Page 54 of Absolution

By the time she’d grappled for her phone and switched on its flashlight, Tucker’s plea had rung out in the kitchen before he, too, had landed in her vicinity.

“Shit.” It was Alexander who spoke, but as she spun the light to face her father, it was Tucker who was moving over him.

“You’ve been shot, Bennett.” Tucker glanced fleetingly in her direction as he eased Alexander onto his back. “Don’t try to move.”

“Fuck,” Alexander hissed. “It hurts like hell!”

“Are you okay, Dad?” Shock resonated through her as she processed Alexander’s injury. He’d been shot—presumably throwing himself in the line of fire, so she avoided the fate.

She couldn’t believe it. Alexander had saved her.

She’d never much cared for the man who called himself her father, begrudging the way he’d abandoned her, not once but twice, but he wasstillher dad. She’d never imagined an outcome that saw him bleeding on Tucker’s kitchen floor.

“Damn it,” Collins snorted, as though there was something amusing about what had happened. “I got the wrong Bennett. Not that Kenner will mind.”

“Fuck you!” Ella snapped, her breaths coming faster as she noticed the deluge of blood that seemed to be pumping from her father’s chest. Tucker had grabbed a tea towel from the counter and was frantically applying pressure to Alexander’s chest, but she didn’t need to have a medical degree to see things weren’t looking good for Alexander.

“You’re not my type, darling.” Collins’ cruel sneer ran over her, and as she waved her torch along her father’s bloodied body, she noticed the gun-wielding bastard had come to stand behind Tucker.

From that position, Collins’ weapon could wipe them all out at point-blank range, and there would be no easy way for Tucker to defend them, especially while he was crouched over her father’s body.

Dread seeped through her system as she acknowledged that Tucker no longer seemed to be grasping the evil-looking gun he’d collected from the safe. She thought she’d heard it fall as he dove to help Alexander, and a quick scan of the floor revealed it had indeed landed by her left knee. She foundherself reaching for the gun, running her fingers over its hard edges as she dragged it closer.

“It was actually you I intended to shoot, pretty girl,” Collins gloated. “I’m here to get Bowman, but don’t worry, I have plenty more bullets. Kenner will give me a huge bonus when he realizes I took out all three of you in one job.”

“Give him a message from me, will you?” She lobbed the phone in his direction, trying to imprint his position in her mind.

The world slowed as the device flew through the air, the spinning torch darting across the room like strobe lighting at a tacky nightclub, sporadically illuminating Collins’ and Tucker’s faces.

Raising the weapon, she pointed it at Collins, already knowing what was going to happen next.

“Tell him to go to hell!”

It was crazy to consider firing when Tucker was so close to Collins’ position, but crazy seemed to be the only option available as she hugged the trigger. Someone else was going to get shot in an execution-style killing, and if she didn’t act fast, that person could be her, or worse, her lover.

“Tucker, get down!” She screamed the warning as she pressed the trigger, cringing as the disgusting gun sprayed ear-splitting bullets into the gloom.

She prayed the man she loved wasn’t caught in the line of those bullets, prayed that her father would hang in there long enough not to bleed to death before Collins had been disarmed, and when her finger finally paused and amale cry punctured the air, she prayed the banging in her head wouldn’t mean she’d pass out before she discovered the answers to her heartfelt prayers.

***

Tucker

“Ella?” Tucker’s heart was galloping so fast, he felt nauseous.

Moments of unnerving silence stretched around them after the bullets had ceased. Seconds where Tucker’s ears rang with the deafening noise they’d created, and he briefly worried he might have lost his hearing altogether. Her phone had landed face down, its torch casting an ethereal light in the space between him and the place Collins had staggered to the ground. Torn between the need to try to stabilize Bennett and his desire to know Collins’ condition, he watched Collins’ body carefully for any sign that he was still a hazard.

“Oh, fuck!” Ella threw the gun toward the exit, her hands rising to cover her mouth. Even in the shadows, he could make out her shocked and saddened expression.

“It’s okay.” Tucker glanced back at the place Collins had fallen, hoping his assertion was true and it was, in fact,okay.

The guy certainly wasn’t moving, but then, based on the number of bullets she’d just spewed in his direction, Tucker wasn’t surprised. Not that he was criticizing her. Tucker had hardly had time to register Collins behind him, but he wouldn’t have stood a chance if the asshole had fired from there. Ella had probably just saved his life.

“Ella, apply pressure here.” He motioned to Bennett’s chest. “I’ll check on Collins.”

“Have I… k-killed him?” She inched toward her father.

“Ella.” Tucker’s voice was firmer, insisting that she do as he asked. “Bennett’s losing blood, and he needs your help.”

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