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

the urgency, but had gotten no cell signal. He hadn’t expected one, but had thought it was worth a shot.

And now as he followed the blood drops on the ground, his pulse ramped up. His heart pressed against his rib cage.

God, please don’t let Jewel be hurt. Please help her, save her. Please help me to get there before it’s too late this time. I can’t go through losing someone again. I couldn’t live with that. Jewel has to survive.

He heard the roaring of the falls before he turned the corner. Just up ahead, Buck’s words were filled with hate and anger. This was the end of the line. One way or another, Buck was going down. Either Colin deserved to be an officer of the law, the chief of police, or he didn’t. Regardless, Jewel deserved to live. She deserved his best effort.

Even his life.

Holding his weapon in position, Colin rounded the corner.

At the edge of the falls, Buck pulled Jewel’s hair and yelled in her face. He flashed the knife in her face, letting her know what he wanted to do with her. Colin suspected he would follow through if it weren’t for the diamond. All this couldn’t be for nothing.

Still, Buck could kill Jewel even if Colin called out, threatening to shoot him.

Jewel cried out in pain as Buck twisted her hair around. She opened her eyes and saw Colin. Hope infused her face.

No, Jewel, don’t telegraph that I’m here.

Colin’s cell suddenly rang. He gripped the gun harder as Buck jerked around to face him. Stupid cell signals came through at the worst times. He ignored the call.

Jewel grabbed Buck’s bloodied hand and jabbed her thumb into what Colin could see was a badly bleeding injury.

Buck threw her down, clearly not worried about her escape. She was between the waterfall and Buck. He could snatch her back before she jumped, if that had been her intention.

Colin closed the distance. Buck jerked up and around. Started for Jewel.

“Freeze!”

Buck moved to Jewel, grabbed her hair. Flashed the knife.

Colin fired at his feet. “I killed your brother. Don’t think I won’t kill you, too.”

And Colin wanted to. God help him, he wanted to kill this man.

Buck dropped the knife. Did as he was told.

Colin ignored the voice screaming in his head, telling him to shoot the jerk. He had to do this right. Every decision he made had to be for the right reasons and not to seek vengeance for the past or for Jed’s life. Or for Katelyn’s.

God, I didn’t know how hard it would be!

“Back away from her. Up against the wall.”

Buck couldn’t seem to lose his smirk, no matter what. Colin wanted to wipe it from his face. He tugged the handcuffs from his jacket pocket, offering a smile himself for thinking to bring them.

“You mean this whole time you carried those things with you?” Buck’s eyes were round with shock.

Colin liked to see it. Liked to see he’d knocked the smirk from Buck’s face, too. “Guess you could say I was pretty confident this moment would come.”

“The charges won’t stick. You have nothing on me.”

“I have Jewel’s testimony.”

“It’s my word against hers.”

“And mine.”

“You’re just trying to make up for the past. Your testimony won’t count.”

“Jewel, come over here away from the falls. Hold the weapon on Buck. Shoot him if he moves.”

She moved toward Colin, relief shining in her eyes, and something more that made his heart swell. But he had to finish this business. Jewel took the weapon and aimed it at Buck. Her hands trembled as she slipped her finger into the trigger guard.

“Easy now,” Colin said. “You don’t want to shoot him accidentally.”

Jewel nodded. Steadied her hand.

Colin approached Buck. “Hands out.” They still had to make their way out of here, so Buck would need his hands out in front.

“The charges will only stick if Jewel is around to give her testimony. You think she’ll make it to trial? Don’t you have enough experience to know better?”

Colin stared, the whole thing unfolding in his mind, reminiscent of the past. Close, much too close, to what had gone before. Buck and Brock had been working together, throwing the investigation.

“They’ll stick because this time you’re working alone.” Colin cuffed one wrist.

An eerie look came into Buck’s eyes. “I never work alone.”

Colin cuffed the other. He had him this time. But the confidence he’d expected eluded him. Instead, he was more terrified for Jewel’s life now that he knew what she’d face as a witness. Could he walk this path again?

And what had Buck said? He never worked alone?

This wasn’t going to end. It was never going to end until Buck was dead, too. Colin hesitated too long. Buck punched Colin in his already injured nose. Pain nearly blinded him. Colin gripped Buck, wrestling for control yet again, even though Buck was restrained in handcuffs.

He hoped Jewel wouldn’t try to shoot, though he knew she could hit her target under normal circumstances. Buck slammed his fist into Colin’s gunshot wound. Colin twisted Buck’s injured hand, the battle roaring in his ears and growing louder.

Buck pushed Colin and he teetered on the lip of the cave, hovering over the ledge and waterfall. Just like before. And as he stared into Buck’s cold, hard eyes, Colin knew without a doubt Buck had pushed him before, but had saved him in the end, just to be able to torment him a little longer.

What about now?

Colin flailed and reached out for his nemesis and gripped the short chain linking the cuffs, unsure if he meant to stop his own plunge or to take Buck Cambridge with him into the falls. Regardless of his intentions, a force beyond their control pulled them both down toward the frothing base of an icy waterfall.

Colin fell through empty space. Plunging fast. Buck released him. Time shifted. What took mere seconds seemed like minutes as they fell together. Jewel screamed his name from above, her cries melding with the rumble of the waterfall.

SIXTEEN

“No! Colin,