Page 62 of The Soul of Archer
“Alora’s still inside with Annabelle.” Lance said, taking down two more.
“Annabelle?”
“Yeah. You were right about a mole. His own fucking daughter.”
Danny’s eyes turned hard at the news of the betrayal and took his anger out on the Malconi’s. Lance spotted Ian making a run for it. Without thinking, he took off in pursuit. He caught up with Ian about fifty yards away. “Freeze Malconi!”
Ian stopped and turned, his own gun out and ready. “You think you can take me? Huh? You have no idea who I am.”
“I know you’re finished. Drop the gun. Now!” Lance ordered.
Lance’s breathing was slow and steady as he waited for Ian to make his move. He saw it the split-second Ian made his choice. Before Ian’s trigger finger had fully squeezed, Lance fired three rounds, all hitting center mass. Slowly, Lance approached the fallen Ian and saw he was no longer a member of the land of the living. Sighing, Lance pushed the .45 from Ian’s hand with the toe of his boot and holstered his own weapon. He turned and returned to his teammates. The gunfight was over and all Malconi’s men were dead.
“Ian Malconi?” Danny asked.
“Dead.” Lance answered.
“What about Sam?” Gage questioned.
“He’s not here.” Jimmy called out.
The quiet was disturbed by a single gunshot from inside. Lance’s heart stopped as he remembered Alora was in there with Annabelle. He sprinted for the building and through the doors. He skidded to a stop at what he saw. Alora stood over a very dead Annabelle Malconi, Annabelle’s pistol in her hand. Lance took first one step, then another. Alora turned, dropped the gun and started walking toward him. They met in the middle of the room and Lance pulled her into his arms, holding her fiercely.
“Thank god. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine Lance. I warned her that she’d better pray for you to get to her first. She should have listened.” Alora sighed, her eyes closing as she breathed in Lance.
Movement behind Lance made Alora open her eyes. It was Sam. Not even thinking, she gripped Lance and somehow twisted, so their positions were reversed just as Sam fired.
Pain. White hot and sharp shot through her shoulder as a scream escaped her throat. Her vision went blinding white, tunneled then was back to normal as she landed on top of Lance.
A second shot rang out, but who shot it and who had been hit didn’t matter to her. Lance was over her, cupping her face. She could see his lips moving but for some reason, her ears weren’t working. Oh shit, her vision was tunneling again as the pain grew more intense. The last thing she saw before her world went black, was Lance’s face.
Chapter 23
Lance sat in the waiting room, his head buried in his hands. It had been three hours since he had rushed Alora to the hospital. She had been immediately been taken up to surgery. Now, he and his team were waiting to see if she would be alright. He prayed to god that she would be. He needed her, he couldn’t lose her. Not now, not like this. He looked up when a hand rested on his shoulder. Ethan.
“I…I can’t lose her Ethan. I just can’t.”
“I know brother, I know. She’s going to pull through.” Ethan promised.
Ethan watched as once more Lance buried his face in his hands. He had entered the building just as Sam had fired. Ethan had fired his own gun and before Sam hit the deck, he was at Lance’s side. Alora had taken a bullet meant for Lance to the upper chest, just below her left shoulder. Ethan and Lance had gotten her into the SUV. Danny had driven and sped toward the hospital. Half an hour later the rest of Blackout had arrived saying Jimmy and Cain were handling the scene. Ethan felt helpless, as did the others, in how to help Lance. When the waiting room doors opened, Lance’s head jerked up and he shot to his feet.
“Alora St. James’s family?” the doctor asked.
“I’m her husband.” Lance blurted out before he could think about it. “How is she? Is she alive?”
“Your wife is a lucky young woman. Had the bullet been a quarter inch to either side it would have nicked her heart. Having said that, there was significant tissue damage to the lower shoulder region. She’s looking at several months’ worth of physical therapy to get the shoulder and its surrounding muscles back up to working order. May I ask, does she work?” The doctor explained.
“She’s…um, she’s a baker in Austin. Her specialty is cakes.” Lance stammered, as the doctor’s words sank in.
“She won’t be doing anything like that for a while. She’s being moved to her room now. Once she’s settled, the nurse will come down and take you to her. For now, I would only recommend one or two visitors at a time. She’s going to be groggy from the anesthesia and in pain. However, if everything is healing nicely, I would feel comfortable releasing her in about a week or so.” The doctor smiled gently.
Lance reached out and took the man’s hand. “Thank you doctor. Thank you for… for saving her.”
“It’s my job, and my pleasure.”
With a nod, the doctor turned and walked away while Lance’s teammates gathered around him. Ethan spoke first, “Hawk, after the nurse comes down we’ll head back to Austin. You stay here and take care of her. We’ll swing by tomorrow afternoon. I know Kris will want to see her.”
