The Bribe (Calamity Montana)

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT? Why did you—” A choked sob came from Lucy’s throat, cutting off her words as she pressed a dish towel to the blood soaking my shirt. Tears streaked her gorgeous face.

“I’m fine.”

“But why did you do that?” she wailed, her hands shaking.

I used my good arm to push up off the floor, ignoring the searing agony in my shoulder and ribs, then took her chin in my hand. “Baby, look at me.”

“Stay down.” She shook her head as the sobs kept coming. “Everly! Call an ambulance!”

“They’re on their way.”

Her voice was closer than I’d expected and calmer too. She met my gaze from the edge of the island, her eyes wide and her face drained of color. She swallowed, then her focus shifted past Lucy and me on the floor.

To the other body in the room.

The one swimming in a pool of blood.

I’d caught her bullet in the shoulder. She’d caught mine between the eyes.

“She shot him,” Lucy muttered, the towel digging deeper into my wound. “She shot him. She shot him.”

“Holy fuck.” Travis appeared at Everly’s side. He looked at the dead woman, lifted a fist to his mouth and gagged.

“Everly, get them out of here.”

No one moved.

“Everly,” I barked, causing her to jerk and blink into focus. “Please.”

“Come on.” She nodded and turned, taking Travis’s shoulders in her hands and pushing him away from the horrific scene.

When I heard the front door open, I heaved upright and pressed my back against the island, wincing as I tried to breathe through the pain. The shot had been close range, and the bullet wound hurt like a son of a bitch. It didn’t help that I’d broken some ribs when I’d jumped in front of Lucy and smashed into the side of the butcher block.

But I’d take this pain without complaint.

Because it meant that she hadn’t taken that bullet in the heart.

“Why did you do that?” Lucy whispered. “You could have . . .”

“Lucy, look at me.”

She’d been avoiding eye contact since the gun blasts and even now she was staring at my shoulder.

“Lucy.” I put my hand over hers on the towel and lowered my voice. “Lucy.”

Her lashes finally lifted, slowly, until those glassy green eyes were glued to mine. “Why did you do that?”

“Because you are my life.”

Lucy’s chin quivered and whatever hold she’d had on her emotions broke. She collapsed into my chest with body-wracking cries.

I wrapped my uninjured arm around her, holding her tight as I gave my weight to the island at my back.

Then for the first time since I’d arrived at the farmhouse, I breathed.

She’s okay. She was okay. She was alive and in my arms.

The last five minutes had felt like a lifetime. Driving up to the farmhouse. Seeing that front door open. Knowing that something was wrong. Fuck.

I’d seen some horrific things on the job, but a woman holding a gun to Lucy’s face had been the most terrifying sight of my life.

Thank God, I’d made it here in time.

I’d gone to the school to talk to some of Travis’s friends. I’d planned on pulling about a dozen kids aside one at a time and drilling them with questions until someone gave me a lead. Turns out, I only had to talk to one kid and drill him with one question.

I asked where Travis and Savannah might be and the kid rattled off three places I’d already checked and one I hadn’t.

Widow Ashleigh’s old barn.

The little bastards had been sneaking out here to drink beer and vape and smoke right under my damn nose.

I ran out of the school and flew across town to Lucy’s. From the gravel road, I saw the front door open, no cruiser in the driveway, and the dread that had plagued me since Detective Markum’s phone call spiked.

Lucy wouldn’t have left the front door open.

I parked and sprinted toward the back door, gun drawn and ready. My heart stopped beating when I peered through the glass. Without hesitating, I slammed through the door and threw my body in front of Lucy’s while pointing my gun at that bitch’s face and squeezing the trigger.

In my career, it was the first time I’d taken a person’s life.

The woman’s death wouldn’t haunt me.

The fact that it had almost been Lucy’s, would.

A siren wailed in the distance. I closed my eyes, holding Lucy tighter as she clung to me, still crying. I soaked up the precious seconds, letting the relief that she wasn’t the woman headed for the morgue soak in deep. Because the moment my deputies burst inside, guns drawn, I had to do my job and get us off this floor.

