Page 21 of One Little Memory (Cherry Valley Novella)

The gun jerked in his hand, and the shot was deafening in the small space.

Anderson’s eyes went wide before he looked down at his chest. A big red splotch was growing in the middle of his rumpled shirt.

Phoenix’s aim had been true, and he’d hit the man center mass.

Anderson dropped his gun and sank to his knees. Then he fell face first onto the floor.

“Jo,” Phoenix called out as he kicked the gun away from Anderson. He bent down and touched two fingers to the man’s neck. No pulse.

“Jo,” he said again. She was in a heap on the floor next to the door. Please, God, let her be okay . He went over to her and touched her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Oh, Phoenix,” she said as she sat up and threw her arms around him. “It’s over. It’s really over.”

The door burst open, and the place flooded with cops. Falcon came in with them. He was beside Phoenix in the blink of an eye. “Are you okay? Phoenix, man, are you good?”

Phoenix stood and pulled Jo to her feet. “Yeah, Falcon, I’m fine. Jo, this is my brother Falcon.”

Falcon nodded to her, but his gaze searched his brother’s form, lingering on the blood on his neck.

Phoenix reached out, and Falcon wrapped his arms around his brother.

It felt good to hug Falcon. It had been a lot of years since they did, and with everything going on, it just seemed necessary to remind each other that they were brothers and would always look out for one another.

“Um, Phoenix, you, okay? You got a lot of blood on your neck. Did you get shot?” Chief Bowers was standing in the doorway.

“Nah, Chief. Anderson hit me from behind with something, probably the butt of his gun, but I’m okay.”

“Anderson?”

He pointed to the man on the floor. “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in.” He started to move, but the room tilted a bit and he stumbled.

“Get him to the ambulance,” the chief said.

He wanted to object, but his head hurt too much. He just needed to sit down for a minute. Just one minute , he thought as he closed his eyes.

“He’s fine. Just a slight concussion. He should wake up soon.” It was Hazel’s voice. The mechanical beeps and the smell told him he was at the hospital. Opening his eyes seemed like a lot of work. Laying there with his eyes closed seemed so much better.

“Stop being lazy, man. I know you can hear us. You have a tell.”

His brother’s voice seemed overly loud. He cracked one eye and squinted at his brother. “Do you have to be so loud?”

“Made you open your eyes, didn’t it?”

“Fine,” he grumbled. He looked around the room. Hazel was still there.

“I’ll go get Dr. Cahill. He’ll want to know you’re awake.” She smiled and squeezed his hand before she left the room.

He glanced around, but the room was empty except for Falcon. He’d been hoping Jo was there. Surely, they hadn’t arrested her, had they? He should check on her.

“She’s fine. Just went down to get coffee.” Falcon smiled. “I like her. You should keep her around.”

He squinted at his brother. “I’ll keep it in mind.” He’d like to keep her around as well, but who knew what she wanted?

“How are you?” he asked Falcon.

“You scared the shit out of me,” he said bluntly. “I saw you stagger out of the house with your gun and go into the apartment. There was nothing I could do that wouldn’t put you in more danger. I had no shot to take Marchand out.”

“Shot?”

“I got your spare gun from the gun locker.”

Phoenix nodded. “Remind me to change the combination.”

“Funny.” Falcon shook his head. “What I’m trying to tell you is I was terrified for you.

Terrified that you would be dead, and I would be alone.

It made me realize what you’ve been going through while I was waiting to hear my test results.

I’ve been so caught up in my own world, I didn’t think about you. I’m sorry, Phoenix.”

He waved his brother off. “You’ve had a lot on your plate.”

“Still. I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I would be devastated if anything happened to you.”

“The feeling is mutual, bro.” And it was. If Falcon had cancer, it would kill Phoenix. He’d get through it somehow for his brother, but it would absolutely kill him on the inside.

Falcon grabbed his brother’s hand, and they squeezed. “I should tell you I got the call. I don’t have cancer. I have some issues, but they are all manageable with medications and changes in diet and exercise.”

Phoenix swallowed the lump in his throat. “Thank God. Just thank fucking god.”

They hugged then. Phoenix squeezed his brother as hard as he could, and Falcon squeezed back.

“Turns out coffee is more my speed, but I have to say, I do like Earl Gray…” Jo’s voice faded out as she and Hazel entered the room.

Phoenix and Falcon parted, and he turned toward Jo. “You okay?” he asked softly.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m great actually.”

