“Of course it’s about that damned bill.” Jacob’s face flushed and his eyes burned with anger. “Do you have any idea how much your stupid legislation is going to cost my family? It’ll destroy us.” He narrowed his gaze and moved closer to her even as she took another step back. “I tried to kill that legislation I don’t know how many times, tried to do this the easy way. I even went to Harrison and tried to have him get rid of you—without you rallying the public, there were some state representatives willing to play ball for the right price. But no, you had to go and get the whole town invested in that damn bill. My great-grandfather started Bartlet Energy. Passed it down from generation to generation to me. It was supposed to go on forever. Would have gone on forever, except for—”
“Me?” A giddy rush of terror swept through her. She was going to get herself shot and then who would protect Ashley, who would comfort Clint after he returned and found her brain splattered all over the kitchen floor? Her stomach lurched and she choked back the hot bile rising in the back of her throat. If looks could kill she’d already be dead. Switching tracks fast, she held up her hands in surrender. “Look, I’m so sorry if this bill has caused issues for your family and your business. Maybe if we take a look at things, we can figure out a way to transition your energy company to a greener footprint. Wind turbines and solar panels are—”
“Fuck your green footprint,” he snarled. “It’s gone way beyond transitioning the business now.” Jacob’s nostrils flared as he exhaled hard. “I did what I needed to do to keep things afloat. Even when it took a bit of creative documenting.”
She stared at him, her mind connecting the dots. “You doctored your EPA paperwork. You’ve been doctoring it all along—but with the new requirements, you won’t be able to hide it anymore.”
“Well, how else were we supposed to comply with all their stupid regulations? Every year there were more and more, until it just became ridiculous. We couldn’t flush a toilet without breaking some law or other.” He waved that gun around again, gesturing, and her heart banged against her ribcage like a trapped canary. “When this new legislation came along, I knew I needed to kill it. Steinman backed it, so I had him taken care of. I thought that would be it. But then you came along and championed it—even after I had that sniper take a shot at you. If you’d just backed off and gone away, none of this had to happen. None of it. This is your fault.”
Her eyes widened. “You had How
ard Steinman killed?”
Jacob’s face twitched. “He gave me no choice. He wouldn’t listen to me either. Same crazy crusader that you are. It’s idiotic, you know, your devotion to the environment. And now, it’s going to get you killed.” He cocked the trigger, the sinister snick echoing through the otherwise quiet house. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard the roar of an engine outside and the slam of a car door. She wasn’t sure if Jacob even noticed, as focused as he was on the revenge he was about to take. “The next bullet’s for me,” he confided. “It’s all over for me anyway—might as well go out with a bang. But this bullet…this one’s for you. Goodbye, Tara Crumb. The world will be better without you.”
“Huh. I was just thinking the same about you, asshole,” a deep male voice said from the front door.
Clint.
She wondered how he’d managed to get inside without her knowing, but then he was a SEAL. He stood there now, silhouetted in the light from outside, his own weapon raised and pointed at Bartlet. The sound of his voice finally snapped the spell and Tara’s gaze flew from Jacob’s weapon to the man she loved. He’d made it. He’d come to her rescue. Jacob didn’t turn, however, just kept that gun of his pointed at her chest.
Tara swallowed hard then said, “He killed Howard Steinman. He faked his government paperwork to keep his company in business. He’s behind the attack at the rally—and all the other attacks.”
“I know,” Clint said. “The guys just put the pieces together and gave me a call to fill me in.” He moved a step closer. “They also told me you’re wanted on federal fraud charges, Bartlet. As soon as I saw your car outside, I called the authorities—they’re on their way now to arrest you. Drop your weapon and surrender. It’s over.”
“Never!” Jacob yelled, swiveling fast to face Clint.
The next few moments seemed to take place in slow motion for Tara. All she could think was that he was going to kill Clint and she couldn’t let that happen. She loved Clint more than life itself and she refused to lose him when she’d just started something real with him. She fumbled for the garden shears and grabbed them just as the loud crack of gunfire reverberated through the house. Outside Ashley screamed and Tara lunged with the shears, intent on protecting the man she loved even if it meant sacrificing her own life. She managed to stab Bartlet in the arm just before he could shoot, hopefully throwing off his aim. She didn’t have a chance to check, though, because he turned in fury to aim the gun at her.
A second shot rang out…and Jacob collapsed to the floor, the gun dropping from his hand.
The sharp scent of gunpowder and smoke hazed the air in the living room. She watched, frozen, as Clint retrieved the man’s gun from the floor, then pulled a zip tie from his pocket to bind the man’s hands together. After he stood back up, his eyes met hers and time sped up to warp speed. Tara vaulted over Bartlet’s squirming body and flew into Clint’s arms, needing to reassure herself that he was okay.
“I was so scared.” She was babbling and she knew it, but couldn’t seem to stop herself. “He showed up and I let him in because I didn’t know. I didn’t think…”
“I know.” He held her tight to his chest and kissed the top of her head. “Where’s Ashley?”
“Daddy!” The little girl sobbed and ran straight for them, dodging Bartlet and locking her arms around Clint and Tara’s legs in a death grip. “What’s happening? Is that man hurt?”
Clint gave Tara a swift kiss, then let her go with one arm to bend and scoop up his daughter with the other. Through the open front door the wail of sirens and screech of tires heralded the arrival of the cops. He stared down at Jacob Bartlet on the floor. “Yes. He’s hurt. He’s a bad man and the police are going to take him away.”
Ashley buried her face in her dad’s neck and Tara wished she could do the same, but now the cops were there, and the house was filled with people. Still, Clint kept her close by his side and made her feel protected. Feel safe. Feel like part of his family. Feel like she was as important to him as he was to her.
And in the end, that was all she’d ever wanted. There might be dangers and disasters and all sorts of other things they’d never planned on dealing with in the future, but as long as they had each other, they’d make it through.
23
One month later…
“Thank you for coming, Miss Burnby,” Clint said, forcing a polite smile he didn’t feel. “We’ll be in touch.”
When hell freezes over.
Yep. He was interviewing nannies again.
Joy. Not.
With a sigh, he set the woman’s file aside and picked up the next one from the stack the agency sent over. The only thing that was making this onerous task easier today was the fact that Tara and Ashley were helping him.