A/N: I own nothing but my mistakes. The villain is revealed...sorta kinda...so drama, so much drama. Let me know if you guessed the twists at the end.

40

Cedes heard the ATVs coming up the mountain. The hike only took her and Sam another forty-five minutes to get to the mine. She was pleasantly surprised to hear her deputies coming so soon.

"The state cops must've been close for them to get here at the same time we did," she said, breathing hard as they studied the opening to the gold mine. She hurt from her head to her lungs to her legs and feet. It was obvious she needed more exercise and less of her mother's cooking.

KEEP OUT was the warning over the boarded up entrance. "This might as well state, Yo kids! Come inside! We triple dare you!"

"Sure, this entrance screams come inside to all rational minded minors." He started to find the loose boards and opened up an entrance for them to enter.

"It looks very dark in there."

"Are you chicken?" he teased while removing his flashlight off his belt. The flashlight had been next to his hunting knife.

Cedes just took out her own flashlight and entered the mine pretending that the horrible smell of animal droppings and absence of fresh air took some getting used to.

Sam came in after her groaning, wincing, and favoring the injured side of his rib cage.

"You should know that if you puncture your lung in here, your chances of surviving it are almost nonexistent."

"Thanks, I really needed to know that," he said, his voice strained.

"Give me the backpack." She ordered him.

He ignored her and continued with her go bag even though it only made it harder for him to move.

Not wasting time arguing with him, she followed him inside of the dark cavern that seemed to absorb the light from their flashlights the deeper they went inside. The little light that penetrated the slits in the wood slats from the entrance only provided a little illumination.

"When we find the boys, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"Are you sure they are where you are leading us?"

"I am positive. I have followed their trail to the mine for the last couple of miles of our hike. Also, Matt's dirt bike is behind those bushes about thirty feet from the opening."

"Do you think Wes came willingly with his brother?"

"Most definitely."

"You better be right."

"I am. If I remember correctly, the mine opens up to a chamber of sorts about a quarter mile in."

"I haven't been here since I was a senior in high school."

"Who'd you come out here with?" he asked her.

"A few friends including Hunter, of course."

"No boyfriends or guys who tried to hook up with you?"

After an unladylike snort she said, "Not unless you count the time Wade Adams was dared to kiss me before she became Unique."

"So no kisses here?"

"None at all. How about you? Did you have any romantic rendezvous in this dark, cold, creepy mineshaft?"

"Not at all. I liked to think I was a gentleman even then and took my ladies to only lighted, heated, non creepy places."

She shouldn't have asked if she didn't want to know. She almost slipped and fell thinking about him and other girls. Thankfully, he was in the lead and couldn't see her face or her acrobatics. "You didn't think to bring Angel Dust here?"

"I've never done heavy drugs here or anywhere else. Surely, you know that."

"You know I mean the girl, Angel Dust, by the way: poor thing. Her parents are really awful people."

"I really don't think they were intentionally being mean; they were probably not thinking of the context."

"Nobody's that far out and surely they had other family members who told them not to do that to that poor girl."

"Why did you bring her up anyway?"

"Because you two were making out the night Chang was attacked."

He stopped and turned around to look at her. "Me making out with Angie?" The fact that he used her nickname so casually caused her stomach to become unsettled. "Who in the world told you that lie?"

"Angie."

"She lied to you an officer of the law and said that we were making out when Chang was attacked?"

She shined the flashlight in his eyes because she was petty and could. "She implied that you two were."

He moved her flashlight downward. "She was asking for a job and then telling me about her boyfriend. I didn't touch her."

"That's not what she said."

He didn't say anything for a moment, then he surprised her by bombarding her with question after question, "Have I ever lied to you? Do you really think that I would do that? What kind of man do really think I am?"

His questions shocked her. He was offended and full of righteous indignation. In the past she had never thought so low of him, but he was now one of the elite, a person with enough money to buy anything he wanted. People like him thought differently than the rest of the world. They didn't have morals or thought their money could buy people as well. She was glad to know that having money hadn't change him. Or maybe it did, considering his tragic upbringing. His deplorable role models growing up. Maybe it helped him to become the man who could rise above it all with his dignity.

