Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

the ground. When she glanced up at Colin, sorrow spilled from her gaze, followed by fear and something more.

Determination.

Good girl.

She was doing better than Colin right now. Seeing her helpless, a man aiming a gun on her, nearly drove Colin to his knees. But he kept standing and allowed adrenaline to course through him. Fire up his nerves. Reinforce his muscles.

“Good,” Buck said. “I wouldn’t expect any less of you. Now, hand over your weapon. The nine millimeter you like to stash out of sight when you’re off duty.”

A few choice words ran through Colin’s head. A few scenarios tortured him. Like pulling out the weapon and firing at Buck. Dropping him then and there. But Jewel. What about Jewel? She could get caught in the cross fire.

He pulled the SIG from his back and set it on the ground. His gaze fell on Jewel, who stared at the ground now. Did she think Colin had failed her? He hadn’t given up yet, and if he knew anything about Jewel, she hadn’t either. They would get their chance.

“Now kick it over to me and back away.” Odd that the man would smile now. “You know, I think I was subconsciously hoping you’d find me here with Jewel. Sure, it would be simpler if this game ends with me getting the diamond and disappearing with no muss and no fuss. But seeing you here makes me happy. You are part of what made it more fun.”

“You’re demented.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He inched away from Jewel, still aiming his weapon at her. Knowing that she was his leverage now.

This was exactly what Colin had hoped to avoid. In the meantime, he needed to keep him talking. Get him talking about himself, buy some time and maybe Colin would get his chance to end this for good.

“You’re wondering what I’m still doing alive, aren’t you?”

“No. I figured it out. You’re Brock’s twin brother.”

“Took you long enough. You know what you haven’t figured out? Brock wasn’t the one to steal those jewels or kill anyone—not the woman getting robbed or your witness, the woman you loved.”

Anger boiled, frothing red-hot magma ready to erupt as he thought back to that time.

Colin had been a detective in Texas investigating a jewel thief and murderer. The victim arrived home and surprised the thief. Colin had a witness—the woman’s neighbor, Katelyn Morrison. Over time as Colin investigated, even though it was against the rules, Katelyn had become the love of his life. He’d hoped she would say yes when he proposed, but he’d always feared he wasn’t good enough—her being independently wealthy while he was just a lowly police officer.

Colin had been near wrapping up the case so he and Katelyn could get on with their lives when she had been murdered. The only witness, the only real evidence, gone. No one had known about his relationship with Katelyn, and he went on to investigate her murder, too. Brock Ammerman had been charged and put on trial. The DNA evidence found at the scene pointed to Brock. But he’d had a solid alibi. He’d been emceeing at a conference two hundred miles away during the time the murder had been committed. Hundreds of witnesses proved that. The DNA evidence at the scene of the crime had been shot down as being tampered with in some way.

Colin hadn’t seen that coming. He should have bided his time and gathered more evidence. Buck had gotten away with murdering the woman he loved because Colin had acted too quickly, before all the facts were in and he’d had the wrong man all along—Buck’s twin brother, Brock.

Keep talking, Buck, and I just might rush you and kill you with my bare hands.

“That was all me. That’s why you couldn’t get the conviction. Couldn’t make your charges stick, Chief. And it was that kind of planning, because we share the same DNA, that made Brock and I a successful duo. Partners in crime.”

“How did you keep it a secret? How did others not know you had a twin?”

“Simple. We had no idea either until we were in our late twenties. We had been adopted out, separated at birth. I don’t think that’s even legal these days. Have you ever read those stories about twins that are separated? How they dress the same, marry women with the same name, maybe even pick the same names for their children?”

Colin nodded, grasping the truth. “You ran into each other in the same career.”

“Trying to steal the same gem. Imagine our surprise, but we were smart enough to realize we could use that to our advantage. Together we were able to exponentially increase our potential as jewel thieves. After that we wondered how we had ever worked alone before. And we excelled until you came along and killed my brother. But you killed the wrong brother.”

“It was in self-defense.” Colin wouldn’t beg for his life, though.

“You ruined everything. When I learned of the missing diamond from Meral, I did my research and found Jewel easily enough. Giving the gift of a reunion with her sister seemed the fitting thing to do for a wedding present. But I always research the law entities where I’ll be working, too, and that’s when I discovered you were chief of police in Mountain Cove.”

His smile twisted into the familiar smirk. “What a thrill to go another round with you, especially when you had no idea I even existed. I could get my revenge. A life for a life. I could kill the woman you loved. Again. After all, you killed my twin brother.”

That was it.

Colin exploded in fury and rammed into Buck.

Gunfire blasted in his ear.

FIFTEEN

Covering her head, Jewel turned and scrambled behind one of the boulders near where she’d been sitting. From there she peered out and prayed for Colin. Bullets ricocheted off the ice walls from two weapons. Colin had grabbed his own gun, and the two fought each other in a deadly battle.

A massive block of