Adam (21 page)

“Dr. Cassidy, here are your messages. The contractor for your house stopped by. He’s waiting for the kitchen cabinet delivery at the main road, and Sierra Division called. They want to know if we can take on another rehab. Shrapnel injury. The patient is in a civilian hospital overseas, and Mr. Gabriel wants him home before questions are asked.”

Adam grabbed the messages as the new med-tech fell into step with him. “Just Gabriel, no ‘mister’ in front. Tell Sierra we can house the shrapnel injury. Inform Dr. Santos of the incoming transfer and let Dixon or Drake know we need a room in the training bunkhouse for Sanderson starting Monday. Has the new order of meds arrived?”

“Yes, sir, the plane landed about three hours ago along with the new pharmacist. Dr. Abbot is doing an inventory of the current stock and rearranging the shelves as she goes…”

Adam hissed a lungful of air, interrupting his assistant. “Holy fucking shit! You have got to be kidding me!”

“Ahh… no, sir, she said she actually had a method to her madness. I can tell her to…” The med-tech started to turn towards the pharmacy.

“No, stop. Kevin, when did you take this?” Adam held up the tattered white piece of paper.

The man shrugged. “I’m not sure, maybe thirty minutes or so ago? Not much more than that. Why?”

The question was spoken to Adam’s back. He didn’t bother to answer the tech.
Sonovabitch!
Adam pulled his phone from his white coat and hit Keelee’s number. He slammed through the front doors of the clinic, striding towards the truck he used. He opened the vehicle door one handed and slid behind the wheel. Doc had the vehicle in gear and gunning down the gravel access road toward the main road before Keelee’s voicemail kicked in. Slamming his hand against the wheel, he raged, “Son-of-a-bitch!” before he punched in the next call.

Frank answered on the second ring. Adam cut the man off. “Keelee and Amanda went into town. Alone. To the church. Tell me why in the hell would they need to go to the church, Frank.”

A muffled curse preceded the sound of Frank running. “They know better than to leave the ranch without an escort. I just got off the phone with Chief. Adam, we found Gerald Koehler, he’s dead. Shot in the head, execution style. I’ve got Smith with me. We’re heading to the church. Are you on your way in?”

“Hell yes! Rally point is the pasture beyond the stockyards.” Adam disconnected the call and floored the accelerator.
His worst fucking nightmare.
They’d purposefully left the women ignorant regarding the latest intel on Clint. Everyone agreed there was no reason to needlessly worry them because they
never
left the ranch without an armed escort.
Sonovabitch!
The man was wanted in two states for a laundry list of crimes—aggravated assault, theft, damage to personal property—and last week Guardian had learned Clint was a “person of interest” in an abduction and grisly murder near Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.

Adam turned the corner and hit the blacktop. The tires spinning for traction sent gravel spewing through the air. He grabbed his phone and hit up Chief. “Keelee and Amanda went to town alone.”

“What the fuck?” Chief’s incredulous yell forced him to pull the phone from his ear.

“Her phone rang through to voicemail. Gerald Koehler’s been murdered and Keelee could be walking into a trap. I need a fire team response holding outside of town. We may have a hostage situation. Bring everything you need and meet me at the pasture by the stockyards. It’s far enough a helicopter may not be heard. I should have told her as soon as we figured out that son-of-a-bitch has been working his way back towards South Dakota.”

“No time for regrets, Doc. We all agreed they didn’t need to know. We got it covered. Whatever it takes.” Adam knew Chief would have his back. He always had.
As long as it takes.
The thought was automatic.

Adam pushed Keelee’s number again. “Come on, baby. Answer the phone. I need you to answer the phone, babe…”

“Are you on your way yet?” Rage soon replaced the momentary shock of hearing a man’s deep, rasping voice.

“You hurt her, you son-of-a-bitch, and I’ll kill you.” Adam ground his response through his clenched teeth.

“Yes, I know. But it’s too late to stop.” The sound of a woman’s soft cries flipped his stomach. If it was possible to die and still be breathing, Adam did when he heard her muffled sob.

