Page 50 of The Heat is On

A cry of pain, and March had thrown Stevie off him, rolled over to strangle her.

Stop him.

Skye heard the words but couldn’t move her hands off Archer, off the coat saturated with blood.

Stop him!

Tucker lunged toward March, jerking him away from Stevie, trapping him in a choke hold. “You’re done, March! You’re done!”

Please.

“Call for help!” Stevie was rolling to her knees, seeing Skye maybe for the first time.

Right—help!

Except March had gotten ahold of the tire iron again. And as Skye screamed, he used the sharp end to stab Tucker.

Tucker gasped, jerked back, and March rounded on him, swinging the iron back like a baseball bat.

Aiming for Tucker’s head.

“No! No—!” Skye bounced to her feet.

A shot cracked the air, jerking Skye to a halt.

March dropped hard, sprawled in the dirt, jerking, gasping. Blood oozed from his chest.

Stevie had shot him.

Tucker pushed away from him, scrambling back.

Skye fell to her knees, wanting to weep.

Tucker ran to Stevie who was still holding the gun.

Beside Skye, Archer groaned. She turned, saw him trying to get up.

“What are you doing?”

“My daughter—is she okay?”

Skye just stared at him. Then she followed his gaze. Stevie. Was hisdaughter? “Yeah. I think she killed March.”

“Hey!” A voice echoed from down the road and she looked up, saw two men in blue jackets running down the gravel, their guns out. US marshals.

It was about freakin’ time. Bouncing to her feet, she waved her arms. “Over here!”

One ran up to her, breathing hard. Mid-thirties, brown hair, he wore the panic of someone who’d gotten to the scene too late. “Ma’am, are you hurt?”

“No…but he is.” She pointed to Archer.

The other man ran straight to Stevie and Tucker.

“Marshal Kennedy,” the first man said, and pulled out his radio. “Keep pressure on his wound.”

She pressed on the jacket, met Archer’s eyes. “Tucker said you were a cop.”

He nodded. “Sorry you got involved. I was just trying to keep my daughter safe. I knew she’d go after March, and the only way I could think of to keep her safe was to go with him.”