Under the Gun

by HelenKay Dimon

  The words came from deep inside her. A tiny area she had locked out of her mind two years earlier opened. Now the truth of her feelings pumped through her, overtaking everything else.

  His dark frown didn’t waver. “If they get into that helicopter, I might not be able to save you.”

  “I’m more concerned with saving you.”

  She could see him wrestle with the best way to fight her terror. The tension across his shoulders eased as his palm moved up her leg. “I’m going to be here. But I’m not going to be able to live with myself if we walk away now and let these two idiots escape to freedom without being punished for what they’ve done to you and all their employees.”

  Their priorities still clashed because all she cared about was making sure Luke lived. “What if we fail?”

  “We won’t.”

  Luke was sure of that part. They had come too far to turn around and sneak off now. He didn’t even know where they would go. No one was around for miles, and he didn’t have the strength for a hike. He had just enough energy to take out a Samson or two. He’d worry about the rest later, because no more bags or boxes sat on the ground near the helicopter. Liftoff was imminent. Luke could feel it.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  They took off in opposite directions. He went first, not giving her another chance to argue. If Phil and Steve were going to spot one of them, Luke wanted to make sure it was him. He didn’t want to give away his position, but he would draw their gazes if necessary to protect her.

  As Claire shimmied along the ground with her head down and using only her elbows and knees to propel her across the grass, Luke started jogging. He bent down as far as possible. There was no way his one side would support him long enough to get him close to the helicopter, and for his plan to work, he had to get damn close.

  He stopped and dropped down, keeping as still as possible when the brothers faced the house. Their laughter filled the smoky air. Clearly they thought letting people burn to death was hilarious.

  It only made Luke hate them more.

  Luke used that fury to push himself on. His body ran only on the drive to see these men caught and Claire’s name cleared.

  When the laughter stopped, Luke lifted his head again. He saw a flash of white off to his right as Claire stood up and slipped behind the hangar. That meant it was his turn to act.

  He waited until the brothers turned and looked over the booty in the helicopter. There wouldn’t be another chance. Luke inhaled and took off. He ran as fast as he could, using up every energy reserve inside him to get to the two men.

  As he shot across the clear field toward Phil, Steve pivoted. Shock registered on the older man’s face and he gave a shout of warning. Phil proved slower. He raised his hands to his head as if ducking from a flying object but didn’t get out of Luke’s path.

  Knocking the man down would satisfy the desire to hurt him, but Luke doubted he could get back up once he was down. That would leave him vulnerable to attack by two men who would think nothing of beating him to death with their hands. Instead, he used all his concentration to slam his body to a halt. He slowed his movements in time to raise his gun and shove it into the back of Phil’s head. Phil screamed in rage.

  When Luke turned his gaze to Steve, Luke saw the gun. So while Luke pointed his gun at Phil, Steve pointed his at Luke. It was a circle of violence that guaranteed at least two of them would end up dead. Luke knew which two he would pick.

  “Drop it or I’ll kill your brother.” The blood pounded hard enough through Luke’s body to threaten to knock him down.

  Steve’s mouth twisted in a snarl. “You don’t have it in you.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  Phil cowered under the gun. “Where’s Claire?”

  The question proved she’d made it to the hangar without being seen. These two had lied their way through their entire plan, but Luke sensed this was not a trick. So he adopted their skills.

  “She’s in a room on the second floor of your house. And you’re going to pay for her death.” He laid the desperate act on thick, playing the role of a heartbroken and deranged boyfriend. It wasn’t hard to conjure up the feelings, because he had been toying with them all day.

  “He’s lying,” Phil said as he tried to move away from the gun.

  Luke pulled him back, shoving the gun harder against Phil’s skull. “You aren’t in a position to question.”

  “But I am.” Calm washed over Steve. He acted like a man in control rather than a man who got caught.

  “It’s over, Steve. You lost.”

  “No. Phil did.”

  A shot rang out. For a second Luke wondered if he had fired by accident. Then he saw Phil lying at his feet. Drops of blood sprayed in a pattern across Luke’s shirt. He looked at his stomach and at Phil’s still body and realized the blood wasn’t his.

  Steve’s skills were as impressive as Luke feared. Steve had put a bullet right through the center of his brother’s black heart.

  “You shot him.” The idea was so outrageous that Luke’s mind refused to grasp it.

  “He served his purpose.”

  The men now held guns on each other.

  “Which was?”

  “To set up Claire and grab the money.” Steve shifted so that the helicopter sat directly behind him, as if he wanted something hard supporting his back.

  “You used him.”

  “He’s always been the brother for show. I’m the brother for action.”

  “You’re the murderer.”

  Steve laughed without amusement. “This, too, will fall on Claire.”

  “She’s dead.”

  “That’s just part of the cover-up. Once again Claire has complied with my wishes and performed in a way that only makes the story better.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The dead woman in question slipped behind the helicopter. Luke saw a flash of her hair and the edge of her shirt before she disappeared behind her metal cover again. Knowing she was there made his fingers tighten on the gun. She had walked right into the middle of a lethal situation, but having her on his team might be their only chance.

