Sophie Oak: Found in Bliss

She wanted to, but the air split around her as whoever had been in that room fired again. “I don’t think this guy is going to wait for Nate. We need another gun. Why isn’t the Marshal taking this guy down?”

“Because she sells me out. Logan didn’t like what she said about Michael meeting sheriff. That was why I wanted to get you two into my room before I confront her. She is one who wanted me out here alone.” Alexei’s eyes clouded with pain. “Caleb, you need to get her out of here.”

“I might be able to walk,” Caleb said. “But I told you, I can’t run.”

They were trapped.

Alexei held the assassin off, firing another shot over the car. He yelled at his assailant. “The police are on their way. You should be running. Do you wish to be caught?”

“I’m getting this job done, Markov,” a deep voice yelled. “I can take you out alone or get your little friends, too. But one way or another, I’m finishing this tonight.”

Holly put a hand on Alexei as though she could keep him there. She wasn’t about to let him walk out and sacrifice himself. “You are not going anywhere. Put that out of your mind.”

Alexei fired again. “Caleb, start moving back. We need to get somewhere where we can protect our backs.”

“We need to stop your bleeding,” Caleb argued.

“No time.”

Holly crawled to the back of the car, the concrete under her knees biting into her flesh. Ahead of her she could see the drive-in playing the movie of the week. Doris Day fluttered on screen, but all Holly could see was another woman creeping behind the row of parked cars. Jessie Wilson had that gun out now, and she was making her way toward them.

“She’s coming,” Holly whispered, terror making her heart pound.

They would be surrounded with nowhere to go.

“I am be coming out!” Alexei shouted. He dropped the gun and stood with his hands up.

“No!” Holly shouted. She tried to reach for him, but Caleb pulled her down.

“Don’t. Don’t make this harder on him,” Caleb whispered fiercely in her ear.

There was a solitary shot that split the air. Holly screamed against Caleb’s chest, his arms tightening around her. He held her so close she could barely breathe.

Alexei slumped down, his hand reaching for her. His eyes were bright, and a smile covered his face. “Can you reach gun, dushka ? Can you give it to me?”

Caleb looked him over. “Where are you hit?”

“I wasn’t,” Alexei said with a tired smile. “The assassin is dead. We have a savior.”

“Just because I saved your ass doesn’t mean I like you, Markov,” Logan shouted from somewhere behind them. “It just means I’m still a cop no matter what anyone says. And I know you’re in on this, Marshal. Nate is home with Callie. I talked to him five minutes before I got here. Is your partner dirty, too?”

“Michael doesn’t know anything,” Jessie called out. She sounded close. “I drugged his beer tonight so he wouldn’t give me trouble. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t mean to be the one to pull the trigger, but you know what they say. When you want it done, do it yourself.”

“You’re going to jail, Marshal. You can’t kill all of us,” Logan said. He sounded like he was on the move.

Holly picked up the gun. She tried to hand it to Alexei, but he shook his head.

“My arm is numb.” He tried to move it but his arm lay against his chest.

“He’s lost a lot of blood.” Caleb pulled his shirt off, balling it in his hands before he put it on Alexei’s shoulder, covering the wound. “I don’t like the color of his skin. I think he’s going into shock.”

The gun was heavy in her hand. Alexei couldn’t shoot. Caleb was busy. She was the only one left.

“You want to tell me why?” Logan called out.

Jessie’s voice sounded closer. “You know what a government job pays, idiot. I got nothing. I bust my ass for years, put myself out there, and I get nothing. Why should I turn down a hundred grand to look the other way? All I was supposed to do was make it easy for the pro, but no, nothing is easy in this piece-of-shit town. But I have to finish the job or DiStefano will finish me.”

Caleb looked back at Holly. He pressed down on Alexei’s shoulder, putting his weight behind it. “We need to get him out of here. Maybe I can get him into the room now that the hired guy is dead.”

Where was Logan? Holly couldn’t see him. From where she was sitting, she couldn’t see anything. Her heart was pounding. That adrenaline thing was threatening to take over. Caleb and Alexei were counting on her.

“And it doesn’t bother you that you’re killing a man?” Logan asked.

Holly turned and realized she could see Logan creeping along. The lights from the movie screen shone down on the parking lot, illuminating it. She could see him in the shiny hubcaps of the SUV they were hiding behind. He was watching for the Marshal, his gun in hand.

Jessie didn’t seem to mind the game of cat and mouse Logan was playing. “He was a criminal. I don’t give a fuck that he turned around. He should be in jail, too. I’m more than happy to off the asshole. My partner is a good lay, but not a very smart man. He never did see things my way or this would have been easier. Ah, there you are.”

A gunshot rang out.

Holly stifled a scream as she saw Logan’s body fly back and blood bloom across his arm.

It was all going to hell. Logan was down. Holly couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive. Caleb couldn’t run, and he wouldn’t even if he could. Caleb’s hands were on Alexei, trying to save his friend. In the distance she could hear a lone siren. There was only one siren wailing in the night, but she doubted Nate Wright was by himself. Soon every able-bodied man in Bliss would descend, but it would be too late.

“No one to protect you now, Markov. I guess you should have taken up with someone scarier than a doctor and a waitress.” Jessie’s boots thudded against the concrete. She came into view in the mirrored surface of the hubcap. She drew down every time she reached a new car. Two cars separated them. Two more cars and she would be on them.

“Holly, I want you to run,” Caleb whispered. “Give me that damn gun and get out of here.”

And leave them behind?

“No.” It was Caleb’s word. She was pretty sure he understood it.

Jessie was one car away. Holly found herself strangely calm. She’d never fired a gun before, but she would do it now. She would do it because if she didn’t, she lost so much more than her life. She lost her love, her heart, and her soul. Alexei was pale, so pale. Caleb couldn’t run. Logan wasn’t moving.

It was up to her.

Jessie took a step toward the car. “Nowhere to run, you piece of shit.”

She hated to do it, but Holly moved to the other side as quietly as she could. She couldn’t see Jessie in the hubcap anymore. If she stayed watching the Marshal, she couldn’t shoot her. She could only see what was coming up behind her. She had to give up her line of sight in order to be ready to shoot.

Holly shifted, her eyes meeting Caleb’s.

“I love you,” he mouthed. He held on to Alexei, giving this job to her.

She felt his strength. They were united. He had his job to do and she was left to this. She would save them or they would all go down together. Not a single one was willing to leave the others.

Holly braced herself. She straightened her back against the SUV, protecting against the inevitable kickback. She might not have shot anyone, but she’d heard all the lectures.

Holly forced herself to focus. Only one thing mattered. One moment.

“I think this is the one, you piece of shit. Your running is over.”

The minute the Marshal came into view, Holly pulled the trigger. She kept her eyes opened and fired at the largest part of the Marshal’s body.