Chapter 14
“I don’t understand.” Winston’s dark brows furrowed.
“What don’t you understand?” Jane snapped, as she put her heels into her suitcase. “I’m leaving you,” she repeated, not for the first time.
“I’m sure I’ve missed something, but I’m not sure what that is,” Winston commented, leaning against the large desk in their master suite.
“Probably the fact that I’ve been seeing a woman on the side for months now,” Jane sneered.
Winston blinked a couple of times, his mouth dropping open in surprise. Shaking his head, he moved to his wife’s side. “You don’t mean that, you’re just trying to shock me, get me to pay attention to you. I know that things have been crazy lately with the campaigning and such.” He took her hands in his, staring down into her eyes. “I’m sorry, once this election is over, we can go away for a long vacation. Alright?”
Jane looked up at the man she’d been married to for ten years, and she weighed her options. She could stay with him, and still see Zion on the side. Then she could have her cake and eat it too. But she’d told Zion she would leave him, could she get away with lying for a while longer? Then maybe after taking that long trip to the Mediterranean she’d been dreaming about, maybe she could leave him then. It was something to think about.
Even so, she continued to pack the belongings she wanted with her for this weekend. She intended to get Zion back into bed, come hell or high water, and this time she was going to get things the way she wanted them!
***
They were celebrating! The crew happily converged on Fancy’s to congratulate Raquel on her getting back on the force. Things were finally getting back to normal for the group and it made every one of them feel more settled.
“So now that you’re back on the force,” Case commented drolly, “any chance you can fix a parking ticket for me?” She winked, her lips curving in a wicked grin.
“No chance!” Raquel laughed.
“Bloody Hell!” Case laughed.
“C-boi, you will never learn!” Zion shook her head.
“Yeah, dude, the parking signs ain’t a suggestion!” Dax bumped her shoulder into the Englishwoman.
“Yeah, yeah,” Case sulked. “I can’t help it if I forget to look at what they say!”
“You could try.” Jaims winked.
“You could bite me,” Case replied, smirking wildly.
“So,” Jayden began, looking a bit hesitant. “Are you like on patrol again?”
Raquel looked over at the shyest member of the group, knowing her bad behavior had probably scared Jayden the most. “Yeah, BB,” she said making sure to smile at her, “back on the streets, looking for bad guys.” She winked, seeing Jayden visibly relax.
“When do you actually start?” Steel asked.
“Well,” Raquel began, taking a drink of her beer, “they have to process my paperwork, but HR said it’s probably only gonna be a week.”
“Then bad guys, beware…” Jaims added.
Raquel smiled but looked pensive. “I’ll still have to do random drug testing,” she sighed, “but I guess that’s fair.” The group looked sedate suddenly, some of them nodding. “Guys,” Raquel cajoled, “I get that I fucked up, okay? And I get that I’m damned lucky to get another chance to fix things. With work, and with all of you.”
“We love ya, Rock,” Dax said, looking around at the others who all nodded in agreement. “We just want you to be healthy and happy.”
Raquel picked at the label on her beer bottle, then raised her head to look over at Jaims. “That’s what I’m working on.”
Everyone smiled, it was a good sign of things to come.
Morgan arrived at the bar an hour later, she was directed to Zion’s office. When she knocked, she heard Zion’s voice call out. “Come!”
Morgan opened the door and found Zion pouring over architectural drawings. Walking over, she leaned in kissing Zion on the cheek, her eyes turning to the plans.
“Is this the expansion?” Morgan asked.
“Mm? Oh, yes, sorry.” Zion grinned, leaning over to kiss Morgan on the lips. “I think these might be the final ones; I need to get them signed and back to the contractor in the morning.”
Morgan nodded, bending down to look more closely at the plans. “Is that a DJ booth?”
“Yeah.” Zion smiled. “Something more substantial than the current spot, new sound system, the audio board, everything.”
“Wow,” Morgan murmured, “that’s a big change.”
“That’s the idea.” Zion chuckled. “Hoping to attract talent that will bring in the bigger crowds.”
“Is this an outside patio?” Morgan asked, not sure she was reading the plans correctly.
“Sure is.” Zion felt a rush of pleasure at Morgan’s level of interest. “You have a good eye.”
Morgan glanced back at Zion, her look surprised.
Zion shrugged. “Even when Jane was an investor, she didn’t care about the actual plans, it was more about controlling things.”
Morgan licked her lips, not wanting to sell the thought that had just popped into her head.
Zion caught the gesture, canting her head. “Just say it.”
