Arrogant Brit

Pop, pop, pop.

Three shots, one man down. I didn’t relish it, but I did feel relieved. That was just one more asshole who wouldn’t be firing at me anytime soon.

I couldn’t hold my position. The cruiser door could only take so much. I joined Nathan around the back of Kimball’s car, resting my back against the bumper as I asked him: “Where’s the other officer? Where’s Kimball?”

Nathan regarded me grimly. “Dead. All of them are.”

I nodded. I’d figured as much. I remembered Marco coming around the corner with that envelope in his hand, the fear in his eyes when I’d seen him. He was in on it, I was sure. But what about Kimball? Had he died a hero, or a pawn?

The gunfire let up again and I swung around the side with a clear shot at the man on Francis’ left. I fired twice this time and saw him go down, blood spraying from his shoulder. It wouldn’t put him entirely out of the game, but it’d have to do.

“Detective Williams!” I heard O’Rourke crow from beyond the cruiser. He sounded closer somehow. “How nice to see you again.”

“Backup’s on its way,” I warned him through gritted teeth. “They’ll be here any second.”

“Not with that traffic,” he answered. I rose up, firing in his direction. I was blind this time, shooting where I assumed he was, but I missed by a country mile. He’d moved forward and behind my car, leaving his men behind. I imagined that said a lot about him.

“That’s ten shots, detective. My guess is you’ve got one left.”

I closed my eyes. He was right. That last barrage had been a Hail Mary, a desperate attempt to keep O’Rourke at bay or take him out. But I’d failed.

I always failed.

I looked at Nathan. He was staring at the street, at the glass surrounding him. I put my hand on his.

“Hey. Hey, look at me,” I said, and he raised his gaze. “We’re okay. We’re gonna be okay.”

He looked into my eyes. Then he smiled.

“Yeah,” he said. “We are.”

He raised my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles softly. And then he stood even as I grabbed at his shirt, trying desperately to pull him back down.

“Goddammit, Nathan! No!”

“Here I am!” Nathan said, hands up above his hand as he side-stepped out of my reach and around the side of the car. “Shoot me. Just leave Detective Williams alone.”

“For fuck’s sakes!” I hissed, pushing myself up to stand. I laid my hand right into a patch of glass and screamed as it bit into me, driving shards deep into my palm. Safety glass, my ass!

I had to stop him. I had to save him. Backup wouldn’t arrive in time for any of that.

I pushed myself up with my other hand, switched my gun to my left, and rose up just as the sound of a gunshot reached my ears. Three or four rounds followed from O’Rourke’s glock. Nathan fell backward even as I stood, giving me the perfect shot.

One bullet left… The asshole just shot Nathan…

I was going to have to fire left-handed. My right was mangled by glass and practically useless. I didn’t have time to think or strategize. I had to pull the trigger. Now.

I pressed my right hand up under the stock to steady it, ignoring the white-hot agony that flooded all the way into my shoulder. Then I blew out a breath and pulled the trigger, my eyes never leaving Francis’ baby blues, not even for a second.

That was how I knew how this would end: when I saw how surprised he looked.

The gun clattered onto the asphalt as Francis went down from a neat entrance wound to the chest. I dropped my own gun as I fell next to Nathan’s body, my hands clawing at his shirt and ignoring all the pain that was shooting from my palm.

“Sandra,” Nathan coughed, opening his eyes. “You’re bleeding. Are you okay?”

I nodded as I stared at him, tugging at his shirt. The dark vest peeked out from under his stylish button-up. “Oh, thank God…” I whispered. “You idiot. You colossal idiot…”

“You know, nobody tells you how fucking bad it hurts to get shot in one of these things.”

“What if he shot you in the head?” I replied, tears pouring out of my eyes.

“Would you still love me if I wasn’t quite as beautiful?” Nathan replied, offering up a faint smile.

I nodded mutely, meeting his gaze. “I saved you,” I whispered. It was the only thing I could think of, the only thing I knew to say.

As sirens approached form around the corner, Nathan grinned. He nodded and pulled me into his arms.

“I owe you one,” he replied, holding onto me as I swayed in shock.

The cavalry was here. I could see the blue and red lights flashing around us, hear the squeals of ambulances and the steady beating of a chopper above us.

None of it compared to the comfort Nathan’s arms brought me. We held each other, and the world fell away.

CHAPTER NINE

“Detective… You’re a mess.”

I shook my head at Nathan, stepping into his hotel room as he closed the door behind me. A pair of private security guards stood in the hall to hold vigil. He wasn’t completely wrong. The first shot fired had grazed my cheek, cutting a line shallow enough not to leave much of a scar, but deep enough to make me bleed all over the damn place. Forty-six stitches later my face was covered in enough bandage to start the mummification process. Thankfully, my hand was in better condition than I expected. There was still enough pulverized safety glass that a doctor had to spend a few hours with patience and a pair of tweezers, but thankfully, most of the damage was superficial.

It had taken days to convince the hospital to release me, but the hassle had been well worth it. I had no intention of staying there when I could be standing in Nathan’s hotel room instead.

My work wasn’t over. There was still something that had to be done, and I was the only one who could do it.

“You are a pain in my ass,” I told him, shaking my head as I looked him over. There wasn’t a scratch on him, but I could tell he was still shaken. And who wouldn’t be? We’d been through hell together. “I’m so glad I’m off your case.”

“Off my case?” he echoed, raising an eyebrow. “So you won’t be at the trial?”

The attempted kidnapping and assassination had caused the entire trial date to be pushed back a few days, but I had every intention of being there. Nathan still needed me.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” I corrected him. “Just in a support capacity. Don’t want you falling off the wagon now that your life’s not endangered anymore. I need to make sure you do the right thing.”

“Right,” he said, narrowing his eyes as he looked me over. “That’s what you came here for? To tell me you’re off the case and insult my morality?”

“Well, that,” I answered, suppressing a grin, “and to tell you something else, too. I wanted to say thank you for what you did back there. It was stupid, but it was damn brave, too. I don’t know what would’ve happened to either of us if you hadn’t given me that shot.”