Grayson was the first inside. He took one look at the scene and his expression hardened. There would be no tears and no vomit from him anymore. He’d learned how gruesome it could get and he’d made the choice to stick it out.

Years from now, that kid was probably going to take my job as sheriff. I’d happily hand over the star when I retired.

“I didn’t know, Duke.” He swallowed hard. “Carla told me to drive out but I was in the middle of a traffic stop and—”

“It’s okay.” The fault was mine. I should have told Carla it was an emergency. “Help her up, Gray.”

He held out a hand for Lucy but she didn’t budge.

“Come on, baby. We need to get out of the house.”

She nodded into my chest but didn’t let go.

“Lucy”—I kissed her temple—“I can’t get up with you on top of me.”

“Okay.” She tore herself away, and when she saw Grayson’s outstretched hand, she shook her head and shoved to her feet alone. “Just help Duke.”

Grayson bent and gripped me under my arms as I leaned forward, then he carefully helped me to my feet, holding me until my head stopped spinning.

“Good?” he asked.

I sucked in some air and focused on taking one step. Then another.

“Don’t touch anything,” I said as we made it to the living room, Grayson supporting me on one side and Lucy on the other. “Tape the house off and don’t let anyone inside. Then get on the phone and call Jess Cleary in Jamison County. Tell him I need him to run an investigation for me.”

Jess was a long-time colleague and sheriff in the county that bordered mine. Being neighbors, we’d always tried to work together and stay in touch. He was a damn good cop and a man I could count on to do this investigation. To make sure that all of the details were noted and the report honest.

The last thing I wanted was for Lucy to suffer any more from this. I wasn’t sure who my assailant was, but I’d seen families take action against police officers when they felt like a death hadn’t been necessary.

Jess would make sure that this didn’t blow back on me. Because I knew, deep in my heart, that the only reason Lucy and I were walking away from this today was because I’d taken the kill shot.

The woman would have kept firing. She wouldn’t have stopped until Lucy, me or both of us were in the ground.

“Sure, Duke,” Grayson said when we reached the porch. “Anything else?”

More sirens came blaring with lights flashing down the gravel road. I spotted the county ambulance with two other deputy cruisers. “Call the coroner.”

Grayson nodded, then left me with Lucy.

I scanned the driveway, searching for Everly, Travis and Savannah. They stood beside the garage, huddled together. Everly had her arms around Savannah, who was crying. Travis stood close to both, his hand in Savannah’s.

Those kids had seen things today I wanted to erase from their minds but that would take a once-in-a-lifetime miracle and I’d already cashed mine in to save Lucy. Now all I could do was be there to help see everyone through it.

Lucy eased me toward the stairs as the ambulance pulled into the driveway. The EMTs hopped out and rushed my way.

“Hey, guys,” I said as they took Lucy’s place for the last two steps.

“What are we dealing with, Duke?”

I jerked my chin to my shoulder. “Gunshot wound at close range. Bullet went through and through.”

I’d shoved the arm not holding my gun at Lucy, knocking her over. Otherwise, that bullet might have grazed her too. Instead, it had passed through my shoulder and was now embedded in a kitchen cabinet.

The blood had seeped down my shoulder to my hip, causing my shirt to stick to my skin. The bullet hole hurt, but fuck, my ribs were almost worse.

“I’d say I’ve got some broken ribs too.” I winced as one of the EMTs took my elbow to help me into the back of the ambulance.

Lucy stayed by my side, sitting on the gurney and watching in silence as the EMTs stripped off my shirt and started cleaning the wound.

“You’re going to have to go to the hospital,” one of them said.

“Later. For now, just clean me up and shove some gauze in there to slow the bleeding.” I’d drive myself to the hospital when I knew this crime scene was under control.

“Is there anyone else inside who needs medical treatment?” the female EMT asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

She nodded and pulled a white bandage wrap from a drawer, then began the painful process of wrapping my ribs so tight I could barely breathe. Maybe my body was going into shock, but once they were done with both wounds and my arm was in a sling, the pain began to subside. Or maybe that was the numbing shot I’d talked them into giving me. Whatever the combination, it was enough that I could get out of the ambulance on my own.

