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"Shut up! Shut up!" Oren said shrilly. "I'm not falling for this."
"Please," Dodge implored. "Don't harm my baby." Suddenly, he grimaced and sucked in a wheezing breath. Exhaling it slowly, he said, "Nyland is so pissing mad at me right now, he'll probably shoot me, too. But if you kill my daughter and Caroline..." His gaze shifted to her and stayed for several seconds. Then, back to Oren, he said, "If you harm them, I'd just as soon die."
Out the corner of her eye, Berry could see Oren in profile. His face was greasy with sweat. She could feel his nervous tension, his indecision. His bravado had vanished. She could smell his fear that what Dodge was telling him was true.
Dodge took a few steps toward them, but Oren dug the barrel of the pistol into her temple, and Dodge halted immediately. "Okay, okay," he said quickly. "I won't come any closer. But if you want to live, Oren, you gotta surrender."
"No!" He gave his head a stubborn shake, like a child refusing to eat his vegetables.
"Now's not the time to get stupid, Oren. Nyland found out about your brother, figured you'd come after Berry. He's got this place..." Dodge winced. His breath caught.
"Dodge?" Caroline stood up abruptly. Oren shouted for her to sit back down, and she did, but remained perched on the edge of the sofa, her eyes worriedly fixed on Dodge.
"I'm all right," he said, patting the air. "Just winded from fighting off Nyland." Looking back at Oren, he said, "The house is surrounded. Nyland was the first here. He saw you through the windows. Saw you holding that gun to Berry's head. He's got the whole sheriff's department, Texas Rangers, every uniform he can think of, in position and armed to the teeth. All of them want a crack at you so bad, they're hyperventilating."
He cast a guilty glance toward the front windows. "Of course, I'm not supposed to be telling you that. Just hear this, Oren, and hear me good. You can't possibly escape. Come on. Let Berry go. Release her and Caroline. Give yourself up."
"I told you no!"
"All right. Don't surrender. I'll be your hostage. I'll help get you out of here in one piece. I'll negotiate--" He broke off as he gave a sharp cry and clapped his right hand over his left shoulder. Bending double, he staggered several feet forward. As he did, he pulled his pistol from the holster at the small of his back.
But it was of no use to him. When he pitched forward and fell to the floor in obvious agony, the pistol dropped from his listless hand and slid across the hardwood.
Caroline, ignoring Oren's warning shout, launched off the sofa and flung herself down over Dodge, calling his name repeatedly.
Berry screamed, "Mother! Dodge!"
Oren, frantic at having lost control of the situation, pushed Berry aside and kicked Dodge's pistol out of reach, then bent over Caroline and struggled to pull her off Dodge. "Shut up! Get back over there!"
Berry gave the side of Oren's knee a vicious kick. It buckled and he howled, but he didn't release Caroline, who held on to Dodge, still wailing his name.
Oren doubl
ed his efforts to haul her up.
Berry bicycled her legs against him, striking him as hard as she could with her bare feet.
He let go of Caroline, spun around, and aimed his pistol down at Berry's face. "I said I would kill you!"
Then there were two loud claps in rapid succession. Before Berry could even register Oren's surprised expression, he dropped to the floor with two bright blooms of red on his chest.
Ski burst into the room, pistol drawn. Other officers rushed in behind him and swarmed over Oren's prone form. Ski bent over Berry, who was struggling to stand up. "Help me."
He pulled her up, supporting her as she stumbled over to the couple huddled on the floor. Hands still manacled, she awkwardly dropped to her knees beside them, joining her mother's mournful chant of her father's name.
One of the deputies called out, "Starks is dead, Ski."
Berry barely registered that. Her concern was channeled strictly to Dodge. She released a sob of relief when he eased Caroline off him and came up on his elbows. In his right hand was a small, blunt-barreled pistol.
Caroline threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. She was openly weeping. "You scared me half to death!"
Looking up at Ski, he wheezed, "Motherfucker was resisting arrest."
"You had no choice. He would have killed Berry." Ski gave him an arch look. "You failed to tell me about the second pistol. Ankle holster?"
Dodge, still struggling for breath, nodded.
"Well, you faked him out," Ski said. "Especially with the heart attack."