"I'm so sorry, Sam. I was wrong to accuse you of lying to me about what you were doing that night," she said, then squeezed past him, breathing in his skin before heading farther inside the mineshaft. The ceiling dropped lower and lower which didn't matter to her because she was short, but Sam had to duck down even more, putting a strain on his injuries if his breathing was any indication.

He put a hand on her arm to stop her and pointed. A couple dozen feet in front of them a soft light went out, while behind them an ATV turned off.

He twisted the lens on his flashlight changing its color to a light blue. Cedes' didn't have that feature so she turned hers off.

The ground beneath them was getting more uneven, the ceiling even lower, and the walls even tighter. Soon Sam would have to be on his hands or knees. "I forgot about this part," she said while crouching as low as possible.

"I can understand why unless you enjoy feeling like the walls are literally closing in on us."

"I hope you are not claustrophobic." She said knowing he wouldn't admit to it even if he was.

He confused her when he crawled up to her and told her, "I don't know why none of those other guys who weren't Unique didn't try to kiss you at this point."

"Stop being nasty!" a little kid shouted from deeper inside the mine.

The sound of the voice startled them almost causing Cedes to fall flat on her face due to how abrupt it was.

"Yeah, that was so corny, Sam," the kid said again before he making gagging sounds.

Sam covered her head to try to keep her from concussing herself, then laughed at the kid carrying a lantern who popped his head inside the narrow tunnel.

"Come on. It gets better in here," he said. "But only come to us if you two are finished making out."

Wes giggled as he looked at them.

Looking at the older boy, Cedes could barely breathe nevertheless move. Mack Alana, the boy she'd spent years trying to find and finally thought he was dead, stood not fifteen feet away from her, alive and healthy as ever.

It was like a dream come true … She felt tears fall from her eyes surprising her because she didn't expect such an emotional response.

"Are you okay, Em?" Sam asked her. He must have felt her tears and noticed her being still as a statue.

She sank got on her knees and put both hands over her mouth to quiet her sobs.

"I told you that you shouldn't have kissed her. Now, you've upset her." Mack said.

She made a half laugh half cry sound before regaining her composure. She nodded to Sam to assure him that even if she was acting like she'd lost her mind, she was really okay. Just overwhelmed.

Sam gently lifted her face and wiped her tears with his large hands.

She smiled up at him, then headed toward the boys.

"Be careful of the tripwire connected right along there," Mack said. When Cedes stopped in her tracks, he laughed. "Just kidding. I ran out of explosives a couple of months ago."

"That's too bad," she said, then eased down to where they were in a clearing where she could finally stand without lowering her head.

"Wes, do you remember me? I met you and your turtle at your house."

The younger boy nodded.

"I'm Mercedes."

"You have the same name as a car?" Wes asked.

"Yes, I do." She then looked at Mack. "I've been looking for you for quite awhile."

"Why has she been looking for you?" Wes asked his brother.

"She's one of my stalkers," Mack said to his little brother. "I am a chick magnet."

Wes laughed.

"I forgot he doesn't know your past," she whispered to Mack.

"It's okay."

It took everything she had to not pull him into a hug. She didn't even know if she could keep from stroking his hair which would only scare him and his brother.

To distract herself, she looked around and saw the sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets. They also had food and water with a small propane-powered cookstove. All the comforts of a good camping trip.

Looking around at their setting, Cedes remembered the exact chamber they were in even though she'd only been their once. She remembered that off to the right was an alcove, another tunnel only a few feet long that led to the pit. No one dared go down. It was too deep and too dangerous, especially for novices.

"There was only one." she said to Sam after reacquainting herself with her surroundings.

"Only one what?" He asked her after introducing himself to Wes.

"ATV, when there should have been two."

"Maybe Jay came back alone once they got the men following us to the trailhead." Sam said even though he suddenly tensed up.

