CHAPTER
FIFTY-SIX

Savage River
Dr. Samantha Owens

Xander moved faster than Sam thought was possible, knocking her back on the ground out of harm’s way, his weapon rising as he used his foot to flip it into his hands, spinning, graceful as a ballerina, toward the threat.

God, he was like something out of The Matrix, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut, not wanting to see Xander killed in front of her, realizing if he didn’t stop Maggie, she would be next. She started to pray and blinked her eyes open once, just in time to see Xander swing the weapon toward the trees.

Away from Maggie.

Gunshots rang through the clear mountain air. Her ears echoed with their fury.

Deafened, Sam risked another glance and realized Maggie and Xander were standing hip to hip, arms up, firing into the forest. Their only communication was under their breath. Sam caught “forty degrees to your left” and “reloading” but her ears were ringing, she couldn’t make out anything else.

Xander stopped shooting long enough to grab Sam’s arm and fling her to her feet, shouted, “Cabin!”

Sam didn’t waste any time, she took off running, Maggie on her heels, a hand on her shoulder, holding her bent over. They reached the porch door and Maggie shoved Sam down on the hard wood. She could hear Thor barking frantically. He was stuck in his pen, unable to come to his master’s aide.

“Goddamn it, the light. He’s going to see us go in.” She shouted, “Cover me!” and Xander lit up the night with a barrage of bullets. Maggie pushed Sam through the door and slammed it behind them, knocking the light switch off as she did.

Sam could hear Xander’s weapon, the sharp, staccato bangs moving now, circling the house, then there was silence. Even the dog stopped barking. Sam prayed he wasn’t hit.

“What the hell just happened?” Sam whispered.

“Shh.”

Maggie had her back to the wall. She reloaded the pistol with sureness. Sam realized Maggie could probably rebuild the weapon blindfolded, in ten seconds or less, or something else equally impressive. She was again reminded of Taylor.

She wished she had that kind of fearless courage.

Then Maggie leaned over and pushed the gun into Sam’s shaking hands.

“Here. Anything comes through that door, shoot it.”

“Wait. No …” But Maggie slipped away, creeping across the floor on her belly. Sam heard the distinct noises of the lock on the gun cabinet being freed. More weapons. Damn it, Sam hated guns.

Then Maggie was back, a thick black assault rifle in her hand. Sam could still hear intermittent gunfire.

“Goddamn it, tell me what’s going on,” Sam whispered, this time with enough force that Maggie complied with an answer.

“Culpepper. He was in the trees over your shoulder. Listening. I couldn’t sleep, I was coming to join you. I saw him in the flash of light from the door. I was trying to be subtle. I can’t believe Thor didn’t let us know he was out there.”

“You’re about as subtle as a heart attack. Is Xander okay?”

“He’ll be fine. He knows this mountain like the back of his hand. He was ready for this, as well. He’ll be leading Culpepper away from the house. I have to go help. You need to stay here and guard the kids. Noah has a rifle, he knows how to use it. I told him not to shoot you.”

“No. No, you can’t leave me here. I—”

“Sam.” Maggie put her face right into Sam’s. “Focus. Listen. You have to. Protect my babies for me, Sam. If that door opens, shoot. Don’t hesitate. Hesitate and you could get all of us killed. Do you understand?”

And then she was gone.

Xander had somehow kicked out the fire. Sam didn’t think she’d ever seen a darkness so incredibly black before. It scared her, made her feel like she was blind. She desperately wanted to light a match, flick a lighter, anything to break its all-consuming cover, but she didn’t dare.

She couldn’t hear properly, and the cloying blackness made her claustrophobic. She began to count mechanically, running her mantra through her head, breathing slowly so she wouldn’t hyperventilate and pass out.

One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.

A short burst of gunfire pulled her up short. She smashed her body against the wall. Damn, that was close. She tightened her grip on the weapon.

At least she finally understood what had happened, the why behind all these senseless deaths. Maggie hadn’t gotten pregnant with King’s child. She’d gotten pregnant with Culpepper’s. Jen was the product of her mother’s rape.

And now her father was out hunting down her mother, trying to silence the one person who could undo him, his career, his reputation, after all these years.

What an idiot he was. Maggie obviously didn’t have any desire for anyone to know the true story behind Jen’s parentage.

But pushed by Karen Fisher, Culpepper thought the truth was coming out. And he did everything in his power to stop it.

Sam’s hand was cramping. She loosened her grip on the gun. She couldn’t hear the children, but didn’t want to call out, to draw attention to them all.

She was so tired. Getting drawn into Culpepper’s game, nearly dying herself, now squatting breathless in a darkened cabin with a gun in her hand … it was all too much. She needed to go away someplace quiet and have a nice little breakdown.

Too bad that wasn’t an option. At least, not right now. There were three children twenty feet to her right, and she would be damned if any harm was going to come to them. She’d lost her own children because of her selfishness. Even if she had to step in front of a bullet, she wasn’t going to let anything happen to Maggie’s kids.

She heard something on the porch. A scraping, soft and gentle. Like a shoe fall.

Her heart leaped into her throat and started beating so hard she thought she might black out. She reminded herself to breathe, tried to bring air into her lungs silently. She focused on the handle to the door. She knew if it were Maggie or Xander, they’d call out to let her know.

It must be Culpepper.

She gripped the gun more securely and bit her lip.

Please no. Please.

The doorknob began to twist. She could see the shadow under it as it moved. She swallowed hard and aimed the weapon at the door.

Could she do this? Could she shoot someone in cold blood? Even knowing he was about to come hurt her? That he might have already killed Xander and Maggie?

Yes, she could. For the children.

She steeled herself. The gun stopped shaking. A quiet calm came over her.

The door gently began to open. She used her left hand to cup her right so the gun would be steadier.

She smelled the night air, the breeze gusting through the door, setting some papers on the counter fluttering. Her finger grew tighter on the trigger.

A man’s silhouette now, oddly one-sided. She remembered her training. Squeeze your finger softly back toward your body, apply even pressure. Don’t jerk at it, it will raise the barrel and you’ll miss your shot.

The shadow grew larger. She was about to take the shot when a deep voice called from outside the cabin, a voice she recognized.

“Stop! Police! Put down your weapon and step away from the door.”

She nearly fainted in relief.

“Fletch,” she called out, voice cracking. “It’s me. It’s Sam. I’m inside the cabin.”

And the world exploded into fragments of light.