"Ethan!" I shout, and the sound of running can be heard coming down the hallway.
"That bitch is crazy." Ethan drops his hands. I step closer to Beckett and kick the gun away, seeing the silencer on the end.
"I know." Kindred comes rushing into the room, I'm sure having heard everything. I hold my hand up, pressing it to her stomach so she doesn't move past me. I’m not taking any chances when it comes to her. “This is what happens, Ethan, when you think with your other head!” Kindred tosses at her brother.
"No!" Beckett whimpers, rolling to her side. "No, no, no," she says over and over, knowing it's the end of the line. "Why did you guys get to make it out and not him? You saved the others but not him!"
“What the hell am I missing?” Ethan asks, and I give him a look that lets him know this isn’t the time. Especially with the town filling up the hallway.
“She was talking about killing Ethan,” Kindred says, pressing herself into my side. She glances down at Beckett. I can tell by the way Kindred's face softens that she feels bad for her. I don’t. There was a silencer on the end of that handgun. This was a laid-out plan that’s been in the works for months. Beckett was planning to commit murder. I can’t even entertain the thought of what that could’ve meant for Kindred.
That was the email I'd gotten from Roger. When I started pushing for more information on her, he started digging deeper. Beckett had already put in for a transfer out of the city, and it had been approved. Those had been her first steps, but her sergeant had noticed she'd been acting strangely. When he pushed, she lost it on him and was fired.
I don't know where shit got lost in translation, but clearly it had. Beckett had assaulted her sergeant and then made a deal that if she checked into a mental facility, charges wouldn't be filed.
She agreed but left after a week. Then she showed up to her new position as if nothing had happened. If I had to guess, because they'd made a deal with her and didn't press charges, that's where things slipped through the cracks.
I get it. Cops want to protect their own, but in doing that, you sacrifice protecting the community, which should always come first.
"Can you get everyone downstairs?" I ask Kindred, and she nods, her eyes filled with tears, and I know it's for everyone. "Thanks, Cupcake." I kiss the top of her head. "Sheriff Buford is going to show up anytime now. Send him up for me."
Thankfully it isn’t long before Roger shows up, and I tell him everything that has gone down. I am relieved that Beckett doesn’t know the full truth. That means there wasn’t a leak.
I’m not a Ranger any longer. I’ll leave that be and let them handle it how they see fit. I’m also not a head doctor, so I got no fucking clue if her knowing the truth would only make it worse.
Roger cuffs her, putting her into the back of his cruiser. “The FBI is coming to pick her up. I didn’t want to put that in the email I sent you. I guess there are some shady dealings with not only her time on the force but with her brother too.”
“All right.” I merely shrug, not sure what they will tell him. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
As much as that sucks, it might give Kindred a little relief knowing that Beckett isn’t a girl who simply lost it because her brother died.
“There is more to this story?” Roger asks.
“This isn’t my story anymore.” I glance toward the inn, where I know everyone is peeking out, being nosy as hell.
“You think you can move that crowd along? The Feds will be here soon, and they’ll want to process her room and, I’m sure, have a million questions.”
“I’ll try, but I make no promises,” I tell him, heading back up the sidewalk.
“I get it.” Roger chuckles, coming from a small town too. He leans up against his cruiser to wait as I head back inside the inn.
The second I'm through the door, Kindred is throwing herself at me. I catch her, pulling her closer. She buries her face in my neck. I run my hand up and down her back. She lifts her head to whisper into my ear.
"There was a third option, and we got it wrong."
“You can't predict crazy,” I tell her. “The Feds are on their way. She’s in deep shit. We need to clear people out.”
“I got it.” She presses a kiss to my neck as I put her back down onto her feet.
“Listen up!” Kindred claps her hands together. “Christmas has come early, the Feds are on the way.” They will talk about this for the next year, maybe two. She peeks over her shoulder at me. “It’s better to just tell them, or they’ll be trying to sneak back in.”
“The Feds!” Tinsley says excitedly.
“Y’all have to clear out,” I inform them. They all groan.
"Guys, we have a wedding tomorrow, and it's Christmas Eve," Kindred reminds them. "We can all gossip then." Candy nods adamantly next to her.
This night could have ended in disaster, but instead, all of us will get to go home safe and sound. I’ve never been more thankful for anything in my life.
