Chapter 11 - HARRIS’S CONFESSION
Harris pulled me away from the vent.
His prison uniform was hidden beneath a dark raincoat.
A deep cut crossed his forehead.
“You kidnapped Lily,” I whispered.
“No.”
“Your cell was empty.”
“Renata’s men took me out of the jail.”
He showed me a broken handcuff still attached to his wrist.
“I escaped from them near the mountain road.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I know how to get Lily out.”
Harris had helped Grant’s father build the lodge’s security system.
A maintenance passage ran behind the fireplace.
It opened into the room where Lily was being held.
He also knew the lodge had been wired with explosives years earlier as part of an emergency destruction system.
Grant’s father feared law enforcement would one day discover his records.
Voss had brought the metal case containing the control device.
“They plan to kill Grant and Lily, destroy the lodge, and blame Nathaniel,” Harris said.
“Why would Nathaniel agree to that?”
“He doesn’t know.”
Renata and Voss intended to betray him.
Harris admitted he had spent two years protecting the people responsible for Evelyn’s death.
Renata had paid for his son’s surgery.
Afterward, she threatened to expose the illegal source of the money and send Harris to prison.
Fear turned one lie into another.
By the time Evelyn died, Harris believed he had no way out.
“You had a choice,” I said.
“I know.”
His voice broke.
“And Evelyn paid for it.”
A scream echoed from the room above.
We climbed the maintenance stairs.
Through a narrow opening, we saw Voss pressing the syringe against Grant’s neck.
Nathaniel held Grant’s arms.
Renata stood beside Lily.
Harris handed me a folding knife.
“When I open the panel, get the girl.”
“What about Grant?”
“I’ll handle him.”
“You’ll be shot.”
“That’s the price.”
Before I could stop him, Harris released the panel.
It swung open behind the fireplace.
He charged into the room and knocked Nathaniel away from Grant.
I ran toward Lily.
Renata fired.
The bullet struck Harris in the shoulder.
Grant tackled Voss.
The syringe rolled across the floor.
Nathaniel reached for it.
Harris kicked his arm away.
I cut the ropes around Lily’s wrists.
Renata aimed the gun at us.
“Move away from her.”
Lily clung to me.
Renata’s finger tightened on the trigger.
A gunshot exploded through the room.
Renata screamed.
Her pistol fell to the floor.
Detective Ramirez stood in the doorway with smoke rising from her weapon.
She had shot Renata through the forearm.
Cole and the tactical team rushed into the lodge.
Voss lunged toward the metal case.
Nathaniel opened his coat and revealed a detonator strapped to his chest.
“Everyone stays where they are.”
May you like
His thumb hovered over a red switch.
“If I go down, this entire mountain comes with me.”
