“Wait,” I said. “When exactly did you pretend to be Garrett?”
“Just that night at the park when I gave you the—er—gift for my mom.” He looked back at Helen. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to ever actually get that.”
Raven-hair cleared her throat. “Enough with the family counseling session. Where. Is. My. Money?”
“I don’t know,” Derrick said.
“I do,” I said.
Raven-hair turned the gun barrel at me, and I immediately regretted my admission.
Where were the police? They should have been here by now.
“Are you going to tell me where it is, or am I going to have to shoot you? Don’t worry, I won’t kill you right away.” She aimed the gun at my legs.
“I’ll tell you if you let Helen go.” I needed the distraction, a way to get the gun away from raven-hair.
“I’ll let her go if you tell me where my money is.”
Derrick looked back and forth between us.
“I don’t understand why you think it’s your money. Did you earn it?” I was stalling, and it would likely get my leg shot off, but at least it would give the cops time to get here and arrest these two.
The thought of my mother’s face flashed before my eyes. I couldn’t let her find me in a hospital bed again.
“Sure, I earned it.”
“Legally?” I asked.
“You’re not a cop, you’re a park ranger,” she said stepping closer to me.
Babbitt growled from where I had ordered him to stay.
“You were the one at the dog park, weren’t you?”
“Wow, it took you long enough to figure that out.”
“Why were you there?” I asked.
“I saw you and Derrick together at the reservoir the night he gave you the head. I saw you kiss.”
A smirk washed over Derrick’s face. Their mother should be proud, both boys knew their way around a kiss.
“I thought he was Garrett.”
“I should have done away with you then and there. It would have made all this business so much easier.”
She had been there to kill me? I looked over at Babbitt who seemed only ready to rip her head off at my command. But I couldn’t risk him getting shot.
“So you and Derrick are an item?” I asked.
“Were.”
“Noted,” I smirked in Derrick’s direction.
“Don’t get any ideas.” Her voice quirked up a bit. “Dead people can’t date and you most certainly will be dead before today is over.”
“I don’t want to date him. I’ve got a thing for his brother.”
“The rando nerd.” She rolled her eyes. “Why? He’s a bore.”
“He’s nice. You should try a nice guy for a change. Well, once you’re out of prison, that is. I’m assuming that money came from drugs—that you’re part of Boy Boy’s gang.”
“Me? Part of his gang? Ha!” her nostrils flared, her nose ring sparkling in the lights. “Boy Boy was the face of my gang.”
“I’m impressed,” I said. Helen squeezed my hand beside me and my gaze shot to the stairs where the tip of a gun was coming around the corner. I could only hope it was the police.
When raven-hair’s head began to turn to follow my gaze, I shouted, “The money is under the bed.”
She stopped and glared at me. “Get it.” Her gun was pointed at my face now.
I walked over to the bed and bent down feeling several eyes on my backside. Babbitt’s growls were barely audible.
My head was still under the bed when I heard Luke’s voice from the stairs. “Freeze. Put the gun down.”
I quickly pulled myself up to see raven-hair turn her gun on Luke.
“Babbitt sick,” I said. And Babbitt was on top of her in seconds, his teeth circling the back of her neck.
Derrick turned and tried to run past Luke, but Luke pulled him to the ground with one arm. Jerry moved more quickly than I had ever seen to cuff raven-hair.
“Can you call off the dog?” he hollered.
“Babbitt, come,” I said, and Babbitt came to sit next to me. “Good boy.” His tail wagged at the sound of my praises.
“It’s about time you showed up,” I said to Luke.
“We’ve been outside but had to figure out how to get in without anyone getting hurt.” He reached up to the mic on his chest and said, “All clear inside.”
Helen was on her knees now, her face scrunched up with tears streaking down her cheeks. I crouched in front of her. “Are you okay? You were brilliant.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said wrapping her arms around my neck. “You were amazing. I thought she was going to shoot you.”
“So did I,” I replied.
At that moment I felt another set of arms around me. I turned to look and Garrett—the real Garrett—was crouching behind me with tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you.”
“It’s okay, we can talk about it later,” I hugged him back. It was going to take some time to reconcile the fact that he had a twin brother and that I hadn’t been able to tell them apart.
“So about that head . . .” Luke said.
26
Raven-hair and Derrick were both charged with various crimes. It was unlikely either of them would be out of an orange jumpsuit anytime soon.
“I’m just glad you didn’t end up in the hospital this time,” Shayla said after I finished telling her the story.
“Me too. I can’t imagine my mother’s reaction if I had.” Thankfully, they’d managed to keep my name out of the news about breaking the case.
“Are you still going to date Garrett?” We were both applying makeup in the mirror in the loft exercise area. We each had our interviews—mine for the full-time ranger and hers for police academy—and had just finished working out to combat some of our jitters.
“I think so. I mean, it’s not his fault all of this happened. Plus
