“Frank, shut up.” Noah gritted his teeth. Something wasn’t right here. “I’m not playing any games, Mike. Michael Fury, right? Finn’s brother? You’re after Cecilia. But you’re not going to get her.”
Mike frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? You on drugs?” His eyes narrowed. “Makes sense. But don’t think to use it at your defense. Nobody’ll give a fuck what you’re hopped up on. You killed Becky Sauder, you piece of shit. And Shelly… That girl never hurt a soul. You’re going to jail, on your own two feet or in a body bag, I don’t really care.”
Lara darted out from under his hand and stepped in front of Noah.
“Lara, don’t.” He tried to pull her back, but Mike fired at his feet.
Frank jumped. “Shit.”
“Toss the gun,” Mike ordered, “before I shoot you.”
“Gun?”
“I’m gonna count to three.”
Frank held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Wait.” He reached behind his back, where he’d stashed it, apparently.
“Slow.” Mike nodded. “Now toss it over here.”
“Mike, wait. You’re making a mistake.” Lara took a step toward him, and to Noah’s vast relief, Mike didn’t threaten her.
Noah suddenly realized they’d been after the wrong Mike. “Uh-oh.”
“Yeah.” Lara swallowed loudly enough that he heard. “Mike, we’re not the bad guys. Bill is.”
Mike snorted. “Try pulling my other leg. I know you had a thing with First, honey, but he’s dangerous.”
“To anyone trying to hurt me, yes.” Lara squeezed his hand and took another step closer to Mike. “We narrowed down our suspects to two. You and Bill. Both of you are connected to death. Your mothers, those many years ago. And then the girl they found a few days ago. You said Bill was seeing someone a few towns over, right?”
Mike frowned. “Yeah.”
“And Shelly. Bill was seeing her too, you said. You know they found a nurse dead in the hospital this morning. He’s out of control, Mike. And he’s coming after me.”
Mike faltered. “I didn’t know who he’d been dating, but yeah, it was someone outside of town. And Shelly.”
“Where have you been?” Noah asked.
“The fucking department targeted me as the villain here. I thought you were setting me up, but come to think of it, Bill was the one who’d been nearby whenever something weird happened. Hitting you was a major accident. Seriously.”
Mike started to lower the gun, but when Noah shifted his feet, the deputy brought it back up again. “Hold on. Let me think.”
Frank said softly, “Mike, I overheard Peters say that Bill Knowles never offered to help watch over Noah while you went for help. He lied, Mike. And the reason you couldn’t get anyone to help was that they were all on a call, a tip from an anonymous source. Someone had called in that they found Shelly’s body.”
Mike paused a moment, then finally lowered his gun. He swore up and down, but Noah didn’t have time to wait for him to catch up anymore.
“Look, Buckman, Chloe’s missing, and Bill’s got her somewhere. We think she’s in that house. We have to get to her before he does to her what he did to the others.”
Mike shook his head. “Just… Wait. The nurse, I hadn’t heard about that. Was it Suzanne Bond?”
“Yeah,” Frank answered. “Just like the others. He likes to take his time.”
The wait was killing him. Noah turned back to face the house.
Mike cursed. “Fuck. I caught him and Suzanne making out the other night. Right at the same time Shelly saw them and made a big scene. Happened outside Shelly’s apartment building. Oh man.”
“We don’t have time for this. Bill probably heard the shot. We have to move fast. But at least we can use you with us.” Noah formed a plan. Buckman and he could lead the charge while Frank stayed tight with Lara.
Another shot rang out. Noah spun around. This time Mike Buckman had been the target. He groaned and clutched his belly.
“Gut wound hurts like a bitch, don’t it?” Bill asked in a strange voice. The man’s glittering gaze met Noah’s, and he frowned. “You ain’t Finn.” He looked from Frank to Mike and then settled on Lara. “But Cecilia. I’d know you anywhere, darlin’.”
Lara trembled and took a step back.
“Uh-uh. You don’t want me to shoot all of ’em right now, do you?”
“N-no.” Lara glanced at Noah. “No, Michael. I don’t.”
Bill’s grin widened. “I said to myself, she’ll know me when the time is right. And hey, the time is right. You remember, huh?”
Lara lifted her head, and a calm seemed to overcome her. Fuck. Please tell me she’s acting, and that’s not Cecilia possessing her.
“Now Michael. I remember a lot of things. Remember how we used to play together in my room at the saloon? How I’d drop to my knees for you? How I’d touch you just right?”
Bill’s joy was tangible. “Hot damn. I’ve been waiting years for you. Making do with the others until you’d come back to me.” Tears filled his eyes. Until his gaze settled on Noah. “But I guess you wasn’t waitin’ on me, were you?” He raised the gun again, and Lara rushed to him.
Noah used the distraction to step away from Lara, not wanting her to be between him and Bill’s aim. Frank must have thought the same, because he darted back and raced into the trees.
Bill swore and shot several rounds into the woods. Noah used the distraction to launch himself at Bill. But to his shock, a force prevented him from moving. Frozen in place, Noah fought against invisible hands while the ghostly essence of Michael Fury snarled with cruel laughter. Handling Bill was bad enough, but now they had two foes to conquer. One of which they couldn’t fucking touch.
Whether Bill hit Frank or not, Noah couldn’t say. The gun quickly trained on him once more.
“Get your fuckin’ feet movin’, asshole.” Bill sounded like himself again as he grabbed Lara and plastered her to his side. He pointed to the house with the pistol. Then his voice lowered, and Noah imagined the ghost linking with the man again. “Time’s come for you to die, hero. You ain’t Finn, but you’ll do. Come on, Cecilia. Time to teach you a much-needed lesson.”
Noah shifted on his feet, aware he’d fallen into a world of trouble. Frank might bring back help, but there was no guarantee he hadn’t been shot or that he’d bring back help in time. Noah would do his best to protect Lara if she’d let him. A glance over his shoulder worried him. She looked too composed for his peace of mind. Though he didn’t want her screaming in fear, that look on her face didn’t belong. It was too…Cecilia. And that worried him more than anything.
“Let’s go, hero. One foot in front of the other. Have I got something in store for you.” Bill chuckled.
Not good. Not good at all.
Chapter Twelve
Lara had faith everything would work out. She crossed her fingers and wished like hell Frank had gotten away. She could only hope Mike wouldn’t bleed to death before they had a chance to help him.
Walking up the steps to the house, she followed Noah, so incredibly in love with him that it took everything she had to keep her terror under wraps. If Bill shot him, she’d kill him. She really would. One way or another, Bill—Michael—whoever inhabited that body, would pay for this.
Noah looked over his shoulder at her again, his concern obvious.
“Up the steps. All the way up.” Bill aimed the gun dead center on Noah’s back. He sounded nothing like the Bill she knew, and everything like a vicious dead cowboy.
“Tell me something,” Lara murmured as they walked up the steps behind Noah. “Are you Bill, or are you Michael? Was Bill always Michael Fury, or is he possessed?”