Morgan pressed her lips together, embarrassed to have been caught again. “I was just thinking that narcissists always tend to want to control things.”
Zion rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”
Morgan grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
Zion shook her head. “No reason to be sorry, you’re right, she’s definitely a narcissist.”
The two spent the next couple of hours examining the plans. Morgan pointed out anything she saw that, in her opinion, Zion might want to question.
“Yeah, I’m not sure why they’re doing a half wall there,” Zion answered one of the questions Morgan had asked. “I will definitely ask,” she said, as she noted the question on the side of the plans. She smiled over at Morgan. “Thank you, I didn’t even see that.”
Morgan shrugged. “Always good to have another set of eyes, especially ones that haven’t seen the plans before.”
“Good point,” Zion agreed.
A short time later they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Yeah?” Zion called out.
Zip opened the door. “Z, Fancy’s here.”
Morgan and Zion exchanged a look of dread, then Zion nodded. “Just have her come in here, I don’t need another scene in the bar.”
“Got it!”
Zion made a point of rolling up the plans, setting them back behind her desk. Her look at Morgan was pointed. “No need to give her anything extra to talk about.”
Morgan laughed softly, just as there was another knock on the office door. Zion called for Jane to come in.
Walking in, Jane noted the redhead standing with Zion, and she narrowed her eyes immediately.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Morgan said, responding to the look on Jane’s face.
“No need,” Zion told Morgan, putting her hand on Morgan’s hand resting on the desk.
“I would prefer to speak with you alone,” Jane told Zion.
“I really don’t care what you’d prefer,” Zion replied mildly.
Jane gave a long-suffering sigh.
Playing the victim, was Morgan’s immediate thought.
“Say whatever it is you came here to say,” Zion prompted impatiently.
“I left him,” Jane said in a rush, “for you.”
Zion blinked a couple of times, then gave a short, humorless laugh. “Well, that was pointless.”
Jane’s mouth dropped open in response to Zion’s remark. “I left my very successful husband to be with you, why would that be pointless?”
Zion stared back at Jane for a long moment, unable to fathom the level of ego it took for Jane to completely misread her audience. Finally, Zion widened her eyes, blinking them rapidly as she shook her head.
“I’m fairly certain that the last time you came here, I told you that I was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with you,” Zion told Jane in a matter-of-fact tone.
Jane made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “Obviously that’s because I was still with my husband, but I’m not now.”
Morgan couldn’t help the look of utter disbelief that crossed her features. She looked over at Zion, seeing a similar look.
“Who are you anyway?” Jane snapped, turning her frustration on Morgan now.
Morgan jolted. For some reason surprised that Jane had finally acknowledged her presence.
“I’m Morgan,” was the only response Morgan could come up with in the moment.
“Morgan?” Jane repeated, her tone snide. “Why don’t you be a dear and leave me and Zion alone?”
The tone of her voice and the sheer look of disgust she was giving Morgan made her seethe, the writer couldn’t take anymore.
“Why don’t you go have your hearing checked? Because obviously you’re not hearing Zion when she says she’s not interested.”
Zion snorted in subdued laughter, her blue eyes connected with Morgan’s. They shone with a light of new respect. Zion looked toward Jane, who looked completely shocked that someone had spoken to her that way. It was the final straw in Zion’s controlled composure, and she began to laugh, shaking her head.
“I think you heard that right?” Zion asked Jane, sliding her arm around Morgan and pulling her close into her side, feeling very proud of the fiery redhead she was dating. She kissed the side of Morgan’s head affectionately.
Jane took in the scene before her, and felt humiliation suffuse her features. Turning, she stormed out of the office, slamming the door resoundingly.
“Wow,” Morgan said in the aftermath.
“And then some,” Zion agreed whole heartedly.
Jane seethed all the way to her vehicle, which was parked in a lot across the street from Fancy’s. She used the remote to unlock the car doors, and then proceeded to kick the driver’s side and scream her head off. Getting in and starting the vehicle she threw it into gear and stepped on the gas, tires screeching as she drove out of the parking lot.
Who the fuck does she think she is! The thought screamed through her head, and who the hell is this redhead bitch? She needs that smart mouth of hers shut for good!
***
Jaims was at work when she got the call from Raquel’s partner. There’d been a shoot-out that day on their shift.
“Is Rock okay?” Jaims asked immediately, feeling terrified.
“She’s fine, well…” Jack vacillated. “She wasn’t shot, but she seemed really spooked, so I wanted to let you know.”
