Page 55 of Engaging the Deputy

“Oh, why not, Cody?” she shouted. “Afraid I might hurt you?”

He kicked dirt down on her, some of it hitting her in the face. That shut her up for the moment. She seemed to have forgotten that he was still in control. She sat up, wiping away the dirt and spitting a couple of times. He’d taught her how to spit like a boy one day in their tree house. She looked up at him again, defiance in her dirty face. “I’m waiting! Jump on down here!”

“Olivia, damn it, I never wanted it to end like this,” he said, trying to sound as conciliatory as possible, yet still yelling too. “I would have let you be if you hadn’t shown up at the store when you did.”

“You mean when you were stealing your father blind?”

He doubled up his fists. “Just throw the bags up to me. I won’t kill you. I’ll just leave. Maybe you can even figure out a way to climb out. Or someone will find you. I could call anonymously once I’m down the road and tell your deputy where he can find you.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Do you really expect me to believe that? What happened to you, Cody? You want everyone to feel sorry for you because you felt your father did you wrong. How about you stop making excuses for the decisions you’ve made? You broke the law. Now you’re going to have to pay for it. Killing me isn’t going to help. I don’t think you’re going to be able to live with the guilt.” He gave her a smirk and kicked more dirt into the hole. This time she covered her face.

When she glanced up, he could see her eyes. They seemed lit by the moonlight. He tried not to shudder at the look in those eyes, let alone her words. “I will come back and haunt you, Cody. I promise you. You’ll never find peace for what you’re about to do.”

He took a step back. “Great speech, Olivia. Unfortunately, you’re assuming I have a conscience.” His laugh didn’t ring true, even for him. “I don’t. So come to me in my dreams all you want. You don’t scare me.” He pulled the gun from his pocket. “But if you don’t throw those bags up to me right now,” he raged, “I’m going to start shooting you—not kill you, just wound you so you can lie there bleeding to death, and no one will be able to save you.”

“You don’t think I know I’m dead no matter what? I just hope I don’t bleed all over your money, Cody,” she shouted as she pulled the closest bag to her chest, her look daring him to pull the trigger.

He took the dare.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The loud argument between the two covered the sound of Jaden’s footfalls as he scrambled up the hill as fast as he could, hurling himself forward with all his strength. His body took the stabs of splintered wood, glass shards and torn jagged metal as if no longer able to feel pain. He knew he was doing more damage, had already done damage to himself, but he couldn’t let it stop him.

He was almost to Cody when he heard the report. The shot echoed across the hillside into the night. Breathing hard, weapon in his hand, he started to fire but was almost on the man. More than anything, he was afraid Cody would get off another shot at Livie trapped in the hole below him.

Jaden didn’t stop. He launched himself. Cody, caught completely off guard, went down hard, Jaden landing on top of him. He started to grab for Cody’s gun but realized it was no longer in the man’s hand. He took a quick look for it around them. Those few seconds gave Cody a chance to catch his breath. Jaden took an elbow to his head that momentarily dazed him as Cody began to fight back as if his life depended on it.

He put an arm against the man’s neck as he struggled to roll Cody to his stomach so he could handcuff him. “Livie!” he cried. “Livie?”

“I’m all right,” she called back.

His heart soared at the sound of her voice as Cody kicked wildly, bucking and swinging his arms. A part of him wanted Cody to put up a fight, even relished the idea. But Cody was strong and desperate, and Jaden was becoming more aware of his injuries. It would be a fight to the finish of one of them. Jaden realized he had no choice as Cody fought wildly to throw him off—toward the black hole next to them.

Whatever drug the man was on, it had made him stronger. They were too close to the hole. Jaden tried to roll Cody away from it, fearing they would cave the dirt onto Livie. She was still alive. He hung on to that as he used everything he’d been taught in combat to restrain the man.

But Cody was a dirty fighter. That, added to his strength and desperation and Jaden’s body’s weakness, had the deputy feeling himself losing the battle.

* * *

Olivia had heardthe gun drop down into the hole. It was too dark to see exactly where it had landed, but she was sure that was the sound she’d heard. She began to feel around for it, thankful that Cody had only fired a warning shot into the dirt inches from her head earlier. She’d been right about him not wanting to get blood on his money. Or maybe he hadn’t wanted to kill her yet because it would mean he’d have to climb into the hole and dig his bags of money out from under her dead body.

She couldn’t believe he’d still held out hope that he could talk her into throwing the bags up to him. The drugs he’d been taking must have addled his brain. Moving her hands palm-down across the dirt, she hunted as hurriedly as possible to find the gun. She could hear the struggle up on the ledge. Dirt came falling down, making her all the more frantic to find the gun before the wall of dirt caved in on her.

Her hand touched something cold as steel. She grabbed the gun, just as another chunk of the dirt wall collapsed. She barely had time to throw herself out of the way before it covered one of her legs. She quickly dug herself out, desperate to stop the fight that was about to bury her alive.

Gun tucked into her waistband, she hurried and grabbed the heavy bags of money, piling them on top of the dirt that had caved into the pit. Then she began to climb quickly upward, afraid the moving earth would cave in. She saw at once that she wouldn’t be able to get out without help. But she could get high enough.

In the faint moonlight, she could see that Jaden had Cody down and was reaching for his handcuffs. Cody grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into Jaden’s eyes, then pushed him off and was going for Jaden’s gun.

She could see that Jaden was hurt, his clothing torn and bloodstained. That sound she’d heard that had made her think someone had fallen through boards, she knew now it had to have been Jaden.

Olivia aimed the gun at Cody, trying not to see the boy she’d grown up with, her best friend, her high school sweetheart. He had wrenched the deputy’s weapon, had it in his hand, started to point it at Jaden’s head.

She pulled the trigger.

* * *

Jaden couldn’t see, his eyes full of dirt. He’d been fighting Cody blindly when he’d felt his weapon being pulled from his holster. He lunged at where he thought the man was, heard the gunshot, felt the splatter of blood hit his face and thought he’d been hit. He wiped frantically at his eyes, expecting another shot and then another. All he could think about was Livie.

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