"That didn't happened because Jay would have radioed and alerted us."

"I was wondering when you would deduce that, Sheriff," a male voice said to her. But the only thing she could focus on was the barrel of an assault rifle.

Her hand immediately went to her service weapon, but the intruder stopped her.

"Really, Mercedes Porter? Do you think that you are faster than a bullet?"

Mack stepped in front of us his brother, but the rifle swung from Cedes to him.

Cedes moved in front of the boys without thinking relying on instinct as the gunman walked into the light.

Cedes couldn't believe her ears or eyes. It was her blind date from hell. "Tank?"

"You ghosted me," he said looking at her with hatred. "I wouldn't." He said after giving Sam a sideways glance as though he were an idiot for even thinking about trying something.

Sam hadn't moved an inch, but even Cedes could sense the tension in his muscles.

Tank motioned for Sam to get closer to Cedes and the boys. Sam did, putting himself in front of everyone as Tank moved toward the opening on the east wall, putting some distance between them.

"Look at the both of you. Willing to sacrifice your lives for those two."

"Why are you doing this Tank?" Cedes asked.

"That's exactly what I mean. You are just a DEI hire who calls herself a sheriff but can't even figure out what's right in front of your face. A woman doing a man's job. We have to stop this ineptitude. Since your brain can't figure it out, I am obviously here for the money, and I come to confront the thief to get it. Isn't that right, Mack Alana?"

Cedes realized with Sam standing in front, she could move more closer to Mack to cover him completely. When she did this, she noticed that Tack was sweating profusely. It was probably a side effect of adrenaline, but it could be drugs because he looked and acted like he was high. If he was on drugs that put them in a very dangerous situation because negotiating with a drug addict almost always resulted in violence. They could not see reason.

"I am only here because Mack's dad is very upset with him. He was also mad because Chang wouldn't let him near you, Mack, when he got out of prison. Channing didn't even know where the soldier was keeping you, so he sent me to find you both."

"Mack's father sent you here with a gun to find his son?" Cedes asked. "I can't believe that."

"You really are inept aren't you. How else would I know that his son was alive. I figured if I had Chang murdered, then I could get to the kid without a problem."

Sam realized what had happened. "So, you are the one who hired those men who attacked Chang?"

"Yep."

"I'm really sorry that I had to kill one of them."

"You don't have to apologize you just saved me the time and effort. FYI I killed the other two who botched the job."

Martinez was right this man was a sociopath. "You killed them because they failed to kill Chang. Why?"

Tank looked at her like she was crazy. "Because I needed to find the money ASAP, and they didn't help me! Pay attention, Mercedes!" He tried to look around her to catch Mack's eyes. "And there was only one person who knows where that money is?"

Cedes needed to keep the conversation flowing hoping to stall him until her backup could arrive. "Are you talking about that money that Channing Alana stole from that Ponzi scheme?" Cedes asked.

"What other money could I be talking about? His father had the money the entire time. This little dipshit wasn't even in school, so his dad didn't expect him to understand what he was seeing when he buried that money. Much less remember where it was. But you remembered everything didn't you, Mack?"

Cedes turned around and saw all the color had drained from Mack's face. Wes' face as well. But both boys were smart enough to stay quiet and still. Mack reached out and took his little brother's hand and pulled him closer. At the same time, Sam edged closer to Cedes and Mack and tried to keep Wes completely covered.

Because his hands were on the rifle, Tank had to lift his shoulder to wipe the sweat from his face. His profusive sweating had to be causing him problems.

"Are you okay, Tank?" Maybe she could pretend to be concerned about his health and it would distract him from his goal. "You really look like you need to sit down."

"I'll be fine as soon as I get out of here."

Was it drugs or claustrophobia? Unfortunately, Cedes didn't know which was his problem, and she had to have more information to find out how to use his complaint for their good. "I hate being in confined spaces, do you?" she asked him.

He ignored her.

