Jeremy turned them both to face Tariq. “Tell me where the files are, or I’ll blow this bitch’s head off!”
Samira struggled. “Don’t tell him, Tariq. He’s a maniac!”
Tariq spat blood at Jeremy and scowled. “Fuck you!”
Ivan’s strained voice called over. “I’ll tell you; I’ll tell you. Just leave her alone.”
“No, Ivan!” Samira shouted. “If the device gets in the wrong hands, we’ll all be doomed!”
He shook his head woozily. She could see that her beloved was drifting in and out of consciousness now – struggling to stay sitting upright against the refrigerator. “I can’t let him hurt you,” he muttered. “I can’t.”
Jeremy chuckled arrogantly. “That’s right, you will tell me Ivan. I’m going to win this – I’m going to get exactly what I came here for. And I’ll take my share of Samira, too.”
Samira swallowed down her fear: Ivan had said rule one of street-fighting was to not make stupid little speeches. Get in and get out. Jeremy continued to explain his plans, but Samira’s attention was seized by a movement at the periphery of her vision. Craig… it was Craig… She strained her eyes to see what he was doing, skimming her gaze over the barrel of the gun that was pressed menacingly against her cheek. But Craig was too far behind for her to see. She tensed her muscles, preparing for whatever was about to happen next. Jeremy sensed a change in her stance, so he tightened his grip on her and pressed the gun painfully into her face, cutting her skin.
“Fuck you…” Ivan said, trying to keep him talking. “You’ll never get away with it.”
Jeremy chuckled. He started to tell Ivan that he already had, when he suddenly tensed and let out a wild guttural groan of shocked pain. Samira wriggled free and fled over to where Ivan was reclining. They huddled together on the floor as Jeremy swung around to face Craig – revealing the huge knife sticking out of his back. Samira’s head pounded with terror as she realised that Craig had stabbed him, brutally stealing his thunder and nixing his plans. And surely ending his life…
But Jeremy was still upright, and still holding his gun. With blood gushing from his wound, he raised his arm in Craig’s direction and shot him in the chest – unloading five bullets and killing him dead – before Jeremy himself crumpled to his knees in a theatrical fit of groaning. Samira watched in shock as Jeremy keeled over and died on her kitchen floor. She held her breath…
With fear clashing in her ears, she waited for something else to happen, but the two corpses simply lay there bleeding their last. Samira pulled herself back to the urgent present – she didn’t dare allow the body-count to include Ivan. She scrambled to her knees and cupped his chin in her hands. His eyes were half-closed.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Samira’s heart twisted with terror. “No, Ivan! Don’t you dare leave me!”
“Call an ambulance, Samira,” Tariq shouted. “And untie me. Quick!”
Samira stood on shaking legs to grab the phone and dialled 911. She frantically gave the operator the address and vague details – “There’s been a shooting – a murder!”
They promised to come as quickly as possible, so Samira darted over to cut Tariq’s bonds with sharp scissors. He spoke to her loudly in Farsi, but she wasn’t listening – she crouched back down with Ivan and cradled him in her arms, pressing her hands against his wound to try to stop the bleeding. “Talk to me, Ivan. Tell me you’re not gonna die!”
“I’m not… I’m not. I won’t leave you, sweetheart. Never.”
Samira allowed her tears to well up and spill down her cheeks. She could see he was in trouble; it wasn’t like in movies when the hero got shot in the shoulder and continued fighting the bad guys. This bullet could kill him.
Tariq crouched in front of Ivan and tried to keep him conscious. “Look at me, Ivan. Talk to me.”
Ivan lifted his heavy head. “Who was he working for?”
Tariq frowned. “I don’t know. I can’t believe Craig betrayed me.”
“He saved us, though,” Samira said. “Maybe he was a double-agent.”
“Triple-agent,” Ivan said, grinning deliriously through the pain.
“Yeah,” she said. “Well, whoever he was and whatever he was doing, he saved our lives by giving his. He knew Jeremy would kill him as soon as he stabbed him – he must’ve known. But he did it anyway.”
Tariq rubbed his eyes. “Jesus, you think you know someone… Look, I think we shouldn’t mention the project to the police, okay? Let’s just say Jeremy was trying to rob us. And Craig, too. They were trying to rob us at gunpoint. We’ll say they argued between themselves, and it all went wrong.”
? Also By Julie Farrell
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