Page 65 of Every Last One
“As I said, we’re still figuring things out.” Eric took out his phone and showed Colton the pictures of the two men. “Do you recognize either of them?”
“Nah. I wish I could say I did.”
So do I…
THIRTY-SIX
4:00 PM
Maria had jumped back after striking the man. He cried out and jolted backward. His gun fell from his hand and dropped to the floor. With it, the balance of power shifted to her. She knew the charge from the paddles wasn’t likely to kill him but would shock him enough to give her a chance to assume control. It might cause him to lose consciousness. It only took him a few moments to recover.
He came at her, nostrils flaring. “You stupid bitch!”
She reached back and charged the paddles and stepped toward him again.
He jumped out of the way, this time foreseeing her plan. He swatted out, and she let go of the paddles. Their cords allowed them to reach the floor, and it drew her gaze down.
The gun…
She rushed for the weapon, and he must have had the same idea because he went for the gun at the same time. Their heads bumped and sent them both backward from the hit. It only stunned them for a second, though, and they were both back in a race to assume control of the gun.
Her fingers danced over the handle. She reached out farther, her fingertips searching for the edge to get a firm hold. Just as she was about there, she heard it. The charge of the defibrillator.
There was only one reason that she’d been able to get so close to the gun. He’d allowed her to. The man was getting ready to repay her “kindness.” She saw the shadow of him before the actual man himself. If she got shocked by the machine, she was likely to live, but it would probably kill her baby. He was blocking her path to the gun now. She rolled to the left, putting even more distance between herself and the weapon.
He trailed her as she squirmed across the floor. There was nowhere for her to go but into a corner. But if she was down here, she was safer. Instinct had her wanting to cocoon, to make herself small. Less of a target. She tucked into the corner, drawing her knees to her chest. He wrestled with her, trying to expose her chest. While he might have shot the man she loved, there was no way she’d let him hurt the baby inside of her. She pushed out her legs as hard and as fast as she could, aiming as high on his body as she could. Her kick impacted him in the crotch, causing him to scream, and sent him stumbling backward. But the strike didn’t set him back for long. He came at her again. The paddles still very much a threat.
She dropped lower, crawling across the floor toward the gun. But it was gone.
Where the…
“Leave her alone, you shit!” Gail was back on her feet, swaying, the gun in her hand.
The man roared, “I’m getting sick of you two!”
“The feeling’s mutual.” Maria grabbed the defibrillator itself. Its weight of less than twenty pounds made that possible, while it should also be enough to cause some damage if wielded just right.
He was mid-turn when she raised it and smashed it into the side of his head.
One yelp, and he was a heap on the floor.
The cords on the paddles had them springing back toward the unit.
Maria stood there in silence, as did Gail across the room. The only noise was their deep breathing and the hum of the heart monitor tracking Phoebe’s heart rate.
“You saved my baby.” Gail took a step toward the bed and swooned, reaching for the rails with her free hand.
“Be careful.” Maria jogged to her side to steady her balance and took the gun from her hand. She set it in the waistband of her pants. “You might have a concussion from your fall. Let me see your eyes.”
Gail faced her, and Maria did a brief test.
“You’re going to be fine,” Maria told her and pocketed her penlight. “But you took a nasty fall.”
Gail touched her jaw. “Not to mention that man smacked my jaw.”
“Okay, but it’s not broken or there’s no way you could stomach talking right now. You will be all right.”
“He shot your baby’s father.”
