“She doesn’t care.” This time there’s no power to his words. He looks down at the floor and I can see his shoulders sag. He doesn’t even believe his own words.
“I know that if you turned yourself in, she wouldn’t lose you,” I push, trying to make him see another choice. As much as I don’t care for Fritz in this moment, I don’t want this pain for his mom and dad. They are good people, and it’s clear Fritz isn't well in the head and is having a complete breakdown. “The police can offer you protection. All you have to do is put the gun down.”
He picks his head up as if remembering the gun. Shit, why did I remind him he had it?
“It figures Ryker would go after you. He actually thought I cared about you. Can you imagine?” He laughs, but it’s cold. “I bet you reminded him of our mother. It’s the reason I picked you to begin with. But I think he may have fallen for you instead. Am I right?”
He looks me up and down, as if appraising me for the first time.
“I can see the appeal. But I’m a man with refined tastes.” His words sound ludicrous considering his disheveled appearance. He’s nearly looks feral. “I’ve tried for years to find a weakness in my brother’s armor. The only thing he ever cared about was his goddamn horses. Until you came along.”
It’s then I think about Diamond getting caught in the fence. Of course, it was Fritz.
“I wonder if you’ll make the same sound as that pretty white horse of yours,” he says as he raises the gun.
“Fritz, please don’t do this,” I beg, holding my hands up. I wish I’d told Ryker I love him. That he’s was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I close my eyes tight, unable to look at the gun pointed right at me. Fear takes hold, and I scream as the gun goes off.
Chapter 26
Ryker
I park in front of the gallery and see the sign on the door that tells me it’s closed. The receptionist isn’t there, so I get close as John comes up beside me to block what I’m doing.
I take my knife out of my back pocket and jam it into the lock, popping it open. I could go around the back through the warehouse, but I don’t want to spook Fritz. If he’s got Blair back there, I don’t know what he’s capable of, but I don’t want to put her in further danger. I need to take him by surprise.
Just when the door pops open, I hear what sounds like a gunshot go off. Terror like I’ve never felt washes over me, and it’s all I can do not to run through the gallery and burst into the warehouse.
John called the investigation team on the way here and told them what happened. I’ve been working with the FBI for a while trying to get evidence against my brother. I never wanted it to come to this, but when I found out he got Blair involved and she was the one who was going to go down for it, then I knew it was time to step in.
I never even knew who she was the first time I saw her. What I told her was the truth. I saw her on that bench and my whole world turned upside down. Then I found out that she was the one Fritz was using for his whole operation and that’s when I truly turned against him. I’d gone that day to check on Fritz because I hadn’t wanted to believe all the feds had told me. I wanted to have a look for myself. If he was willing to put someone else’s life on the line to save his own ass, then he didn’t deserve protection any longer. Blair would always come before anyone in my life.
They told me to stand down as they were on the way, but I don’t know how much more time Blair has. All I can do is pray that she’s still alive as we move down the hallway to the back of the building.
When we get to the door, I hear Blair’s voice in the distance, and I breathe a sigh of relief. John is on the phone whispering that there were shots fired and for them to be ready. He looks at me and nods, letting me know they’re getting into position.
The door to the warehouse is unlocked and I pull it open just an inch. From where I’m standing I can see Blair on a crate, her body pulled into a ball with her hands in front of her in defense. She’s got blood on her face, and every part of my body is screaming to after her. But I can’t see Fritz. There’s a stack of crates to the right and I don’t know where he is.
As silently as possible, I open the door and slip inside. I feel John close behind me as we move around the room. I look over at him and he goes to the left and I go to the right. I get down low and creep around the stack of crates until I spot Fritz. He’s right in front of Blair, and I watch as he raises his gun. She closes her eyes, and I know I might be too late.
Anger and adrenaline pump through my veins as I see her cowering in fear. My brother stands over her, ready to end her life, and I unleash all the rage I have inside me. I lunge for him and I knock the gun up and out of his hand. He still manages to fire it, but the bullet hits the ceiling as we come crashing to the ground. I wrestle with him for a second before I’ve got him under me. I’ve always been bigger than him, but now I’m fueled with the need to hurt him for daring to touch what belongs to me.
With one hand I hold his chest down and with the other I ball up a fist and punch him across the face. Blood spills from his nose, but I punch him again, needing him to feel the pain he caused me.
“How could you?” I say as I grab his shirt with both hands and shake him. “How could you do this?”
“You took everything I had. I wanted to destroy everything you cared about,” he spits at me, and there is nothing left to be said.
Whatever there was between us as brothers is now gone forever. I know my parents will love him no matter what, but they’ve been the ones to cut him off and keep their distance. He created a toxic relationship and they had to do what was right to protect themselves. In this moment, I can see that they were right. I was the one who pushed for them to let him back into the family and make it work. But I don’t think I truly saw what he was capable of until now.
I feel arms pull me off of him. There’s a team of people in FBI jackets swarming in to get him off the ground and put him in cuffs.
I glance around looking for Blair, but I don’t have to because she leaps into my arms. The feeling of her warmth against me is a relief like I’ve never felt, not even when I pulled her from the river.
“I love you,” she says, wrapping her arms and legs around my body. “I love you so much, Ryker.”
“I love you, too, Cricket,” I say, burying my face in her neck. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to hurt you. I tried to tell you—”
“Shh,” she says, cutting me off. “Later.”
I glance over to see Blair’s old boss being taken out on a stretcher and put into an ambulance. There are dozens of people in here and I know we’re going to have to talk to the police before they let us leave. I don’t care as long as I can hold on to Blair while we do it. Right now I just need her in my arms.
“Are you okay?” I ask, pulling back a little to look at the cut on her forehead. It might need stitches.
“I’m fine,” she says, looking at me like she hasn’t seen me in years. Tears stream down her face, and I know they’re a mix of relief and fear. “Are they taking him to jail?”
I look over at where Fritz is being put in the back of a car. The case against him is huge, and now with attempted murder, he’ll probably be in for life. He tried to defraud the government, which is a federal crime, but he’ll probably be safer there. After all the black-market criminals he owes money to, he’ll need a place to lay low. They’ll probably go after Lilith for some of the charges, but he’s the one who will face most of it.
I nod and hold her close as John comes over to where we are.
“Johnny!” Blair says, turning in my arms. “How’s my Diamond?”
He tells her what happened while the emergency responder comes over and checks out her head. She needs a few stitches, and they tell her they should dissolve in a few days. Overall, I’m thankful she’s alive, so I try not to panic over a couple of stitches. When we’re finished we give the FBI a short account before they let us go, telling us they’ll be in tou
ch.
“So, Roxy called you and told you where to find me?” Blair asks, a little stunned.
I help her into the car and buckle her up as I nod. “Yeah, I had him watching you. Then I told him to watch out for Fritz. I knew he’d try to find you, and your old apartment was the first place he’d check.”
“I’m just surprised,” she says and shrugs her shoulder. After I gave Roxy a small beating that first time, we’d come to an agreement. “I guess he wasn’t so bad after all.” I pull back and look at her as jealousy streaks through me. “Calm down, cowboy. I love you,” she says, placing a kiss on my lips.
It’s amazing what those three little words can do to soothe my soul.