Charlie didn’t miss her changed demeanor. He moved faster than Chad expected him to, and whipped their bodies around so Bree was shielding him as he held the gun out and looked into the bushes, straight where Bree had been gazing.

He pressed his finger in and the gun fired, the bullet flying toward Chad. Lucky for him, Charlie was a bad shot. The bullet slammed into the tree two feet to his left, splintering the wood. The man also hadn’t been smart enough to place a silencer on the weapon. He’d just given their position away to the rest of Bree’s family and probably the entire security force at the hospital.

“It’s over, Charlie. Just let her go. Don’t make this any worse for yourself,” Chad said calmly, keeping his body blocked behind a large tree. He knew the man wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in him and he’d be no good to Bree if he was dead.

“You got here faster than I thought you would, Chad. If you take one step closer, I’ll put a bullet through your bastard child,” Charlie snarled.

Chad had no doubt he’d do just that.

“How do you think this can end, Charlie. You know I can’t let you take her.”

“You don’t have a choice,” the man screamed as he took a few more steps down the trail, dragging Bree with him. She stared at Chad, her eyes filled with tears.

“Charlie, how do you plan on leaving?”

Chad knew he needed to keep saying his name. The more he humanized him, the more he’d think about the bad choices he was making. He looked to Bree, but only for a moment. He had to keep his eye on Charlie. If he could just get one shot in, that’s all it would take to end this whole thing.

Bree started to pull against him and Chad wanted to yell at her not to. He didn’t want her getting accidentally shot. He knew Charlie didn’t really want to shoot her and only would if he felt he had no other choice.

Charlie ranted at her, then jerked against her chest, causing her head to slam against Charlie’s body. He’d pay for the agony he was inflicting on Bree.

“Why, Charlie. Why are you doing this?” Chad asked.

“Do you really need to ask? She’s mine and always has been, from the very first time I saw her. She was too young then, so I waited. I watched her date other men, but I knew it wasn’t serious. Then, she got on this kick about being independent. I figured that was my perfect time to be with her. She didn’t want her family smothering her, but she needed someone. I figured if I scared her a little bit, she’d come running to me. It was perfect, too, because she’d been getting threatening letters. Trenton showed me. It wasn’t hard to escalate things to break-in’s and stalking. It all would’ve worked out, too, if you hadn’t gotten involved,” Charlie sputtered.

“Even if Chad and I hadn’t gotten involved, I wouldn’t have come to you, Charlie. I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I just wanted to focus on me for a while. What happened with Chad and I wasn’t planned. It just happened,” Bree said gently. She was trying to appeal to the boy she’d know so long.

“You’re wrong, Bree. You would’ve needed me – I know it,” Charlie argued. She was telling him they didn’t have a chance, yet he was determined to change her mind.

Chad didn’t want him to come to the realization that she’d never be his. Once he had nothing to lose, he had no use for her anymore.

“You need help, Charlie. Just let Bree go and we’ll get you all the help you need. Trenton’s on his way. You don’t want him to see you pointing a gun at his sister, do you?”

“He’ll understand. He made a comment once, back in high school, that it would be great if Bree and I married, cause then we’d be true brothers. I knew then he’d be okay with us being together, no matter how it happened.”

If Trenton heard that comment, he’d come unglued. If he had any inkling that he’d played a part in his sister’s predicament, he’d be on his knees.

“Why don’t we all just sit down and talk about this,” Chad offered.

“Get away! I’m not telling you again,” Charlie snarled. He pointed his gun toward Chad again and fired, not coming close. Chad was grateful the man had poor aim.

Charlie was moving further down the path and Chad continued to follow. He kept under cover, but didn’t let them get more than twenty feet ahead of him. Charlie had to have a car nearby. He’d have to expose himself at that point and that’s when Chad would take his shot. There was no way he could let Charlie drive away with her.

“Bree, you’ll grow to love me, I promise. I’m a good guy. This day has just gotten kind of messed up. I’ll raise your baby, then we’ll make more. We could even get rid of this one if you want. Of course that’s what you’ll want, so we’ll have to do that. You may not think so, but you won’t want his baby growing inside you. If we just get rid of it, I can plant my seed in you. We’ll be a family.”

Bree’s eyes widened in horror at his words. She started clawing at his arm around her throat. Chad tried to send her a single to calm down, but Charlie was threatening her child and her mother’s instincts had kicked in, full-throttle.

“Stop struggling. You’re only going to get yourself hurt. If you don’t stop now, I’ll shoot you, I will, then I’ll make sure my shot doesn’t miss Chad. He’ll rush forward, try to save you, making him such an easy target,” Charlie sneered.

His words did their trick. She didn’t want to watch Chad get shot, and she knew Charlie was right. If he shot her, Chad would run forward, disregarding his own safety. She couldn’t get away from him, so she had to trust Chad wouldn’t let her out of his sight. It was the only thing she had to hold on to.

