Chapter 20 - THE SHERIFF’S LAST BADGE
Daniel Cross stood perfectly still, his hands raised.
Vance pressed the shotgun beneath his jaw.
“Back away from the documents,” Vance ordered.
The federal agents spread out, forcing him to divide his attention.
I looked at Daniel.
He met my eyes and blinked twice.
It was an old field signal.
Wait.
“You’ve lost,” I told Vance.
He smiled without humor.
“I’m still the sheriff.”
“No. You’re a frightened man holding a badge that already belongs in an evidence bag.”
His eyes shifted toward Amelia.
“You were supposed to burn everything.”
She stared at him as though seeing him clearly for the first time.
“You said no one would get hurt.”
“You believed what you needed to believe.”
Daniel moved suddenly.
He drove his heel backward into Vance’s knee. The shotgun fired into the ceiling. I crossed the room before Vance recovered and struck his wrist against the door frame.
The weapon fell.
Vance reached for his sidearm.
Amelia grabbed the metal trash barrel and swung it into him. He crashed against the desk. Federal agents pinned him to the floor.
As they cuffed him, he looked at Amelia with naked hatred.
“You stupid woman. Miller will kill all of us now.”
The room went silent.
I crouched in front of him.
“Where is Miller going?”
Vance laughed through bloodied teeth.
“You think Fort Grant is the escape point?”
Ethan had been wrong—or Miller had fed him false intelligence.
Vance continued.
“The helicopter is a decoy. Miller has a private airfield near Blackstone Ridge.”
Commander Keene’s voice came through an agent’s radio.
“We confirmed the Fort Grant aircraft is unmanned. It’s rigged with explosives.”
Vance smiled.
“Miller always plans two funerals ahead.”
I stood.
“Call every agency. Lock down Blackstone Ridge.”
The federal agent shook his head.
“A storm has grounded air support. The nearest tactical team is forty minutes away.”
Daniel stepped beside me.
“Blackstone Ridge is twenty minutes by road.”
“You were just held hostage.”
“And you were just reunited with a dead brother. We’ve both had difficult mornings.”
Vance laughed again.
“You’ll never reach him. Miller took someone important enough to guarantee safe passage.”
My phone rang.
The caller ID showed Commander Keene.
May you like
When I answered, her voice was strained.
“Logan, Ethan’s ambulance was intercepted.”
