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I scream and kick, and I hear a grunt as my foot connects with some soft tissue.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Jake whispers harshly at me. “Stop kicking!”
I scuttle out from under the bed and stand up, brushing my hair from my eyes. “I’m trying to arm myself. Did you move the gun box from under the bed?”
“Yes, I moved the gun box from under the bed! Alex found it and Adam caught him trying to pick the lock. And don’t walk away from me like that!” Jake hisses. “You scared the life out of me!”
“Did they catch Cole?”
“No.”
“Is your dad okay?”
“He’s too hard-headed to die,” Jake grunts out. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair.
“What about Sally?”
“Your parents took him and the kids to the vet’s office.” He pulls me against his chest and kiss me hard. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Take your hands off the mother of my child,” a deep voice says from the doorway.
Jake freezes and slowly raises his hands in the air. He shields me with his body. “Cole,” he says, his voice controlled.
Cole walks farther into the room. “How’s the baby?” he asks me. He talks around Jake, who is still between us.
“He’s fine,” I say. I lean around Jake to look at him. “No thanks to you.”
Cole chuckles. He raises the gun in his hand and points it directly at Jake. My heart beats a rapid pace. But my nerves are cool. Cold, even. Steady. I know what needs to happen.
I lift Jake’s gun from the holster under his arm, step from behind Jake, and point it at Cole.
Cole’s gun wavers ever so slightly and he backs up a step. “Put that down,” he says.
“You first,” I reply tonelessly. I look down the sight. Steady. I can almost hear Jeff’s voice in my ear. Steady. You can do this, Katie.
I know, I whisper back in my head.
You’re strong.
I am.
Despite my cool resolve, tears sting my eyes. In my darkest hour, of course Jeff’s with me, at least in spirit. Thoughts of him give me strength.
“There’s still time to stop this,” I tell Cole evenly.
“Stop what?” he asks.
“Stop this. Walk away.”
He shakes his head. “Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love you.”
“You don’t love me.”
“Don’t tell me how I feel!” he shouts.
