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The way she flung it around, I wondered if it was even loaded. She would shoot herself instead of us if she didn’t stop using it as a prop. Not that I’d complain. My gaze was tacked on Hazel, who was still standing, but the punch had knocked her silly. She was dazed and tipping to the right momentarily before she righted herself. Her lip was split open and bleeding, and her cheek and eye were starting to swell. She reached down and squeezed my hand as Marissa spoke again.
“Technically, you did rescue me from a life of petty crime on the street. You opened up a new world for me, Hazel. You helped me to become my true self. A professional thief. Someone who sees the inequity in the world and wants to shift the weight of millions off the rich’s shoulders to show them they aren’t untouchable. I blossomed while you treated me like dirt on the bottom of your shoe. I should thank you for that, so thank you.” Marissa lowered the gun until it steadied in the middle of Hazel’s chest. “I’m not great at hitting my target the first time, so this may take a few tries. It’s too bad I have to kill lover boy too,” she said with a sad shake of her head as she swung the gun toward me. “I think I’ll take care of him first. Make you watch his lifeblood drain from his eyes before I take you out. That’ll be fun. Don’t worry. I’ll try not to hit his face. It’s too pretty to blow apa—”
“Who are you and what are you doing with that gun?” a voice asked from behind us.
Marissa swung the gun wide, and I took my opening. I jammed the chair forward and ran directly into the woman, hitting her at the knees and knocking her back onto the floor as the gun went off. I registered Hazel’s scream as my chair tipped, and I toppled onto the floor.
“Irving!” Hazel screamed, which told me she hadn’t been hit.
The gun blasted again as Marissa swung toward Hazel’s voice. I saw the woman I love fall to the ground and hit her head on the floor. There was a flash of fur and then a hair-raising scream as Star’s jaws locked onto Marissa’s arm, rendering the gun useless. Dawson ran into the room and kicked the gun out of the way as I heard sirens approaching the building. Star had gotten Dawson, who called the police.
I pulled myself forward, my useless legs more hindrance than help as I tried to reach Hazel. She was on the ground and not responding as I screamed her name. Blood trickled from her temple while fear lodged in my gut. “Hazel!” I screamed, hoping it would jolt her back to consciousness.
An EMT appeared before me, and I batted his hands away. “You have to help her!” I screamed, pointing at Hazel.
The EMT ran to her as Marissa started screaming while the cops tried to cuff her. “This isn’t over, Hazel Cane!” she yelled, fighting against the cops who had pulled her to her feet.
Star ran over to me and sniffed my cheek, bumping me with his nose until I made eye contact with him. “I’m okay, buddy,” I said, smoothing his fur. He whined, and I nodded. “I know. She’s going to be okay.” I had to believe that so my heart didn’t pound out of my chest.
The EMT looked up and yelled at his partner. “We need an evac!”
There was so much commotion in the room that I couldn’t follow any of it. I just knew I had to get to Hazel. Dawson knelt beside me and steadied me for a moment before he looked up. “I need an EMT over here!”
“I’m fine,” I said to hush him. “Help me back into my chair. I have to go with Hazel!”
“You’re not going anywhere, Irving,” Dawson said, his eyes fixed on my legs. “Your ankle is in bad shape.”
“My ankle always looks like that. It’s an old injury. Help me into my chair!” I demanded, but he shook his head.
“This looks like a very new injury, I assure you.”
The room spun when I tried to see what they were doing to Hazel, and I had to put my head down so I didn’t vomit. When it started to pound, I wondered if I’d hit it when I fell out of my chair. I heard a stretcher ratchet as they lifted it, and then ran out of the room with the woman I love on a stretcher for the second time since I’d met her.
“Irving,” Dawson said. I noticed his voice sounded far away this time. “I’m going to take care of Star,” he said, gripping my hand momentarily until an EMT pushed him out of the way. “I’ll bring him to the hosp—”
My head chose that moment to pound hard twice and then the room faded to black.
∞∞∞
I tossed another bag in my car and paused when my head reminded me that it was only five days ago that I’d taken a bullet to the temple. Thankfully, Marissa was indeed a lousy shot and had managed to leave me with only a flesh wound and a concussion, at least to my head. I glanced down at my left hand, which was in a splint. Yeah, I had some healing to do, but it wouldn’t be in Bells Pass. I slammed the door on the car and took a deep breath before heading back into New Beginnings. The walk alone tired me out, but I had to get this car packed sooner rather than later.
“Going somewhere?” a voice asked, and I jumped in surprise.
“Ivy?” I asked, turning to see not just her but Audrey Violet too.
“I will be soon,” I said, pulling open the door to the building. I tipped to the side with the effort, and Ivy braced her shoulder against mine until I was upright again. When they followed me down the hallway, I sighed. “Did you guys need something?” I asked, letting myself into the apartment.
“We needed to talk to you, dear,” Audrey said, going to the kitchen and rummaging around in the cabinets while I lowered myself to a chair and Ivy sat on the couch next to me.
“You can’t leave Bells Pass,” Ivy proclaimed. “We need you here.”
“I can’t stay here, Ivy,” I whispered, staring at the floor. “I’ve caused this town enough problems.”
“I don’t see a problem, do you, Audrey?” she asked the woman in the kitchen.
“The only problem I see is you have no food in this apartment.”
“That’s because I was never here,” I muttered, leaning back on the chair. “Everything hurts.”
