Misti closed her eyes, tears pouring down her face, but she didn’t move.
Draper spoke to Viktor, his voice deadly, his attitude full of disgust for the other’s performance. “There’s one chance to beat this. I kill the rest of you, make it look like you fired the gun and then shot yourself. Then I’m a free man.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“And why the hell not.”
“We’re partners. I’ll be paying you a lot of money.”
“You know what? There’s some things money can’t buy.”
Slowly, Draper turned to aim the gun at Kayti who quickly forced herself in front of Misti. “You don’t want to do this, Draper.”
“You’re right. But there’s no choice.”
Kayti saw the boy with the gun appear before anyone else. But they heard his shaky, hesitant voice threaten.” Drop the gun, mister. You ain’t shootin’ my Kayti.”
When Draper turned to fire in Mark’s direction, Kayti launched herself from the couch and tackled the son of a bitch, bringing him to the floor. That’s when Viktor decided he needed Draper’s gun too and got into the tussle. Two grown men against one small woman, she fought for her life.
Mark dropped his gun and tried to help her, getting punched in the face for his trouble.
A roar sounded from the doorway. Murphy, the man making the hideous noise, blasted into the pileup like a mad dog. First, Draper went flying, ass in the air before he landed on his face.
While that happened, Kayti twisted out from under Viktor and used her elbow to get him off her.
Next thing she knew, Viktor followed Draper, getting punched in the stomach and then the face so he deflated like an air mattress with a built-in pump.
She dashed to Mark, the boy lying on the floor, who’d stayed out of Murphy’s way. Only now he was the only one who saw what was about to happen.
Shocking Kayti who’d leaned over him, he pushed her out of the way and angled himself to cover where she’d been. It was his small body that caught the bullet meant for her. And it was Murphy who shot the man on the floor who’d picked up Kayti’s fallen gun.
“Mark! My God, Murphy. Mark’s been shot.”
Murphy grabbed her first and made sure the blood on her face wasn’t her own before he gently put her aside and crouched by the boy. “It’s a shoulder wound, Kayti. Stop crying. He’ll be fine.”
“I’m not crying.” Kayti swiped at her face and cleaned up the mess. “I’m an FBI agent. We don’t cry.” She took back her place next to Mark, removed her jacket to take off her T-shirt. She’d use if as a bandage and stop the bleeding.
Folding the soft white material, she placed it over the wound and pressed down carefully. Gently, she caressed his forehead, moving the hair away so she could put a kiss there.
“I suppose FBI agents don’t kiss their snitch’s either?”
Furious, she glared at the man. “Mark’s no snitch.”
“He is if you want to clear his record and get the law to give him an honorable discharge from his old life.”
Kayti grinned, catching on. “You’re a sneaky devil.”
“Damned rights I am. How’s Misti?”
Kayti suddenly remembered. She turned toward her only to see the girl out cold, lying across the couch.
“She passed out. Poor kid. It’s too much for her to handle. Almost getting raped, then seeing a man killed and a kid get shot.” Kayti shuddered and spoke her thoughts out loud. “It’s too much for me too. I’m thinking to change my career.”
Murphy lifted her to her feet, his hands framing her face. “I’ve got an offer you might be interested in, but this is neither the time nor the place.” He pressed a hard kiss on her lips, and another before he added, “You might want to cover yourself. I need to keep my mind on the job. And with you showing off that gorgeous body, even a saint would be in trouble.
She gave him a behave yourself push, and he smiled before moving over to Draper who showed signs of coming to. Pulling zip ties from his pocket, he wrapped one around the man’s hands and yanked it closed.
Then he did the same to Viktor who hadn’t moved. Next, he checked to make sure the third dude was dead. Sirens blasted through the night’s quiet, coming closer every second.