Loves Second Chance

Chapter Fourteen

Emily parked the big truck in front of the diner. She stepped out and shook out her long hair letting the sun bounce of the blond strands. She tugged on the short denim skirt that Anna had picked out for her to wear and then pulled up the neckline of the skimpy tank top.

She had never worn clothes quite this revealing and felt more than a little uncomfortable. Anna had said it was important that Emily make sure she would stand out walking around town. She needed to make sure that she would capture John's attention.

Emily walked around the truck and thought about Parker sitting in the back. She wanted to check on him but knew that she couldn't. There was a chance that John could already be watching her and if he knew that Parker was in the truck he would never follow her to the cabin.

Emily walked into the diner and sat down long enough to drink a glass of water before getting back up and walking outside. She walked over to the garage and said hello to Hank and then walked down main street to the library.

She stayed for thirty minutes as planned and then walked back out into the sunlight. She looked up and down the street and nearly choked on her shock when she saw a man sitting on a bench across the street. He had a newspaper in front of his face but there was something familiar about his posture… It was John.

Emily quickly turned away and kept walking down the street as if she hadn't noticed him. She looked at her watch and let out a nervous breath. It was time to head to the cabin.

She got back in the truck and started out of town. She couldn't see out of the rear view mirror because of the camper on the back of the truck but when she glanced in the side mirrors of the big truck she could see a small ford truck behind it.

She had no doubt that it was John. He was staying further back today than he had two days before in the blazer but every time she looked back she could still see him in the distance.

It was a long drive to the cabin and Emily had plenty of time to feel her nerves eating a giant ulcer through her stomach. She truly felt as if she was going to be sick but she worked hard to push that away and focus on the plan. Parker and Tyler would keep her safe. She would be fine.

She pulled to a stop in front of the cabin and jumped quickly from the truck. She walked up to the door and then walked into the cabin even as she heard John's truck tires coming to a stop in the gravel driveway. Emily shut the door and walked over to the kitchen table to wait.

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Tyler watched John get out of the ford ranger truck. Tyler cursed and wished that he had set up just a little closer. He was easily two hundred and fifty yards away from the cabin and as he sighted down the rifle barrel he wondered if he'd be able to make the shot.

He was not an ex army sniper like Parker but Parker had refused to sit up here and wait for Emily and John to arrive. He had insisted that he stay with Emily just in case something went wrong and Tyler hadn't argued because if the roles were reversed he knew there was no way he would have left Anna.

As John walked toward the house Tyler could tell that he thought he was getting away with something. Tyler aimed the rifle and squeezed the trigger. He cursed when his shot went wide and John took off running to the cabin. Tyler never got a chance to fire another shot because John made it to the door and was in the cabin too quickly.

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Emily stood up and felt panic grip her when John came into the cabin. He was not supposed to have gotten in here. He was supposed to be lying dead out in the driveway.

"You sneaky little bitch." John said with a cold grin. "You led me here so that your ex sniper boyfriend could shoot me while he hid up in the woods. Guess he's not as good as he thought he was." John reached behind him and locked the cabin door. He saw that all the curtains were drawn in the tiny cabin and knew that Parker wouldn't risk firing a shot into the cabin and hitting Emily.

Emily cursed herself a fool! Why hadn't she locked the door? She reached for her purse, knowing that her pistol was inside it, but John was too her before she could get her hands on it and he shoved her back against the counter.

"We can't do this here, sweetheart." John said as he grabbed her side in one of his hands and squeezed. Emily couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain as he pushed on her already battered ribs.

"You're getting fat." he said matter-of-factly.

"What are you going to do John?" she asked trying to sound brave though her voice was full of the pain she was feeling.

"We are going to leave and I am going to take you somewhere without an audience. By the time they find your body there won't be much left to identify."

John turned her around and pulled her back against his chest. She fought against him but he wrapped his arm tighter around her bruised ribs and she felt tears start to flow down her face as he grabbed her pistol from her purse and led her to the door with it pressed against her temple.

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Tyler could see the pain and fear on Emily's face as John led her out the door. Tyler knew he couldn't try to take another shot. He was not good enough and the damn coward was using Emily like a human shield as he walked her toward the ford ranger.

"What's the matter, Parker? I thought you were an ex army sniper?" John said with a laugh. He gave a particularly hard squeeze to Emily and she screamed in pain and would have collapsed if John had not been holding her so tightly.

Her sobs reached Tyler's ears and he had never felt so helpless in his life. He knew he couldn't risk taking a shot and he couldn't run down the hill to save her because of the gun that John had pressed against her temple.

"We are leaving and if you try to follow us then I will blow her brains out right in front of you." John yelled.

Tyler suddenly felt his fear and desperation disappearing when he saw Parker coming up silently behind John. Parker had been good at everything in the army. Parker could sneak up on the best of sentries and guards and John was nowhere near the best.

"That's a smart boy, Parker!" John yelled his voice sounding more confident and cold. Then he whispered to Emily. "So much for him keeping you safe, sweetheart. He can't even hit me from a couple hundred yards away."

"Would you just shut the hell up already?" Parker's voice came from behind them. Before John had time to react Parker's hand closed around the pistol and jerked it away from Emily's head.

John released his hold on Emily and she ran quickly behind Parker and to the safety that his presence offered. She nearly let out a scream when Parker leapt at John and the two of them became a tangle of arms and legs as they wrestled over the gun.

Emily's heart stopped beating when the sound of the gun blasting echoed through the silence of the surrounding mountains and both men fell in a motionless pile to the ground.

Though only seconds passed it felt as if it was so much longer before finally Parker pulled himself up off of John and Emily saw the bloody hole in John's chest. She covered her mouth with her hand and jumped into Parker's arms.

"I thought he shot you." she gasped through her tears. Parker held her gently and kissed her blond hair. He was so thankful that she was safe and in his arms. He had seen that gun pressed to her head and had imagined what it would be like if John had pulled that trigger. He shook his head to clear those images away as Tyler walked up to them.

"Sorry I missed." he said guiltily. Parker shook his head.

"You never were a very good shot." he said. Tyler chuckled and then looked down at John's body. Emily looked at it too.

"Tyler, Parker's not going to be in trouble is he? I mean he had to kill him or else John would killed me and Parker." she said with desperation in her tear filled voice. Parker wrapped his arm gently around her and kissed her temple.

"Don't worry, Emily. This was self defense plain and simple and that's what my report is going to say. John was already wanted for the beating he gave you and everyone knew he was stalking you. My report is going to say that he followed us up here and Parker was forced to fight him over a gun and the fight ended with John dead."

Emily nodded and looked up at Parker.

"Is this really over? Is he really dead?" she asked. Parker looked down at the blood soaking John's shirt.

"Yeah, Em. This is over and he is definitely dead." he replied.