“Do me a favor, baby,” I said to Lucy. “Go check on Travis.”

“He’s fine.”

“Please?”

“I’m not leaving you.”

I eased in close and dropped a kiss to her forehead. “I need to be the sheriff for a few minutes. Please? I’ll be right here. And I’m worried about Travis.”

She sighed. “Fine. Five minutes.”

“I’ll hurry.” I kept my back straight and hid the pain from my expression until she reached Everly and the kids. Then I sagged, wincing as I gulped another string of deep breaths. When I stood straight again, Travis gave me a sure nod, then took Lucy’s hand in the one not already attached to Savannah’s.

Once this was over, I was going to hug that kid so damn tight. Then I’d strangle him and insist that Melanie ground him until college. Later, I’d get the details about what had happened before I arrived, but I suspected Travis had come here to find Savannah. Then he’d gone to Lucy.

My heart thumped a beat too hard and I brought a hand to my chest, rubbing at my sternum as I tried to catch my breath.

I could have lost them. I could have lost all of them today.

There was work to be done but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from those faces.

“Sheriff?”

I pushed the fear aside at the sound of a familiar voice, then let training and experience take over.

My deputies were lined up in the driveway, silently waiting for me to tell them what to do. Grayson jogged over from his cruiser with a hoodie in his grip. He helped me shrug it on, then I zipped it up and blocked out everything else but protocol.

Thirty minutes later, Carla was inside, photographing the crime scene. The beams that bracketed the porch had a line of caution tape strung between them. And a truck that looked a lot like mine but with a different county’s emblem on the door came rolling down the gravel road.

Jess Cleary stepped out of his truck and pushed his sunglasses into his hair. He strode over, his tan uniform shirt rolled up his forearms. “Duke.”

“Hey, Jess. Thanks for coming so quickly.” The trip between Calamity and Prescott was an hour. He must have stood on his accelerator the whole way.

“’Course. I was out on a call in the country when dispatch sent your deputy through. Good timing. So what can I do?”

“Lead this investigation.” I gave him the quick rundown of what had happened today.

I told him that I suspected the woman inside the house was Lucy’s stalker and that I didn’t want any of my deputies to question Lucy. Not that they’d do something wrong, I just wasn’t risking a future lawsuit because I hadn’t handed over this investigation.

“That your girl?” He jerked his chin at Lucy.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Got it.” He put a hand on my good shoulder, his touch gentle for a man who was as big as I was. Then he strode over to the garage, shook Lucy’s hand and escorted her to a quiet corner.

Some of my tension eased now that Jess was here. He’d take care with Lucy. He’d ask her a few preliminary questions at the scene, then follow up with her again later. Jess would talk to me separately too. He’d question my deputies and step in to give orders.

I shuffled over to the porch steps, collapsing on the bottom one as my head throbbed. Sooner rather than later, I needed to get to the hospital. But Lucy wouldn’t let me go without her, and I wasn’t keen on leaving her side either. Once she was done with Jess, we’d take off.

The adrenaline was leaving my system and the pain was back with a vengeance, so I closed my eyes, dropping my head between my knees.

“Duke?” Travis’s sneakers appeared in my line of sight.

“I’m okay,” I promised. “Just need a minute.”

He sat by my side. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“You were out looking for me. If you had been here, then—”

“This is not your fault.” I sat up and put a hand on his knee. “Get that out of your head.”

He glanced over his shoulder to the front door. “She was going to kill Jade.”

“Yeah.”

“You jumped in front of her.”

“I did.”

He looked at me, his eyebrows pulled together and his forehead furrowed.

“I would have jumped in front of you too. I love you both.”

Travis’s eyes filled with tears and he dropped his chin to hide them, leaning his shoulder against mine.

“Hey.” Savannah hesitated to approach. “Um, that other cop is talking to Everly.”

“Have a seat,” I said. “Jess will want to talk to you too.”

“Okay.” She plopped down beside Travis and wrapped her arms around her waist.

