Surgeon – Chapter Twenty-Nine

NOT EDITED

Chapter Twenty-Nine

6:00 PM; CLINSTONE, ANDREW BATES’S HOUSE, DRIVEWAY

“Six o’clock is still a terrible time to do this,” Bo said. “Gordon is already here.”

“We’ve got guns for a reason, Austen,” Carter said.

“Well, you two do. I’ve just got my wits, and I’m not sure how far that’ll get me,” Bo said.

“You’re welcome to sit in the cruiser. I’d prefer it,” Jacob said, hitting his palm against the bottom of his Glock’s magazine.

“I’m not going to do that. I’m just expressing that… walking into a home while the killer is there is stupid. That’s all.”

“Just stay behind us, Bo. We’ve got you covered,” Jacob promised, meeting Bo’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

“Okay, but if you let me die in there, I’ll haunt you. Forever.”

Jacob snorted. “Deal. Let’s roll.” He pushed open his door and stepped out into the snow. He shut the door, holding his Glock in front of himself, aimed at the ground. After Carter was outside, Bo slid out of the cruiser with a sigh. He followed Jacob and Carter to the front of the house. Jacob leaned back against the house and nodded to Carter, pulling back on the slide of his gun. Carter reached out and grabbed the doorknob. He pushed the door open and leaned away from the door as Jacob went inside, gun raised.

Carter followed, quickly followed by Bo. What the hell am I supposed to do with my hands? They’ve got guns. They know what to do with their hands. Bo looked down at his feet as he heard a sound beneath them. It was quiet, barely there, but it was there. Gordon was in the basement. Carter opened a door. Bathroom. Jacob opened a door. Bedroom.

Bo cleared his throat. Jacob whirled around to face him. Bo gestured to the door on his right.

“Open it,” Jacob whispered. Bo gave a thumbs-up before pulling open the door. Jacob headed down the stairs, followed by Carter. Bo frowned. Gordon would hear them. Neither one of them was exactly light on their feet. Still, Bo followed, one hand brushing against the railing.

“Gordon Bates, you’re under arrest. Place your hands on the back of your head,” Jacob said as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Lower your weapons, or I’ll shoot her,” Gordon said. Bo peeked around the edge of the wall, his gaze landing on Gordon. He had a pistol pressed to Natalie’s temple. Her face, bruised and swollen from the reconstruction surgery done only a few days before.

“Mister Bates—”

“I’ll shoot her,” Gordon emphasized, digging the muzzle further into Natalie’s temple. She whimpered.

Bo slipped behind Jacob, easily snagging his cuffs from his belt, until Bo was directly in Gordon’s line of sight. “Put your gun away, Jake.”

Jacob shot a glare in Bo’s direction. “Get your ass behind me. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Jake. Put your goddamn gun away,” Bo hissed.

Gordon pointed the gun at Bo, the only one of the three men that wasn’t wearing a bulletproof vest. That… was admittedly an oversight Bo would file away for next time. “Listen to blondie, over here,” he said. Jake held up both hands before shoving his Glock back into its holster. Carter followed suit.

“Good. Now we can talk,” Bo said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. Jupiter, that felt unnatural. “Gordon, I know this is hard for you. Losing Brooke once was bad enough, right? Your father would be broken if he lost his little girl all over again. And your mother? He’d be devastated.”

“What’re you trying to pull?” Gordon asked.

“You just don’t want to see your father like that. He’s all you have left, right? Besides your wife and your little girls, of course. But you don’t want to lose your father the way you lost your mom.” Bo took a small step forward, so small Gordon didn’t notice it. “You don’t want to lose him the way you lost your sister. You love him too much.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gordon said.

“You only help your father because he’s all you have. You love him. He’s everything to you, so you agreed to help him. You agreed to bring Mom and little sis back to life. You agreed to help with the surgeries, to help find the parts.” Bo took another step forward.

