Shade stood outside Knox’s office, waiting for Lucky. They had found Lily, and she was safely inside with Beth. His hand still shook with the thought of being in the police car with Knox and Lucky when the call had come over that she had been found, and there was a shootout in progress. Knox had floored the pedal, flying toward the location.
When they had arrived, he had been forced to wait for the FBI to give the all-clear and then gone ballistic when the Porters, who had managed to beat all the law enforcement officers there, had asked for an ambulance.
The moment he had walked in and seen Lily safe would remain in his memory for the rest of his life. Afterward, they had brought her to the sheriff’s office for a statement. As soon as they were done, he could take her home. It was going to be a while before he was going to let her out of his sight again.
Unfortunately, Lily was about to find out that another person she trusted wasn’t what they seemed.
“Ready?” Knox asked as he approached.
“Where’s Lucky?”
“He’s finishing up a call. He’ll be right in,” Knox said, opening the door.
“How did the Porters find me?” Lily was asking.
“I have no idea,” Shade heard Beth answer.
“I can answer that question.” Knox took a seat behind his desk.
Lily waited expectantly. “Well?”
“We’re waiting on someone. We promised we would until he arrived.” Shade walked to stand beside her chair, taking her hand.
Razer came into the office then, shutting the door behind him.
“What’s wrong?” Shade could tell Lily had figured out the news they had wasn’t going to be good.
“Nothing. There’s just a few things Razer and I haven’t told you. It’s not because we didn’t want to; it was because we couldn’t,” Shade answered as Razer moved to stare down at his wife.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Knox called out.
The door opened and Lucky came inside, closing the door with a serious expression instead of the affable one he normally wore around Lily and Beth. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which Shade was sure was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the suits he usually had on.
The women gaping at him in shock weren’t staring at the jeans and shirt, though; they were gawking at the ATF jacket and hat he wore.
“Beth, Lily.”
“Why are you wearing that?” Lily asked, standing up, her face turning pale.
“Because I’m an ATF Special Agent. I’ve been undercover since I took over your father’s church. It’s taken me this long, and over forty agents, to shut down a pipeline which carried drugs and firearms through nine different states.”
When Lily’s pale face flushed with color, Shade knew she was remembering the different times she had confided in the pastor she admired.
Lucky continued, “When Cash joined the military, he never forgot you two. He was especially sickened with Beth’s treatment, and he knew it wouldn’t be much longer before Lily would be receiving the same. Shade’s father, Will Hunter, had retired, so Cash asked him to stop by Treepoint to check on you two.”
Lily’s eyes flew to Shade at the mention of his father, the former sheriff.
“I was going to tell you when Dad came back into town next week. Think, Lily; why would I hide that from you when I’ve confessed to much worse than that?”
Lily nodded. Thankfully, she seemed to believe he was telling the truth.
“When he stayed here those few days, Will decided he liked it enough to stay indefinitely. He and his wife both were tired of moving around so much and wanted a break from it.
“They settled here, and as you both know, it wasn’t long before he gained enough respect to become sheriff. That’s where his military training came in handy. He soon discovered the pipeline and notified the proper authorities.” Dean walked farther into the office, leaning against the corner of Knox’s desk.
“This is where the conversation becomes confidential.” Lucky stared at both of the women, giving them a silent warning. “I had left the military and joined The Last Riders. I had been in the Seals and had served as a military chaplain, but when I left the service, I no longer felt the call to serve as a pastor, so I left that part of my life behind. But I wasn’t content. I missed the action of being in the military, so when the CIA approached The Last Riders to become a paramilitary group, we accepted.
“That’s how we ended up in Treepoint to begin an investigation. The ATF offered me a position as a Special Agent to lead the investigation, but I had to go undercover to do so. The people who had begun developing leads ended up dead, so I waited for a way to enter the community that would be above suspicion.”
Beth cut in. “Our parents’ deaths created the perfect opportunity.” Her face had gone as white as Lily’s as she gazed at Razer.
“Sadly, yes. I’m sorry.” Dean paused then continued, “I became Pastor Dean and began my investigation. It’s taken me all these years to gather enough evidence to win my cases. I was a week away from making my arrests. I even had the warrants ready to go, but it all came crashing down today. “
“Why today?” Beth asked.