by Kit Tunstall
“Put down your guns,” said Tony to those around him.
“No.” Shane shook his head, appearing to try to clear it. “They’ll kill you horribly, Tony. You’d be better off turning the gun on yourself than putting it down like some pacifistic sheep.”
“Shane, you’re giving our new friends a bad impression of us. We can do quick and merciful.” Without hesitation, Les seemed to aim his gun at someone in the group randomly and fired. Hector let out a sound somewhere between a cough and a whisper as he slumped to the ground.
“No.” Yu pushed past Antaya and thundered across the porch, seemingly not aware, or uncaring, of the gun Les kept trained on her. He didn’t fire as she reached her boyfriend and fell to the ground beside Hector. His lips quirked in amusement as she prostrated herself beside the fallen man, making Mina want to slap his smug face.
Mina held her breath as Yu felt for a pulse and shook the man without receiving a visible reaction. Yu’s primal scream answered the unasked question of Hector’s fate, and she had to turn away from the sight as tears nearly blinded her. It was only when she looked down that she saw the knife sticking out of Lia’s boot.
She reacted instinctively, slumping forward in a posture of misery that was only partially feigned to grasp the pearl handle of the switchblade. It was nothing like Antaya’s knife, but it would do what she needed.
“I won’t ask again for the guns.” Les tapped the barrel of his pistol against Finn’s head, producing a sound that made Mina wince as her brother flinched. “If they aren’t on the ground in three seconds, this young man’s brains surely will be.” He jerked his head in her direction, and their gazes collided for a moment. “Then the little blond is next.”
“No,” Coop and Shane roared together, clearly united on at least one thing.
Les quirked a brow. “Interesting. Perhaps you’ve guessed wrong about the fallen one’s identity, lover.”
Antaya shrugged carelessly. “I have occasionally been wrong.”
“So have I. Take our friend West here. I swore he was a stone-cold killer when I recruited him. I thought he’d show some loyalty for me sparing him.” Les shook his head. “I saved your pathetic life, you ungrateful piece of shit, and this is how you repay me?”
Mina didn’t pay attention to Shane’s response, if there was one. Instead, she caught Finn’s gaze. As stealthily as possible, she flashed him a glimpse of the knife before cutting her eyes in Antaya’s direction. He frowned before his eyes widened. He seemed poised to say something, but shot a considering look at Ty before clamping his lips shut and straightening his spine. He understood the risks to himself if she did anything, but had clearly accepted them. She could practically see the last remnants of the young boy fade from him as the man took over.
“One…two…”
Before Les could reach three, Mina rolled and stabbed the knife through Antaya’s shoe as hard as she could. The other woman howled with agony and reached for her foot automatically, allowing Mina to jerk Ty from her hold. As she rolled farther down the porch before turning to stand, she saw Finn ducking down. Shots rang out a second later, and she didn’t have time to focus on anyone or anything else. Her sole goal was to get Ty somewhere safe.
Finn had followed her when Les’s attention wavered to focus on his lover. She knew they had only seconds, and she passed Ty to him again. “Same plan as last time.”
“I’m sorry. We didn’t know they were in the escape tunnel until Yu stumbled into the third one. She killed him, but they captured us.”
“I know. It’s okay.” She touched her brother’s arm. “We can discuss the details later. Right now, take Ty and get out of here.”
He grasped the baby against him and hurried into the house. Mina searched around for her pistol, but didn’t find it in the waistband of her pants. It must have fallen out when she’d knelt down beside Lia’s body or rolled after stabbing that crazy woman. Since she’d left the knife in Antaya, she was defenseless. That was a scary proposition when the woman she’d stabbed was suddenly facing her and hobbling after her, as Les turned the other way to fire at Mina’s people. Les’s scumbags in the shadows, having reacquired weapons from somewhere, provided supporting fire, and there was a maelstrom of bullets and screams.