Charlie reached the other side of the pond and started down another trail. She could hear traffic nearby. Bree’s heart pounded as she realized they were running out of time. If he managed to get her to his vehicle, Chad wouldn’t be able to find them.

“What are you doing, Charlie?” Trenton’s voice called out as he rounded a corner, not even trying to take cover.

“Trenton, I know this looks bad, but it’s what we’ve always wanted. Bree’s supposed to be mine, and then we’ll be related. She just got messed up, being around Chad. It will be fine,” Charlie pled with his friend to understand.

“Charlie, let my sister go. We’ll sit down and talk. You’re hurting her, Charlie,” Trenton said as he took a few steps forward.

“You’re upset right now, Trenton. Bree doesn’t really know what she wants. Chad has her brainwashed,” Charlie said.

“Come on, Charlie. We’ve been friends a long time. You don’t want to do this. Let Bree go and we’ll talk. We can work this out.”

“No! You’re brainwashed, too. This man has gotten to all of you. Bree loves me, she does! She wants us to be together,” Charlie screamed. The hand that held the gun against Bree’s stomach was shaking. He was starting to really lose it and with Trenton distracting him, Chad moved closer. He had to move soon or he might lose Bree.

“This has gone on long enough. Let her go!” Trenton shouted. He stopped talking as a friend and spoke with power in his voice.

Charlie’s eyes widened at the tone, and Chad saw the shift in his expression. He was going to make a move.

“You can’t talk to me like that,” Charlie screamed as he lifted his arm and pointed the gun at Trenton.

“Get down,” Chad yelled as he jumped up, his gun aimed at Charlie.

The next few seconds slowed down as several things happened at once. Bree jerked against Charlie’s slackened hold and fell to the ground at his feet. Charlie’s gun fired, the bullet aiming straight for Trenton. Chad pressed his finger, his deadly aim slamming into Charlie’s chest.

Bree blacked out as her head slammed into a rock on the ground. She didn’t even have time to know if her brother or Chad were okay.

Chapter Eighteen

Chad ran toward Bree, too late to catch her fall. His insides clenched as he saw blood spread out from her temple. He had to make sure Charlie was down before he could tend to her, though.

He quickly approached the man and kicked his dropped gun out of the way. He knelt by him and placed his fingers on his throat.

Dead.

Charlie wasn’t going to hurt anyone else ever again.

“Bree,” Trenton called as he stumbled forward.

Chad looked at him, startled by the blood.

“Looks like his aim improved when he was aiming for me,” Trenton said, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Where the hell is everyone else?” Chad yelled. Trenton had been shot in the stomach. He needed to be admitted for surgery immediately and Chad still didn’t know how bad Bree had hit her head.

He knelt down next to Bree as he heard voices approaching. He gently lifted her head, relieved when he saw only a small cut. Head wounds always bled more than average. He knew it wasn’t too bad, but he still wanted her checked into the hospital.

He lifted her in his arms as several people arrived, shouts ringing out around them. Security personnel were there with their guns drawn, and several medical members were moving toward him. One stopped to help Trenton, ordering a stretcher be brought down right away. Another approached Bree.

“I’ve got her. I’ll bring her up to the hospital,” Chad insisted. He wasn’t letting her out of his arms until he released her into a hospital bed.

“Someone better start talking now,” the sheriff yelled as he approached the scene. One person dead on the ground, one passed out, and another bleeding, barely able to keep on his feet.

“This is Bree Anderson’s stalker. He was trying to abduct her. I was in pursuit. Her brother showed up, and the situation escalated. The perpetrator, Charlie, aimed and fired at Trenton Anderson, Bree jerked forward, so I had no other choice but to shoot. I don’t miss,” Chad explained.

There was no need to go into a further explanation at that moment; they’d do that once Bree and Trenton were patched up. He knew all about the paperwork involved when someone was killed, whether it was self-defense, or not.

“Everyone who is not immediately needed, get the hell off my crime scene. Deputy, tape this area off. The rest of you, get moving. Get the injured into the hospital and anybody who witnessed this, don’t even think about leaving. I want statements,” the sheriff commanded. Chad had instant respect for the man.

He nodded his assent, then moved quickly up the trail and walked with Bree into the E.R. She got admitted immediately, everyone was already buzzing about the shootout at their serenity pond.

***

Bree woke up in a hospital bed once again and immediately jerked forward. Chad! Trenton! She looked around frantically.

“It’s okay, Bree. Everyone is fine,” Chad quickly assured her.

“What happened?” she asked, calming at seeing Chad sitting next to her looking strong and assured.

Chad quickly filled her in, letting her know Charlie was dead. She lowered her eyes, feeling empathy for the man. She’d known him her entire life and hadn’t wanted him dead. He’d needed help, but she couldn’t fight the twinge of relief at knowing he wouldn’t ever come after her again.