Page 239 of On a Fault Line

“I was so scared,” she whimpers. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“We know,” Nic says, rubbing circles on her back.

Then the attention of the Hoffmans is on me. And so much is transferred between us with that one look. “It’s over,” I confirm. “Rex and Tanner were taken care of.”

“And we got the two lookalikes,” Nic replies.

“Tanner’s twin brothers, you mean?” I add with a snarl.

“Dammit.” Graham rubs his hand along the back of his neck, looking to come to terms with that revelation. Then he sighs, looking at his sister. “It’s over.”

Picking up Penny, I place her onto a gurney and then wrap a wool blanket around her.

Two EMTs start to examine her injuries, making me exhale slowly in relief that she is staying coherent and in the present. I can’t have her slipping away inside her head like she has in the past.

“You are bleeding, sir,” a paramedic says to me. “Were you shot?”

“Yes,” I answer, not feeling the need to have anyone fuss over me. But I accept the help anyway because it keeps me close to Penny.

She places a damp piece of gauze over the wound, causing me to hiss at the sudden pain. “Sorry. I need to clean this so you don’t get infected. It doesn’t look like you need stitches.”

“Good,” I mutter, making Penny look over at me. “How are you doing, Princess?”

Her sad smile makes her look even younger. “I’m okay.”

Then looking at the doors of the facility, we see a gurney being rolled out with Dr. Radinsky being worked on.

“Is she going to be okay?” Penny asks frantically, as they load her into the back of the ambulance.

“Yes,” a worker confirms. “She’s going to be just fine.”

As I get finished with the bandages on my neck, I see Graham and Nic motioning for me to join them.

“I’ll be right back, Princess.”

“Okay.”

Sliding off the gurney, I make my way over to the Hoffman brothers.

“How did the bastard die?” Nic asks, far enough away so his sister can’t hear.

“Penny shot Tanner near his heart, and I got him right between the eyes.”

“She shot him?” Graham asks in shock.

“Yes. And now she can move on without this weighing her down ever again.”

He looks back at Penny. “And she’s okay from that?”

I nod. “She didn’t witness anything other than what occurred before I could rescue her. He had her trapped in a fucking room. He made this personal so his death became personal as well.”

I can tell Graham is thinking over what I just revealed. He may not have done things my way, but I did what I thought was best given the circumstances and Penny’s mental state.

“Thank you,” he says softly after several long seconds.

My eyes glance to my feet and then up to Nic whose clothes are saturated with blood.

He looks behind me at the building that is only visible in the muted outside lights, causing me to turn in that direction as well.

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