One of those screams would be her own if she didn’t get away from Antaya before the mad bitch could shoot her. However, the other woman seemed to have a more hands-on retribution in mind, judging from the way she carried the knife in front of her, but held the gun loosely at her side.
Mina got to her feet and ran around the porch, having the advantage of moving more quickly. It was small recompense for being weaponless while facing off against a ruthless killer armed with a knife and gun, and a vengeful thirst for her blood.
She shivered when Antaya tapped the knife against the wall on the other side of the porch, just a few feet beyond the corner. The sound of the blade scraping against the wood made her stomach churn, and she backed farther down the porch until she was at the side door. It was locked, and she didn’t have her house key. Mina paused to think as the scraping knife came closer. The other woman slipped around the corner, meaning they were on the same side of the house again.
Feeling exposed, Mina slid another foot down the porch as silently as she could. She had a feeble plan of making it around the back of the porch and maybe escaping toward the stables, though she had little confidence in that plan. As soon as Antaya got tired of toying with her, or if there was a real possibility she would outstrip the other woman’s speed, the bitch would simply shoot her. She could still have her cutting time as long as she only incapacitated Mina.
She balled her hands into fists at the thought, moving along as quickly as she dared to maintain silence. Surely, Antaya could see at least the outline of her shape, so what was she accomplishing by hugging the house and sliding along a foot at a time?
Mina stopped abruptly, barely holding in a mingled cry of surprise and pain when she bumped into the copper thermometer hanging from the wall. She could instantly recall its appearance, including the jagged edges of the smiling sun at the bottom of the temperature indicator. That must have been what gouged her head.
As weapons went, it was pathetic, but she had nothing else available. Mina wrenched it from the wall and froze, debating if she should try to hide there or slip around the corner and wait for Antaya. No, the other woman would be expecting an attack, knowing corners were the most vulnerable spot. If she really wanted to surprise her, she had to act now.
Feeling like a fool hastening toward an imminent date with a bullet, Mina rushed the other woman, closing the gap as quickly as she could. As she lunged at her, she could see the shock on the other woman’s face as they hit the porch. Antaya’s head made a satisfying smacking sound when it hit the wooden planks, but the woman wasn’t as incapacitated as she’d hoped.
The knife pressed against Mina’s side, and she cried out at the sharp bite as it slid through her flesh. She had seconds to act before the knife hit something vital. Fortunately, the gun was pinned between them, facing the house, so while she couldn’t use it to shoot Antaya, the other woman couldn’t use it against her either.
Mina punched her in the face as hard as she could while Antaya dug a thumb into her eyeball. Screaming, she closed her eyes for meager protection as she grasped the thermometer and tried to get a good angle with her free hand. The other woman bucked and twisted while continuing to press against her eye and shove the knife deeper.
“Fuck you. I’m not dying like this.” Mina wrenched her shoulder uncomfortably to get a good angle as the bitch’s thumbnail pressed into her eye. Blood erupted, obscuring her vision, and she was sure she’d lost the eyeball. With more desperation and luck than accuracy, she slammed the thermometer into the other woman’s face.
Hot blood spattered her hands and made her want to vomit, as did Antaya’s scream of agony. The pressure on her eyeball eased, and the knife didn’t go any deeper, but the other woman was still mo
ving. Mina wrenched the thermometer free and slammed it into her face again and again, until the other woman was no longer moving, and the bent implement refused to budge from her flesh.
Feeling shaky, Mina checked for a pulse that wasn’t there before getting to her feet. Her eye bled copiously, but she still had enough vision to see the mess she’d made of the other woman, with the thermometer buried deep into the pulp of her cheek and partially into Antaya’s left eye. The old adage about an eye for an eye ran through her mind, making her want to laugh for an absurd second.
