Page 83 of Search for the Truth

Elijah had found out that she was more expendable than he had originally thought. Which meant they didn’t have long.

Blake wished she could hear sirens in the distance.

She wished she had her gun.

She wished she hadn’t come to the mill by herself.

She wished she had waited for Liam.

She wished that she could turn back time to them all sitting at the dinner table, Clem on his lap, Bruce in her arms, and Lola fussing over the food between them.

She wished she could hug the kids again. Kiss Liam. Laugh with Lola.

She wished she could tell her dad she was sorry that life for them had gotten so offtrack.

She wished she could hear her sister tell her to make sure she ate something yummy.

Instead, she was about to become another tragedy and trauma in Seven Roads history.

Or so she thought.

Movement caught the corner of Blake’s eye just as it alerted the man with the gun trained on her, Eric. He whirled around and shot without waiting.

Blake didn’t waste that time worrying about his target. She closed the distance between her and Elijah before he could lift his gun. Pain exploded along her fist as it connected with his jaw.

Another shot went off, then another, on the roof behind them.

Elijah’s gun hadn’t gone off yet, but it also hadn’t fallen.

Blake struggled against him, throwing hits and kicks as hard as she could.

The man knew how to play dirty though. He slammed his head into Blake’s so hard that all she could do was try not to pass out as she fell backward against the ground. Theo was already there, trying to pull her away.

He yelled something, but despite everything, Blake was getting tunnel vision.

That vision had Elijah at its center. He had his gun coming up to aim at her.

With everything she had left in her, Blake willed karma to see him pay for all the bad he had done.

A split second later, another boom sounded.

Elijah crumpled to the ground.

As darkness took her, Blake could only think of one word.

Good.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The world was a lot nicer when Blake opened her eyes next. She had to admit that was probably mostly due to the man staring down at her.

Liam’s gaze didn’t waver.

“You know, I’ve been to war and been less stressed than I was today,” he told her. “Being a loner, not talking to people? That’s easy stuff. Falling for Sheriff Trouble? Hardest thing I’ve done yet.”

Blake had questions, but her focus was watered down. She wanted to ask about that falling-for thing but was getting distracted by what was above his head.

“Where am I?”