She ran from him as he let go of her throat. Eric pointed his gun at her from the other side of the room. Loud bangs made Tara’s ears hurt. She checked her body, astounded that he’d missed her.
She looked up and saw her father lying in a pool of his own blood, as he grasped his throat.
“That would do it,” Jenny said in a cold tone of voice.
Tara watched Jenny emerge from the stairs while Owen and Caitlin crawled away from Eric who slowly was bleeding to death.
Tara couldn’t care less. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She hoped he died. She hoped that this nightmare would finally be over.
His gurgling suddenly stopped and she knew that he had died. There wasn’t any emotion left inside of her. She felt numb.
“Where did you come from?” Tara asked Jenny.
“I hid in the closet in the hallway. I overheard everything and waited so I could get a clear shot. It wasn’t after you pushed him against the window that I could move from the closet without being heard or seen. You did well, Tara.”
Tara nodded. “Thanks.”
She helped Owen and Caitlin and the moment Owen had his arms free, he pulled her into a hug.
“I can’t believe it. It’s finally over…” Owen said.
Caitlin went down on her knees next to Adam who still groaned.
“Help is underway, honey,” Caitlin said while checking him.
“He’s goin’ to have a mean concussion,” Jenny said.
“Yeah,” Caitlin agreed.
Owen rubbed the back of his head. “I can’t believe we let him surprise us like that.”
“He might be a lot of things, but he was smart in hunting and waiting people out,” Tara said. The truth of those words pained her. He had done the exact thing to her mother; only she hadn’t had the help that Tara had.
“I don’t think I’m coming back to your bistro, Jenny,” Tara mumbled.
“I know. I was going to tell you this news later, but I’m leaving town. Jenny’s is sold to a developer who is going to tear this entire street corner down and rebuild it.”
“Good,” Tara said.
Jenny’s eyebrows lifted.
Tara quickly pulled Jenny in for a hug. “I’m sorry. What I mean is: it will be good to not have to see the bistro and be reminded of my father. But we’re going to miss you, Jenny. You saved our lives, today. And you’ve even saved mine twice.”
“I know. We’ll keep in touch. I’ll let you know where I end up.”
Tara stood back as police officers ran up the stairs with their guns drawn. Caitlin talked to the men and women and Tara zoned out.
After all these years. She had finally stood up against her father and taken her life back into her own hands. With once again the help of Jenny, she was finally able to face her demon.
Tara gave Owen a watery smile as he placed his hand on her lower back and helped her down the stairs. She knew she would never set foot in this place ever again. She was going to leave Jenny’s behind and start over with Owen and Frankie.
As she entered the sidewalk she took a deep breath of clean mountain air. The people running and shouting around them didn’t bother her. She knew that come morning, she would wake up in Owen’s arms and with a perfectly happy Frankie down the hall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Owen opened the gate that surrounded their home for his two girls. After finishing up the living room in these past three days, he was finally able to show them around their home. They had spent the past fourteen weeks in the big house, as they all needed the time to catch their breath.
Luckily, Frankie had no idea what had gone down in that apartment above Jenny’s. He had Caitlin’s quick thinking to thank for that, as she’d called Chloe to pick up Frankie even before Caitlin had got there herself.