When the dust settled, we’d have to talk about why she hadn’t been at school and why she and Travis had been in Lucy’s barn. But now wasn’t the time. First, I wanted to give Jess the chance to get everyone’s statements. Then we’d have to call parents.

The moment word of this spread past the highway, this place would be swarming with people. Hell, we were lucky that someone hadn’t already noticed the commotion and stopped by to check things out.

I could hear the buzz already. The farmhouse shooting. This would be the talk of Calamity for months to come.

“Savannah, you okay?” I asked as her chin began to quiver.

She shrugged and wrapped her arms tighter.

That was a no.

Before I called her mother, I was calling Hux. Savannah needed a supportive parent and maybe this incident would freak Hux out enough to take the right next step.

A shadow crossed my face and I looked up to see the most beautiful woman on earth.

Lucy crouched in front of me and put her hand to my cheek. “You don’t look so good.”

“You’re okay, so I’m okay.”

She gave me a sad smile as Travis and Savannah shifted down on the step to make room for her to sit. Lucy looped her arms around mine and dropped her cheek to my shoulder.

Then we sat there as my deputies bustled around us with the afternoon sun warming our faces and the slightest fall breeze blowing the smell of grass and pine through the air.

“I love you, Duke Evans,” Lucy said, hugging my arm tighter.

I kissed her temple. “Love you too, Lucy Ross.”

“Not Jade, huh?” Travis asked. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Lucy Ross.”

“Why’d you tell everyone your name was Jade Morgan?” Savannah asked. “I don’t get it.”

“She’s famous,” I answered.

“Like an actress or something?” Travis studied Lucy’s face, clearly not having a damn clue who she was.

“She’s a Grammy Award–winning singer. Don’t you ever listen to the radio in my truck?”

Travis’s face soured. “That’s country.”

“Ew.” Savannah scrunched up her nose.

And Lucy tipped her head back and laughed, a sound so musical it chased away the pain.

In that moment, I knew that no matter what happened, we were going to be okay. No more dread. No more lies. No more secrets.

Just Lucy Ross on my arm.

And in my heart.

“HEY, JESS,” I answered as I drove toward home.

A whimper came from the crate in the passenger seat so I stretched an arm across the console to pat the cage, cringing at the burn in my ribs.

It had been two weeks since Jennifer Jones had tried to take Lucy’s life and my injuries were far from healed. The black and blue marks across my torso were only now just beginning to fade to an ugly greenish yellow.

“Got a sec?” Jess asked over the truck’s speaker.

“Yeah.”

“Just wanted to let you know I sent in my final report. Emailed you a copy.”

“Appreciate it.” I didn’t need to ask what was in the report. Jess had been keeping me apprised of the details as he’d put it together this past week. “Give Gigi my best.”

“Same to Lucy.”

I ended the call and blew out a deep breath.

It was over.

Technically, it had been over since the day I’d killed Jennifer Jones, but today, with the case closed, it was truly behind us. Detective Markum was still tying up loose ends in Nashville but that was his problem. The past two weeks had been an epic shitshow.

As soon as we’d given Detective Markum the stalker’s name, he’d surfaced a ton of information in Tennessee.

Jennifer Jones had been stalking Lucy for nearly two years and was the definition of batshit crazy. Markum raided her home and discovered hundreds upon hundreds of photographs of Lucy. There were nearly as many of Meghan Attree and a growing collection of Everly.

Jennifer had cataloged their every move, along with her own. Electronic journal entries depicted her plans to kill Meghan and stage the woman’s death as a suicide. Then after the fact, the macabre details were noted along with photographs and a video of Meghan begging for her life.

Markum sent me copies.

Part of me wanted to know so I could relay the important details to Lucy. I didn’t want her seeing that shit. And the other part needed to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the woman I’d killed had been beyond salvation.

Jennifer Jones had belonged in a mental institution.

She’d enjoyed killing Meghan. She’d enjoyed killing Lucy’s dog. She’d enjoyed tormenting Lucy and had thrived on causing fear. When Lucy had disappeared from Nashville, the journal entries had become desperate and incensed. Jennifer had gone into a rage over losing her favorite toy.

