Page 86 of Deadly Vendetta
Alvarez stared at Forrester as something heavy, so very heavy burned with molten heat through his chest.
Odd, how time seemed to stand still.
He needed to fire.
He needed to finish the guy and those kids, and get into the car before it was too late.
The stars and the night sky swirled around him at dizzying, blinding speed.
And then the blackness fell.
* * * *
IN MINUTES THE HILLTOP swarmed with cars and men shouting orders. An ambulance arrived seconds later, though there would be no need for lights and sirens on the way back to town.
Despite the heavy bleeding from his upper arm, Zach shoved away medical help in his rush to get to Katie. He knelt next to her and held her tight, her face buried against his chest and his head bowed low over hers.
Ignoring his pain and the paramedic who hovered close, examining and then wrapping a tight bandage around his arm, he whispered, “I love you, Katie. You’re safe now and forever, I promise.”
Dana hugged Alex and asked him questions until he finally squirmed out of her arms, his face bright red.
“Mo-om,” he said in a pained voice. “Those men are watching.”
“I don’t care. I love you so much that I don’t ever want to let you go.”
He almost looked relieved when an officer beckoned and started questioning Katie and him.
Still in a daze, Dana wandered back to the ambulance and watched from several yards away as they zipped up the body bag and lifted Alvarez onto the gurney. Zach broke away from hovering near Katie and joined her.
“I killed him,” she whispered. “I—I took a man’s life.”
Zach hesitated, then curved an arm around her shoulders. “No. He did this himself—and if he hadn’t died, he might have killed Katie and Alex.”
“Time to go, sir,” one of the paramedics urged. “We need you in the ER to take care of that wound. It looks as if the bone is involved, and that isn’t good.”
“In a minute.” The bandaging on his arm and shoulder shone ghostly white in the moonlight. His face was ashen, but his voice was as firm and in control as ever. “I just want to know what you were doing out here, Dana. Haley told you to stay in town. You could have been killed.”
“My son was out here. And Katie. And...you. I just knew what would happen, and I couldn’t let you all die.”
“I had the vest on. I was armed. The other men were on the way from the first sound of a gunshot. You shouldn’t have been here.”
“But that bullet missed your vest,” she retorted. “Maybe his next shot could have killed you if I hadn’t fired.”
Zach gave a growl of frustration. “I did fire, Dana. One of us hit him, and it was probably me. How on earth did you get here?”
“I rode Blaze through the pasture between my place and yours. Then I crawled from the barn to your SUV, climbed into the back seat and hid on the floor under a blanket.” She gave him a half smile. “Luckily, your geese didn’t see me.”
The paramedic reappeared. “Come on, sir. Time to go.”
“I’m not ready yet.” Zach waved the man off and reached out to rest his hand against her cheek. “I’m sorry, Dana, for all of this.”
She stilled, searching his face. The deep regret in his eyes told her there was more.
“This guy used my sister to find me, then killed her.” The grief in his voice was palpable. “After he bombed my condo—”
“What?”
“He abducted Katie so she couldn’t identify him to the police.”