“No one is being brought back to life. They’re alive. They’re fine,” Gordon said.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I misspoke. You’re just fixing them back up, is all,” Bo said, taking another step. “You’re just making them look the way they used to. That’s all you two want. You just want the whole family back again, that’s all.”

“Shut up,” Gordon whispered.

“I’m on your side, Gordon,” Bo said, stepping closer. “There is nothing wrong with what you’re doing.”

“Y–you are? You’re on my side?” Gordon asked.

“Of course I am. They teach us to do anything for family, right?” Bo asked. He stepped forward. “That’s all this is. You’re doing everything you can for your family. Mom, Dad, Brooke. You just want them all to be okay again. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m on your side.”

“I just want us to be happy,” Gordon whispered. “He was so broken. I-I just need him to be okay.”

“I know you do. That’s normal. Anyone who loves their family just wants every member to be happy, to be okay,” Bo said. “Can I have the gun, Gordon?”

Gordon held his pistol out. Bo closed the distance between them and took it in his left hand. Bo lifted his right hand to the gun, leaving Jacob’s handcuffs in his pocket. He released the magazine into his hand, shoved it into his pocket. He pulled back on the slide, watching a bullet fall to the concrete floor of the basement. Clearing his throat, he shoved the pistol into his waistband, beneath his coat. Even through his shirt, the metal was cold against his back.

Bo shoved his hands back into his pockets. “See, now we can have a calm discussion about all of this,” he said. “You don’t really want to do this, do you, Gordon? It was Dad’s idea, and you agreed because you love him, right?”

Gordon’s eyes shifted to Jacob and Carter before he looked back at Bo, nodding. “I just want to help people keep their animals healthy,” he whispered.

“And you don’t want to go to jail, do you?” Bo asked. Gordon shook his head, his arm loosening around Natalie’s shoulders and chest. “You don’t want to hurt her, do you?”

“No,” Gordon murmured.

“I didn’t think so. How about you let her go?” Bo asked. Gordon released her. Natalie collapsed against Bo, wrapping her fists around the collar of his shirt. Bo wrapped his left arm around her. In one swift motion, he pulled the cuffs from his pocket and clasped one around Gordon’s wrist.

Jacob’s eyes widened as he patted his belt for his cuffs. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Bo said quietly. “Turn around, please?”

Tears welled in Gordon’s eyes as he turned toward the wall. Bo clasped the cuff around Gordon’s other wrist before wrapping his right arm around Natalie, burying his fingers in her hair as she sobbed against him.

Jacob crossed the room quickly, wrapping a hand around Gordon’s upper arm. “We are going to have a very serious talk when we get back to the station,” he said through his teeth, his gaze focusing on Bo’s face.

“Sure thing, Detective,” Bo said. His eyes followed Jacob for a moment before he sighed. “Natalie, sweetheart? I’m going to pass you off to Detective Lehmann so I can get Miss Marshall out of there. Is that okay?” Natalie nodded. Carter wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she moved away from Bo.

Cleo’s hands were wrapped around the bars of her cell, her watery eyes focused on Bo. “Thank you,” she whispered, holding a hand out through the door.

Bo squeezed her hand as he squatted down in front of the door. “You’re very welcome, Miss Marshall.” He pulled his lock-picking kit from his back pocket. “I’m going to let go of your hand and get you out of this place, okay?” he asked. Cleo only nodded, releasing his hand. Bo smiled softly as he set to work on picking the lock. “You’re going home, Miss Marshall. You’re going home.”

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We’re almost done! Just a few more chapters to go. Which means it’s time for a vote from you guys for the first time in a while.

As is, book two in the Bo Austen series is The Dollhouse Murderer, which takes place about four months after this one. Do you want that to still be book two, or do you want to see whatever Bo’s doing in between the two Clinstone cases? I’m trying my best to phrase it in a way that doesn’t really spoil anything for people that haven’t read this series pre-rewrite. If you HAVE read the original and need a few more details to cast your vote, please feel free to message me on Instagram or Wattpad

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