Page 495 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Now the two men were making a desperate attempt to frame Xavier for everything. They didn’t know the man was already in police custody.

Patrick’s glare swept over Claire before landing on Alex. “You’re late.”

“There were some delays.” Alex shoved Claire and her feet stumbled over each other. Her body crashed to the ground with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. The zip ties around her wrist broke. Before she had time to react, the sharp point of Patrick’s boot landed in her stomach. Pain exploded through her body. Claire doubled over.

Patrick leaned down. “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, Sheriff. I warned you to stay out of my way.”

She sucked in a shallow breath. Spots danced in front of her vision. Patrick grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked until she was looking him in the face. Fire raced along her scalp and the pain exacerbated her body’s need for air.

He sneered. Menace dilated his pupils. “Shooting you is going to make me very happy.”

Patrick released her and Claire tumbled back to the ground. Her hands were free, but her muscles wouldn’t coordinate. The pain was overwhelming. Every breath sent burning through her chest. She felt as weak as a newborn kitten as Alex hauled her once again to her feet. He handed Patrick two handguns. “The Glock is hers. Make sure you dispose of it.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” Patrick snapped. “Don’t forget who’s in charge. Let’s get this over with.”

Alex half-dragged, half-carried Claire behind the mayor toward the tree line. He deposited her next to a fallen pine. Leaves and pine needles cushioned her fall this time. Her mind whirled. She was an experienced law enforcement officer, but no amount of training had prepared her to take on two armed men with nothing but her bare hands.

She couldn’t run. Jacob was still on the boat. He needed medical attention, and the only way to get to him was through her attackers. She had to fight. But how? Darkness pressed in around her. The boat bobbed on the black surface of the lake. There were no signs of anyone else nearby. Gavin and the rest of the law enforcement officers had to be looking for her by now, but Xavier’s property wasn’t the first place they’d go.

A jagged stick from the fallen log was in front of her. Claire wrapped her fingers around it. The bark cut into the tender flesh of her palm. The crude weapon wasn’t much, but it was something. She sucked in a deeper breath, forcing herself to ignore the ache in her chest.

Patrick’s phone beeped with an incoming message. He glanced at his smart watch. The glow cast stark shadows on his face. His muscles tightened.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“An update from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department. Xavier’s been arrested. He was taken into custody twenty minutes ago.” Patrick raised a gun, pointing it at Claire. “That changes things.”

He whirled and fired. Alex stumbled back as blood bloomed on his shirt. He collapsed into a heap, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Horror and disgust churned Claire’s stomach. She gripped the stick tighter in hand.

Patrick tossed her a smile. “You see, Claire. You never stood a chance against me. I’m smarter than anyone knows and I plan for every contingency.” He lifted the gun in his hand. It was her service weapon. “You’ll die, but at least you’ll go out a hero. Killed while shooting your kidnapper.”

Claire shifted her body weight in preparation to attack. She needed to edge closer. “It was your idea to kill Stephanie, wasn’t it? You convinced Alex to do it.”

“He didn’t need much convincing. He was angry with Stephanie. I just provided a way for him to solve the problem.” He smirked. “The money helped, of course.”

“You didn’t plan on Faye looking for Stephanie two years after she disappeared.”

“I knew to keep my eye on her.” He tucked her service weapon into his pocket and removed the second gun. “I heard rumblings around town and asked Alex to meet with Faye at the bakery. Like most people in town, she believed Alex had turned over a new leaf and put aside his criminal ways. She thought he cared about Stephanie as much as she did.”

Faye had trusted Alex. That one mistake led to her death. Claire’s mind filled in the blanks from what she knew about the case. “Faye believed Ian was involved in Stephanie’s disappearance.”

Patrick nodded. “I couldn’t have that. I ordered Alex to eliminate her.”

His tone was callous. Claire’s body shook with rage, even as she slid toward the mayor. One hand gripped the stick. With the other, she grabbed a handful of dirt. “Alex sliced her tire and shot her in cold blood. And the private detective she hired.”

“Yes. Most of the threats against you were him, too. I was the brains, but he was the muscle.” Patrick pointed the gun at her. “He messed up quite a few times, but it worked out in the end.You’ve caused me a great deal of grief. Like I said, I’m going to enjoy shooting you.”

Now!She flung the dirt in his face and the mayor yelped as it hit his eyes. He stumbled back and Claire swiped out with one leg to knock him off his feet. He hit the ground with a thud but held on to his weapon. She beat him with the stick. He rolled to get away from her. She kept up the assault, the pain in her chest making it hard to breathe, the throbbing in her leg slowing her down.

Claire attempted to restrain his hand with the weapon. She jabbed her elbow into his neck. He punched. Stars exploded in her head as his fist collided with her cheek. She fell back. Patrick followed the hit with another. Her body went limp.

He rose from the ground, like a horrific goblin from a scary movie. Blood dripped from his busted lip. Dirt and pine needles coated his clothes. Breathing heavily, Patrick lifted his weapon. Inside her head, Claire was screaming for her muscles to move, but they refused.

A shadow shifted behind the mayor. “Drop it.”

Gavin’s voice was an answer to a heartfelt prayer. The clouds parted and a beam of moonlight reflected off the gun held to the back of the mayor’s head. She followed the arm holding it, lifted her gaze to the ranger’s fierce expression. Claire’s heart soared. She didn’t know how Gavin had found her in time, but he had.

Ryker came into view, his weapon also drawn. “It’s over. Drop the gun.”