Chapter Forty-One
Expecting smoke, he covered his mouth and walked into the house. The fire blazed on one side of the cabin, and he could barely make out Dale’s body. He swung his shotgun over his shoulder and grabbed him under his arms. Too big to carry over his shoulders, Levi would have to dump him outside. The FBI could take over from there.
A guttural groan from the opposite side of the room made him drop the big doofus. Movement in the house forced him to touch his gun. He squinted his eyes to see past the smoke. Nearly unrecognizable, Greg swayed in the corner of the house.
“Kill … me.”
Swollen from head-to-toe with bumps, Levi searched his brain at what could have done this.
“No,” he told him. “I went to war, so I got enough shit on my conscience. How about I just give you a gun and let you go to town?” A snake bite may have had that reaction to his system, but the Midwest only had Gardners—nothing lethal.
“Can’t. I-I-I’m … Ca-th-olic.”
Levi inched a bit closer to get a better look. He honestly didn’t think Greg had much time left without medical intervention.
“Trust me, purgatory is the least of your worries.” A crunch under foot drew his attention. A hyperemic needle lay shattered on the floor. It suddenly occurred to him why Cayden stocked up on peanut products.
“I didn’t do it.”
“Yeah, but your inability to stop Bud made every girl who came after Shana your fault. The best I can do for is drag you outside, man.”
Friends before he could even remember, Levi wanted to feel something. Out of his old group of friends, he didn’t think Greg would betray him. Nevertheless, the asshole had every intention of killing Cayden to save his own skin.
“Leave … me …”
Without another thought, Levi turned away. He honestly didn’t give a damn about the lot of them.
Slipping his hands under Dale’s body, Levi realized the big lug was heavy. As he dragged Dale out, he left everything else in the cabin behind.
****
Without leaves, the woods offered little coverage. They had to hike up the hill.
“Is the hot guy your boyfriend?” Britney asked.
As they got on the ground to hide, Cayden dropped the arms of the gun and checked the sight. “It’s complicated.” She signaled Belle to get down. The dog took a spot next to her.
“Yeah, I have one of those.”
Cayden snorted. A teenage girl could relate to her relationship with Levi—a definite sign they were in trouble.
“Check the handle of that knife.”
Britney glanced down. “It’s a compass.”
“Right. If this gets out of hand, go north. I believe we’re at Gleason’s Pond, which means there’s a town a mile from here. Don’t look back, just go and take the dog with you.”
Britney nodded her head and slid a fearful glance at Belle.
“She’s cool.” Cayden chuckled. “She’ll probably save your ass faster than that knife will.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Yeah, Complicated brought me here ten years ago to teach me how to shoot.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.”
Cayden heard tires on the snow. Ready to go, she looked through the scope. “Tell me about it,” she muttered.
An SUV pulled up to the end of the driveway and stopped. “Is that him?”
“Yep,” she whispered. Shawn and two other men got out of the truck. One of them she recognized as his brother-in-law from Park It Storage.
“They don’t look like deputies,” Britney whispered.
They weren’t, but Cayden didn’t want to scare the girl. It made no sense for the sheriff to get an outside party involved, so why would he bring them?
Not even the sound of birds penetrated the forest. The silence made everything worse.
“Here comes the hot guy.”
Levi dragged Dale out of the house.
“Thanks for doing the hard stuff.” Shawn nodded at Dale’s limp body. “Now, if you don’t mind.” He took out his gun and gestured for Levi to step away from Dale.
Always the most unreadable in Levi’s group of friends, Cayden never trusted the sheriff.
“You brought your brother and a criminal, that’s sweet. Murder is a family affair in your household, I take it,” Levi stated. The other man who resembled Shawn seemed older and weathered.
“They know what Dad was about, and right now you’re carrying my ticket into getting Bud out of jail. Thanks for that by the way.”
“You can’t possibly think that freak will stop killing when he’s free.”