Detective Markum had been hours from closing his own case file on Lucy’s and Everly’s stalking—until Blake had shown up at Markum’s precinct with a file of his own.

Like Blake had said from the beginning, this case interested him. He didn’t stop when we identified the killer. He went deeper into Jennifer’s connections, and low and behold, Meghan hadn’t been the only one feeding the bitch information.

Jennifer’s ex worked for the Nashville PD as a rookie cop, something she’d kept out of her journal entries for reasons unknown. My fear that there had been a leak in the police department had been justified after all.

Jennifer had known that Everly had booked a flight to Montana on her credit card because the ex had been monitoring Everly’s accounts. Like he’d been monitoring Lucy’s. Jennifer had been on the same damn flight as Everly to Bozeman and in an Uber of her own to Calamity, trailing not too far behind. Had Lucy not lived on cash, Jennifer would have gotten to her before I’d even had a chance to fall in love with her.

Of course, the ex had a string of excuses when his superiors hauled him in for questioning. Turns out, Jennifer had been blackmailing him for years. She’d agreed to stay silent about an unsolved sexual assault he’d committed in college in exchange for information.

And Blake didn’t only find the ex.

He met with Lucy’s producer and after five minutes decided the guy was as greasy as a shop rag after an oil change. So he investigated Scott Berquest.

Lucy had known that Scott had kept Meghan as his mistress. What she hadn’t known was the many other women he’d lured into his bed. Blake discovered a trail of scorned women, nearly all of whom were former employees of Lucy’s record label. Scott’s favorite hunting ground had been Lucy’s shows.

He’d fucked—and fucked over—almost all of her backup singers.

Including Jennifer Jones.

Scott would promise them stardom. He’d promise an album and gush over their talent, anything to get them in bed. And when he’d had his fill—something that seemed to last anywhere from two weeks to three months according to the women Blake spoke to—Scott would fire them.

And the bastard would blame it on Lucy.

He’d tell the woman it was Lucy’s request and as the headliner, she was in charge.

He’d probably told Jennifer that she would have made it big if not for Lucy Ross.

When I’d told Lucy the news, it had been in the kitchen while she’d been making dinner. She’d picked up a plate and smashed it on the floor.

I’d offered to call the label and report the news, but she’d insisted on doing it herself.

Blake had returned to California and was still refusing to let us pay him for his time. His boss, Austin, wasn’t much help either.

With Jess’s report complete and stating that Jennifer’s death had been a justified police shooting, the case was closed. Permanently. It was another step to putting this behind us.

And today, I was taking one more.

I turned off the street and eased down my driveway, the crate rattling beside me as I parked in the garage beside Lucy’s Rover.

“You ready for this?” I asked my new puppy as I shut the truck off.

She whined and looked at me with brown eyes too big for her little face. When I didn’t move, she gave me a little bark.

“Remember your job here, okay? Don’t pee on her.”

That earned me another bark.

I got out of the truck, my pulse racing as I rounded the tailgate for the passenger side. Then I hefted out the crate, not caring about the ache in my side. My nerves were too jacked to feel much other than excitement. With the puppy loaded, I walked inside through the mud room off the garage. I didn’t bother with my boots.

“Lucy!” I called. “Can you help me a sec?”

“Coming,” she called back.

Deep breath. God, I hoped this wasn’t a mistake. I knew the question I was about to ask was the right one. I knew she’d say yes. Mostly, I was worried she wouldn’t like the dog.

She rounded the corner from the living room and walked through the kitchen. She was barefoot and wearing jeans. Her gray V-neck sweater was too big and draped over her shoulder, revealing the strap of her neon-orange bra.

She was stunning. And the smile on her face nearly dropped me to a knee then and there.

Lucy had lost some weight these past two weeks, thanks to stress and sleepless nights. Her cheeks were hollower than normal. But for the past two days, she’d seemed to regain her appetite, and she snored quietly into my side as she slept. The dark circles under her eyes were fading.

“Are you okay?” The smile on her face fell, probably because I was about to have a damn heart attack.

