"They went behind that building," she said, pointing to the building to the right.
After Julia left, Haley opened the car door and got out. She was parked out of sight of the main building, but she could hear more shots being fired, and then she heard a woman scream. Julia was in trouble.
She had to help. She ran around one building and then another, until she saw Julia struggling with a man in the shadows. They were fighting over her gun. It suddenly went off, flying out of Julia's hands and down the pavement toward Haley.
She rushed forward and grabbed the weapon as Julia sank to the ground, and the other man turned to face her.
"Drew," she breathed, pointing the weapon at him. "Stop right there."
"You're not going to shoot me," he said, but there wasn't as much confidence in his voice now.
"You killed my brother. Why wouldn't I shoot you?"
"Because you're not a murderer."
"I could be," she said, thinking how much she would like to wipe that smug look off his face. Her finger tightened on the trigger. Six years of grief and rage and sleepless nights merged into this moment.
This man had drugged Landon and had caused his death. He was responsible for Sabrina's death, for Brooke's stabbing, for Harrington getting shot. Maybe it hadn't been him alone, but he'd been at the center of all of it, especially what had happened to Landon.
"You betrayed my brother. You stole his life. Why shouldn't I take yours? Why shouldn't I make sure you can't pay off a judge or an FBI agent or whoever you'll use to get yourself out of this when I can end it right now?"
Her arm was starting to shake with tension, but her finger was still on the trigger, ready to squeeze off a shot.
Drew put up a hand. "I told you I didn't kill Landon. I was just going to set him up. Put down the gun, Haley."
"No," she said flatly, shaking her head. "You're not getting out of this. I'm not going to let you."
"Haley!" Matt's voice rang out behind her as he came running toward her.
"Stop," she said, without looking at him. "Go away, Matt. You don't need to be here."
"You can't shoot him," Matt said, keeping a few feet between them as he came around to her side.
She flung him a quick glance. "If I don't, he'll get away. He'll buy his way out of this."
"He won't. He's going to prison for a long time," Matt said. "Think about how his life will be there, this rich, privileged kid in general population. He'll be a target every day for the rest of his life."
"He'll buy off the guards. Buy off the warden. He always gets away." Her voice cracked. "Not this time."
"Look at me," Matt said softly. "Look at me, not him."
She glanced over, seeing the understanding in his eyes.
"This isn't who you are," he said. "Would Landon want you to do this?"
And suddenly, she could hear her brother's voice in her head, as clear as if he were standing beside her:This isn't who we are, Haley. It's who they are.
He was right. Her brother was always right.
Slowly, carefully, she lowered the weapon.
Matt took it out of her hands as Jason took Drew into custody, and Andi attended to Julia, who was slowly getting to her feet.
Matt handed the weapon to Nick, and then he put his arms around her shaking body. "Thanks for stopping Drew from getting away," he said.
"Julia did it. I stayed in the car until I heard her scream. I couldn't stay after that."
"I know," he said, gazing into her eyes with admiration. "You are definitely not short on courage."