"So, you are not a rapper who works for Orkin because if you really worked in pest control you would have to crawl under houses and squeeze into crawl spaces." She looked at Sam, and said, "On the count of three."

"I don't think, so" Sam said.

This caused Tank to panic, and he started pointing the gun between the two of them.

"He can shoot me," she told Sam. "I might survive the hit, being this close to him. A simple through and through. Either way, that will give you the opportunity to rush him before he can fire another shot."

Her words brought joy to Tank's sweaty face. "Please try that. That will be so much fun."

Sam said. "Hell no, beautiful, I am not risking you being shot. I'll rush him and get shot and then you shoot him in the head with your gun."

Tank used his shoulder to wipe the sweat not finding that scenario funny. "Both of you shut the hell up."

"If you can't get a clear shot of his head, I am going to need you to empty your gun into his chest."

"I can't do that. I might shoot you instead."

"Have you both lost your mind?!" Tank screamed at them.

They both watched him for a minute like a parent watching a child having a tantrum. Then after the moment had past, Cedes said, "Because you are stronger than I am, I think it would be best if you were the one overpowering him."

"I have had enough of both of you. I think I should just kill this dude here now and take him out of the equation completely." Tank said walking closer and aiming the rifle on Sam.

Wes was frightened and he had grabbed Sam's T-shirt with his free hand. Mack stood close behind her, but he was also almost the same height as her. If she rushed Tank before he could shoot Sam, he could put the gun in her direction and then the bullet go through her and into Mack behind her.

She needed to figure out a way to get the boys completely out of the range of the gun firing. She just needed time to think.

"I think instead of killing Sam, I will aim for his and your knees and then kill the boys in front of both of you while you lay down suffering."

"If you kill the boys, how would you find the money?" She asked.

"I only need Mack for that, sexy Cedes. He will tell me where it is and once I have it, I will kill him and the rest of his family."

"Are you positive that Mack didn't tell Chang, and that Chang didn't move the money himself?"

"If that happened after killing all of you, I will go to the hospital and force Chang to tell me what I need to know before putting that bastard out of his misery." Tank was falling for Cedes' tactics and he was beginning to shake as well as sweat. The rifle was no longer steady.

"Mike doesn't know where the money is," Mack said as he tried to get in front of Cedes, but she held him back.

"Stay behind me Mack," Cedes told him.

Mack was ready to end all of this. "I am the only person who knows, and I'll never tell where it is."

"If you won't tell, then, that solves all my problems. All of you are dead," Tank said.

Cedes knew the psycho was ready to start shooting so she put her hand on her service weapon ready to draw and told Sam again on three.

Sam watched Tank and prepared for whatever Cedes was about to do.

Tank laughed at her. "You really are as dumb as you luck if you think you have a chance against an assault rifle?"

"I don't even think you are a great shot, so I think I do have a chance against a money hungry evil man who is willing to kill children."

Those words pushed him over the edge, he walked closer to Cedes and put the rifle at her chest. "I think as soon as I pull the trigger you are dead." He said.

He really should have been a pest man or an inspiring rapper because he just made the worst mistake ever. Maybe it was the claustrophobia clouding his thinking skills, but he was helping more the hurting her and when Cedes prepared for her next move, she heard Jay's voice.

"I think I have the best chance of all." Jay said coming inside ready to kill Tank as soon as Cedes gave her the signal.

Hunter came in behind her breathing heavily with his sidearm drawn as well.

Both of the deputies were sweating. They didn't use the ATVs to tip off Tank after being alerted to his presence, so they had ran all the way there and crawled to get to them as quickly as they could. Jay was thinner and could easily have gotten through, with Hunter being bigger he had to hunch down and expend even more energy to keep up with her.

"Tank you need to give up." Cedes told him.

"You and your deputies don't know how talented I am with this gun. Nobody expects a black man of my size to be an assassin. I once killed a diplomat in front of a hospital in Munich, Germany at over nine hundred yards in very high winds after injuring his son who paid me to lure him there."

"You?" she asked because that didn't seem plausible.