The inappropriate amusement fled as the pain from the knife inside her flared. Her eye throbbed in sympathy, and Mina walked a few steps away from the dead bitch before collapsing onto the porch. She just needed a moment to rest before returning to the front yard and the fighting she could still hear.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shane cursed the darkness and wished for a better vantage point than huddled behind a stack of wood. Coop was a few feet from him, firing with what appeared to be intent concentration, sparing no consideration for the shoulder he’d shot. He was every inch the soldier.
He envied that. Once upon a time, Shane had been a consummate soldier, always focused on the mission, always sure how to proceed. He’d lost that somewhere along their journey after The End. All the strategies and tactics he’d learned remained ingrained, and he could still kill with the best of them, but he’d lost his edge. His focus was gone.
His thoughts kept returning to Mina. Had she somehow managed to escape Antaya? Having seen the crazy bitch in action, it didn’t seem likely. How the hell was he supposed to focus on the task before them when all he wanted to do was run after Mina? If she was dead, how would he go on?
For the first time, he dared tentatively hope they might actually make it out of the situation. His heart throbbed rapidly at the thought of having Mina all to himself, though it meant leaving Ty behind. Or maybe not. The bitch Lia was dead, so why couldn’t he take his son too? They could raise Tyler together. Mina would be a great mom, devoted to his son and any kids they had together.
Too bad she’d be a shitty wife, at least for him. Shane let his gun drop slightly when the thought penetrated his little bubble. She didn’t love him or want to be with him. The most she had been able to do was to promise to try to love him the way he wanted. He already knew that was destined to fail, because her heart belonged to someone else.
He glared at Coop, who was firing steadfastly despite what must be a dwindling supply of ammunition. When he’d still been part of the farm group, there had been a serious shortage, but maybe they’d found reserves since then.
What did it matter? It would only take one bullet to take the man out of the equation. Shane had enough to do the job. Mina might love the fucker forever, but if he was dead, she’d know there was no chance for them. She would turn to Shane eventually. Right?
Furtively, he looked around to see if anyone was watching them. All the others were engaged in fighting, sparing no glance for Coop, Shane, or anyone except the enemy. His heart stuttered as he brought up the gun again, biting his lip as he considered the best way to do it.
One more look around revealed a sight that made Shane go cold. Les had edged off the porch and was almost straight with Coop. He was aiming for the other man. Shane assessed the situation. He couldn’t be certain of hitting Les at this angle, and if he did, the impact would probably cause him to squeeze the trigger reflexively.
Coop would be dead, and Mina would be his.
She’d also be completely miserable. Shane couldn’t help recalling the image of the kiss he’d seen between Mina and Coop earlier in the evening. There had been such love and need in it that he’d had to look away due to the pang of envy robbing his breath. At the time, he’d vowed she would look at him the same way someday.
It was never going to happen.
He cursed as he accepted she would never love him the way he loved her. Shane had done too much to Mina, had forced her hand from the start in a way guaranteed to deny her the ability to love him. He had brought it all on himself, never having the love of a woman he needed like oxygen.
He ached with the loss and knew he couldn’t let Mina feel the same way. He couldn’t stand to know she carried this sort of pain inside when he could have stopped it. His head awhirl at the suddenness he had gone from planning to shoot Coop to saving him, Shane moved as quickly as he could with his injuries.
He barely made it in time to block the bullet from hitting Coop. It slammed into his stomach with so much force he flew back and into the man he’d taken the shot for, smashing Coop under him. He let out a small laugh of satisfaction, knowing he’d probably left a bruise on the other man, at the very least. Yeah, he could be noble and self-sacrificing for the woman he loved, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take a little joy in causing Coop some pain.
*****
Coop was dazed for a second from the impact and subsequent white-hot flare of agony in his shoulder, rendering him unable to move. His brain was still trying to process what had just happened when he saw that Les guy from the corner of his eye. He was creeping toward them, clearly intent on putting them both down. From the deadweight atop of him, it seemed obvious Shane was already dead, but Coop had no plans to join him.
Acting on instinct, he took the pistol from Shane’s hand, unable to maneuver the rifle properly with his former platoon leader pinning him. As Les edged closer, he lined up a shot and put a bullet through his brain.
