With growing horror, Liam imagined Fall Creek’s last stand—his friends behind their measly fortifications, trapped and helpless as a volley of targeted artillery came screaming from the sky. They’d be slaughtered in a minute or less.
Quinn straightened and inhaled sharply. She stared at Liam; the blood drained from her face. “Holy mother of—”
“The General said we were terrorists…that we turned against our own government…” Edlin coughed up a mouthful of blood. It leaked down his chin and splattered his gaunt cheeks. “That you murdered his daughter.”
Whitney let out a dismayed whimper. Liam couldn’t take his eyes off Albert Edlin. “What else did he say?”
Edlin’s bruised, shriveled face contorted. He raised his shaky left hand, grasped the lapel of Liam’s jacket, and drew him close. He stank of coppery blood, sour sweat, and impending death.
A blade of fear slid between Liam’s ribs.
He didn’t pull away. “Tell me everything.”
“They shot my wife between the eyes.” His words were gritty and gasping. But his eyes—his rheumy eyes flashed with grief and rage. And hate. “They shot her, Coleman. Because of you. He will raze Fall Creek to the ground…and everyone in it…because of you.”
Spent, Edlin slumped against the barrier. His withered hand fell limp to his side. His papery eyelids fluttered and slipped closed.
Reeling, Liam rocked back on his heels.
The General’s message had come through loud and clear. If he could torture an old farmer, he was capable of anything.
They were facing an enemy with more men and more firepower. This man, this faceless enemy, was worse than Rosamond.
Rosamond had been a knowable quantity. The General, however…
He’d just made this conflict very, very personal.
Dread settled like a stone in his belly.
This was his fault. Instead of safeguarding the people that he loved, he’d put them in the crosshairs. He was only one man. All the training, skills, and expertise paled against an army.
He could not protect them.
He could not save Hannah.
The sound of a distant engine rumbled. Several members of the security team whipped around, facing town as they half-lifted their weapons, nerves raw, tensions high.
It was one of their own.
Evelyn drove toward them, parked behind the bike rack, and leapt off the ATV.
She raced toward the barricade, medical bag in hand. “What happened?”
“It’s too late,” Quinn said, stricken. “He’s dead.”
14
Hannah
Day One Hundred and Five
“This is some place, right?” Hannah asked Liam.
“It’s like a cave—but not,” Liam said.
Liam and Hannah were at the Salt Cave, a hole-in-the-wall business on the northern outskirts of town, just past Fall Creek Inn along the river, just within the new security perimeter.
Outside, the full moon cast everything in a silvery glow. Cold fog drifted between the buildings and trees, cloaking the world in a sinister white mist.
Inside, two kerosene lanterns shed flickering orange light over a twelve-by-twelve room decorated to look like a cave. The walls were dark and textured with built-in benches.
A fake fireplace in the corner boasted several brick-sized chunks of salt. Globe-shaped pendants—their lightbulbs long dead—hung from each wall. Six inches of coarse, pinkish salt covered the floor.
Liam’s weapons leaned against the faux-cave wall next to his go-bag. Hannah was armed with her trusty Ruger American. Perez stood guard outside in case of trouble.
News had traveled fast along the communication network Dave and Jamal had cobbled together. Within a couple of hours, every citizen of Fall Creek knew of Albert and Wendy Edlin’s grisly murders.
The General’s threat loomed over the town like a brewing hurricane, the ominous storm clouds heavy with the promise of violence.
Hannah felt the seconds and minutes ticking like a time bomb. Only fourteen hours until the deadline. The town had to provide their answer to the General’s demand.
The council would meet tomorrow morning to make their final decision.
Since Edlin’s death, she and Liam had hardly seen each other. Liam had interviewed the scouts for every ounce of intel that he could gather, then spent hours shoring up their defensive lines and working with the snipers.
Hannah had also worked overtime, Charlotte in her carrier as she met with the council and various community groups to calm the people and explain what had happened.
Everyone was alarmed, distraught, and terrified. Hannah couldn’t blame them.