Two more deputies surrendered, placing their weapons on the ground. Nia cut Tessa's restraints.
"Can you move?"
"Yeah. I memorized their radio codes, got the gate frequencies, figured you'd come."
Pride surged through Nia's chest. Her daughter had stayed strong and stayed smart.
An engine roared outside. Larkin had reached a vehicle and was trying to force his way through the dead gate. The barrier held.
"It's over, Wade!" Bryce shouted. "We need to negotiate."
"Shut up!" Larkin abandoned the vehicle and ran back toward the garage, pistol raised. His carefully maintained mask had shattered completely.
Nia pushed Tessa behind a heavy workbench. Daniel's position kept the remaining contractors from advancing. Through the windows, Nia glimpsed multiple vehicles approaching on the main road. Evelyn's witness convoy was arriving right on schedule.
Larkin burst through the garage door, wild-eyed and sweating. His weapon swung toward them as federal sirens screamed closer.
"You think you've won?" he snarled. "You think exposing this fixes anything?"
"It's done," Nia said calmly. "The truth is already out there. Every channel. Every jurisdiction."
His finger tightened. Nia shifted, placing herself firmly between the weapon and her daughter. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing fear.
"Last chance, Sheriff," she said. "There are witnesses coming, cameras, federal agents. How do you want this to end?"
The confrontation broke in an instant. Larkin lost control of his weapon before he could use it. At nearly the same moment, one of Bryce's security contractors was wounded while trying to continue the fight.
"Mom!" Tessa broke free and stumbled into Nia's waiting arms. Mother and daughter clung to each other as sirens wailed and tires screeched outside the fence.
State police vehicles poured through the main entrance, lights flashing in the late morning sun. Federal SUVs flanked them, agents deploying in practiced formation. Behind them, a convoy of civilian cars and news vans rolled to a stop, Evelyn's witnesses arriving right on schedule.
Larkin sprinted for his patrol car, abandoning Bryce and his remaining men. He made it only a few steps before tactical officers tackled him to the dusty ground. His polished badge skittered across the dirt as they secured his wrists with heavy cuffs.
"This is a mistake!" Bryce shouted, backing away from approaching federal agents. "Do you know who I am? I fund half the programs in this county."
"Theodore Bryce," an agent called out, "you're under arrest for conspiracy, corruption, and kidnapping under color of authority."