[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
scale the drop-off and save her. He would never make it in time, but she loved him all the more for the
effort.
Keith came a step closer, and Casey braced herself.
The crack of a rifle shot rent the air. She didn t move. She had expected to feel pain. Or shock. Instead
she saw Keith stumble and drop his revolver. Crimson blos-somed over the front of his shirt like a flower
opening. He looked at her with wide-eyed bewilderment, then crumpled to the ground.
What& ? Casey sat up and looked around and saw
Danny standing about fifty feet away, holding a rifle in his hands.
Casey! Casey! Mark screamed. Damn you, Watson
I m okay, Mark, she called, but her gaze remained on Danny. His face crumpled and he threw down
the rifle and ran to his brother. He fell to his knees beside Keith, tears streaming down his face.
I m sorry. I m sorry, he cried. He cradled his brother in his arms and rocked him back and forth.
Keith s eyes flickered open. He gave Danny a weak smile. It s& okay, sport, he mumbled.
It s& okay.
I had to do it. I had to. I couldn t let you hurt Casey, Danny blubbered. I just couldn t.
Casey picked up the revolver and climbed painfully to her feet. She hobbled over to the line of scrub
oak that Keith had flattened and gave Mark a hand. When he looked up and saw her the heartfelt relief
on his face, despite the agonizing pain he was in, tugged at her heart.
Oh, God, sweetheart, I m so glad to see you. I heard you scream and I thought
I know. I know. Barely had Mark made it over the top of the drop-off when they heard the wail of a
siren in the distance, coming steadily closer.
She and Mark exchanged a look and shook their heads. Now they get here, she muttered, rolling her
eyes.
What happened? I heard a gunshot.
Casey nodded toward Danny, who was still rocking Keith and babbling and crying hysterically. Danny
shot Keith before he could shoot me.
Caaa-sey! someone called from lower down the mountain. Caaa-sey! Dammit where are you,
O Toole?
Casey turned to Mark with a dry look. That s my boss.
Others took up the call, and Casey answered, Up here! We re up here!
A few minutes later Lieutenant Bradshaw and what looked like half the Mears Police Department came
swarming up the mountainside through the trees.
Are you okay, O Toole?
I m okay. Banged up and bruised, but alive. Mark s leg is broken, though, and his back has been
reinjured. And Keith is shot. She paused, dreading what she had to tell him. He s our killer.
Yeah, I know. Dennis told us.
Dennis? Joy and hope exploded inside Casey. He s alive?
Shoot, yeah. You can t kill that big Irishman with one bullet. We don t call him the Hulk for nothing.
The guy s built like a bull.
Thank God. Mary Kate would kill me if I let some-thing happen to the big lug. How did you know
where to find us, by the way?
Dennis, the boss replied with a rare grin. After he dropped his gun, he figured he better play dead.
Actu-ally, he faded in and out of consciousness, but during one lucid moment he managed to call the
station house on his cell phone and whisper officer down and his location. When we got there he was
unconscious, but the paramedics managed to revive him. From what he heard Keith say, Dennis figured
he was bringing the two of you out here.
Keith is still alive, Lieutenant, one of the officers called. But he s in bad shape.
The lieutenant tried to call for help on his cell phone, but he couldn t get a signal in the thick woods. He
cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, Hey, Murphy, go back to the cars and radio for a
cou-ple of ambulances. We need to get these people to the hospital.
A short while later, after being carried down the mountainside on stretchers, Keith was loaded into one
ambulance and Casey and Mark into the other. On the drive to the hospital, he reached across the space
be-tween them and took her hand. I love you, Casey.
The paramedic cleared his throat and pretended to be busy checking the oxygen tubes and searching
through the rack of supplies. Both Casey and Mark ig-nored him.
She smiled weakly and squeezed Mark s hand. I love you, too.
Sweetheart, I know that finding out how Tim really died has upset you. And that you re going to need
time to come to grips with it all. I can wait. But I am going to hold you to the promise you made to me
earlier this morning.
She frowned. Promise?
You know& when you said that you would marry me.
Casey closed her eyes. Lord. Was that only this morning? It seems like an eternity ago.
I know. Mark rubbed his thumb back and forth over the silky skin and delicate bones on the back of
her hand. You, uh& you haven t changed your mind, have you?
She smiled at him again. No. I haven t changed my mind. I ll never change my mind about you. She
looked at him with all she was feeling all the sadness and pain, all the relief and weariness, all the love
she felt for him brimming in her eyes. How does an autumn wedding in my parents backyard sound to
you?
Mark squeezed her hand, his warm gaze holding hers. That sounds perfect.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]