“Okay, thanks.” Jaims nodded. “Did she go home?”
“Left a couple minutes ago.”
“Got it.” Jaims stood up, reaching for her jacket. “Thanks again.”
Half an hour later, she walked into their apartment, but Raquel wasn’t home. She waited another hour, then called Raquel’s phone; she got no answer. Then she tried using the ‘find my phone’ app and was able to see that Raquel’s phone was pinging at the beach. Jaims drove down to the beach and immediately saw Raquel’s Jeep in the parking lot. She parked her car next to Raquel’s vehicle. Jaims looked around, seeing Raquel sitting out on the sand.
Walking over to her, Jaims moved to sit down next to her. Raquel jumped slightly, but then turned her head, seeing Jaims.
“What are you doing here?” Raquel asked.
Jaims detected no anger in her tone. “Jack called me,” she told her.
Raquel sighed, nodding. “I was trying not to bring it home to you, ya know?”
“It scared you.”
“Yeah.” Raquel nodded. “More than I expected.”
Jaims shrugged. “You were shot, Rock, that’s gonna stick with you for a bit.”
Raquel huffed, then scoffed. “I guess I was hoping it wouldn’t.”
“So much for that, huh?” Jaims grinned, bumping her shoulder into Raquel’s.
Raquel sighed again, leaning against Jaims’ side. Jaims put her arm around Raquel, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head. “I want you to bring things home to me,” she said softly. “I want to share your burdens, that’s what couples do.”
Raquel snuggled closer to Jaims. “I’m not used to that.”
“Well, do me a favor, and get used to it, okay?” Jaims said, her tone only slightly chiding.
“Still learning,” Raquel offered.
“I know.”
“I heard the shots,” Raquel began a moment later, “and I just froze.”
Jaims nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“I’ve never done that before.”
“You never almost died before,” Jaims pointed out.
“Yeah, but it just scared the shit out of me.”
“Were you able to pull out of the fear?” Jaims asked.
Raquel drew in a deep breath, then nodded. “I was, but it took longer than it should have.”
“You gotta give yourself a break, babe,” Jaims consoled.
Raquel looked resigned. “I’m just glad there wasn’t any real ramifications because of my screw up.”
“You didn’t screw up!” Jaims insisted. “You had a perfectly human reaction to gunfire! You know, normal people are terrified of that sound in real life.”
Raquel snorted. “Well, it’s really not a good thing for a cop.”
“You’re just getting back into it,” Jaims pointed out. “Give yourself some time.”
“That’s what Jack said too,” Raquel glowered.
“Jack’s almost as smart as me.” Jaims winked. “But not nearly as cute.”
Raquel laughed, nodding. “That’s true.”
They hugged, sitting and watching the waves roll in and recede, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Raquel stood up, putting her hand out to Jaims to help her to her feet. They walked back to their vehicles, hand in hand.
“I’ll race you home.” Raquel beamed.
“The loser makes dinner!” Jaims yelled, getting into her car.
They made it home in record time, even with the evening traffic.
In the end they ordered takeout and stayed up watching movies, calling in sick the next day so they could hang out together. Their relationship was changing and evolving, but at the same time, they still had the original friendship intact. It was something worth working on, and they both were invested in doing just that.
***
Friday night at Fancy’s was crowded as always. Construction on the new space was proceeding nicely. Jane hadn’t come back after the last rebuke; Zion was hopeful that Jane had finally given up. It was nearly eleven o’clock when Morgan finally turned up at the bar. She located Zion with her crew at the table near the dance floor. Dax and Kenzi were there as well.
Zion stood to greet Morgan with a wide smile, leaning in to kiss her lips and hugging her.
“I was wondering if you were going to make it,” Zion commented.
“I’m sorry, I’m late,” Morgan replied. “I was actually writing!”
Zion’s eyes widened. “And how is that going?”
“It’s going great!” Morgan enthused. “I’ve started on a whole new book, and you’ll never guess what it’s about.”
“What’s that?” Zion queried.
“It’s a lesbian romance,” Morgan intimated, “it’s about reincarnation and past lives.”
“Aw.” Zion nodded. “You’ll be able to write off the sessions with Charlotte.”
Morgan laughed. “I never thought of it that way, but yes, I will.”
Zion held a chair for Morgan, and signaled to a nearby waitress, ordering some champagne. “We will need to celebrate.” She winked at Morgan.
Morgan smiled widely. “We do indeed.”
