no idea what came over her. It’s like she’d just resigned herself to her upcoming death, and if there was even the smallest fraction of a chance that Hank was still alive she wanted to give him time to take cover.
“All I’m saying is you guys aren’t too hard to profile. Disgruntled military. Probably dishonorably discharged. And what, you decide you’re owed a little something extra for your service so being a mercenary sounds like a good idea. Only you’re not that great at it. And you hook up with someone like Brad Hartley who’s never done a right thing in his life. That’s a losing team if I’ve ever heard one.”
“Shut up,” he said, his anger growing wilder, and he nudged her in the forehead with the rifle.
“No,” she said calmly. “And then you let a van full of old ladies best you and steal your body. I guess it wasn’t worth sticking around to find out if the bomb was going to detonate with their van sitting on top of it.”
“How’d you know about the bomb?” he asked.
“Because it blew the morgue to heck and back,” Agatha said. “You killed three people, there are witnesses, and all your buddies are dead so there’s no one to talk code to. Do you really thing you’re going to come out of this on top?”
“You’re smart,” he said. “You just come up with all that?”
“Of course not,” she said, improvising. “Everyone who’s worked this case knows all that. You guys are not good at your jobs. You should probably get in a different line of work. You’ve got the whole alphabet soup of agencies looking for you.”
“Well then,” he said. “It looks like I need to get going. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll find your body in the morning.”
“One last question,” she asked. “Why Brad Hartley?”
“Him?” the man snorted. “Easy. He needed the cash and we needed the facility. It was a sweet deal. Until it wasn’t. Brad liked to siphon money into his own little hidey-holes. We weren’t amused.”
“How long have y’all been working with Brad? It’s not easy to go unnoticed in a place like Rusty Gun.”
“Because we don’t go to him,” the guy said. “He comes to us. We’ve been here almost a year. No one ever comes out here.”
“So you guys and Brad are just drones. No way you’re at the head of this. Who’s the big cheese? Who’s paying you?”
“Time’s up, buttercup,” he said, not answering the questions.
He pulled the stock of his rifle against his shoulder and looked down the barrel. Agatha closed her eyes, and all she could think was that she’d never gotten to start the rest of her life with Hank.
Bang!
Agatha collapsed onto the ground.
***
The smoke cleared, and Hank kept his weapon trained on the man who had planned to kill Agatha in cold blood. It hadn’t been the first time he’d had to take a life, but he knew it would be the first time he’d have no remorse over the taking of a life.
His chest tightened as he looked at Agatha crumpled on the ground, and just for a second, he wondered if he’d made the shot too late.
“Agatha,” Hank said, trying to maneuver his body closer. “Agatha, wake up. It’s me. You’re okay.”
He saw her hand twitch and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“It’s me, baby. Are you okay?” he asked again.
She turned her head slowly, her eyes dazed and her face pale. “Hank?” she asked, and then she smiled. “I knew I’d see you again. But this is not how I imagined heaven would look.”
“You’re not dead, baby,” he said. “I can’t move, or I’d be there holding you in my arms. You scared me to death.”
A little life came into her eyes, and she pushed up off the ground. Dirt and leaves and twigs stuck out from her hair, dirt smudged her face, and her clothes were torn. She’d never looked more beautiful.
She looked at the body lying inches from her and then looked back at Hank. And then her whole body started to shake, and she scooted away from him as fast as she could.
“How?” she asked. “I don’t understand. I’m not dead?”
“No, you’re fine,” Hank assured her.
He saw the change in her—relief, panic, anger, and desperation—and then she clawed her way across the leaves and threw herself into his arms. Their bodies were bruised and battered, but they were alive, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to let her go.
“You’re okay,” she sobbed. She