Page 89 of Icebound

He looked like the very devil—cold and deadly, his gun held loose but confident in his hand. Even so, he couldn’t shoot Luc before he killed her, and they were at a standstill.

“Why don’t you take Jean-Marc’s gun, Jefe?” Luc said easily. “Don’t worry, he won’t harm you as long as I have his wife.”

“He could take me hostage in return,” the man said hoarsely.

“He knows that would make no difference to me. He can shoot you for all I care.”

“I’m not moving,” the man known as Le Fauçon said.

Luc shot him in the face.

Chloe jumped, trying to jerk away from him, when he pressed the gun back up against her skin, burning her. “Just so you know, I’m serious, Jean-Marc.”

Bastien didn’t move, surveying his enemy with casual disdain. “Exactly what do you hope to gain from all this, Luc? If you think I’ll come work for you again, you’re delusional.”

She couldn’t see Luc’s expression, but she imagined he smiled with that boyish charm of his. “But we work so well together.”

“Let Chloe go and I’ll consider it.”

“Now why don’t I believe you?” He pressed the gun harder against her forehead, and she resisted the urge to fling herself forward. She’d still be in range of that gun, and she wouldn’t have time to get the discarded one…

“Let her go,” Bastien said again, and Luc would be a fool not to pay attention to the deadliness of his tone. He wasn’t looking at her, though he had to be perfectly aware of the gun on the table in front of her.

“Don’t even try it, Chloe,” Luc said. “It would be a waste of time and it would annoy me no end. It’s not loaded.”

She didn’t believe him, but he could pull the trigger if she even leaned forward, so she held still. And then she felt his body tense behind hers.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “We’re moving.”

“I untied the ropes. We’re drifting out into the shipping lanes,” Bastien said. “You’d better make up your mind soon or we’re all going to end up in a pile of splinters.”

“Damn you!” Luc spat, and he shoved Chloe down on the table before he shot at Bastien.

But Bastien had already disappeared, the door open behind him, and Luc cursed again. He shoved her out of his way, so that she landed sprawled on the floor, and took off after Bastien, not bothering to look behind him.

The gun wasn’t loaded. She threw it away from her, then looked at Le Fauçon’s body lying in a welter of blood. She didn’t want to go near him, didn’t want to touch him, but she had no choice. There was a chance the old man had been armed, and as she listened to the gunfire overhead, she forced herself to turn him over.

He had a gun, in a discreet holster under his arm, and gingerly, she pulled it free. It was fully loaded, and she scrambled to her feet, determined to go after them. She ducked out the side door, then moved carefully down the walkway between the cabin and the river, watching in fascinated horror as the boat drifted farther and farther away from the docks. Everything was suddenly silent except for the sound of the boat slipping through the water, and she had the sudden devastating fear that they’d managed to shoot each other. And then Luc’s voice called out.

“Is that all you’ve got, Jean-Marc?” he called. “I know I winged you. Come on out and we’ll negotiate.”

There was no answer, and Chloe’s state of calm determination began to shatter. If he’d hurt Bastien…

There was another flash of light, followed by the thunderous sound of a gun, and Luc stepped away from the bulkhead where he was hiding, moving into the pathway. And then she saw Bastien, slumped against the gangway, and he was bleeding.

“Get away from him!” she snarled, as Luc pulled closer.

He froze, his gun still raised in Bastien’s direction. “Don’t be silly, Chloe. You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I’d cut your heart out,” she snarled.

He turned and looked at her, and in the light from the cabin he looked young, charming, friendly. “I told you that gun had no bullets,” he chided her.

“It’s not the gun from the table. It’s from the man you killed.”

A faint shadow crossed his face, and then he smiled his charming smile. “That’s unfortunate,” he said. “But I know you’re not used to guns. I can kill you both before you even get the gun cocked.”

“It’s cocked.”