I told Mom as much as I could. How Ryan Garrett had wanted revenge against me for helping his sister years ago. And how, after the death of his accomplice Nox Woodson, Garrett decided to use Stephie to lure me into the open tonight.
“But in your message, you said your baby sister snuck out to be with some boy. Was he in on it too?”
“No. Not at all. The boy’s name is Colby, he’s twenty-one, and he works as a ranch hand. Seems he and Stephie have been getting pretty serious.”
“Twenty-one? Does he know your sister is eighteen?”
“Mom, he tried to protect Stephie tonight, and if he’d had his way, Colby would be here right now. Getting an earful from you, no doubt. I think he’s a good one. Just made some mistakes, as did Stephie, and she’s technically an adult.”
Ryan Garrett and his friends must’ve been watching my sister and Colby for days or even longer. Stephie had known about the protection detail I’d placed on her and Mom, so she’d figured out how to turn off the security system and sneak away from the house with nobody the wiser.
Unfortunately, Ryan Garrett had figured all that out too.
Last night, Colby had picked her up as usual, and they’d headed toward their favorite parking spot to look at the stars. But Ryan Garrett and his buddies had been waiting. Garrett had ambushed them, shoved them both under the cover of Colby’s truck bed, and driven them out to that isolated cabin.
God, Stephie and Colby must’ve been near hysterical, not knowing what was happening or why.
After they’d arrived at the cabin, the men tied up Colby and dumped him in the bedroom, leaving Stephie at the mercy of Ryan Garrett. The bastard had ordered her to call me on the phone, instructing Stephie on what to say. She’d been too scared to defy him, even though she’d wanted to warn me. Thank goodness she’d done what he said.
Bravery wasn’t always about defiance. It was also about being smart, and considering the situation, my sister had done the best thing possible by getting me and Dean there.
Now, Ryan Garrett was never going to hurt us again.
“You know Dean used to be in the military, right?” Iasked. “He had some high-level skills. He did a lot to save us tonight. Colby helped too, creating a distraction so I could neutralize one of the armed men guarding us.”
“Neutralize? Just say it, Keira. You killed one of the men trying to hurt you and your sister?”
I swallowed. “Yes, Mom. I killed one of them. Dean killed a bunch more.”
She nodded, jaw clenched. “And this Ryan Garrett? What abouthim? Is that abomination dead too, or will I have to do that myself?”
Sometimes, I wondered where my courage to become a cop came from. Well, clearly it came from this woman right here. Mom worried herself too much about us, and I tried to protect her from that, but in the most crucial moments her spine was made of steel.
“Garrett won’t last much longer.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that where Dean is?”
“Um…not exactly. Dean’s taking care of some things. He’s making sure Colby’s all right, and then he’s going to join us here soon.” I considered how much to say about this next part. “Turns out, Garrett made another powerful enemy. Someone who’ll make sure he never walks free. As for what that man does with Garrett? I’m choosing not to know the details. I’ve dealt with enough violence for one night. It’s enough for me to know that Garrett will never bother us again.”
Mom gripped my hands. “Then that’s enough for me too.”
I explained the official story I’d sketched out with Dean: Stephie had sneaked out tonight with Colby, his truck had broken down, and Stephie had called me for help. Dean and I had gone out to meet them.
Officially, we’d never been at that cabin tonight. Never seen Ryan Garrett or his friends. Dean was going to make sure Medina’s men torched the cabin, including anyremaining trace evidence inside, after they’d taken Garrett and disposed of the bodies.
I did have that phone call to Medina in my call log. I’d also met with Medina, very publicly, at Last Refuge just a couple of days ago. But if anyone asked about my connection to him, I could come up with an explanation later on. I wasn’t too worried about that part.
Harris Medina seemed like a dangerous man, someone with far more questionable morals than I was comfortable with. But this time, cooperating with him had benefited us both.
In the future, I planned to steer clear of Medina and Crosshairs.
“If anyone asks me about what happened last night,” Mom said, “I’ll just say what I witnessed firsthand. My daughter was gone because she sneaked out to be with some boy. You brought her back. And she’s going to be grounded for amonth. But I’m just so grateful you were there, Keira. I know I haven’t always been comfortable with your being in harm’s way as a deputy. But you’re a force to be reckoned with, and I’m proud of you. And so happy you have a man like Dean standing next to you.”
“I’m happy about that too,” I said softly.
Then Mom grabbed my hand, studying the bracelet on my wrist. “This is new. It’s lovely.”
“A gift from Dean.”
