Page 76 of Help Me Remember

“I’m not going against orders just because you’re suddenly rediscovering your conscience,” Patterson said, nodding toward one of the men who stepped around me.

Before I could do more than turn to protest, another one stepped forward to speak. “No loose ends.”

He pulled out a gun and aimed, squeezing the trigger, and the bullet caught Ana directly in the chest. Wide-eyed, she fell backward, her head thumping hard against the table behind her and hitting the ground. Eric shouted in horror as the woman stirred briefly before going still. I didn’t need the goon nearest Eric to grab him and hold him back, however, I’d seen where the bullet hit. There was no coming back from a wound like that, not without an act of God anyway.

The horror and shock of seeing her gunned down was drowned out by a shout of pain from Eric. He was still fighting like a wildcat to escape the goon’s arms and try to get to where Ana lay unmoving. Another henchman was already moving forward to help his companion, and I knew my moment had come.

Lashing out, I caught the distracted Patterson in the nose with my elbow. The crack of bone was loud as he stumbled back, blood trickling from between his fingers as he fought to catch his balance.

The goon nearest him was quickest to recover and reached into his coat. I didn’t hesitate, diving forward to take advantage of his fumbling and grab his elbow. Shoving my head forward, I slammed my forehead into the bridge of his nose. Still holding tight to his arm, I brought my knee up into his gut to double him over.

A third moved toward me, and I twisted away, reaching behind to grab the gun shoved into the holster against my back. My finger found the safety with ease, and I brought it up, squeezing twice and catching the third man in the chest to send him to the ground. As he dropped without more than a groan, the man I’d initially beaten was already picking himself up, and I spun to turn the gun on him.

“Riley!” Patterson’s shrill voice shrieked through the air, and I heard Eric’s pained shout.

Glancing over my shoulder, I found Patterson standing behind Eric, an arm around his neck and a gun held to his temple. Eric was bleeding from a cut above his brow, and it looked like he was already forming a black eye. My heart hammered and went out to him when I saw that instead of being terrified, he was livid.

“Sorry,” Eric called between clenched teeth as he struggled against Patterson’s hold. “Fucker sucker punched me after his friends were done holding me.”

“Shut up,” Patterson said before turning his attention back to me. “Now, you’re going to behave yourself. Do anything I don’t like, and he gets a bullet in his skull, got it?”

“Anything is pretty vague,” I told him, giving a warning grunt to the goon I’d been prepared to shoot only seconds before when the man looked like he might move. “And if you’re as touchy as you’re coming off, you might shoot him for a stupid reason.”

“And you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”

“You don’t want that either.”

“I don’t give a shit about him.”

“Just like you didn’t care about your partner,” I said, glancing briefly at the unmoving figure of Officer Fitz. For a moment, I spotted the grimace on Patterson’s face.

“Sh-she shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place,” Patterson said, but I didn’t miss the quiver in his voice.

“Let me put it to you this way, Patterson,” I told him, still holding my gun on the original man. “You make the mistake of killing Eric, and it’ll be the last one you ever make.”

“You don’t get to—”

“I have a lot to lose here, but you take him out of the equation, and I have nothing left. Now, look how well I handled you morons with something to lose, imagine what I can do when I’ve got nothing.”

Did I think I could take on a focused attack from all of them? No, I did not, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make sure Patterson was one of the fallen. I didn’t like the sniveling little shit thinking he could threaten me or Eric, not after what we knew about him.

“Even now, you’re still going to take the arrogant route with me,” Patterson spat.

“Just like before, I’m stating pure and simple facts. It’s not my fault your fragile ego can’t handle it,” I told him icily.

Patterson’s mouth twisted and then froze when I heard soft clapping coming from the direction of the small stand. Not wanting to take my eyes off Patterson, I begrudgingly turned to find another two well-dressed grunts flanking a third man. This one stood about my height, nearly as broad in the shoulders, dressed in only a light pink dress shirt that was barely darker than his pale skin and was exceeded in brightness by the flash of red hair atop his head.

“It was always fascinating to watch you terrify the ever-living shit out of people,” he said with a crooked grin. “Even if it was little worms like Officer Patterson here.”

The spell I had worked on the group fell away immediately in the presence of this new man who was continuing to watch only me. In the back of my head, I felt a memory bubble up and burst. I remembered the sight of that redhead between my legs, the feel of that hair as I ran my fingers through it. I had watched him in the early morning hours while he slept, feeling a mixture of regret and self-hatred.

“Gabriel,” I said softly, feeling my stomach turn.

“Oh? Do you remember me? Or are you just making an educated guess?” he asked.

“I remember enough to know who you are, don’t get too excited,” I told him with a scowl.

Gabriel snorted. “Ah well, the same old grumpy Riley…or is it Dylan?”

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