Lock.
He was running toward her, a gun in his hand.
He’d found her. Oh God, he’d found her!
Hope slipped through her veins, only to be replaced with cold, hard terror when Antwan lifted his own gun—and pointed it right at Lock.
CHAPTER 34
Lock fought for control. One fucking ounce of calm.
Despite all the evidence, a part of himstillhadn’t wanted to believe this was Antwan. A part of him had refused to accept that a man he’d trusted with the woman he loved would take her away from him.
But the evidence was right in front of him. Antwan was aiming a pistol at him while he held Callie in a death grip.
Lock inched another step forward. “Let her go, Antwan. You don’t want to do this.”
“Ididn’twant to do this. I wanted to come to Misty Peak and have herchoose me. But that never happened.”
“So what?” Lock growled. “The plan changed toforceher to love you?”
“If you weren’t in the way, she would have grown to love me over time.”
Fucking delusional. Had he always been like this, and Lock had just missed it?
“She thinks she loves you, but she doesn’t,” Antwan yelled. “I tried to avoid killing you. That was my mistake. I should have manned up and done it the second I got to Misty Peak.”
Another step forward. “She’s not Lola.”
His muscles visibly tensed, shock widening his eyes.
“She’ll never replace what you lost with Lola,” Lock continued. “Or Hollie.”
Antwan scoffed. “I never cared about Hollie. I tried. But you’re right, she wasn’t Lola. Probably why it was so easy to kill her.”
Lock flinched, the world around him narrowing to pinpoint focus. His next words came out low and slow. “What did you say?”
“Ikilled her. Not Malone—although it was really fucking easy to make everyone think it was him. Leave a note and suddenly everyone’s scrambling to find him.”
No…if that was true… “What about Winnie and Remi?”
The flicker of regret on Antwan’s face almost had Lock falling to his knees.
“Youkilled them?” Lock whispered. “Youkilled Winnie?”
“They saw the blood on my shoe and found my gun. I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a fucking choice.” Pain cut through Lock like a knife. The last two years, Winnie’s murderer had been right beside him, and he hadn’t known. Hadn’t even fucking suspected.
If there was any last ounce of care for the man in front of him, it died in that moment. Winnie had been a good person. A good friend. He didn’t deserve to die.
Suddenly, Jesse appeared from the right of Antwan, stepping out from a break in the trees, a rage that matched Lock’s in his eyes. “You killed a member of our team.” It wasn’t a question, but there was disbelief in his voice.
“You would have done the same to protect your future,” Antwan shouted. “You would have chosenyourselfin that moment, just like I did!”
“Wrong!” Lock shouted back. “I would have chosenhim. I would have chosen to do what was right. You went to hisfuneral. For two years, you mourned his death with us.”
“I would have gotten out long ago. But I had to stay close to you. Callie disappeared, and I knew you’d eventually bring her back to me.”