With a grunt, he shoved Shane off him, and the other man coughed, indicating he wasn’t dead yet. From the gaping hole in his gut, it wouldn’t be long.
“Damn, I wanted to kill that motherfucker.” Blood trickled from his mouth when he spoke.
“Sorry,” said Coop without any regret. He shook his head. “Did you really do what I think you did?”
“Step in front of the bullet?” Shane nodded slightly. “Yeah, I’m a motherfucking martyr. You’ll have to give me sainthood—posthumously, of course.”
Coop looked around, noting the others had laid down their weapons, and only one surviving invader remained in view. The one Shane had called Pardons was kneeling on the ground as Chelle bound him tightly. “Why?” His gaze returned to Shane. “I certainly wouldn’t have done the same for you.”
Shane coughed again. “Hell, I know that. I wouldn’t have done it for you either. Did it for…” He trailed off, his expression lightening suddenly. “Mina.” Her name was a soft sigh of satisfaction as he closed his eyes.
For a second, Coop thought Shane had seen a dying vision of Mina, but then he felt her hands on his waist and turned to take her into his arms, ignoring the protest from his shoulder. She cried out when he hugged her hard against him, but clung to him just as desperately for a long second. They kissed passionately, and he finally forced himself to move away to look at her.
He winced at the way her right eye was swollen and bloody, the lid hanging grotesquely. “Can you see with it?”
She shook her head. “I could for a few minutes after it happened.” Mina swayed and paled, seeming to recall something gruesome she had seen. “Then it started swelling, and I can’t see anything in that eye. I don’t know if it will come back after it heals.”
“At least it’s just your eye.” He hugged her again, eliciting another moan, and realized it wasn’t just her eye. Pulling back, his mouth dropped open at the slash on her side, the knife still buried in her flesh. “What the hell?”
“I didn’t know if I should take it out. I didn’t want to make things worse.” Mina had grown paler, but she stood up straight, looking like she was managing to stay upright just by sheer determination.
“Emme will know.” His gaze moved to their prisoner. “Or that piece of crap. Shane said he was a nurse.”
She nodded. “I’m sure he has great bedside manner at gunpoint.” A husky laugh left her before her gaze settled on Shane, and her expression turned somber. “I saw what he did.”
�
��He saved me. For you.” Coop put his arm around her waist as a subtle means to keep her from falling down. He knew she was angry at the way he had dismissed her earlier, and he’d have to grovel for that, but he wasn’t really sorry. If things had gone as planned, she and Lia would have been safe in the house while they fought.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
Coop grinned. “I said pretty much the same thing.”
Mina smiled a little, though she looked apprehensive. “I promised I’d leave with him if let me come back to warn you and fight with you. He could have had his twisted version of perfect.”
“Maybe he’s not all bad.” Coop shrugged. “I don’t know, and I don’t care why he did it. I’m just grateful to be here with you.”
She kissed his mouth softly. “I’m grateful too, whatever his reasons.” She still looked anxious. “You aren’t angry?”
“About what?” He pulled her closer. “You agreeing to leave? No, I understand. You were trying to save us all.”
“I promised, but I don’t know how I could have managed to go through with it.” She seemed to be letting herself feel a measure of relief, because the lines of tension around her mouth were fading.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if you left with him, because I would have come after you.” He kissed her deeply before lifting his head to look into her eyes. “I didn’t promise to let him keep you.”
She chuckled. “That’s very underhanded of you, Coop. I like it.”
The banging of the screen door interrupted them, and Coop let her go reluctantly as she moved toward her brother and nephew. He stayed a step behind to offer support in case she fell, but recognized the importance of letting her stand on her own and make her own choices.
His heart ached for Yu as they passed by her, where she still knelt at Hector’s side and wept over his dead body. It was a stark reminder that he still had Mina, and they still had the farm, but they had all paid too high a price for their victory.