“So, lesbian romance…” Zion murmured as she sat down next to Morgan.
Morgan nodded with a bright smile. “One needs to write what one is excited about.”
Zion licked her lips, her eyes sparkling. “Well, I can certainly help with that.”
Morgan touched Zion’s cheek, tracing Zion’s jaw with her nail. “Oh you already have.”
Zion grinned mischievously. “Oh, you have no idea…”
Morgan laughed, nodding. “I’m all in to find out!”
The night proceeded with rounds of champagne and congratulations passed all around, with Morgan finally being over her writer’s block.
“God knows we need more lesbian writers!” Kenzi put in.
“I may have to take up reading.” Flynn winked.
“Can you read?” Raquel joked.
“All the little words.” Flynn shot back.
“And the dirty ones,” Shayne added.
Flynn, who’d just taken a drink of her beer, held up her finger, nodding and pointing back at Shayne.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Morgan smirked at the pair, making both Flynn and Shayne erupt into laugher, the rest of the crew joined them.
Zion smiled to herself, Morgan seemed to fit right in with her friends, unlike Jane, who had either dismissed them as ‘children’ or, when drunk, had flirted outrageously with them to make Zion jealous. It was a marked difference, and Zion couldn’t help but appreciate it.
Sliding her arms around Morgan, Zion hugged her close, leaning in to nuzzle Morgan’s ear. “Thank you,” she whispered into Morgan’s ear.
“For what?” Morgan asked, turning her head slightly to look back at Zion.
Zion sighed. “For just being you.”
Morgan looked puzzled, but couldn’t help but feel warmed by the look in Zion’s eyes. She’d never felt more appreciated, nor as enthralled by someone in her life.
The following morning, Morgan woke in Zion’s arms, in her bed. Turning over to look up into those cornflower blue eyes that were already looking down at her, Morgan smiled.
“Good morning,” she whispered softly.
“Yes, it is,” Zion agreed, leaning down to kiss Morgan’s lips in a way that left both of them breathless.
“What you do to me…” Morgan murmured as Zion moved her lips to Morgan’s neck. Morgan slid her hands through Zion’s short hair, holding her head as she delighted in the feel of Zion’s lips.
She felt exalted as Zion’s lips continued down her body. They made love then, enjoying each other’s bodies thoroughly.
Later, they sat drinking coffee at Zion’s kitchen table.
“What’s on your agenda for today?” Morgan asked.
Zion curled her lips. “I need to do a stock check and get online and order supplies. Exciting stuff.”
Morgan smiled. “That does sound enchanting.”
“What about you?” Zion asked. “Are you going to work on your book?”
“I am,” Morgan replied. “I brought my laptop with me; would you mind if I stay up here and work?”
“As long as I’m allowed to come up and interrupt every so often,” Zion teased.
“Oh! I think that would be quite acceptable.”
“Then you have a deal.”
“I do have an ulterior motive,” Morgan admitted, “I have an appointment with Charolotte today.”
“She’s back from vacation?” Zion asked.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Yes, finally! I swear she was gone forever!”
Zion chuckled. “The nerve!”
“Honestly!” Morgan laughed. “She’s left me hanging with Davis and Sam for over a month now!”
“Oh, I see. You need to see what happened with them, huh?”
“Of course. I don’t like cliff-hangers,” Morgan told her.
“I understand completely.”
After a quick shower, Zion dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and headed downstairs.
While Morgan, after showering herself, settled into work. As predicted, she was interrupted by Zion every hour or so; there were kisses and snuggles, as well as a lunch break which resulted in a love-making session.
Morgan had never been so happy in her life. The relationship with Zion seemed so natural and easy, it was an amazing feeling. She found herself dumping all of those feelings into her writing. She was truly shocked when she looked up to realize she’d actually written over twelve thousand words on her new book. It was as if the words were just flowing out of her. The feeling of being able to write again was such a blessing.
Glancing at the clock on the wall above Zion’s TV, she realized she needed to get ready for her appointment with Charlotte. After getting changed into more professional looking clothes, she made her way downstairs to find Zion. She heard her before she saw her.
“Zip, you just counted those, could you…no, not there, behind you, check your six!”
“I’m sorry, Z!” Came the reply.
“It’s cool, just pay attention, okay?” Zion replied calmly. “I don’t want another frigging strawberry schnapps debacle.”
“There was a strawberry schnapps debacle?” Morgan asked from the stairs. “Sounds serious.” Her eyes sparkled with subdued humor.
