He had been headed for his car and I was, too, hoping I’d find the huge man there. But as I made it to the mostly empty parking lot, I found Louis’s car with the trunk popped open and a crate left unattended near the tire.
I felt panic begin to build as I heard another shot ring out. It came from behind me and my heart fell as I suddenly comprehended that Ethan was in the store with Todd.
Todd—who still had a gun.
Had Ethan just been shot? I turned around and started back towards the store, realizing how stupid that was since I was unarmed, but I had to do something.
I didn’t make it across the street. Halfway there, I heard a voice. The same voice from earlier that evening. “Hold it right there, sweetheart.”
Tommy.
I froze. I was staring at The Cut, horrified by how still it seemed, but in my peripheral vision, I could see a dark figure holding a gun aimed for me.
He was a dozen steps away, and part of me hoped I was wrong. That maybe this guy was just a bystander. A crazy kid dressed up like a gangster, holding a toy gun because he thought he was being funny. But I knew I wasn’t that lucky.
The man’s face was cast in shadow, his features exaggerated with an elongated nose and deep black pits for eyes. I didn’t want to look at him too closely, didn’t want to turn my head, but I noticed that. Part of me wanted to think if I just held still, he would leave me alone.
But that was a naïve, stupid thought.
“Please,” I heard myself say, but I knew this man wouldn’t listen. I wasn’t even sure if he could hear me. I was as good as dead.
Who would take care of Cody? What would they tell him had happened to his mother? What would happen to Jessie? Is Ethan dead?
When that gun fired and that shot echoed through the empty streets, I was one hundred percent positive I was dead. But while I was waiting for the pain to come or for instant death to take me away, I saw Ethan rushing out of The Cut.
He had a gun in hand and a wild look on his face. He settled a little when he caught sight of me, then I saw his gaze jerk away to the ground near my feet.
My whole body trembling, I forced myself to turn slightly. I caught my breath when I saw a body on the asphalt, dark blood pooling beneath him. “Oh my god,” I murmured. My legs felt like they were made of gelatin, about to give way any second.
The next moment, the one right before I dropped to my knees in shock, Ethan reached me and wrapped his arms around me. He kept me up on my feet, letting me lean heavily against me.
“Jesus,” he muttered.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, boss. I went to check out a noise I’d heard around the corner. Got clubbed in the damn head. When I came to, I found this fucking asshole out here pointing a damn gun at her.”
At the sound of Louis’s voice, I tore my eyes away from the body. I had never been so happy to see that damn man. I could have kissed him, I was so relieved.
“Tommy,” Ethan confirmed, easily identifying his rival. “Fucking bastard.”
I clung tightly to Ethan, trembling in his arms from dwindling adrenaline and relief. I was alive. Ethan was alive. Hell, even Louis was alive. And the bad guy wasn’t. Everything was going to be okay.
Chapter 17
I’d never seen a dead body before. On TV, sure, but this was different. The blood looked kind of fake—dark and like syrup instead of the bright red people think of when they think of bleeding. And it scared me how still the man was. There wasn’t any movement to be found on him, not even a gust of wind whisking his hair away. Instead, he was as still as the pavement he lay on.
Louis had shot Tommy in the back while he was focused on me and I found I was eternally grateful for that. Anyone else could call it cowardice, but Louis saved my life. And right now, I was relieved because it meant I didn’t have to look at the dead man’s face.
Would his eyes be open? Milky white? Or would they still look like the same color they had been? Maybe they would be altogether closed.
I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know. I wanted to forget this whole damn night, pretend like it had never even happened. I knew that was likely to be impossible, but at least I wouldn’t be haunted by the man’s dead, unseeing face.
Looking up from the body finally, I looked at Louis. “T-thank you.” I silently cursed myself for the stammer in my voice, how shaky it was, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.