Page 78 of Salvation

Faster that I believed possible, desperate to save Hope, I fire Max’s weapon. The bullet slams directly into the center of his forehead. It happens in seemingly slow motion. His scream immediately stops as his entire body jerks; blood and brains explode from the back of his splintering skull. His body crumples to the concrete, over Hope’s prone body, his mouth open in a permanent silent scream. Blood quickly spreads around them, encapsulating them both in the brilliant crimson hue. It’s thick and catches the light, looking like an oil slick as it spreads over the floor.

Luke immediately turns his horror-filled face to me in shock and disbelief. Ignoring him, I race for Hope, my only thought to get the body off of her and make certain she isn’t dead.

* * *

Gabrial just killed Alan… my partner, right in front of me. But Alan was going to kill Hope.

Hope.

Why is she here?

How was she with Alan…

What the fuck is going on?

Alan’s eyes are sightless, and his mouth is open in a silent scream as he lies, contorted on the ground with blood, brain matter, and shards of bone surrounding him. Hope is trapped underneath him.

Gabrial races to Hope, harshly shoving Alan’s body off of her. It lurches before rolling, hitting his blood with a splat; his sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. A perfect hole in the middle of his forehead. Gabrial crouches over Hope, roughly shaking her by the shoulders. “Hope! Hope, wake up, baby!

“Baby, wake up!”

Moaning slightly, she slowly starts to stir.

She’s okay.

Thank God!

She’s okay.

I stare down at Gabrial with pure hatred. He’s crouched over Hope, his pants soaking up Alan’s blood, as he tries to rouse her from whatever Alan did to her. My voice is colder than the Antarctic Ocean as I snarl, “Get away from her! Get the fuck away from her!

“This is your fault!YOU did this!

“All of this is because of you!”

I can’t keep the cold hard rage from my voice as I stare down at the man I loved like a brother. The man that for close to twenty years, I’ve shared the love of the woman on the ground with. The man that is the reason that woman is lying unconscious on the bloody floor of his warehouse next to a cop, my partner, dead on the floor.

How many deaths is Gabrial responsible for?

And for what?

Money? Power?

For WHAT?

Gabrial stares at me, but he doesn’t move.

My hands are steady as I point both guns at him. “I said get up. GET. THE. FUCK. UP. GABRIAL.

“This is it. The end. Everything you’ve done ends here… all of the terrible deeds you’re responsible for with your illegal guns and drugs… it’s time to pay.”

He smirks at me though no humor is on his face. It’s cold. The face of the crime lord. “Are you going to shoot me, Luke?”

I nod jerkily. “If I have to, yes. You’re under arrest, Gabrial. You’re going away for a long time. Now… GET… UP!”

He stands and I see the guns still firmly held in his hands. The one in the right doesn’t seem to have as tight of a grip as his left hand.

“Drop your weapons, Gabrial.”

---