“We’re not friends,” Vale said. “If I did for you, it was to help myself, just as I’m doing now. You’re irrelevant. Your blind faith in people has always been your weakness. Now let’s climb the tower and get this done.”
Selina stopped, ignoring the gun Vale pushed harder into her spine. “No.”
“Climb the damned tower!” Vale screamed.
“She won’t be doing that.”
Both women turned, and relief flooded Selina’s entire body. Derrick and Barber approached from behind them. They both had weapons drawn.
“Back up,” Vale snapped, grabbing Selina and pulling her closer. “I swear I will kill her where she stands if you don’t stop where you are.”
The men stopped, ten feet away, not close enough to reach her, though certainly close enough to die if Vale decided to turn her gun on them.
“You’ve only been an accomplice in this so far, Miss Williams,” Derrick said softly. “And you haven’t killed anyone. If you stop, we can work something out.”
“As if you won’t sacrifice me for her,” Vale said with a dry laugh. “You’ve been mooning over her since the first moment you saw her. Even when you knew she used you to protect yourself, you let yourself be convinced it was true love. But Selina has always been able to seduce her way into what she wanted.”
Derrick’s expression didn’t change, it didn’t even flutter. He didn’t believe Vale. At least there was that. He had faith in Selina. And that meant the world to her.
“Put the gun down, Miss Williams,” Barber said this time.
“Or what?” Vale said. “If I put it down, I’m doomed. If I don’t put it down, I have a chance. Especially if I put a bullet in one of you. Which one should it be? My friend who destroyed a good thing? The lover who made her waver? Or the man who is so determined to do what’s right, he’ll die for it?” She moved the gun from Selina’s back, shoved her aside and aimed at Barber. “I think destroying a good man might be fun.”
Selina screamed as Vale began to press the trigger. She leapt to put herself in the way, but before she could, Robert raced from the bushes and tackled Vale. They struggled, rolling on the grass, the gun wedged between them. When it fired, Selina screamed again, staring down at her brother, at her friend.
Robert rolled away, and it was clear then. Vale had been shot. Her eyes were already glassy. She was dead.
Selina spun toward Derrick and raced to him, into his arms. He held her against him as she realized just what she’d lost that night.
“Selina.” Robert’s voice was shaky.
She clung to Derrick’s hand as she faced her brother, ready to see his censure and his blame. But Robert’s face was only bright with relief and love. And he tugged her into his arms.
“I almost lost you,” Robert said. “My God, I almost lost you.”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I let you down.”
“I don’t approve of your methods,” Robert said with a shake of his head. “What you’ve been doing put a great many people, including yourself, in danger.” The sternness faded a fraction. “But damn, it’s hard not to admire your daring.”
Barber cleared his throat and the three faced him. He glanced at the dead woman on the ground and then back toward Selina. She drew in a long breath, let go of the man she loved and the one who was her family, and stepped toward him, arms reaching toward him.
“Mr. Barber, I would like to turn myself in,” she said.
Robert and Derrick both gasped behind her, but she ignored that. Ignored her own breaking heart.
Barber stared at her outstretched hands. “We must return to town,” he said. “To alert the guard about the altercation and to have the body removed. Let me do that and then let’s talk about this other matter. Go with Huntington. Your Grace, perhaps you could assist me?”
“Yes,” Robert said, his voice now hollow and shaken. “I assume there will be questions on how this woman was shot.”
Derrick turned her away, sweeping her up so she wouldn’t have to walk on her cut up feet. But as he took her toward town, she heard Barber say, “Let me do the explaining, Your Grace.”
“Will he protect Robert?” she asked, resting her head on Derrick’s shoulder as the exhaustion of the night’s events washed over her.
“Yes,” Derrick said. “I think he will.”
“Then I can think nothing but the best of him,” she whispered. And then she let herself rest in the arms of the man she loved, knowing it would all be over soon.
Chapter 26