Zion looked up, smiling widely. “You have no idea! We ended up with four cases of the stuff.”
“And I’m guessing strawberry schnapps isn’t a big seller?” Morgan grinned.
“I had to come up with a specialty drink just to move all of it.” Zion rolled her eyes.
“Would you like to try our Strawberry Slammer?” Zip quipped; it was obvious from her mockingly robotic voice that she had to say that to a lot of people during that time.
Zion chuckled. “Yeah, it was strawberry hell for a bit.”
“You’re tellin’ me!” Zip exclaimed. “I can’t even smell strawberries anymore without feeling sick.”
“Mistakes can be fatal.” Zion winked in her direction.
“I know, I know.” Zip held up her hands in surrender. “I’ll pay attention.”
“Count that back wall, I’ll get back with you in a minute,” Zion said, walking up the stairs to meet Morgan, kissing her as she reached the stair she was standing on. “Are you headed to your appointment?” she asked as she gestured for Morgan to head back up the stairs.
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Morgan apologized as they reached the top of the stairs.
Zion shook her head. “You’re fine, I’m glad that you let me know you were leaving.”
“Of course.” Morgan beamed. “I have a few other errands to run before my appointment, so I’ll be out of your hair for a few hours.”
Zion escorted her to the doors and unlocked them for her. Turning, she leaned in, to kiss Morgan’s lips. “I hope the story between Sam and Davis has a happy ending.”
Morgan laughed softly. “You and me both!”
As Morgan left the bar, there was an accident in the street. Zion immediately moved to help; Morgan followed her. Within minutes they discovered that no one was badly injured.
“You’re going to miss your appointment, babe, just go. I’ve got this,” Zion instructed Morgan.
“Okay, see you later,” Morgan replied.
Shortly after, the police arrived to take over the scene, so Zion headed back into the bar, resuming work on the inventory count.
Two hours later, Zion was sitting at the bar, eating a sandwich and having a beer before the bar opened. Zip was behind the bar getting things set up for all the stations. Music played in the background. Zion’s back was to the front doors, so she didn’t notice them open.
She was stunned when she heard movement behind her. Turning, she expected to see Morgan.
“So how did it…” she began, but her voice trailed off when she saw Jane standing there. “Jesus, what now?” Zion snapped.
“That’s no way to greet your partner,” Jane replied mildly, her face composed.
“We aren’t partners anymore, or did you forget?” Zion asked, tired of having this conversation already. “Before you go, leave your key on the bar.” With that she turned back to the bar and continued to eat her sandwich.
“What makes you think I still have a key?” Jane asked.
“The fact that those doors were locked,” Zion replied, without turning back around. “I know, because I locked them. Can’t have strays wandering in off the street.” The last was said in an acerbic tone.
“Oh,” Jane replied, “I’m a stray now, am I?” Zion could hear the venom laced in Jane’s voice.
“You don’t belong here anymore, Fancy,” Zion said simply.
“I belong with you,” Jane insisted.
Zion shook her head. “You belong with your husband.”
“I’m leaving him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Zion replied, still refusing to turn back to talk to Jane.
“Why are you sorry?” Jane asked. “We can be together now, all the time.”
Zion didn’t speak for a long moment, putting her sandwich down and picking up her beer bottle, taking a long sip. “I’ve moved on, Jane, you should too.”
“You’ve taken a big step down,” Jane commented, “but I’m willing to forgive you.”
Now, Zion turned around. “Forgive me?” The completely flabbergasted look on her face matched her tone.
“Why would I need your forgiveness? You’re the one who lied.”
Jane’s eyes narrowed. “I was going to tell you about Winston.”
Zion snorted. “When?”
“When you were ready to hear it,” Jane replied arrogantly.
Zion blew her breath out through her nose. “I see, and you got to decide when that was.”
“It’s my business, Zion, so of course I get to decide,” Jane replied haughtily. “Regardless, it’s out in the open now, and I’m leaving him, you should be grateful.”
Zion opened her eyes wide, blinking a couple of times in her bafflement. “Grateful?”
“Yes,” Jane retorted, giving Zion a look as if she questioned her insanity. “I’m leaving the money and the privilege to be with you, a simple bar owner.”
Zion guffawed as she looked over at Zip who was standing behind the bar watching the entire exchange with a look of incredulity on her face. Zip simply shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“Don’t do me any favors, doll,” Zion replied.
“You simply don’t understand.” Jane shook her head. “You are so unworldly. Winston comes from a great family! We have homes in the Hamptons, one here on Knob Hill, as well as a mansion in the Cayman Islands! And what do you have, a bar and an apartment building or two.”