“I’m ending it, now… now.”

He sensed more than knew the man’s comments weren’t directed towards him.
Keelee, oh God, baby, I’m coming
. Desperate to draw his attention away from Keelee, he pleaded, “Clint, let her go. I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt her.”

“If you want her alive, you’ll do exactly what I tell you.”

Adam hit the brakes hard, turning a corner on two wheels. “Anything.”

“You have twenty minutes to walk through the sanctuary doors. If anyone but you is outside this building, I’ll kill the reverend. If you try anything stupid, I’ll kill the other woman. If I think for a second you’re armed, I’ll kill Keelee and then myself. You won’t get the satisfaction of killing me. You’ll lose everything. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Nineteen minutes.”

*

Keelee’s sobs weren’t for herself. When she got mad, genuinely furious, she cried. And
that
pissed her off even more. She should have been able to do something to stop this situation. Yet here they were in one hell of a mess. Amanda lay on the front pew tied and gagged. At the end of the pew on the far aisle the reverend was either unconscious or dead. His body lay in a heap, not moving. Clint set her phone on the altar and turned toward her. His filthy hair hung almost to his shoulders. A shaggy sandy brown beard covered the face she used to know. He’d lost weight and his hand shook when he lifted his fingers to wipe the tears from her cheek. Her head jerked back away from his touch, but the ropes that bound her to the pastor’s sanctuary chair prevented much movement.

He shook his head slowly while staring at her. “Do you remember the summer you, me, Tori, Gregg and Christian went on that trail ride without our parents? We were gone the whole week. Do you remember?”

Keelee ignored him and struggled with the bonds. Clint grabbed her chin and jerked her head toward him.

“I asked you a question.”

Keelee nodded, but she wasn’t sure if he actually saw her. His eyes focused down the sanctuary, not on her. His voice softened as he remembered. “We had so much fun. It was the first time all three of us boys left the ranch without him. That was the best week of my life.
He
wasn’t there. The young ones were safe and happy. You girls made us laugh, and we had so much fun. It was like we were normal. But we never have been. Everything is a lie.”

He cast a glance back at her and gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “When we came back our mom was gone. Dad told Christian and Gregg she’d left him.”

His hand wrapped around hers and he twined his fingers between hers. “She didn’t leave. She’s still there. Gerald buried her behind the house after he beat her to death. Dad took me to her the night we got home after the young ones did their chores and fell asleep. Made me dig her up and…”

Clint’s tear trickled down his cheek and became lost behind his beard. “Gerald’s sick, Kee. He hurt the young ones. I couldn’t stop him. I tried. God, I tried. The bastard let some of his drinking buddies hurt Christian. Bad. I couldn’t stop him—then. But I stopped him last night. Gerald thought he was alone. I watched him. I made him beg like he made us beg and then I killed him.” His chest rose and fell with a deep shaking breath before a tranquil smile fell across his face. “I fed the animals extra so they’d be okay today. I know your dad will take care of them. Your dad’s good like that.”

Keelee nodded and winced as Clint pulled the gag out of her mouth. “Please let us go. I know you didn’t mean to hurt the reverend. I’ll talk to the sheriff. We’ll get you help.” Her mouth was so dry the words seemed to stick together, but maybe that was from whatever Clint had used to knock her out.

Clint slowly turned his head toward the reverend and shook his head. “I’ve killed people, Keelee. There is no end in this.
He
made sure of it. It’s only a matter of time before
he
comes back.”

“Who, Clint? Who’s going to come back? Your dad?” Keelee’s mind raced. Clint was sick, that much was evident, but a murder? It had to be someone else. The soft chime of a clock sounded, sending an eerie tone through the sanctuary.

Clint cocked his head, closing his eyes and smiled. “No, no.
He
sleeps after I kill. Sometimes for days. I can’t hear
him
telling me what to do… after. But that’s not why I killed that son-of-a-bitch. I killed Gerald for what he did to us. But that worked in my favor because I needed
him
to be quiet so I could finish it. It’s the only way.”

