Page 144 of Frisco

Could I?

She was tightening the rope–I had to.

She was still holding my wrists up so I lunged, going hard and fast, hoping to get her surprised.

I did.

“Wha—”

BANG!

OH MY GOD!

I jumped back, my whole body feeling like I’d been shot.

My ears were ringing.

My vision was blurring.

What had I just done?

I blinked a few times, waiting for my eyes to come back to focus and when they did… Oh. My. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

I was fully praying to Him.

The blood was everywhere. On my hands. On my chest. My stomach. My legs.

But, no, no, no.

I couldn’t have–it wasn’t my blood.

I choked back a cry, stumbling backwards.

Shelly was on the ground, her leg a wrangled mess.

Oh, I was just hoping she still had a leg. I didn’t want to look anymore, but she was staring down, then at me, and she was losing color fast. “You–you shot me?”

Um. I started nodding. I had.

“Whoa. I’m sure hoping you’re Ghosts’ woman and not the one who’s shot, because, honey, you better start brainstorming your cover story because there’s no way you’re getting out of this one.”

A guy with dark hair, a face that could be on billboards, and wearing a Red Demons cut stood just around the corner. More guys came filtering in behind him, seeing us, and some whistled under their breaths.

Another guy stepped around, cursed, and pulled his phone out. “We need Doc. Now. Gunshot wound.” He scanned me. “Uh. I don’t know. There might be two.”

I shot her.

I couldn’t believe I shot her.

She was–Katie. This was for Katie.

OH–I shot Shelly and now they’d kill Katie.

The first guy strolled forward, cursing with a little more insistence. “Oh yeah. She’s about to lose it.”

I heard from the phone guy, “You might need a tranq. One looks ready to lose her shit.”

Yes. I started nodding, crying, and laughing all at once. I was so losing my shit, because I might’ve just killed two people.