“Four actually,” Zion replied with a sardonic grin, “but who’s counting?”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Inconsequential compared to what Winston has.”
“Then go be with Winston, the money bags,” Zion retorted.
“I want to be with you,” Jane said, looking frustrated at having to state the obvious.
Zion jerked her head. “That’s unfortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want to be with me, I want to be with Morgan.” Zion shrugged.
Jane flattened her lips, shaking her head. “Some no name writer!”
Zion’s eyes narrowed. “At least she’s not married.”
“Who’d marry her?” Jane chided. “Why would you give up such quality, to be with that?”
Zion blew her breath out, shaking her head. “Why would I want to be with a lying, cheating, narcissist like you?”
Jane’s mouth dropped open; she could not truly believe what she’d just heard. Clearly, she hadn’t heard correctly, there was no way that Zion was going to choose that trashy red head over her!
“What did you just call me?” Jane asked, her tone bordering on rage.
“Which part did you not hear?” Zion asked flatly. “The lying part, the cheating part, or was it me calling you a narcissist that you didn’t comprehend?”
“How dare you!” Jane screeched, reaching into her purse and to Zion’s utter shock, pulling out a gun and pointing it in her direction. “You take that back, right now!”
Zion took a step back, her hands going out to her sides, as she glanced back at Zip. “Get down,” she ordered Zip.
Zip started to duck down behind the bar, and they were both shocked when a shot was fired from the gun.
Morgan walked down the street, carrying the packages she’d purchased before her appointment with Charlotte. A frown creased her brow as she turned the situation over and over in her head. She still couldn’t believe what had transpired in her session. What she wanted to do was to hurry back to the bar to see Zion. She had felt the worst sense of dread since leaving the doctor’s office.
As she passed what was formerly the book shop, she couldn’t help but remember the scene that had occurred there years ago. It looked completely different now—there was scaffolding and plastic up over the fa?ade. The building was being transformed into an extension of Fancy’s. Just as she passed what used to be the front door of the bookstore, she heard a shot ring out. At first, she thought it was an echoed memory from the past, but then the sense of dread swelled and almost choked her with fear.
Dropping the packages, she ran the rest of the way to the bar and threw open the front doors, flooding the bar with light.
The scene before her felt far too familiar, and terrifying at the same time. There stood a familiar figure…Jane. She wore a blue silk dress, white high heels, and her hair was perfect, as were her blood red nails, which were curled around the handle of a gun!
“Zion!” Morgan screamed from the doorway, as she started to scurry toward her.
“You stop right there!” Jane screamed at her, as she turned with the gun in hand.
“Morgan, it’s okay,” Zion told her. “Just go outside, it’ll be okay.”
“No.” Morgan shook her head, tears in her eyes already. “It won’t. I heard a gunshot!”
“It’s okay, it hit the bar, everyone is fine,” Zion told her. “Just go back outside, please.”
Morgan started to move toward Zion. Zion held her hands up in a stopping gesture. “Morgan, wait! Please!”
“You just get out of here!” Jane screamed at Morgan, gesturing toward the doors to the bar with the gun. “Go, or I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Jane!” Zion yelled. “This is between you and me, leave her out of this!”
Jane’s head snapped around to look at Zion. “She’s part of this now, isn’t she?” Jane snapped. “She’s in your head now.”
Morgan was watching Zion intensely, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Zion returned her stare, her eyes begging Morgan to listen to her. Those blue, blue eyes, just like Davis’s eyes…
“Zion…” Morgan moaned tearfully.
“Get out of here you stupid bitch!” Jane screeched, turning the gun and her attention back to Morgan. “You’re getting in the way of our happiness!”
Zion responded immediately to the very real threat to Morgan. She started to run toward Morgan. Jane’s attention was caught by the movement. The gun wavered and then turned back toward Zion, tracking her progress. Morgan could see Jane’s finger tightening on the trigger. She couldn’t let it happen again! Just as Zion reached Morgan and threw her arms around her to shield her, Morgan pivoted, moving Zion away from the line of fire. The gun went off again.
Morgan immediately felt a burning sensation, that same sensation Jack had felt when he’d been shot on Burnside Bridge during the Civil War. It was achingly familiar to her. She could hear screaming, and she saw Zion’s face contort into a terrified mask.
She heard Zion call her name, but then she was falling, and the room went dark. Just before she passed out, she murmured Zion’s name.