“Who, Clint? Who’s talking to you?
He’s
here, in the church? Sleeping?” Keelee searched what she could see of the sanctuary, but whoever Clint was talking about could be anywhere among the pews. Amanda’s eyes were open and she jerked, fighting the ropes that bound her.

“Who is she, Kee?” Clint hadn’t opened his eyes, but his thumb stroked her hand and they both heard the sounds of Amanda trying to free herself.

“My dad’s wife. He married her just before Christmas.” Clint’s eyes opened and held hers. “He loves her, Clint, and so do I.”

“Hmmm…” Clint walked back to the altar and palmed his gun and the cell phone.

“Did you know it was my dad that caused your mom’s accident?”

Keelee’s gut fell to the floor. “No. She was thrown from her horse. She died instantly. Your dad… found her?” Even before she finished the statement, Keelee knew in her heart Gerald Koehler had taken her mother from her family.

“She was riding. My dad was fixing a fence when she came by. He told me he’d wanted your mom for years. Decided he was going to take what he wanted. She kicked him in the face and turned that horse, but he grabbed her out of the saddle. She fell and broke her neck. He was pissed and he took it out on us and my mom. Beat mom every day for at least a week. Kept the young ones in the barn, but he made me watch.”

Keelee barely heard the racing motor and squeal of tires braking in front of the church. Clint nodded toward the door. “It’s time, Kee. Time to end it all. The pain, the suffering. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way I know how to make it right.” His frightening vacant stare locked on her. “I love you, I always have.” He kissed her forehead and forced the gag back in her mouth. “Be good.”

“No, Clint, don’t hurt him. Please! Clint!” Keelee begged around the cloth that filled her mouth. Clint raised the gun and pointed it at her head. “Be very quiet, Keelee.”

The breath in her chest clenched tightly. It took everything she had to still the pleas and sobs from tearing free, but she stopped. Panting back the emotion, she watched the massive sanctuary door open. Her heart stopped when she saw Adam striding down the aisle, his hands held up in the air. The sun filtered in behind him, highlighting the dust motes, the golden backlight giving him a surreal angelic hue but darkening his profile. She was unable to see his face, but she could see he wore no body armor, no protection.

“That’s far enough,” Clint said.

Adam froze.

Keelee’s eyes moved from the man she loved to the gun held in Clint’s hands. The revolver was no more than two feet from her head. She blinked and focused on the cylinder. There were five empty chambers. Clint cocked the weapon by pulling the hammer back. The single bullet held in the gun’s six chambers advanced into the firing position aligned with the barrel. One bullet. If she could somehow get him to miss or shoot her instead of hitting Adam or Amanda, they’d be safe. One bullet. One shot. God, how could she make him miss? What could she do?

“Turn around. Let me see.” Adam complied with Clint’s order immediately. He did a three-sixty. Clint stared hard, searching for concealed weapons.

“On your knees.” Keelee shook her head and sobbed.
Oh God, no!

She saw Adam cast a glance toward the reverend. “I kept everyone away like you asked. Why did you kill Reverend Richards?”

“I didn’t. He’s alive.”

Keelee saw a shadow pass the stained glass wall of windows and glanced at Clint. He focused on Adam, staring at him almost transfixed. Another shadow slipped by the window. Keelee caught Amanda’s eyes. She motioned with her head toward the windows behind Keelee. Keelee nodded slightly and motioned towards the windows behind Amanda with her eyes. Keelee knew Adam wouldn’t be alone. She drew a deep breath and actually focused on the gun pointing at her head once again. He only had one bullet. One shot. One chance to take the man she loved.

“Clint. Let them go. I’m the one you’re angry with, not Keelee. It’s my fault she left you. I took her. See where I am? On my knees here in the center aisle. Take me instead. Let them go. You don’t need her up there on the altar with you.”

Clint grabbed at his head as if he was in pain, moving the gun from her face. Adam lunged up but froze when Clint lowered the gun and pointed directly at him.