dove for the weapon. She wouldn’t leave Luke to battle alone.
Her hand closed over the metal. She hauled it to her shoulder, thankful for the shooting lessons from her aunt, and placed her finger next to the trigger.
“Stop,” she commanded.
The men paid her no heed. Heath landed a punch hard enough to snap Luke’s head back. They went rolling again, a blur of fabric and fists. Megan couldn’t shoot Heath without fear of hitting Luke.
With a guttural growl and one swift movement, Luke whipped a knife out of his boot, straddled Heath, and held the blade to his throat. The other man froze.
Megan let out the breath she was holding and edged closer. Dark liquid coated the side of Luke’s face and stained his shirt.
Blood. It was blood.
“I’m covering you, Luke.” Her voice trembled. “Cuff him.”
He slapped the cuffs on Heath, before hauling the criminal to his feet.
Luke lifted the knife in his hand. The pearl handle glimmered in the moonlight. “June’s gift saves the day again.”
Flashlights flickered and men called out.
“Here,” Megan cried, putting the rifle on the ground. “We’re here.”
Half a dozen troopers swarmed. One took Heath from Luke and another collected the rifle.
Megan ran to Luke. She gripped his chin and turned his head. Blood was caked to his hair.
“How bad is it?”
“I’m okay, Megs.” He gently grasped her wrist. “The bullet nicked me. I passed out for a couple of minutes, but I’m fine. There’s a lot of blood because head wounds do that.”
He was there. Solid muscle and warm skin. Alive. Her body shook as silent sobs racked her, so deep she couldn’t catch her breath.
Luke’s expression went from concern to full-blown terror. His hands traced the line of her back, his gaze scanning over her.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“N-n-n-noooo.” She sucked in a shuddering breath. “I saw you lying on the ground with all that blood around you and… I thought…” She gripped his shoulders. “I warned you. You’re not bulletproof.”
“Oh, babe.” Luke gathered her against him, rocking her, his hands running through her hair. “It’ll take more than a lunatic with a rifle to separate me from you.”
She raised her face to look at him, tears dripping off her chin. “I don’t want to be without you.”
His eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “You won’t, Megs. You won’t.”
Twenty-Three
Nine months later
In a few minutes, the first guests would arrive for her aunt’s housewarming party, and Megan wanted everything perfect. She straightened the picture frame and backed up to examine her work.
“A little to the left,” Wade remarked, pausing as he poured ice into a giant cooler. His eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Stop trying to trick me.” She swatted his arm. “And hurry up with that ice. You’re going to drip water all over the floor.”
Megan turned away, and a cold rush swept down her back. She screeched and jumped, pulling at her T-shirt. An ice cube clattered to the floor.
She spun on her heel. Wade was already backing up across the kitchen, his hands raised in surrender, but his shoulders shook with laughter.
“I’m sooooo gonna get you back for that,” she declared, stalking him, her own chuckles bubbling up. She grabbed a piece of ice from the
