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She looked at where I was concealing them, then at my face. How the hell could she have known? Unless…
“You’ve been following me?”
She lifted a shoulder with a shrug. “You’re not hard to keep tabs on, Lana. But you should have stayed in that cabin and let this play out instead of making a mess of things.”
My eyes shot wide. She’d known I was at Jack and Cal’s cabin the whole time.
“That was your grand plan? Keep me out of the picture until you sold the business and collected the money?”
“You’ve always been a nuisance.”
“You didn’t have to kill my dad!” I yelled at her. She took another step and pulled a small pistol out of her large coat pocket. My palms went sweaty at the same time my blood froze. We were in a back alley, but surely someone around the front would hear a gun go off. I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to think of logistics now, though. All I saw was the barrel of the weapon and my heart dropped.
Did my father stare down the same gun?
I let what little anger I had beat out the fear. It was time for logic.
“You really think shooting me, where everyone can hear, is going to help your cause?”
“Everyone? There’s barely a few strangers around the front of the building. I’ll be gone by the time anyone comes to find you. Now, give me the papers. Don’t think for a moment I won’t pull the trigger.”
I believed her. But, no, I wouldn’t stand down.
“I’m going to the police. And you won’t touch my father’s company or get a dime from it.” I lifted my chin. “You don’t scare me.” And for the first time in a long time, it was true.
“Stupid girl.”
She lunged at me, her free hand shoving at my stomach to get to the papers I was hiding. I kicked out and shoved her away with my free hand. She wobbled back, her heels scraping the wet concrete, but righted herself quickly. She was back on me, the cold gun pressing into my chest. It was heavy enough that I felt the ridges of the barrel abrade my skin.
A clicking sound…like the cocking of a gun, shot a fresh dose of fear through my system. She was ready to kill me for the papers. For the money. I didn’t have to see her finger on the trigger to know it was there.
But I was fighting for something bigger than her reasons. I was fighting for my dad. And for myself. For all the lies and the evil they rained down on everyone they encountered. Brock hurt people. Anita hurt people. I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
I would never slink away from them again.
I went to knock her away—
Bang!
The gun went off and it was so loud that it hurt my ears. But it was nothing compared to the pain that exploded through my body. A concentrated prick of heat ripped open my skin and trickled through my body like an icicle melting slowly.
I kicked at Anita and she fell back, the gun sliding away with a loud scratching noise.
She stood and bounded toward me. I was weak. Numb. A cold blast of air hit and instantly chilled my bones. She was coming for me, and I couldn’t raise my arm to ward her off.
Fight! I had to fight. I tried to move, but my legs locked, then softened against my commands. I slumped to my knees.
Why was I so cold?
So weak?
I saw her eyes lock on mine. Five steps away…arms outstretched. She was going to take the papers. Take everything. And I couldn’t stop her.
A screeching noise and skidding tires echoed over the low hum in my ears. A red car slammed into Anita a
nd sent her flying back against the brick wall.
Harper.
