Like in a trance, Mellie approached closer. “No, my father wants to kill me, Jennie. He’s always wanted to. Let’s get it over with now… Daddy.” She sneered at the cold bastard. “What are you waiting for? Just-just let my friend go, okay? She didn’t do anything but try to help me.”
Totally flustered, not knowing what to believe, Henry Brunner’s eyes filled. “It can’t go on, Mellie. It ends here and now. You’ve always been my weakness, and I-I hurt you. It has to stop. You see that, don’t you? I have to put an end to this nightmare.” He lifted his arm to shoot. Jennie dove in, her hands wrenching the gun upwards as she drove her knee into the soft section of his upper thigh.
Fighting for his life, he forced her back against the wall, struggling to keep control of his gun. Skilled and a fighter, the man pushed her to her limit. Two shots were fired before she was able to wriggle her hand free to punch his stomach. Swinging away from where he’d tried to hold her, she connected with a backhand to his head that would have anyone’s ears ringing for a week.
Still maintaining his hold on the gun, Henry again aimed it in Mellie’s direction, and he got off a couple of rounds before Jennie used her foot to kick the weapon aside. Only she wasn’t quick enough. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mellie being flung back against the couch, obviously hit.
Anger blasted through her system. She went for his throat, clawing at him like a wild animal. Her hands were thrust aside, and he punched her in the stomach. Now, fighting for her life, training took over. Taught to use her feet in any battle, her wicked kick to his knee did enough damage to put him at a disadvantage.
When he lost his balance, she came at him, her hands clenched in fists driving into his shoulder, neck, and face. Consciously fighting for his life, he flung her away and went for his fallen gun. Just as he lifted it in her direction a shot rang out from the doorway. Kane stood with his gun in his hand and a look of such fury drawn across his face that it distorted his features.
In seconds, he reached for her, his hands tender. “Oh my God, Jennie. Say something. Please, God, let her be okay.” He pulled her close and held her as if he’d never let her go.
Jennie clung to him. Her joy at his arrival was only superseded by her fear for her charge. “Mellie. She’s been shot. You need to see to her.”
“Lance is with her.” He held her away. “Did the bastard shoot you too?” Kane inspected her for wounds.
Pushing at him, she took his face in her hands. “You saved me. He didn’t shoot me. Just Mellie. I’m okay, Kane. Stop looking at me that way. I’m fine.”
Lance’s voice, heard in the background, called for an ambulance. He gave the address and apartment number in a shaky voice. “Hurry, we have a shooting victim, a teenager. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
Just then, Jennie looked over at the body of the killer and saw movement. She pushed Kane aside and dove for the gun he’d dropped. Too late, Kane had flung himself in front of her to shield her from the expected bullet fired by the man they thought dead. In those split seconds, Jennie died a thousand times… how could she survive losing Kane again?
Only one shot rang out, ending the terror. Lance had turned in time to see what would happen and had put an end to their danger.
Quickly, Kane went over to the dead man to be sure he wouldn’t be moving again. “Thanks, Lance.”
“No problem. I noticed him shifting and couldn’t take a chance. Kane, is he dead?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d gotten the bastard with my shot, but it looks like he still had enough life in him to do more damage. You stopped that. Thanks, man.”
“Right. So now I’ll have to face an internal investigation. They’ll pull me off duty. Jesus… will this shit never end?”
Jennie got stiffly to her feet and made her way over to Mellie. The poor girl had taken the bullet in her side and had lost a lot of blood. Lance had let go of the wound when he’d pulled out his gun but now, he held tight.
Stumbling into the bathroom, Jennie returned with a folded towel that she firmly placed over the bleeding. “Here, this will help.” She leaned over to check if the girl had lost consciousness. “Melena, baby, can you hear me? You’re fine now, honey. Everything’s going to be okay. Lance is here with you. So am I… and Kane.”
Lance, suddenly understanding her method to keep Mellie aware, added, “I’m here, Mellie. I’ll stay with you from now on. I promise. You’re going to be okay.”
Mellie’s eyelids opened and she peered at Lance. “Is Daddy gone?”
Lance tried to speak but his voice froze. Understanding his problem, Jennie spoke for him, knowing what the girl needed to hear. “He’s with your mother, Mellie. You’ll never have to see him again.”
“Thank God, he’ll never be able to make me say Daddy again.” Seconds passed before she added, “Now… I’m really free.”
Jesus!Jennie choked and turned away.