Page 59 of Maverick Detective Dad
River punched her with his left hand, and it was enough to off-balance her. Enough for River to take advantage of that. He grabbed Everly and dragged her in front of him, putting the gun to her head.
Noah ducked behind one of the trees and looked for the angle of a shot he could take. There wasn’t one. But there was a silver lining to this. River likely wouldn’t shoot Everly because he wouldn’t want to lose his human shield.
“It’s over,” Noah repeated to him.
River laughed. “I guess you think you can talk me into surrendering.”
Noah figured he had no chance of that so he just kept looking for the right angle for a shot he would take if he got the chance. “I’ve heard confession’s good for the soul. Especially good for relieving a guilty conscience. You murdered Daisy, and she did nothing wrong.”
“She was going to turn me in,” River snarled. “I had to stop her. That’s self-defense.”
In his warped mind, it probably was. “And Everly? More self-defense?”
“Damn right.” Because Everly was trying to squirm out of his grip, River moved. Not enough though.
“You can’t cover all your tracks,” Noah tried again. “You’ll be arrested.”
“No.” River’s denial came fast. “Bobby will be. I’ve planted enough evidence that he’ll take the fall for this. He could probably get off with an insanity plea, but he’ll still be locked up, and I won’t be.”
“Maybe.” Noah made sure he didn’t sound convinced of that at all, and the sarcasm was obviously enough to light River’s temper.
River cursed. “I should have just waited in Everly’s house and killed you both.” He got to his feet, keeping Everly in front of him. He was obviously planning on trying to run with her again.
“Why didn’t you?” Noah shifted, too, getting ready to follow River wherever the hell he was going.
“Because when I was under her bed, it occurred to me that you might watch the monitor right away and just start shooting. So, I got out and stayed out of camera range so I could hide my little surprises, including one under the bed with all the foil I left behind. I figured that little blast would get you two running out of the house so I could grab at least one of you.”
“Did Jared or Bobby help you with those explosives?” Noah asked, hoping the sound of his voice would mask his movement. He shifted behind the tree, looking for that better angle.
“Hell, no. You were right about the money I was withdrawing each week. There are lot of people out there who feel the same way I do about scum escaping justice so I got it all done for a discount.”
Once this was over, Noah would be tracking down that explosives expert who’d helped River do so much damage.
“Did you kill your mother, too?” Noah asked to keep him talking.
“Yeah, so what? She deserved it because she killed my dad.”
It sickened Noah for River to speak almost casually about ending a life. Now, River wanted to do the same to Everly.
“I gotta hand it to you,” River said. “You figured out the withdrawals, and that’s when I knew the distraction of blowing up my own place wasn’t going to put you off my scent. That’s why you’re both here right now.”
Noah tuned out what the man was saying because River was on the move again, dragging Everly toward another cluster of trees. Noah knew that behind those trees was a small ranch where there’d no doubt be vehicles that River could use to try to escape.
That wasn’t going to happen.
Knowing he had to act now, Noah darted out from cover, and as he’d hoped, River stopped and turned the gun in his direction. River fired.
And missed.
Noah didn’t. Both his hands and his aim were steady, and he took advantage of the way River had shifted his body to get off that shot. Noah put a bullet in the man’s shoulder, the only part of him Noah could shoot without the risk of hitting Everly.
Everly took advantage as well. She jabbed her elbow at River, using the momentum to push herself away from him. She scrambled to the side, and when River turned to shoot her, Noah made sure he pulled the trigger first. Not a shoulder shot this time either.
Noah fired two rounds into the killer’s chest.
River dropped like a stone, and with Noah’s gun still aimed, he ran to him to kick his weapon out of the way. He glanced at Everly, just a glance to confirm that she was as okay as she could be, considering just how close they’d come to dying. Then, Noah turned his attention back to the killer.
“You’re a dead man,” Noah told him. Not a taunt. The truth. River was bleeding out fast and didn’t have even a full minute left.
