“Noah,” I say, softening my tone. “It’s over. Let Atlee go. We’ll figure this out.”
For a heartbeat, I think I’ve reached him. His eyes soften for just a moment.
Then his face hardens again. “No. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”
He swings the gun toward me, and I move on pure instinct. Diving to the side as the shot goes wide, I roll behind a display case, drawing my own weapon in one fluid motion.
“Atlee, down!” I shout, and thank God, she drops immediately, scrambling away from Noah.
Noah fires again, the bullet splintering the wood beside my head. I return fire, a controlled double tap aimed at his center mass. The first shot catches him in the shoulder, spinning him back. The second hits his leg, dropping him to the ground.
The gun falls from his hand, skittering across the floor. I’m on my feet instantly, kicking the weapon away before he can reach for it again.
Noah clutches his wounded shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers. His eyes burn with hatred as he looks up at me. “You won’t get away with this,” he gasps.
“It’s already over,” I tell him, keeping my gun trained on him as I back toward Atlee. “How are you doing, sweetheart? Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay,” she says, her voice remarkably steady despite everything. “Carson?”
“Made it out,” I assure her. “Are there any other customers still in the store?”
“A few,” she says. “Hiding in the aisles.”
I speak into my earpiece. “This is Devlin. Situation contained. Suspect is down but alive. Send in medical and clear the remaining civilians.”
“Copy that,” comes the immediate response. “Moving in now.”
Noah is still conscious, still glaring at me with undiluted loathing. “This doesn’t change anything,” he slurs, the blood loss already affecting him. “They’ll…find out what you did.”
“Maybe,” I acknowledge, holstering my weapon now that help is on the way. “But they’ll also know what you did. Taking hostages, threatening innocent people. That’s not something you come back from, Noah.”
His eyes start to lose focus, his head lolling back against the floor. The fight’s leaving him along with his blood, though the paramedics will be here soon enough to make sure he doesn’t bleed out.
I turn to Atlee, pulling her into my arms at last. She’s trembling slightly, the adrenaline crash hitting her, but her eyes are clear and determined.
“You came,” she whispers against my chest.
“Of course I came,” I murmur into her hair. “Nothing could have kept me away.”
The store fills with deputies and paramedics, the hostage situation giving way to controlled chaos. Someone wraps a shock blanket around Atlee’s shoulders, but she doesn’t let go of me, her fingers twisted in the fabric of my shirt like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she loosens her grip.
The paramedics work on Noah, stabilizing him for transport. His eyes are closed now, his face slack. He’ll live to face charges—multiple counts of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and unlawful detention. His career isn’t just over. His freedom is forfeit too.
Jesse and Truett burst in as soon as the all clear is given, their expressions a mixture of relief and residual anger.
“Everyone okay?” Jesse asks, his eyes taking in the scene—Noah on the stretcher, the bullet holes in the wall, Atlee still clinging to me.
“We’re good,” I tell him. “It’s over.”
But even as I say the words, I know it’s not entirely true. Noah is neutralized, but the Morrisons are still out there, and they won’t take the exposure of Project Watershed lying down. This is just one battle in a war that’s far from over.
For now, though, all that matters is that Atlee is safe in my arms, Carson is unharmed, and my family is intact. We’ll face whatever comes next together, just like we always have.
“Let’s go home,” I tell Atlee, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She nods against my chest, finally relaxing her death grip on my shirt. “Home,” she agrees, the word carrying all the weight of promise, of future, of the life we’re building together despite everything trying to tear us apart.
As we walk out into the fading light of day, past the crowd and the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, I hold her close, my arm secure around her shoulders. Whatever happens next, whatever the Morrisons throw at us, this is what I’m fighting for—not just the ranch, not just my family’s legacy, but the woman beside me who’s become my reason for everything.
