his son. "Let her go and we'll talk."
"You'll call the police and they'll stop him from flying out of the country," Skip argued. "Once he gets on that plane and it takes off, I'll let her go."
"It’s going to make him look guilty," Ryan said. "People will say that he did something wrong."
"Let them say that. He'll be free and I'll have my son. I'll protect him no matter what."
Ryan was just about to reply when his father Jack stepped forward, his own hands held up in a sign of surrender.
"It was an accident, old friend. Just tell the police and they'll understand. Seb won't go to jail. Let Mariah go and we'll do it together," Jack said. Ryan could hear the pain in his own father's voice. "What you're doing is wrong and you know it."
"He's my only son now," Skip said, his voice quivering. He was beginning to look tired, drops of sweat on his forehead and his eyes turning glassy. This might be the opening that Ryan was looking for. He just had to be patient. "I have to protect him."
Jack shook his head, his expression sad. "At some point we have to stop trying to protect our sons and just hope that we did a good job as parents. And we did a good job, Skip. Our sons are fine men. But we can't live their lives for them. We can't make their decisions for them, and we sure as hell can't stop them from facing the consequences of their actions. We have to let go."
Tears began to fall down Skip's face but his grip tightened on the knife. "What if they take him away? I can't lose another son."
"You have to let Seb stand up for himself," Jack pressed. "We can't make everything okay for our kids no matter how much we want to. Let Mariah go, Skip. You know you're not really going to hurt her. You could never do that."
Out of the corner of Ryan's eye, he could see Knox entering the dining room behind Skip. He'd been patient but it was time to take a chance. Ryan let his gaze dart to the left of Skip, just over his shoulder. Holding this breath, he hoped that the older man would wonder what Ryan was looking at.
It worked.
Skip, for only a moment, slackened his hold on Mariah as he jerked his head to the right, allowing the hand that held the knife to drop a few inches.
That was the opening that Ryan needed. Roaring with fury, he rushed Skip, grabbing his wrist and wrenching his arm away while pushing Mariah to safety. He trusted that Knox would keep her safe while he dealt with the other man.
Knocking Skip to the floor, he held him down while the man fought and howled but it didn't last long. He gave up, tears streaming down his cheeks, lying on the maple hardwood flooring. Ryan stepped back and his father took his place, kneeling next to his friend.
Knox had, indeed, done as Ryan hoped, placing his body between Mariah and Skip.
"Don't hurt Seb," Skip sobbed, his face red and swollen. "Just let him go. He didn't mean to do it."
His pulse still racing, Ryan stood and walked on shaking legs to where Mariah was watching the entire scene with a look of horror on her face. He doubted she was used to dealing with murders in the family.
"Are you okay?" he whispered, cradling her ashen cheeks in his hands. Her beautiful eyes were shiny with emotion and her lips trembling visibly. "Should we call a doctor?"
"I'm okay. Just shaken up." She glanced down at where Skip was lying on the floor. His wife Lilly had joined Jack in trying to talk to him and get him to stand up. "I don't think he really would have hurt me."
"Let's just be glad we didn't have to find that out."
It was then that Ryan noticed that the entire party had come to a halt and everyone was standing around them in a circle...staring.
"Show's over, folks," Knox said, beginning to usher some of the guests out of the dining room. "If you could please exit, that would be helpful."
Ryan reached for his cell phone in his breast pocket. "We need to call–"
"Done it," Knox replied. "The police should be here any minute. I also told them that Seb Harrington was probably on a charter jet out of the country. They're going to try and see if they can stop the