  “In my story she dies while trying to get away and everything goes wrong.”

  “It will never work.”

  “Sure it will. The public already sees her as a killer. Adding Phil’s death now is perfect. It will make it look as if she kept him alive and only now killed him.” Steve’s arm stiffened.

  “You shoot, I shoot.”

  “You are a minute away from dropping on top of Phil. Just look at you. How much blood have you lost by now? A pint? More? That brain of yours will shut down soon.”

  As Steve said the words, Luke’s muscles grew weak. “Not before I kill you.”

  “If you kill me, how do you clear your precious Claire’s name?”

  “That doesn’t matter now.”

  “Steve!” Claire shouted his name in a quick burst and without giving away her exact position.

  Surprise had Steve turning around, which was all Luke needed. He aimed and fired straight into Steve’s back. The shot propelled Steve’s body forward and his gun dropped from his fingers to the grass.

  “No…” Steve slumped over the opening area in the center of the helicopter before falling on his back to the ground.

  Luke watched the man’s eyes flutter and his chest heave for breaths. A bloodstain spread over his stomach as his face went pale.

  Luke took it all in, tried to care. But he couldn’t feel anything, didn’t even know how he kept standing. He heard bells and whistles and thought he had to be hallucinating. His mind had finally checked out as his body went numb.

  Claire appeared at his side. “Luke?”

  She was okay. He repeated that fact over and over.

  “I’m right here.” Her hands traveled over his chest and across his face.

  He saw rather than felt her touch. “Claire?”

  “The police are coming. I can hear
the sirens.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “No.” She wrapped an arm around his waist. “Hold on.”

  “Can’t.”

  And then his world went black.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next few minutes passed in a whirl. The wind kicked up as a fleet of police cars raced across the lawn. They stopped, kicking up dust around Claire and stopping only inches from where she lay covering Luke’s still body on the ground.

  “Help me!”

  Doors opened. Holden and Adam stepped out. When Holden tried to run to her, two officers had to hold him back.

  “Get down.” The policeman’s order boomed across her senses.

  His words confused her. The danger from Steve and Phil had passed. Why weren’t they coming to Luke? “He needs an ambulance.”

  “Step away from him.”

  The command didn’t make any sense. She was saving him, keeping him and protecting him from additional pain. Trying to stop the bleeding from his arm.

  She continued to kneel on the ground. “What are you saying?”

  “Stand up.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Claire, move away from Luke so we can get to him.” Holden’s mouth pulled tight as he yelled the command.

  She could see the tension in the police officers surrounding her with guns raised. Adam practically bounced as he shifted and moved around, his gaze never leaving Luke.

  They were here to arrest her.

  The thought had her gasping. “Luke needs help!”

  An officer approached her. “Put your hands up.”

  She obeyed even though it killed her to let go of Luke. “Please. He needs a doctor.”

  “I know, ma’am.” The officer motioned for her to stand up. “I’m going to get him in an ambulance right now.”

  That promise was all she needed. She struggled to her feet with her hands in the air. As soon as she stood, the officer grabbed her arms and wrenched them behind her.

  “Careful,” Holden said.

  “I know how to do my job, sir.” Cuffs snapped on her wrists as two ambulances raced into the yard.

  An officer checked Steve’s pulse. “He’s alive.”

  No, that was wrong. She didn’t care about him. No one should care about him.

  “Luke goes first,” she insisted.

  Holden and Adam surrounded their friend until the ambulance crew shooed them away. The world erupted in chaos. Fire engines screamed around the back of the house. Men filed out with hoses and ladders and assessed the burning building. Police and emergency workers filled every inch of the grassy area she’d initially seen as huge and open. A crew worked on Steve and another on Luke.

  The relief of having made it out alive made the ground spin in front of her. She almost fell, but the officer caught her against his chest and guided her to the side of his car.

  “Are you hurt?” the officer asked.

  “Just save Luke.” She whispered the plea as she watched the workers load Luke onto the stretcher.

  Holden’s face appeared in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  “Luke?”

  “They’re working on him.” Holden leaned in closer. “Do you need a medic?”

  “No.” She wanted all their attention on Luke.

  The area around Holden’s mouth whitened. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I brought the police. We saw the fire and took out two of Phil’s men as they ran out the front. But we couldn’t get to you. We didn’t know where you were in there.”

  She couldn’t grasp what he was trying to say. She got that he’d called the ambulance. She was grateful for his quick thinking. Luke’s safety was all that mattered to her.

  Holden put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. “They’re going to arrest you. I had to get them here fast and to do that I turned on you.”

  Now it made sense. He thought she had planned to run and he was willing to look the other way to let her go. “I’m not leaving Luke.”

  Holden smiled then. “Good.”

  LUKE FORCED his eyes open to wake up from the floating sensation cocooning his body. He saw Adam and medics. Not the one person he wanted.

  “Where’s Claire?” When no one paid attention to him, he said it again in a louder voice.

