Chapter 18 #2
Guess there was no point in hiding in my tree anymore since Joseph knew he had company. Time to move before the guards I injured got replaced.
Ignoring the screaming from my bum leg, I raced across the smoothed slope, my ski boots, with their clunky shape not the best for traction.
As I neared the edge of the chalet’s yard, I dropped to a knee and swung the rifle up again for another look.
The curtains remained drawn, sheer but not enough for me to see anything.
The pair of wounded guards finally got a reply.
Bang! Bang! Someone shot them dead through the window.
Cold, but also a measure of what I was up against.
Evil.
And I was an expert when it came to ending those kinds of people.
I kept low as I raced to the balcony, tucking myself under it and listening.
Not a sound, unless the dripping of blood counted. It didn’t quite sizzle as it hit the snow, but it pattered steadily enough between the wooden boards from the seeping bodies above.
I half expected to see any guards from the front come sweeping from around either corner. I stood ready to shoot only no one came and I couldn’t keep waiting. For all I knew, Joseph was trying to escape with Zaza out the front.
The stairs didn’t creak as I climbed, not that it mattered. I’d lost the element of surprise. I kept close to the wooden siding, inching towards the door from which the shooter had taken care of the guards. The bodies lay in front of it.
As I tried to decide my next move, the door in question swung open, spilling light on the balcony. An invitation to come in. Most likely someone waited to riddle me with bullets, however, what choice did I have? I couldn’t leave. Not without Zaza.
I ducked low and inched for the door jamb, daring a glance. Tiled floor, some stools clustered around an island, but no legs. None that I could see. I dove in and bounced to my feet, the rapid motion meant to distract anyone trying to aim.
Only no one was in the kitchen waiting to shoot.
I didn’t like it. It felt like a trap, but again, what choice did I have? With the revolver held out in front of me, and rifle slung across my back, I slowly advanced, the only sound that of classical music playing from the room just past the kitchen.
A male voice called out in accented English. “Can we hurry this up? I don’t have all evening.”
A perfect calm descended over me, a deadly focus that would allow me to react in a split second. A cool composure that for the first time shattered as I stepped into the living room.
The cozy scene that met me belonged in a sappy Hallmark Christmas movie. A decorated tree twinkled in a corner. The mantle over the cracking fire held green boughs wound with ribbons. In a plush club chair, a mother with tear-streaked cheeks lovingly held her child.
A man, wearing an expensive silk suit, held a gun to her head.
The chubby cheeked baby, gnawing on her fist, had no idea of the danger and actually made things worse when she saw me. She reached with winking fingers and squealed, “Bru!”
Joseph’s cold expression turned a shade chillier. “So you are the famous American author.”
“And you’re the man who kidnaps women and children,” I snapped.
“Hardly kidnapped,” Joseph drawled. “The child is mine by law. As for Nicoletta, she saw the error of her ways and came to her senses.”
“What?” My gaze fixed on Nicky.
Her lips trembled. “I had no choice. Joseph got my number through the church daycare and told me if I didn’t meet him, he’d kill Zaza.
My fists clenched at the sight of the smugly smirking piece of shit. “Aren’t you a fucking prize? Threating your own kid.”
“My family is not your concern,” Joseph replied.
“Family?” I snorted. “That’s priceless, coming from a wife-beating asshole.” Yeah, I goaded him on purpose, wanting his attention on me. Wanting that gun away from Nicky’s temple.
Joseph didn’t fall for the bait and kept the muzzle pressed.
“Perhaps in America husbands allow their wives to disrespect them, but not here. Here, a woman is expected to know her place and when she steps out of line, it is a husband’s duty to correct her.
Speaking of which, it is time for Nicky’s next lesson. ”
“Don’t you fucking hurt her,” I snarled.
Joseph’s left brow arched. “You are not giving the orders here. I am. Put down your weapons.”
If I relinquished the guns, I’d die, as Nicky and Zaza might. Without me protecting them, they’d most definitely end up hurt.
“Why don’t you come and take it, or are you only capable of threatening women and children?”
“Your tactic won’t work. Drop the weapons now, or I scramble her brains,” barked Joseph, pressing the barrel hard enough against Nicky’s head it tilted sideways.
In that moment, I knew he would do it—and without another warning—leaving me no choice. I knelt to place the revolver on the floor and tugged the strap for the rifle, sliding it from my back to lie beside the gun.
“I doubt that’s everything. Empty your pockets.”
All I had left was the knife and a single chance to still make things right.
My hand slid into my pocket slowly, but it emerged lightning fast. I flung the blade, watching it spin end over end, the distance between me and Joseph mere paces.
Joseph must have suspected what I’d do, that or he had great reflexes, because he jerked sideways and the blade missed him, clattering to the floor instead of embedding into his chest.
I’d missed and had no more tricks up my sleeves or in my pockets.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Nicky. I’d failed to rescue her and would never have a chance to show her what real love looked and felt like.
“No, I’m sorry,” Nicky sobbed.
“You were both stupid for thinking you could outwit me,” Joseph snapped. The gun finally moved from Nicky’s head and pointed at me. I stared down the barrel of death and pondered the irony that I finally found myself on the killing end.
“Look away,” I pleaded. Don’t let Nicky’s last view of me be of my brains exploding.
“No, I want her to watch. Your death, after all, is her fault.” Joseph’s smile widened, but before his finger could fully pull the trigger, something slammed into the window, shattering it!
Not a rock or a bullet.
I blinked as Percy landed with a slight stumble and said, “Unhand my servants at once.”