“Don’t blame yourself,” a man Carlise didn’t know said from behind them. She lifted her head to look over Riggs’s shoulder.
“I’m Alfred Rutkey, chief of police. Chappy came by today and explained your situation. I was going to look into it, but obviously didn’t get a chance.”
Carlise nodded and put her head back on Riggs’s shoulder.
“How’d you get shot?” JJ asked.
Carlise sighed. “When I was running from Susie. She was shooting kind of wildly from behind me. One of her shots got lucky, I guess. She tripped, and I was able to get into the bunker right as we heard the avalanche. I locked it before she could get in.” Her voice lowered, and she sobbed as she said, “I wouldn’t let her in. She was banging on the door. Begging. Telling me she could see the snow coming toward her. But I ignored her. I killed her!”
“No!” all five men exclaimed at once.
Carlise might’ve found that funny if the situation wasn’t so solemn.
“She was going to kill you. She shot you,” Cal said fiercely.
“She deserved what she got,” Bob growled.
“If you’d let her in, you’d be dead right now,” JJ agreed.
“Guess I need to arrange for a search for her body,” the police chief mumbled.
But the only opinion that mattered was that of the man who was holding her in his arms. “Riggs?” she whispered. “Do you think about me differently now?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
Carlise winced.
Then he went on. “I admit I’d thought you were a bit of a fish out of water out here. You’re a city girl. I wasn’t sure you could hack living in a small town in Maine, even if you were willing to try. But I underestimated you. You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. You kept your head in what had to be a terrifying situation, and you did what you had to do in order to survive. You could’ve gotten in that car with her. But you didn’t. You protected Baxter. You got away from her. Outsmarted her. Remembered the bunker and got yourself inside.”
“I think the shots triggered the avalanche,” Carlise admitted. “They were so loud, and they echoed all around us.”
“That’s a real possibility,” Alfred said. “The conditions were definitely right, and all it can take is the right stimulus to get it started.”
“Do I think about you differently now?” Riggs continued. “Yes. You aren’t a fish out of water. You were born to be mine. To be here, in Maine, with me. You’ll be a fierce protector of our kids, of our future pets, of our friends, of our mountain retreat. You proved that you can take care of yourself when the shit hits the fan . . . and while I never want you to have to go through anything like that again—ever—knowing that you’ll fight the grim reaper himself to stay alive makes me love you even more.”
“Riggs,” she whispered, overwhelmed.
“Your only job right now is to get well. I’ll get the footage from my cameras to Chief Rutkey, so he’ll have the evidence he needs against Susie, in case she somehow survived the avalanche. There will be absolutely no doubt as to who was harassing you. You’re free, honey. You can go anywhere you want, do anything, be anything.”
“You want me to go back to Cleveland?”
“No. I want you to come back to our home—the cabin—to recuperate. I want you to move in with me back in Newton, marry me, have my babies. I love you, Carlise. So damn much.”
“Yes,” she said on a sigh.
“Yes? To what?”
“All of it.”
Riggs stopped dead and studied her face. “Yes?” he asked, as if he hadn’t quite heard her correctly.
“Yes,” she told him with a smile.
“JJ, Cal, Bob . . . will you guys stand up with me when I get married?”
“Hell yeah!”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Of course.”
“When?” he asked Carlise.
“Maybe you shouldn’t ask her when she was just rescued from near death and is probably a little loopy from pain,” Chief Rutkey said dryly.
Carlise ignored him. “Whenever you want.”
A gleam entered Riggs’s eyes, but he only nodded.
Carlise had a feeling she might be Mrs. Chapman before the week was out . . . which was perfectly all right with her. “But I want my mom there,” she said a little belatedly.
“I was going to call her as soon as we got cell service on the way to Newton,” Riggs reassured her. “She’ll want to know you’re all right and what happened.”
Carlise nodded, her eyes feeling extremely heavy. Suddenly, she could barely keep them open.
“Sleep, love,” Riggs murmured. “I’ll take care of you.”
“I know you will,” she told him, before she let the stress of the day and the pain take her under.
Chapter Sixteen
“I’ll be back as soon as you give me the word that you’re getting married,” Carlise’s mom said, doing her best not to let the tears in her eyes fall down her cheeks.
“I will, Mom,” Carlise reassured her. Her arm was still in a sling, but she was feeling pretty darn good, all things considered.
The doctors at Newton’s clinic were top notch, and they’d immediately gotten to work removing the bullet from her shoulder when she’d arrived with Riggs. Luckily, because of the distance between her and Susie, it hadn’t gone too deeply into her flesh. They were able to extract it without the need for any kind of major surgery. But they’d still used some heavy-duty drugs to knock her out, and they’d completely numbed her shoulder before they’d started.
When she woke, she’d been in quite a bit of pain, but Riggs had taken it on himself to make sure she didn’t downplay her discomfort, that she took the pain pills she’d been prescribed.
Her mom arrived not too long after she’d woken up in the clinic, and they’d both been pretty emotional about what Susie had done. It was a rough day or two for Carlise, but with the support of Riggs and his friends, she’d managed to put what had happened behind her pretty quickly. For the most part. She knew she’d have bad moments for a long time to come, but with Riggs at her side, she could deal with just about anything.
The cameras in the cabin had been all the proof anyone needed as to what had happened, and that Susie had arrived to kill her former best friend. It still didn’t make a lot of sense to Carlise. Until Chief Rutkey told her that he’d dug deep . . . discovering that Susie had kept a lot of secrets.
Her birth name wasn’t even Susie. She’d spent most of her childhood in and out of psychiatric hospitals. She’d learned to cope amazingly well for years, but apparently, she’d stopped taking her meds sometime after Carlise began dating Tommy, and she’d slowly spiraled downward.
The entire thing made Carlise extremely sad. Especially the fact that she’d never really known her friend at all.
Carlise’s mom had stayed in Newton for four days, enough to make sure her daughter was really all right, and to meet Riggs and all his friends. JJ was driving her back to Bangor in a few minutes so she could catch her flight to Cleveland.
“You love him,” her mom said.
Carlise smiled. “So much. You aren’t worried we’re rushing things?”
“Not at all. Anyone can see just by looking at you two that you were meant for each other. But with that said, if you ever decide you need more time or you change your mind, don’t hesitate to say something. I made the mistake years ago of going ahead with a marriage I didn’t want because I couldn’t bear inconveniencing anyone.”
Carlise wanted to reassure her mom that there was no way she’d ever feel that way about Riggs, but she just nodded instead. “Okay.”
“I love you, and I’m so happy that this stalker business is behind you, and you can get on with your life.”
“I wish you’d consider moving here,” Carlise said a little sadly.
But her mom chuckled. “I’d never make it here. I mean, I love you and all, but Newton is a little small for me. Rest assured, I’ll be happy to come and spend weeks at a time visiting my grandkids.”
Carlise felt her cheeks flush as she smiled.