  “Luke.” Adam rushed to his side. “Are you okay?”

  “Claire.”

  Adam’s frown didn’t ease. “We have to get you to a hospital.”

  Why wasn’t he answering? “Fine. Tell me about Claire.”

  “Your sleeve is soaked with blood and your skin is whiter than milk. Hell, you passed out.”

  Luke swallowed, then pushed more strength into his voice. “I want Claire.”

  Adam hesitated before motioning to a police officer that Luke could see on the periphery of his vision. The ambulance crew poked and adjusted equipment. Someone took his pulse. Another guy administered a shot.

  Luke didn’t feel any of it. He wanted Claire by his side. Now.

  A medic stepped back and Claire filled the space. Her tears fell on his face. “I’m right here.”

  He tried to lift his fingers to touch her lips, but his arms refused to move. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, repeating his words.

  A policeman appeared over her shoulder. “Ma’am, you need to come with us.”

  Irrational panic filled Luke’s senses. He knew if she stepped away, he might not see her again. He could not lose her now.

  “She stays with me.”

  “Do you have to do this now?” Holden’s voice rose above the flurry of sounds and buzzing of people around him. “He needs her.”

  “There’s a warrant out for her arrest. She’s a flight risk,” the officer explained.

  Luke blinked, trying to fight off the lethargy stealing over him. “For what?”

  “The murder of Phillip Samson,” the officer said in a firm voice.

  “That’s Phil Samson.” Holden pointed at the man’s body, which hadn’t moved or been moved since Luke dropped him there. “She couldn’t have killed him before because he was only killed just now.”

  “His brother did it,” Claire said in a rush.

  The officer shook his head. “I have to do what I’m told.”

  The medic gave Luke another shot. Luke tried to tell him not to, but his tongue went numb, so he stuck with the words he needed to say. “Listen to me.”

  Claire leaned down and pressed her cheek against his for a second. Then she gave him a soft, loving kiss. “Luke, it’s okay.”

  “You didn’t do it.”

  “I know.”

  “You aren’t going to jail.”

  With a nod to the medic, Holden slipped his hand under Claire’s elbow and pulled her back. “We’ll straighten all this out later.”

  Now, it had to be now. Luke tried to raise his head. The move forced bile up the back of his throat until it threatened to choke him.

  The medic eased Luke back down with a hand on his chest. “Sir, I need you to stay down.”

  Luke let his head fall back. “Not until I know she’s coming with me.”

  The officer started to tug her out of the way. “She has to ride in the car.”

  “Holden, stop this.”

  Holden’s mouth pinched. “Man, I can’t do that. I tried.”

  “I can’t…” Whatever the medic shot into Luke’s veins now held his mind captive. Colors swirled in front of his eyes. “Claire.”

  “I’m here, Luke,” Claire whispered.

  “Come with me.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Her voice grew more distant.

  “Luke, man, you need to let the ambulance take you,” Adam said.

  Luke let his eyes close, but he could hear his friends arguing over him.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Claire asked, her voice higher than usual and her concern evident.

  “There’s been a serio
us loss of blood.” Luke didn’t recognize the speaker. He assumed it was the medic, but he couldn’t open his eyes to check.

  “I can go with her to the police station and work this out.” Luke whispered the suggestion as his body fought off the start of a gentle sleep.

  “You’re going into surgery. We’ll stay with Claire,” Holden said as he squeezed his friend’s good shoulder.

  “Don’t let anything happen to her.” Luke’s breath turned shallow. “Phil tried to kill her.”

  “He’s dead now,” Claire said.

  “I can’t stay awake.” The words came out so staggered that the sentence took forever for Luke to say.

  “Don’t fight it, sir.” The medic slipped a mask over Luke’s face.

  “Where’s Claire?” he mumbled.

  “You’ll see her soon.” Holden cleared his throat. “Promise.”

  Luke wanted to believe, but his mind went blank.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Claire sat on the hard bench and dropped her head into her hands. Her fingers snagged on a piece of scorched paper between the strands. She brushed it out but did wonder what else could be caught up in there. It was a miracle she had any hair left after the fire and everything else that had happened.

  Not that her looks mattered all that much where she was. After the fires and gun battles, pain and terror, she’d ended up in the one place she most feared and was desperate to avoid. A jail cell.

  She had been there all night. They said she’d move to more permanent quarters today, but it hadn’t happened.

  Now she feared she’d be there forever, lost in the system and discarded.

  Metal clanked against metal as doors opened and closed. Officers walked the area, ignoring the women confined inside. Every now and then the loudspeaker would squawk. The announcer would say a name or give an order.

  Claire could barely hear the announcements over her fellow inmates’ shouting and swearing. There were those who blamed the system and the men in their lives for their temporary homes behind bars. A few threw insults from their individual holding cells. She had been called a whole host of names that she sure hoped didn’t fit.

  She felt small and alone. Pain knocked against the back of her head, and her lungs still ached from the intake of so much smoke. An officer promised her medical attention, but she knew that would be a long wait. She was not a priority.