He only tilted his head instead of answering.

"Why am I not surprised that my parents set me up with a psychopathic assassin?" She said.

He didn't fall for the distraction this time.

"If anyone shoots anybody this entire cave will explode." Mack told them while they were talking he had walked over to the propane stove.

"Why?"

"Because I opened the propane tank."

She looked at him and sure he enough she could see what he was saying was true as the smell of rotten eggs hit her.

"He's just a little kid he wouldn't even know how to do that." Tank said.

The man really was crazy. "Just inhale Tank, you can smell the gas if you pull the trigger, we all will die."

She could tell that he really was insane because she knew he was about to shoot even if meant he had a small chance of survival. If he was quick enough to jump in the next shaft after firing the rifle, he could possibly escape with his life and get to Chang and try to torture the guy into telling him where the money was hidden. Try being the word because Cedes thought that even on his deathbed Mike Chang could outsmart and outmaneuver Tank Williams.

Tank started to walk back and told them, "we all will just die then." Either the drugs or the claustrophobia were pushing him over the edge.

Jay and Hunter looked at her, silently asking her what to do next. She looked at the brothers, and they understood that the moment Tank fired the rifle, they were to protect them the best they could while she and Sam tried to subdue the sociopath.

As Tank backed farther into the tunnel, Cedes knew her plan had less of a chance of succeeding.

She noticed that Sam was tense and coiled like a snake, ready to strike the moment she made her move.

She looked at Tank and tried to bait him when she saw that he aiming at the propane tank that would definitely explode if he shot it. The explosion could kill Mack, Wes, and/or Sam who was closest to it. She faced her fear and moved between him and the propane tank to block his line of sight.

Her movement enraged him, "Do you honestly believe that your fat ass will stop this bullet?"

His words gave her the final courage she needed to lunge at him.

He fired the rifle, and the cave erupted into flames. The explosion echoed through the cavern so loudly, Cedes thought she would go deaf, but it did propel her forward. She slammed into Tank with everything she had, but it wasn't enough to take him down. He was too big for her to move, so they began to fight for his rifle.

Then, suddenly she was airborne. The air left her lungs as landed on the ground.

Sam had to struggle to pick her off of Tank, so he could have the man all to himself. Enraged, he body slammed the bigger man then leaned down and put him in a chokehold. Cedes was worried that Sam would break Tank's neck.

Tank began to breathe in shallow choking wheezes. Sensing he was about to be arrested, he raised the rifle and aimed it at Cedes.

He must not have forgiven her for leaving him on their first date even though she paid for both their drinks. Oh well, she was about to yell for Jay's help when Sam let go of Tank's neck, got his knife, and with two quick slices, Tank's arm went limp, the rifle fell to the ground beside him, and Tank looked down at his weapon in disbelief.

Cedes got up and ran to the rifle removing it out of his reach.

Tank had completely lost his forearm, and Cedes bent down to press on what was left of Tank's limb, and looked for something to help stop the bleeding. Jay and Hunter had gotten the boys out, but Hunter eased back inside, with his gun drawn.

"Mercedes?"

"All clear, I just need you to hand me something to stop the bleeding Hunt. That was when they noticed the propane tank hadn't exploded.

Hunter hurried over to turn it off, but the handle was too hot. He grabbed a T-shirt off the floor and twisted it until the flame shut off. "The bullet bounced off of it," Hunter said looking at it, added, "The spark must've set off the gas."

That must have happened because she'd been thrown from that direction. Not back, which was what would've happened if the gun had set it off. "Get me something to stop his bleeding."

Hunter grabbed another T-shirt and rushed to her handing it over while giving her a doubtful look.

Sam told her after fully standing. "Don't bother he's dead."

"I need your belt," she said not listening to him, putting all of her weight into the task of trying to stop the blood loss.

"Merciful," Hunter said.

Cedes looked down at Tank's face. His eyes were open and he was no longer breathing. Less than five minutes, and he had bled out.

