Page 56 of Dark Memories
“It’s too late. I’m too far gone for it to make a difference.”
“You don’t know that. Give yourself a chance to find out.”
“I’m not going back to prison, so I might as well finish this today.”
“Are you that eager to face judgment day?” Zach had no idea what Davidson’s beliefs were, and the question was a last-ditch effort to get Davidson to think about what he was doing. And to keep him talking. “I mean, you kill my brother, you have no chance of seeing your sister again because you’ll be going straight to hell.”
Davidson flinched, then gave a slight shake of his head. “Going to hell anyway.” His gaze shifted to Robbie. “See you there, my friend.”
“No!” Zach yelled.
Chapter Seventeen
As long as Zach managed to keep Davidson talking, Harry stayed hidden, hoping backup arrived before she had to act. It was a hostage situation, so a negotiator would be sent, but she didn’t think there would be any reasoning with Garth Davidson. Her guess was that he planned to kill Zach and Robbie, and then turn his gun on himself.
She listened carefully to the conversation, to the nuances in Davidson’s voice. So far she hadn’t heard finality in his words, any sign that his finger was about to pull the trigger.
“I can get you the best doctors in the world. You put that gun down, and I’ll get on the phone right now and make that happen,” Zach said.
Good. Keep him talking, Zach.
“It’s too late. I’m too far gone for it to make a difference.”
Convince him it’s not too late.
“You don’t know that. Give yourself a chance to find out.”
You’re doing good, babe. Keep going.
“I’m not going back to prison, so I might as well finish this today.”
Not good.
“Are you that eager to face judgment day? I mean, you kill my brother, you have no chance of seeing your sister again because you’ll be going straight to hell.”
She risked a peek around the wall, saw Davidson flinch and then shake his head. So not good. She noted his position, where his center mass was.
“Going to hell anyway.” His gaze shifted to Zach’s brother. “See you there, my friend.”
“No!” Zach yelled.
Time was up. A kill shot was her only choice. She had never killed anyone before, but she didn’t hesitate. She body-rolled around the corner of the wall, her weapon already up, her gun aimed at Davidson’s chest, her finger on the trigger.
Even as she fired and watched the shock on Davidson’s face, then his body folding in on itself, she wondered how long she was going to have nightmares that she’d taken a life. But she would do it again and again to save Zach, and even his brother. She sat heavily on the stairs and heard a giggle. Who was giggling? She looked around for the source before it hit her that she was the culprit.
During her years as a cop, she’d sometimes wondered how she would react if she ever had to kill someone. Giggling wasn’t a reaction she’d considered. It had to be nerves.
“Are you okay?”
She was lifted into Zach’s arms, her chest pressed against his, his face buried on her neck, his hands roaming over her body. She slapped them away. “This isn’t the time to feel me up.”
He laughed, his warm breath tickling her ear. “That’s definitely on my agenda, but right now I’m making sure you aren’t hurt.”
“Oh, then feel away.” And when he did just that, she giggled again.
That was how Gabe found them, her in Zach arms, giggling like a… well, a seven-year-old. For sure she’d spent too much time around Zach’s daughter, and damn if she didn’t miss the kid.
“Where’s Harry?”
