Sophie Oak - Siren in Waiting

At least he hoped it would be the sheriff.

Fuck, he was on his own. Bo had taken a gun. Maybe Trev was panicking for no good reason. Maybe Bo had realized something was wrong and gotten Beth and Shelley away. Bo might have started talking to his brother and put off bringing Beth out to her place. They could be perfectly safe.

In the distance, he saw Aidan’s truck. Bo had borrowed it because they’d all come in one truck, a happy family off for a Sunday afternoon.

They were here.

Trev moved off the road and into the woods that separated the Bellows home from the Gates house. Clarissa’s house was a mile down the road, too far away to hope for help.

He ran through the woods, deeply grateful that he’d kept to a fitness regime that rivaled any pro athlete’s. He didn’t even break a sweat as he sprinted, his body moving with the grace of long training. He avoided the trees and stones, leapt over the small creek. He was barely breathing hard as the Bellows House came into sight from behind a swath of trees. He slowed, forcing himself to stop. He wanted to run into the house. He wanted to scream and fight, but panicking wouldn’t help them.

The barn came into view. The big structure was solid but in deep need of paint and refurbishment. Odd. The doors were open. He was absolutely sure they had been closed when they had left earlier in the day.

He stared across the expanse. The barn was on the other side of the yard, in the back of the house.

And then he saw Bo. There was no mistaking the sandy-blond hair or the broad set of his shoulders. Bo’s hands were caught behind his back. He was on his knees. A man loomed above him.

“You will bring it to me.” The man’s voice carried across the yard.

A gun. It glinted in the late-afternoon light. It was pressed to Bo’s head.

Trev closed his eyes. He had no doubt who the man in the suit was talking to. Beth or Shelley. Hopefully both.

Beth walked out, a package in her hand. Wrapped in plastic, he knew exactly what it was. Cocaine. A lot of it. So much it would cost both she and Bo their lives if he didn’t find a way out.

“You will put it in Mr. O’Malley’s truck and get the rest for me. If you move in any way other than the one I’ve directed, I will kill him.”

Play it safe. Play it safe, darlin’ . How many trips would she have to make? How much time did Trev have?

A million scenarios ran through his brain. He could cause chaos by running at the man with the gun. It would give Beth a chance to flee. It more than likely signed both his and Bo’s death warrants, but it gave Beth a shot.

She wouldn’t take it. She would try to save them.

He could try to make his way around the house and sneak up on the other side. He could quietly make his way up behind the man and take him down. If he made even the slightest mistake, they were all dead.

Every way he went the odds were hell.

He was stuck watching without even a gun. He looked around. What was he going to do? Take the asshole down with a stick?

A large rock sat at his feet. It was jagged, with edges that could cut through skin.

He felt utterly impotent. A scream lodged in his throat as Beth walked back across the yard. Was he going to stand here and watch them die?

What the fuck was he going to do? Throw a rock at the asshole’s car?

Trev stopped, so much of his life falling into place.

For years he’d cursed the talent that had led him to the football field. It had seemed a useless thing that had only led down a path to ruin. Now it might be the only thing that saved him.

Trev McNamara had been praised for having the strongest arm in his class, the most accurate arm in a decade. He could throw a football through a ring at forty yards, never once touching the target. He’d been forced to hold back, or his receivers complained that he threw too hard.

His arm had caused him nothing but heartache.

And every second of that heartache had led him here, to this place where he had only one way to save his love, his friend, and his sister. Every moment of his life, each lesson he’d learned, had brought him here. In a single second, the ache he felt morphed into something different. Strength. He had survived. He had fought. And he would win.

Trev McNamara picked up the rock. It filled his palm, the weight reassuring. It would do the job. Fifty yards. It was only fifty yards. He’d thrown for far longer than that and with far less on the line.

He took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs. He dropped back as though coming out of the pocket. It was a habit from years of playing. His vision focused, the world narrowing to a pinpoint—an inch of skin right in front of the man’s ear. His target.

He brought his arm back and let the rock fly.

One last Hail Mary.

And Trev took off. If he failed, he would go down with them. His eye tracked the rock as it flew through the air, and his heart soared. He knew his aim was true. His throw had been quick, accurate, and deadly.

The man with the gun didn’t stand a chance. There was a sickening thud that split the air, the sound of rock hitting soft, vulnerable flesh.

Trev saw the rock connect, nearly burying itself in the man’s head before bouncing back and falling to the ground.

“Trev!” He heard Beth’s scream as she dropped the package she carried. Her eyes were wide with horror.

The gun at Bo’s head hit the ground a single second before his captor. The man in the suit fell to the ground, his body crumpling at an odd angle. Beth kicked the gun away. Her arms went around Bo, checking him for injuries. She kissed Bo and then got back up.

Beth ran for him and launched herself into his arms. He caught her, happy to hold her, to know that she was alive.

“Trev. I thought we were going to die. Oh, god, I thought I wouldn’t see you again. And Bo. He was going to kill Bo. Shelley is okay. She’s inside the house. He knocked her out. Oh, it was so horrible.” She sobbed against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her. She’d been stoic before, but now her softness broke through. His brave Beth. How had anyone ever called her a mouse? It seemed to Trev that Beth had held it together in the face of terrible danger. She’d managed to stay calm and keep Bo and Shelley alive. He would never be able to pay her back for that. But he would try. Damn, but he would cherish her every day.

“I love you.” He couldn’t hold it back. The words flowed freely now. They were nothing but the truth. “I love you so much, Beth.”

He was going to marry her. The present wasn’t enough. He wanted a future with her and Bo.

“I love you, too.”

Bo’s voice broke through the emotion. “Uh, I would love everyone if one of you would mind getting me out of this zip tie and away from the dead dude. He’s not breathing. You were like David and Goliath.”

No. He hadn’t needed a sling. Just fifteen years of training.

He helped his partner up. He stared at Bo. He needed to make a few things clear. “Don’t get used to this place. I know it’s your home, but I have to leave in a year’s time. I’m buying into a cattle ranch. Our ranch. We’re moving. You and me and Beth.”

Bo’s face flushed. He nodded, too choked up for words.

Beth wrapped an arm around them both, her soft body a conduit for them.

Trev completed the circle, wrapping his arms around them, hugging them tightly.

In the distance, he heard the sirens, but they no longer mattered. He was safe.

One year later

“Well, you wanted it to be a family home again.” Trev smiled down at Beth who was looking up at her handiwork one last time.

The old Bellows place shone in the early morning light. It was a jewel of a house. Every room had been lovingly refurbished into a place any family would be proud of.