Cody growled. “Put the fucking gun down, Dayne.”
“No. It was aftershecame to Misty Peak that Vanessa switched her attention back toyou, Cody. Someone else caught your eye, and she just couldn’t fuckin’ stand it. I knew if I could get rid of Harper, things would go back to how they were.”
Cody’s mind was struggling to understand. Dayne had put Harper through all this overVanessa? A woman who pitted men against each other basically for her own amusement and didn’t really love anyone but herself?
“I set the fire at Vanessa’s house to get her back, but it didn’t work,” Dayne continued almost desperately. “I thought it would scare her straight back into my arms, but it drove her further away!” His face contorted. “And now I’ve done something I can’t come back from. I don’t even know if she’s alive!”
Harper’s face paled. “You killed her?”
“She was so still when I left… If she’d justlistenedto me!”
“You didn’t kill her,” Cody said quietly, inching forward, closing some of the space between them. “A neighbor heard her scream and called the police. She’s unconscious but alive and in the hospital. You haven’t killed anyone. Don’t start now.”
Dayne’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe Iwantto kill someone.”
Without warning, the gun went off.
Even as Dayne pulled the trigger, Cody shouted and lunged for him and Miles threw Harper to the floor. Cody and Dayne hit the ground hard. Dayne attempted to swing the gun around, but Cody grabbed his wrist and smashed it to the floor, sending the weapon sliding across the room.
“I’m gonna kill you!” Dayne howled, attempting to get a knee up and pull his wrists out of Cody’s grasp.
Cody immobilized the man easily. “Don’t think so. And just so you’re aware, that was Eastern on the phone when you arrived. I never hung up. He heardeverything. Your entire confession. He’s probably almost here.”
The outrage on Dayne’s face deepened, and his struggle got more aggressive.
When Cody heard a cry from the side of the room, his head whipped up to see Harper hunched over Miles, blood covering them both.
Fuck!
Barry rushed over, gun in hand and pointed at Dayne’s head. “Go to Harper, Cody. Make sure she’s okay.”
He’d just stood when the door flew open and Eastern burst in, officers behind him.
Cody ran across the room and lowered beside Harper. “Are you okay?”
“He saved me!” she cried. “He lunged and took the bullet. Cody…there’s so much blood!” Her hands were pressed to the wound, attempting to stem the blood.
He looked up to see his brother already on the phone to the paramedics, eyes on Miles.
One of the officers lowered beside her. “I’ll take over.”
She shook her head. “I can’t move!”
“You can, Storm,” Cody murmured. “Let’s step back.”
A few silent beats passed, and finally, she lifted her hands. The second she was on her feet, Cody tugged her into his arms, not caring about the blood on her skin or the chaos around them. He just held her.
Another close call…too damn close. Again.
The next hour was a mix of paramedics and police. Miles was taken to the hospital, while Dayne was arrested and taken to the station.
“You sure you’re both okay?” Eastern asked as his officers left the bar.
Harper nodded, but her eyes were too wide and her face too pale.
Cody’s arms slid around her waist. “I think we’re just ready for this night to be over.”
“Understandable.” Eastern’s eyes remained on Harper for another beat, as if he was thinking the same thing as Cody—that she was far from okay. But she didn’t look at him. Eventually, he shifted his gaze back to Cody. “Okay. Call if you need anything.”