Shawn gave a deep belly laugh empty of humor. “Bud is the fire chief. It would be catastrophic for the community if he died in a fire, but I’ll help everyone get back on their feet when he does.”
“Like father like son, huh?”
“I’m just cleaning up his mess.” Shawn gestured toward Dale, who groaned.
“That would be true if you turned him in thirteen years ago, but we’re clocking four murdered girls later. At this point you’re worse than he was.”
“Dad always thought you were a self-righteous shit.”
“Coming from a murdering fool, I’ll take it.”
“Screw this, let’s just kill him!” his brother shouted. Shawn shoved down the gun his brother pointed at Levi.
“Cool out,” the sheriff hollered. “Where’s the black bitch? There’s no way you left her in the cabin.” Smoke rose from the house in big billows. Soon, it would be nothing but rubble. “Matter of fact, there’s no way she’s not around here.” Shawn glanced around the area.
Too low for him to see, she didn’t worry that he would catch sight of her.
“Shoot him,” Britney whispered near her ear. “Shoot him.”
“Go check out the forest. He’s got her hidden.”
His brother-in-law hesitated, which earned him a slap to the back of the head. “I said go check it out.”
The man mumbled under his breath before he headed toward them.
“Get on your knees,” Shawn said.
“You should go.” Cayden pushed Britney to run.
“No.” She slowly rose to take a look around. “That guy is just bumbling around … take the shot.”
“He’ll come over here when I do,” Cayden admitted, pissed that her targets split up. “Tell me when he comes running.”
“Shoot them all,” the girl hissed.
“I hate to do this to you,” Shawn said, “but I’m not living with this mess over my—”
Cayden squeezed off a series of succinct shots before he could finish. The first bullet knocked the gun from his hand. The sheriff fell to his knees while she hit him in the shoulder with another round.
“Belle, attacke!” she commanded the dog. The pit bull sprung from the ground and went after his brother next to him. Confused where to shoot, the man pointed the gun at the dog. Levi managed to grab the weapon at his ankle and fire off a shot before Belle took a chunk out of Shawn’s brother.
“Argh!” he screamed. Belle tried to rip off his arm.
“He’s coming!” Britney screeched. Cayden rolled to her side with the rifle and ripped off two more rounds into his brother-in-law. He fell face first onto the snow-covered ground.
“Let’s go.” She hopped to her knee and packed up the rifle before she took off down the hill.
“Belle, halt bewachen… No kill shot?” Levi asked once she joined him on the driveway. Cayden trotted up to the carnage with the rifle in hand. Belle stopped mauling the man to join them.
“We need him alive,” she told him.
As Shawn writhed in pain, Levi walked toward him. “Isn’t Cayden the best? She made sure you and your dirt bag brothers go to jail! Thank her.” Levi stepped on his injured shoulder. “I said, thank her.”
“Ow, you freakin’ bitch!” his brother hollered across the driveway. Britney kneeled next to his body, clutching the handle of the hunting knife that stuck out of the man’s hand.
“He reached for his leg,” Brittany confessed before she yanked the knife out, which elicited even more screams.
Seething anger poured off Levi. Cayden patted his arm. “We’re done, it’s over.”
Removing his foot off Shawn’s shoulder, he reached into his pocket. Levi read from his cell phone screen. “Okay, ladies, put the weapons on the ground and get down, the FBI is coming up the hill.”
Reluctantly putting the hunting knife in front of her, Britney got on her knees. Cayden passed the rifle to Levi after he searched Shawn and his brothers, then joined them on the ground.
Seven agents with weapons at the ready walked up the hill. “Levi Scott!”
“Present,” he yelled.
“Is Cayden Young and the girl with you?”
“Here,” Cayden said.
“I’m here,” Britney called out.
“We have men down, and the girl, sir,” the younger agent spoke into his walkie-talkie.
“Can I keep the knife?” Britney whispered from the side of her mouth.
“Of course not,” Levi hissed.
“Sure, sweetie.” Cayden ignored Levi’s quelling glance. “You’ve totally earned it.”