Liam reacted without thinking. He fired back. The sound was enormous in the stone room. The round went wide, burying itself in the bookshelf behind Luther's head. Then Liam stumbled. The breath left him. He hit the floor. The rifle slipped from his hands and struck the hardwood with a sound that was louder than it should have been.
Silence.
Noah rushed toward Liam only to be stopped by a second round fired near his feet.
"Ah, ah, ah. Take one more step and you'll join him."
Noah froze in place, his gaze on Liam, trying to see if he was alive. But he was motionless. A pool of blood forming.
"All right, all right. Let's get a grip here," Luther said.
"You killed him."
"Self-defense. I think you forgot he killed four other people."
Noah turned to Luther, hatred filling his eyes.
Luther sniffed hard. “I have to say, I have not had this much excitement since, well, I can't remember." He kept his gun trained on Noah as he reached for his glass of bourbon and knocked it back. Not once did he take his eyes off him. Noah looked back at Liam, his eyes drifting to the rifle beside him. If he could just reach it. If he could just lay his hands on it. He cast a glance at Luther. Luther knew it too. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "What a fucking mess. Oh well. I'd been looking for a reason to renovate this room." He turned and looked at Noah and then glanced at a bloody Hugh who was partially up. "Now this is quite the situation we find ourselves in, gentlemen. What are we going to do?" He raised a finger. "Let's put a pin in that for a moment, shall we. Here's what I'd like to know, being as we are telling the truth. Who gave you the latex glove that was securely locked away in my safe?"
Noah saw his reply as one way to dig the knife into Luther. "I would have figured you knew by now. Since she came running back to you."
"Natalie?"
Noah eyed him with contempt.
"Well. Who would have thought." Luther paused. "It seems we've all been carrying secrets." He straightened in his chair. "So. There's only two ways I see this playing out. I would like to think, Noah, you're a reasonable man, and with all that's happened, you might be inclined to get on board if I found a way to get you reinstated by your very helpful lieutenant. And hell, maybe even a commendation. You see, all of this can be chalked up to look like a political attack. A crazed gunman barges his way into my home to kill me and prevent me from running for mayor. Your father was struck. Heroically, you stepped in, shot the sniper, and saved the day. I can already see the headline for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Former Fired Cop Saves Future High Peaks Mayor from Certain Death at the Hands of Crazed Sniper." He paused. "Okay, maybe that's a little too long. Words don't come easy. Convincing people of what is in their best interest, however, does. How's that sound?"
Noah stared back. A pause. "And the second way?"
"Well, that's obvious. You don't accept the offer and I shoot both of you and weave a different story. One where I'm the sole survivor of a crazed gunman. Locals will eat it up and I'm sure it will win me an uncontested election in March."
"There is a third way," Noah said.
"Huh?”
"The one where I tell you to go fuck yourself."
"Have it your way then," Luther said, straightening his arm to fire at Noah.
Hugh rose to his feet, wiping blood from his lips. "Woah. Luther. Wait. Give me a minute with my son. I can fix this. Don'tbe stupid, Noah. Take the offer. If not for you, do it for Ethan and Mia."
"Don't you dare bring them into this," Noah said, pointing at him.
Hugh moved slowly across the room. "I was wrong. I admit it. This can still go another way. This can work."
"Listen to your father, Noah. This all can work."
"Work? For who? You?"
"We all have our cross to bear," Luther said.
"Son, look at me," Hugh said, his voice steady as he moved across the room, never once glancing at Luther. "Do you remember before your mother died, how we used to play baseball in the field behind the house?"
Noah frowned, thrown. "What?"
"And Luke," Hugh continued, eyes locked on him, "always wanted to be the catcher. Remember that?"
Luther scoffed. "What the hell does this have to do with anything?"