“Yeah. But wait right there.” I raised a hand before she came closer.

Her steps stopped beside the island as she drawled, “Okay.”

I turned to the crate and unlocked the latch, then stretched inside to retrieve our two-month-old German shepherd puppy.

The puppy’s collar dinged as she wiggled, her tongue darting out to lick my hands. When I put her on the floor, she instantly scrambled, her paws struggling to find traction on the smooth marble tile, but once she had a grip, she took off.

And ran straight away from me and into the kitchen.

Lucy gasped and dropped to a crouch, catching the puppy as she jumped onto her hind legs.

Tail wagging, tongue licking—a puddle of pee forming beside Lucy’s feet—the dog was everywhere.

And I stood and waited for my girl’s reaction.

Lucy’s eyes flooded. “Is she for real?”

“If you want her.”

“Yes.” She beamed, laughing as she scratched the puppy’s ears. “She’s perfect.”

“Good.” I crossed the distance between us and crouched down with Lucy, the dog bouncing between the two of us. “Let’s take her for a walk. Grab some shoes.”

Lucy nodded and rushed to step into some boots in the mud room while I tossed a wad of paper towels on the piddle puddle and picked up the puppy before she could disappear deeper into the house and find a shoe to chew on or poop in.

With Lucy busy with her boots, I dug out the leash from the crate and clipped it onto the puppy’s collar.

Along with something else.

“Here.” I handed over the leash and let Lucy lead us to the front yard.

“She’s so sweet,” Lucy said as we meandered. The puppy’s nose was pressed into the grass, sniffing as she took in her new home. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.” I laced my fingers with hers. “How was your day?”

“Better now.” She smiled up at me and stood on her toes for a kiss. “Yours?”

“Busy.”

We walked, hand in hand, enjoying the evening glow and the cool October air. The tinkling metal of the puppy’s collar rang across the yard, and I waited for Lucy to notice. I followed as she walked behind our dog, in our yard, at our house.

I’d refused to let her step foot inside the farmhouse again. After it had been cleared as a crime scene and cleaned of blood and gore, I’d gone over alone and packed her things.

She hadn’t protested.

Around us, the leaves were orange and yellow. They’d started falling this week and my boots ruffled those on the grass as we walked.

As I waited.

“You’re quiet.” She nudged my elbow with hers. “What’s up?”

I simply shrugged. If she knew how loud my heart was beating, she’d know the reason I couldn’t speak.

The tinkling continued as the puppy pulled on the leash, going left, then right, leaving no blade of grass unsniffed. Then finally, she plopped down on the lawn and sprawled, her little teeth chewing at a leaf.

Lucy smiled down at her. “What should we name—”

Her sentence cut off as the solitaire diamond ring on the puppy’s collar caught the fading sunlight.

I bent and fished it off the puppy’s collar, and since I was close to the ground, I stayed on one knee.

“Oh my God.” Lucy’s hand flew to her mouth. “Duke.”

“What would you say to a bribe?”

She laughed. “The terms?”

“Marry me and I’ll give you this ring.”

“That’s it?”

I fought a smile. “And I’ll love you for the rest of my life.”

She tapped her chin, pretending to think about it for a moment. Then she dropped to her knees and framed my face with her hands. “I love you, Sheriff.”

“That a yes?” I didn’t wait for an answer before taking her left hand from my cheek and sliding the ring onto her finger.

“That’s a yes.”

The last word was barely out of her mouth before I sealed my lips on hers. I kissed her like I’d kiss her every day. Like I’d love her every day.

With everything I had.

The kiss was cut short, thanks to the dog. She yipped and bounced at our thighs, demanding to be included. I petted her ears as Lucy pulled away, laughing and swiping tears from the corner of her eyes.

“I was going for a cheesy proposal. Something your dad would have done for your mom. Not sure I got there but . . .”

“It was perfect.” Lucy’s hands skimmed over the puppy’s soft fur. “He’d be proud.”

“What should we name her?” I asked. “Jade?”

Lucy laughed. “How about Cheddar?”