Page 71 of Sachie's Hero

With so many people fighting, Teller couldn’t see through the melee. He headed for the bar, jumped up on the counter and searched feverishly. Sachie was nowhere to be seen in the barroom. He dropped down from the bar and ran for the hallway leading to the restrooms and a back exit.

He’d just poked his head into the ladies’ room when he heard the muffled sound of a gunshot. Realizing it was too muffled to be from inside the bar, he ran for the rear exit and burst through in time to find a man dressed in black, holding Sachie with a gun pressed to her temple.

Teller’s heart dropped to the pit of his belly. He took in a steadying breath and forced himself to remain calm.

As he studied the man, he realized it was the cop from the station—the same one who volunteered at the Boys’ Club.

“Let her go,” Teller spoke as calmly and firmly as he could when he was freaking out inside. The man had his finger on the trigger. If he got the least bit nervous, he might squeeze.

“Stand back,” the officer said. “Ms. Moore is under arrest for the murder of Mark Bradford.” He tipped his head toward the body on the ground near their feet.

“He’s lying,” Sachie said. “Officer Roland shot Mark when he tried to help me.”

“She took my gun and shot the boy, like she killed his twin in her office,” Roland said. “I’m taking her in.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere.” Teller walked toward the officer, taking one step at a time.

“Stay back,” Roland shouted. “She’s dangerous, I tell you. One step closer, and I’ll shoot you for aiding and abetting a felon.” The officer moved the hand holding the gun and aimed it at Teller’s chest.

Sachie’s eyes widened and then narrowed.

“Now, it all makes sense,” she said. “You’re the one who was pressuring Luke to do something he didn’t want to do.”

Roland turned the gun back on Sachie’s temple. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’rethe one who killed Luke and made it look like suicide. And now, you’ve killed his brother.”

“It’s over, Alan,” she said.

“For you,” he said. “You tried to escape. Your boyfriend tried to help you. I warned you to stop.”

Teller moved closer. Officer Roland was quickly losing touch with reality. If he didn’t do something soon...

Suddenly, Sachie’s entire body sagged, and her chin dipped toward her chest as if she’d passed out.

Officer Roland struggled to hold her up with one arm, her deadweight making him stagger forward, the gun in his other hand tipped away from her temple.

Teller lunged forward.

At the same time, Sachie slammed her head backward, smashing into Officer Roland’s nose.

The gun went off a split second before Teller grabbed the officer’s wrist and shoved it skyward.

Roland released Sachie and fought for control of the gun, squeezing off another round.

Teller rammed into the police officer, sending him backward until he crashed into the car behind him.

Sirens wailed in the distance, getting louder as they got closer.

His patience at an end, Teller channeled all his strength and anger into his hands and slammed Roland’s wrist into the hard metal of the car, againand again, until he let go of the gun, and it fell to the ground.

Once the gun was out of Roland’s hand, Teller spun him around and shoved his wrist up between his shoulder blades, the anger still burning in his blood. He wanted to slam the man’s face into the car and would have if not for the hand on his shoulder.

“Teller,” Ingram’s voice sounded close by. “He’s not worth it. Let the court decide his fate.”

“This man almost killed the woman I love,” Teller whispered.

“All the more reason to let him live. The woman isn’t going to be interested in you if you’re behind bars.” Ingram tapped his shoulder. “Now that we have Travis, and he’s headed back to jail, he’s willing to take as many of his buddies with him, including your crooked police officer. Atkins and I will take charge of him. You might want to check on your girl.”

Johnson and Atkins secured Roland with one of his own zip ties.

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