Page 137 of Winterset
Then, five seconds too soon, Markham turned and aimed his pistol at Oliver’s back.
Oliver
“Oliver!Markham!” Kate screamed.
I whipped around in time to see that Markham had turned before the end of the count, his pistol moving away from me and toward Kate, who was running toward me.
Markham meant to kill her, but before he could, I flung myself forward in a desperate attempt to shield her.
In that same second, a shot shattered the night.
Fire seared my shoulder as we fell to the ground.
Kate landed on her back, and I fell hard atop her.
She gasped for breath, from the impact and not from true injury, I hoped. I shifted my weight slightly to the side, and she sucked in an unobstructed breath.
She was alive.
I felt a moment of relief before remembering we were still in grave danger.
In the distance, Markham was already reloading his pistol. He looked at where we lay, and we made eye contact.
Holding his gaze, I raised up, aimed my pistol, and pulled the trigger.
Markham fell to the ground, unmoving.
The driver ran over to assist him, but Markham remained still.
I dropped the gun and collapsed over Kate once more.
She held on to me, hugging me and crying into my neck. “I love you,” she said again and again and again.
“I. Love. You. Too,” I ground out, the pain so intense now that it was difficult to speak.
“Oliver?” Kate said, sitting up to search me for injury. Which she seemed to find because her eyes widened with worry. “Oliver,” her voice broke. “No.”
I gently touched her cheek. “If I don’t—Be. Happy,” I whispered.
“Not without you.” Her voice caught.
I gave her a pained smile.
“You’re going to be all right,” she murmured.
But I wasn’t so sure. My whole body was shaking now. I was simultaneously sweating and shivering. “Promise. Me,” I said.
She shook her head. “We just ... We need to ... stop the bleeding.” She worked frantically to untie my cravat and wrap it tightly around my wound.
I gasped in pain.
“I’m sorry. I have to stop the bleeding,” she said, knotting the cloth.
Stars dotted my vision, so intense was the pain.
“Driver!” Kate called and motioned him over. “Help me get him into the carriage. We must get him back to Summerhaven at once.”
The driver did as she said, leaving Markham’s body lying in the road.
