He laughed. “I believe I’m holding all the cards at the moment, pig." He glared hard at Seth. “And judging by the way your girlfriend’s panting over there, she either has it for me real bad, or her lungs are filling up with blood. I've watched it happen time and time again at the hog farm. I'd guess she has fifteen, maybe twenty, minutes before she’s dead.” Alan’s eyes never left Seth as he spoke, it was obvious whom he saw as the threat.
I used the opportunity to edge slowly over and picked up the gun he'd kicked out of my hands. Seth seemed to know what I was doing and kept Alan talking as I tucked it into my sweatshirt pocket. I hurried back to my original position before Alan noticed.
Seth took a step toward Alan. “You had better stop,” Alan said, pulling the hammer back on the gun. Seth stopped again. “It seems we’re at an impasse here, my friend. Put the gun down. NOW!” Alan aimed his gun directly at my head, and Seth dropped the gun, kicking it away.
“On your knees.” Seth went to his knees. “You got your cuffs on you?” He nodded. “Okay, cuff yourself to the refrigerator door,” commanded Alan. “I’ll save the cable ties for your girlfriend here.”
I had to shoot Alan now. Even if I missed, it might be enough of a distraction for Seth to save himself. I palmed the gun, placing my finger on the trigger. As I flipped the safety off, Booker flew into the house with his handgun pointed directly at Alan, who merely laughed.
“Thanks for coming, you’ve made this so much easier for me,” he said. “Nice little gun ya got there. Mine’s bigger, and you know what they say about size mattering.”
“Yes, but if you know how to use it, size don’t mean a thing. And I know how to use it,” he added with a truly wicked grin. “Now, put the Lupara down.”
“Ah, you know your guns. I suppose you also know that I can kill all three of you with only one well-placed shot using this bad boy.” He reached into his bag, keeping his eyes on Booker now that Seth was cuffed to the fridge door. He pulled out a second Lupara and slithered closer to Seth. “Imagine what I can do with two,” Alan said calmly. Booker bit out a curse as he stepped toward Alan.
“No, Booker! He’ll kill Seth before you can stop him. Please do as he says.” Booker ignored me and continued advancing toward Alan. “Remember your promise, Booker.”
“I can do this, Maggie. It’s what I’m trained for,” he said, his jaw tight.
“Please,” I begged, forcing myself up off the floor. “Please!”
“Oh, how sweet, she’s begging for her boyfriend’s life,” Alan said sarcastically. “Drop the gun and kick it over here,” he instructed Booker. I looked at Booker and could almost see his mind working as he tried to come up with a way out of this scenario. Slowly, he set his gun down and kicked it away. Alan stepped to the left of Seth as it came sliding toward him.
It was my opportune moment. I drew the gun out, quickly took aim, and forcing my eyes to stay open, I pulled the trigger. Alan looked at me, wide-eyed. With blood now streaming down his face and out his mouth, he dropped to the floor, dead.
The force of the shot hammered me back against the cupboards, and my world faded away as Seth’s name escaped my lips.
37
“She’s going to make a full recovery, I promise.” I heard what sounded like Cole’s voice, speaking. He added, “But it won’t happen overnight, she was a mess.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Cole.” I slowly pried my eyes open. It took almost more energy than I had. I was in a sterile hospital room with an IV running into my arm, my ribs ached too. I reached up and felt a tube nearly as big around as a garden hose coming out of my side, and it hurt big time!
“Maggie, how are you feeling?” Seth’s hands caressed my forehead.
“I’ve had better days.”
“You did it, you shot him right between the eyes. He’s dead.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d aimed for Alan’s stomach. “You saved our lives.”
I shut my eyes, dearly wanting more sleep.
“Not bad, Magpie.” It was Booker’s voice now. “Who would have thought you could make a shot like that.” I slowly stuck out my tongue at him. He chuckled.
“Are you in pain?” Seth asked.
“I felt a lot worse back at the house, I’m mostly tired now.”
“That’s because you’re heavily medicated.” I looked over at the IV pole as Cole injected something into the tubing.
“Is this going to give me one of those headaches again?” I asked, grimacing.
“No,” he laughed. “Maybe,” he teased. I hope.
“Is Fluffy…”
“Yes, I’m sorry, Mags,” Seth said squeezing my hand.
My poor sweet Fluffy was dead.
“You have three broken ribs, one which perforated your lung, collapsing it. That tube you felt coming out of your side is draining off the excess fluid. You also have a small head fracture and multiple bruises. You took a real beating,” Cole said gently.
“You should have seen the other guy,” I smiled.
“What exactly happened to his face?” Booker asked.
“He attacked me so I fought back. I scratched his face, and kicked him in the… ah.”
“I think I get the picture. You did good,” Booker grinned, giving me a gentle high-five. Seth looked as if he wanted to throw up. I took his hand and pressed it to my lips.
Booker’s smile turned mischievous. “So, Magpie, I’m curious, what were you aiming for when you shot him?”
“His stomach,” I grudgingly confessed. “And remember, Booker, curiosity killed the cat.” Obnoxious goofball. “And let me guess, the only reason you so easily handed over your gun was because you had another one hidden somewhere on you.”
Booker laughed. “I carry a small, but powerful little gun, strapped to my calf, just in case. I was waiting for the opportune moment, but it seems you beat me to it.”
“And I knew Booker was right outside, or I wouldn't have given up mine,” Seth added. It'd dawned on me as I was falling into the cabinets that neither he nor Seth would have given up their guns so easily without some sort of backup plan.
After a series of yawns, Cole kicked everyone out. “You should get some sleep, Maggie, we’ll come back later.” I wanted to argue, but I was already falling asleep.
One Month Later
“Please, please don’t do this to me, haven’t I already been through enough? I thought you loved me?”