Hazel smiled. “Dr. Cahill said he’d be in a bit. He also said not too many visitors.”

“I’m gonna head out anyway,” Falcon said. “I’ve got a TV to set up.” He smiled. “I’ll catch you later, bro.”

They clasped hands, and then he was gone.

Hazel glanced at her watch. “I’m heading out myself. Take care of yourself, Phoenix. I’ll be over to check on you when you get home.” She turned to Jo. “I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll set something up.”

“Thanks, Hazel.”

Jo pulled a chair over next to the bed and sat down. “Are you okay? How’s the head?”

“Hurts, but I’m okay.” He stared at her. There was a joy in her smile that hadn’t been there before.

“You look happy.”

She smiled. “I am.” She grabbed his hand. “I guess I owe you an explanation.”

“You don’t owe me anything, but I’d love to hear your story.”

“First things first,” she said and stuck out her right hand. “Hi, I’m Josie Grandville. It’s nice to meet you.”

He smiled and took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Josie.”

She leaned back in her chair. “I am a paralegal. I live and work in Philly. I ended up here looking for the Anderson brothers. Twenty years ago, they robbed the bank where my father was a security guard. Angus Anderson, AKA Arthur Marchand, had befriended my dad, and over time, asked him questions about the bank. He used that information to rob the place with his brother and another man. My father shot the other man during the robbery, and he ended up in the hospital. Before he died, he claimed my father was the inside man and he got shot because my father didn’t want to share the money.

It was all lies, but the Anderson brothers disappeared, and there was no one to contradict the story.

Plus, they’d used inside information to break in.

No one believed my father didn’t do it on purpose. ”

“I’m so sorry.”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “Yeah, it’s been tough.

As soon as my folks thought I was old enough, I started visiting my father in prison.

I vowed to find a way to get him out. It took me years to track down the Andersons.

I only found them because your mayor gave Angus the key to the township for his part in fundraising for the new community center.

His picture was in your local paper, but the story got picked up by one of the news aggregates online, and I saw it.

I’d memorized their faces, and the moment I saw that smile, I knew it was Angus Anderson.

“Anyway, I came here to confront them.” She frowned. “I thought I had it all planned out. There was never any proof, so I thought if I could get them to confess and I recorded it, then they’d have to, at the very least, re-open my father’s case.”

She swallowed. “I didn’t expect Kevin Anderson to shoot at me.

I confronted him. He told me to get off his property.

I told him I had proof that he was behind the robbery, and he started shooting at me.

” When she paused, Phoenix squeezed her hand.

She offered him a small smile. “I aimed the car at him, thinking he would stop shooting and jump out of the way, but he didn’t. ” She got pale at the memory.

“The forensic guys found the bullets in your seats,” Phoenix told her.

“The chief sent me a text about it. I didn’t see the text until I went into the house.

I knew then you had a good reason for hitting March—Anderson.

I also went over to his place yesterday and figured out there was no scenario where you could have shot him by the house.

It had to be there were two of them. Kevin Anderson was hit, and his partner took him up to the house and shot him there, which is what happened. ”

She nodded. “Yes, Jagger came by and filled me in. He also said he’d help me with my father’s case. They’ve already set a new hearing date. He should be a free man in a few months.”

Her smile was beautiful. It made all his aches and pains worth it. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks,” she said. “It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you taking care of me. I had no one and nothing, but you stepped in. I won’t ever forget that.”

“Um, what are your plans now?” he asked. He was afraid she was going to leave and he’d never see her again.

“Well, I have this week off. I took vacation, and then I have to go back to work down in Philly.”

His heart lurched in his chest. Philly was a good hour and a half away. It wasn’t super far, but he knew he would hate going to the city. Would she even want to commute to see him? “How would you feel if I came down to see you in Philly?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry. I won’t do a long-distance relationship.”

“It’s only an hour and a half. That’s not that far.”

“No. It just wouldn’t work.”

Panic clawed at his throat. There was no way it could end like this.

“So, since I won’t do long distance relationships, I was thinking I could move to Cherry Valley instead. Then it wouldn’t be an hour and a half. Do you think you could live with that? Me being in town?”

He blinked. Was she serious? Her smile grew until she was grinning.

“Damn straight, I could live with that.”

“Good. I’ve already got my eye on a place. It’s small and cute, and the landlord is really hot.”

“Come here,” he growled. She got up, leaned over the bed, and captured his mouth in a scorching kiss.