Holy crap!
Sandy was just as shocked as me.
“Jesus, Rick. Have you lost your mind? We’re supposed to turn her over for the diamonds and not with a bullet in her f**king kneecap. You think Nightingale’s out there as smoke? You put a bullet into his woman and he’s gonna hunt you down and skin you alive.”
“She’ll be breathin’, he’ll have to make do. All the rest of her parts will be workin’, she doesn’t need her kneecap to f**k,” Pepper Rick replied.
That’s when I quit breathing.
I guess he hadn’t forgiven me for mouthing off a few days ago.
Then, the front door flew open and both Pepper Rick and Sandy whirled toward it. Nothing was there but something rolled across the floor.
Both men and I stared at it as it bounced across the floor, hit the couch and rolled back and then came to rest a couple of feet away from the couch.
It looked kind of like a grenade.
Of course, I’d never seen a grenade so it could have been something else.
No sooner had the first thing come to a rest then something else bounced across the floor. It also looked like a grenade but its sides were smooth and it was leaking white smoke.
“Is that what I think…?” Sandy started to say.
Then the first thing exploded.
I was right, grenade.
Smoke and dust were everywhere, I was choking on it, blinded by it and I couldn’t move.
There was coughing, shouting, thuds of flesh against flesh, someone came at me and then my chair was tilted and I was dragged across the room.
I looked behind me but my eyes were tearing from the dust and smoke. It was torture, I couldn’t wipe them without the use of my hands.
Nevertheless, I swear I could see a blurry version of Tex behind me, wearing what appeared to be a World War II gas mask.
He pulled me out the backdoor and righted the chair. He did something behind my back that made the rope fall free, pulled the mask off his face and shouted, “Run!”
I wasted no time, jumped up and ran. This was not easy. I was stiff and sore from sitting tied in the chair. I had my hands cuffed behind my back, I was still coughing and choking and could barely see. And I was wearing flip flops, not exactly the chosen footwear when running for your life.
You do what you have to do, especially when doing nothing might mean you’d never have the opportunity to see Lee’s cabin in Grand Lake. I ran for all I was worth, keeping the blurry vision of Tex in my sights.
We got half a block when I heard gunfire. Tex whipped around and batted me with a beefy arm sending me sprawling headfirst into some bushes. I heard the ratchet of a shotgun and then, “Boom!”
The bushes were tearing at my skin as I rolled out. There was more gunfire then another “Boom!” I thought I saw Tex, both feet planted wide, presenting a huge target, like the madman he was, looking oblivious to the flying bullets and calmly reloading the shotgun.
I had rolled onto my back and I was like a turtle, trying to push myself this way and that, entangled half in the bushes, my arms pinned behind my back. I heard the squeal of tires, shouting, gunfire and another “Boom!” more gunfire and I saw Tex do a scary jerk backward and then go down on a knee.
“Jesus Christ!” I heard Hank shout. “Lee, she’s here!”
I think I focused on what could have been Hank looming over me, but I still couldn’t see. Then I was hauled up and Lee was there. I could tell because I could smell faint traces of leather, spice and tobacco.
“Hold your arms back as far as you can, wrists wide and keep them steady,” Lee ordered.
I did as I was told and felt a strong hand wrap around my forearm and then a gunshot that made me jump but also made my arms fly out beside me.
Free at last.
Regardless of the pins and needles running up my arms, my hands went straight to my eyes and I swiped at the tears running freely from them.