Hunter tried to help her up. "He's dead, boss."

Cedes sat there stunned until she heard Mack's voice.

"Is the bad man dead?"

Cedes got up to cover Tank with the blanket, then she rushed to the boys. "Yes he is. Are you and your brother okay?"

Jay had let both of them come back in. "Sorry, boss. They took off back inside and I couldn't stop them."

Cedes shook her head at all of them. "I don't even want to know why or how."

Both brothers had black residue on their faces and scorch marks on their shirts.

She gave them her undivided attention. "Are you hurt? Were you burned?"

When she lifted Mack's shirt to see if he was burned, he smiled at his little brother and said, "Didn't I tell you that all the girls like me?"

Mack was burned worse than his brother, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been had the tank exploded.

Right when she was about to let down her guard, she heard someone else coming down the tunnel, their newest visitor was having a hard time trying to navigate the narrow opening while running. All Cedes could heard was cursing.

And then, Martinez appeared and stopped with his sidearm drawn, and watched as Jay knelt to officially check Tank for a pulse, noting the time of death for the ME. Martinez leaned on the cavern's wall to catch his breath.

Cedes no longer cared if she was behaving inappropriately. The two Alana boys would be traumatized regardless. She gathered them both in her arms and hugged, making sure to avoid the scorched parts of their bodies underneath their scorched shirts. To her overwhelming joy, they hugged her back in return.

Wes looked like he was in shock and was shaking, but either Mack was well-trained by Chang or he was in denial of his shock. He did hug her tightly before turning and hugging Sam.

"How about we get you two to your mom as quickly as possible?" Cedes asked them.

Wes answered a tremulous yes while Mack nodded.

"Thank you." Cedes said to Sam after Mack released him from the hug he initiated.

Sam's eyes were on her neck instead before walking closer to her and doing some checking of her of his own. "He shot you."

"No. That's his blood."

"No, it isn't. It's yours."

Cedes touched her neck and realized the bullet had grazed her before ricocheting off the propane tank. "Oh, it's not bad. I didn't even feel it."

His worried expression confirmed he wasn't sure she was telling the truth. His concern for her well-being left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, but she had to stay focused. She was the sheriff. So, she turned to Hunter. "How did you and Jay know Tank was here?"

"Tank?" Hunter asked, gaping at the assailant. "Wasn't that your date?"

"Yes, my parents set me up with a freaking assassin."

"I told you he was a stalker and a sociopath," Martinez said while still trying to catch his breath.

"If you didn't know he followed us up here, why did you and Jay run all that way?"

"We figured out that the third guy who was staking out the town wasn't at the hotel. We thought maybe he'd slipped past us on the trail."

They all stilled when they heard a low groan echo off the rock walls around them.

Mack looked guilty and looked at his brother who too seemed to know something that the rest of them didn't know. "That man woke up."

"Excuse me?" Cedes said.

"Thank goodness he didn't die cause Mom would be so mad at us," Wes said.

Mack grabbed the lantern and ducked back through the alcove. "Follow us carefully," he said, stepping gingerly toward the edge of a very dark and huge hole bordered by a layer of stones. He held the lantern over it, and Wes shined a flashlight.

Cedes, Sam, and Hunter looked over the edge. At the bottom of what looked like a mile-deep hole lay a man in a suit. who raised his arm against the light shining in his eyes.

"Is that the third man?" Cedes asked Hunter.

"Yes."

"Is that the missing money?" She asked Mack.

"Yes, I moved it here with us."

The man lay on top of mounds of money. He laughed and called up to them. "I can think of worse ways to die.".

"Still," Cedes said. "I know a hundred million is a lot of money, but I didn't think it would be quite that much."

"It's one hundred and fifty million," the man corrected her.

"Wow, are you a cop?" Martinez asked him.

"I am DEA."

"I should have known that; I just thought you were a dirty cop."

How the hell did Martinez know these things?

"DEA, are they worse than the cops?" Wes asked. He hit his brother. "We are going to be in so much trouble."