“Mags, you’re overreacting,” Seth said, pulling the rest of my belongings from his car and setting them on the lawn in front of Booker’s house.
“Overreacting? Okay, fine! You move in with Booker. I’ll stay at your house.” I dropped onto the hood of the car in defiance.
“Mags, you know why it has to be this way.” He pulled me up into his arms. “You’re just too appetizing.” He began playfully nibbling on my neck. “It’s hard enough keeping my hands off you, but having you with me, alone, night after night, it’s killing me!”
“It’s hard for me too, but moving in with Booker seems a little drastic. Can’t I sleep in the garage?” He rolled his eyes. “Okay, how about Cole’s? He has a huge house, I’ll bet he wouldn’t mind if I stayed there.”
“Cole’s never home, he spends most nights sleeping in the resident quarters at the hospital, which means you’ll be alone. It has to be this way until we can find Harry Dreser.”
That could be forever. All leads, and 90 percent of the heroin sales, died when Alan did. The MET operation at the high school was to be terminated at the end of the year, allowing them time to tie up a few loose ends.
I decided to pick up some hours volunteering at the Lunch Swap. I needed to work, it helped me feel stronger. Seth readily agreed, probably because he could keep an eye on me easier. He didn’t like knowing Harry Dreser was out there still, probably plotting his revenge, and no one knew where.
I buried my face into his chest. “I’ll go crazy living here.” My head bounced against his chest as he chuckled.
r /> “I could move back into my trailer, I’ve proven I can take care of myself. Booker can hook up an electric zapper alarm thingy.” I knew the trailer was a losing argument, we’d had it several times already, but I was desperate. It’s not that I didn’t love Booker, I did, very much, but his constant teasing was enough to drive anyone up the wall. Seth assured me it wouldn’t be that bad, and he promised Booker would stop after a few days.
“Maggie,” he said solemnly. “If anything were to happen to you, I’d go crazy.”
Okay, falling in love with this beautiful guy yet again. How could I fight him now? I resigned to my fate. “Fine, I’ll stay.”
“Did you ever ask him how he got the name Booker?” he asked with a sinister grin.
“No, I forgot.”
“Hey ya, Magpie, or should I say roomie! I have your room all set up. Pink’s your favorite color right?” Booker knew it wasn’t, we’d already discussed it. “I bought a lacy pink bedspread and matching eyelet curtains.” I doubted Booker even knew what eyelet was, still I decided to play the game.
“Oh, goodie! Maybe we can pop some popcorn later and paint each other’s toenails?”
“Sure, I only have black polish though,” he warned, gathering up the last of my belongings off the lawn. He twisted back toward the house, whistling.
Across the yard, a black furry object raced toward us. It tripped and tumbled, head over heels, before bouncing back up on all fours, oblivious to the fact that it had just fallen.
“Is that your puppy?” I stepped toward the little black lab and dropped to the ground. The puppy jumped into my lap and began bathing my face in puppy kisses.
“Mine? No way, I hate dogs,” Booker said, with disdain. “She’s yours. Daisy May, meet your new owner, Magpie. Magpie, Daisy May.”
“Booker…”
“She’s no Fluffy, but she is pretty cute, for a dog,” he said casually. “And you’re cleaning up all the puddles,” he added.
“Thank you, Booker.” I held her tight to my chest. “I take back every mean thing I ever said about you.”
“Yeah, right, until tomorrow!” he laughed. “I’ll bring your stuff in the house before it gets dark. Come on, flea bag, let’s leave these two love birds alone.” Booker turned and stepped into a fresh pile of puppy poo.
“And this is why I prefer cats!” He scraped his shoe along the grass, grumbling at the “flea-bitten mutt” as he made his way inside.
“Great, now I feel bad.” I slipped into Seth’s arms.
“He’s a pretty great guy. I’d better get going, we’ve got a math final tomorrow, and I want to get some studying in,” he teased.
I laughed and began kissing his neck. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in and watch one of those goofy old movies you like?”
“My movies are not goofy,” he said.
“Enough talk, we can debate this later.” I pulled him to my lips and wrapped my arms around him. All too soon, he pulled back.
“I’m going to have to get a hobby.” He gathered up my face in his hands and lifted my mouth to his again. I could almost feel the blood racing though my veins. After several minutes, he pulled away. “A very involved, time consuming, physically exhausting hobby.”
I was happy, really happy, for the first time ever in my life. I was coming to grips with my mother and my co-dependent ways, thanks to the intense counseling sessions with Mrs. Gianchi. Some days were better than others, but I was healing. I felt stronger, more alive, and in charge of my life for the first time ever. I decided to put off college for a year and focus on getting my feet under me.
I had people in my life that truly loved and supported me, my future looked bright, and I was in the arms of the most wonderful guy in the world. Life doesn’t get much better than that!
About the Author
Sherry Gammon has been an educator for a number of years. Her writings have been published in newspapers and a national education magazine. She is excited to share her first novel, Unlovable, with you! Please visit her webpage at
WWW.WordpaintingsUnlimited.blogspot.com
***
Book 2: Unbelievable- Cole story: It’s been two years since the Dreser brothers tried to take over Port Fare. Rumor has it their father, Harry Dreser, was killed in a drug deal gone badly; but rumors are not always true. The Dreser brother’s half-sister, Delilah Lopez Dreser, has come to town to finish what her brothers started, and now Cole is brought into the mix!
Book 3: Unbearable-Booker’s story: Booker left the police force to pursue a career as a lawyer. True to his Save the World ideas, he’s hired a nervous, timid woman named Tess to work for him as a secretary. As Tess and Booker grow closer, Booker learns of her secret and is determined to free her of the past while convincing her to take a chance on love again. But is he ready to take the chance again?
Sherry Gammon, Unlovable
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