I was sure she wanted to be the one to end Josh, which I hoped would also put an end to her nightmares, night terrors, and sleepwalking.
But I couldn’t sit idle and watch. If she screamed, it would be the death of me. I found a rock near a tree and tossed it on the roof, hoping for a distraction to pull Josh outside. The rock hit with a thud.
Josh snatched up a gun and stalked out of the shack.
Despite her bonds, Grace rose and reached for the remaining gun on the table.
I crept along the perimeter of the shack, prepared to face off with Josh, but by the time I peered around the corner, he’d returned inside.
“Well, isn’t this a twist in my plan?” Josh asked.
“Drop the gun,” Grace commanded, her voice unyielding.
I slipped inside as quietly as I could. Grace was pointing the gun at Josh, even though her wrists were still bound.
His body was rigid. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t,” I said, letting my voice carry all the pent-up anger I’d been holding back, “I’ll shoot you.” Keeping my attention on his back side, I asked, “Baby girl, are you okay?”
“Never better.” The slight warmth in her tone did nothing to put me at ease.
We weren’t out of danger yet.
She held the weapon steady. “Josh, this can go one of two ways. You can live to see the inside of a jail cell or go to hell.”
“If I go to hell,” he snarled, “you’re coming with me.”
The tension inside the shack crystallized.
Before I could take a breath, gunshots blasted simultaneously, deafening in the confined space.
My heart stopped as both Grace and Josh fell to the dirt-covered ground.
I bolted to her side, my legs wobbly, my lungs constricted.
She moaned. “I think I sprained my shoulder.”
Nausea lurched as I searched her body but didn’t find any fresh blood. “Are you shot?”
She smiled. God, that smile could light up the darkest corners of my soul. “No, I fell on purpose while I pulled the trigger.”
Behind us, Josh stirred, blood pooling beneath him.
I helped her to her feet after I cut her loose from her restraints. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let her go.
But first, she had other plans. She went over to Josh, ready to shoot him. “Just like your father, you just won’t die.”
Josh laughed, his mouth bubbling with blood. “Go ahead and kill me.”
Grace shook her head. “You’re already dead.” She quaked with emotion, the gun falling to the ground.
I caught her before she collapsed. “I got you, baby girl.” I kicked the gun away from Josh, just to be sure he couldn’t pick it up.
I was about to carry her out of the shack when she said, “I need to watch him die.”
It didn’t take long for the asshole to take his last breath.
She sighed heavily against me. “Can we go home now?”
