and forth. His teeth gritted together, breath heaving out in short rasps. “We were happy. Then you showed up and ruined everything. This is your fault!”
He lunged, grabbing Kat’s throat and flinging them backward. He had only a moment before Barrett launched himself at Eric’s back and ripped him off of Kat. Head down, shoulders forward, Barrett charged and hit the man straight in the stomach. They toppled back in a flurry of kicking legs and swinging fists. Fury raged through Barrett’s veins and out his fists as he pummeled Eric’s nose, mouth, and every smug muscle of his body. But the desperation in Eric fought back like a wildcat, swiping at his ears and biting at his wrists. Doubling up his fists, Eric rammed them into Barrett’s stomach.
Barrett rolled over as his abdominal muscles spasmed in pain. Scrambling to his feet, Eric raced back to his wife’s body and grabbed the pistol from where he’d dropped it. He pointed it at Barrett. “Don’t move or I’ll take your head off and then swing right over to your lover.” He pulled the hammer back. “Or better still. I’ll keep her alive to watch the life drain from your eyes with the knowledge that she brought all this on. There is nothing more painful in existence than to watch your loved one die.”
Not about to die like a dog begging on the ground, Barrett staggered to his feet and sought a second’s distraction to unarm the crazed man. “You kill me and you’ll truly become that monster you never wanted to be. For Ellie’s sake, don’t. She’d never want to see you like this.”
Eric stumbled around in circles, tears streaming down his face. He groaned and pressed a fist to his forehead as if the gnashing thoughts inside were too much to control. “How could I have done this? I only wanted to love her, to take care of her. And now she’s gone. And taken everything I wanted, everything I hoped for, with her.”
“Put the gun down, Schlegel. Before you hurt someone else.”
“Hurt?” The whites of Eric’s eyes shone bright as he gazed down at the Luger. He stroked a blood-stained finger down the muzzle. “I’ve only pulled a trigger four times in my life. Each time with precision, the intent to kill. But not her. Never her.”
Eric gestured to Ellie’s still body with the pistol. Kat gasped, covering her sister’s head with her arms. Barrett lunged to block the gun’s aim. “Give me the gun, Eric.”
“She could never love me like this. This monster.” He gazed past Barrett to Ellie. More tears rushed down his cheeks. “Ich liebe dich.”
The pistol flashed to his head.
Bam.
Chapter 30
“She’s still breathing.” Kat lifted her cheek from Ellie’s mouth. “But there’s a lot of blood.”
Barrett squatted next to her and gingerly pried away the reddened cloth at Ellie’s shoulder. “The bullet’s passed through, but we’ve got to stop the bleeding.”
Kat yanked off her jacket and wound it around her sister’s shoulder. Ellie’s head lolled to the side, and Kat swiped the hair from her cheeks. “Ellie? Can you hear me? I need you to wake up.”
Ellie moaned as her eyelashes fluttered. “No.”
“You have to wake up. Please, come on. Talk to me.” Kat looked to Barrett, panic whirling in her eyes. “We have to find a doctor.”
Barrett glanced over at the still bodies and pooling blood behind him. “We need to get out of here. Someone will have heard those shots, and I’d rather not wait around to see who comes to call.” Slipping his hands under Ellie, he lifted her in his arms. “Grab our sack of supplies. Leave no evidence of us for them to find.”
“Where will we go? We can’t carry her through town.”
“We’ll go to our rendezvous point at the apple orchard. The grass should be tall enough to hide us, then I can go and find help. Now, hurry!”
Barrett’s heart thundered at each whistle of wind, each twitch of a tree limb, and each rock crunching beneath his foot as they hurried through the woods. Blessedly, the sun remained hidden behind a thick wool of clouds. Escaping the gore behind them in the barn and facing the dangers to come, brilliant sunshine would not do.
Finally, they reached the orchard. Barrett gently set Ellie down against an apple tree trunk, then stood to scan the area. The last fruits of the season had been picked clean from the trees. The once-sweet fragrances filling the air now gave way to the