Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold #10)(88)

“You’re doing what you have to. You’re saving a child. You take no pleasure in the act.”

She was right about that. But he also knew the price he would pay. He wouldn’t hesitate, wouldn’t second-guess himself. He’d killed before, but this was different. Killing Bart meant crossing a line, and once he did, there was no way back.

He tucked in his shirt, then took the earpiece she held out. Once it was in place, they tested it to make sure it worked.

The police would follow, but he would be the one to go in. No one on the Fool’s Gold police force was trained to deal with a situation like this. He hoped they never had to again.

“Do you have any idea where he is?” she asked.

Together they crossed to the map.

The school had already been marked, along with Patience’s house. Justice sensed they couldn’t believe the actual motive. That his father wanted retribution. As a sixteen-year-old kid, Justice had chosen the police over his father. Bart had spent nearly twenty years looking for payback. He wanted his son to find him.

Justice scanned the map. “Not by the casino,” he said. “There are too many people.” He studied the roads out of town. Lillie wasn’t drugged, so Bart was dealing with a terrified little girl. Even tied up, she would slow his progress. He wouldn’t have gone far.

Then he saw it. The road he and Patience had taken to look at property. The clearing where they’d talked. Where she’d said she knew there were secrets and accepted him anyway.

His gut churned as he realized Bart had been there that day. Had been there the whole time.

“Here,” he said, pointing to an old road leading up into the mountains.

“That’s a fire road,” the police chief said.

“I got it.” A woman in uniform jogged into the house. She held Justice’s rifle in one hand and a box of ammo in her other.

He took the rifle and checked it. “I’m ready.”

He crossed to Patience, who stood with her mother and Steve. She was pale and trembling. Her brown eyes filled with tears as he approached.

“I’ll get her,” he said. “I will bring Lillie home to you. I give you my word.”

She flung her arms around him. He hung on tight, knowing this was the last time. That when he returned, he wouldn’t be who he was at this moment.

“I love you,” he whispered, then turned and walked out. As he went, he touched his earpiece to activate the unit. “Felicia?”

“I’m here.”

While everyone back at the house would be on the same frequency, only Felicia would talk to him. Right now he didn’t need any more voices in his head.

* * *

BART’S TRUCK WAS parked less than fifty feet off the highway, on the fire road. Not fifty feet from where Justice and Patience had gone only a few days before. Justice pulled in behind him, taking the extra second to block his escape.

He carefully hid his keys under a pile of leaves, then started up the road until he saw the broken branches that flagged his father’s path.

“I’m here,” he said quietly to Felicia. He gave the coordinates. “Tell the others to stay back. If he gets spooked, he’ll react badly.”

“Will do.”

He moved quietly, even knowing there was no point. That Bart was expecting him. But his training couldn’t be ignored. Ten minutes later, he was in a clearing. Lillie lay curled up at the base of a large tree. She was blindfolded and tied, but alive.

“Lillie, it’s Justice,” he called, loading his rifle. “I’m here.”

She struggled to sit up. When she turned, he saw the gag in her mouth and the blood on her arm. Blood from where Bart had cut her.

Hatred burned hot and bright inside Justice. Then he pushed it down to the darkest part of his being. No emotions, he reminded himself. This was business—what he’d been trained to do. He was a man who killed and he would do it again. Today.

“I knew you were weak enough to come after the girl.”

His father’s voice came from the woods. Justice ignored him.

“Whatever happens, Lillie, I want you to listen for my instructions, okay? You need to do exactly what I say as soon as I say it. Do you understand?”

She nodded frantically.

“Your mom and I love you very much,” he said, his voice slightly softer. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Bart said. He appeared by Lillie and jerked the girl to her feet. “You love her and now you’re going to watch her die.”

Lillie screamed, the sound muffled by the gag. Justice stayed in his head, disconnected from all except what he had to do.

His father was older. Grayer, but still strong, with a straight back and cold eyes.

“Why aren’t you dead, old man?”

“I should be. They thought I was. You did, too, and you should have known better.”

“How’d you do it?”

“Fake my death? Easy. There was a man in prison just my size. I made friends with him, convinced him to escape with me. Got the dentist to forge the dental records. I was declared dead. And here I am.”

“You killed him, too.” It wasn’t a question.

“The dentist? Sure. Why not? Killing’s the best part. He thought he was going to make a shitload of money off my little trick.” Bart kissed the top of Lillie’s head. “To be honest, I can’t decide what I should do. Kill her first and let you watch, or kill you first. Then you’d die knowing you didn’t protect her from whatever I decide to do.”