Rock Chick 03 Redemption (51 page)

“No one’s shootin’ him. Everyone stand down,” Hank said.

I chanced a glance to my side and saw Lee’s head turn to Hank.

“Stand, the fuck, down,” Hank repeated, not taking his eyes, or gun, off Bil y.

Bil y moved us to face Hank and Lee gave a nod to Vance and then to Luke, then he dropped his gun arm and stepped back.

This was for show. I figured Lee was a faster draw than just about anyone. Don’t ask me how I knew this; I just knew it like I knew that Wolford hosiery was the best, bar none.

I felt, rather than saw, Luke and Vance drop their weapons to their sides. I had no idea what the other men did. This should have changed the danger level in the room but instead, with Hank facing off against Bil y it heightened so it was palpable.

“Let her go,” Hank demanded and something about the way he said it made it sound like he was demanding more than just Bil y taking his hands off me.

“She’s mine,” Bil y returned, understanding Hank’s demand and giving me a jerk to make his point.

“Let her go. Now. If you do, no harm wil come to you. If you don’t, I’l shoot you myself,” Hank said.

you don’t, I’l shoot you myself,” Hank said.

It was clearly time for me to intervene. I didn’t know, in such a situation, if Hank would get in trouble for shooting Bil y but I didn’t want to find out. What I did know was that Bil y was prepared to shoot Hank, he’d already tried it once and I wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“Bil y, let me go,” I said quietly.

“No, Roxie. You and I are gonna walk out of here. We’re gonna disappear,” Bil y replied.

“Bil y, look around you. We’re not going anywhere,” I told him.

“You gotta learn, Roxie. It’s you and me, just you and me.

That’s al it’s ever been. That’s al it’s ever been for me. My life began when I met you,” Bil y said and his voice was beginning to sound funny. It was not his slick talk, there was a thread going through it that made it tremble.

I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Hank was looking at me.

I kept my gaze on Hank, direct and steady, and said to Bil y, “You know, he took me on a horse drawn carriage ride on our first date.”

Bil y’s already tense body went solid as a rock.

“You promised me that, remember Bil y? Said we’d go to New York City, have a carriage ride in Central Park. Do you remember?” I asked, my voice was not cruel; it was soft with the sad memory of an unfulfil ed promise.

“Don’t, Roxie.” Instead of sounding angry or crazy, Bil y’s voice sounded like a plea.

“He has a dog,” I continued, stil looking at Hank. Bil y knew how much I liked dogs. “A Labrador,” I went on. Bil y knew how much I liked dogs. “A Labrador,” I went on. Bil y also knew how much I liked Labradors. He’d never let us have a dog. We were on the move too much and anyway, he didn’t like dogs. In the last few years I didn’t get one because I didn’t want to bring a dog into my life with Bil y. It wouldn’t have been fair to the dog. I kept going. “You’ve seen him, when you were watching me. He’s a sweet chocolate lab named Shamus. He sits on my feet and I’m going to teach him to play Frisbee.”

“Roxie,” Bil y’s voice was now an ache and I guessed I stil felt enough for him to feel it slice through me.

Nevertheless, I kept my eyes on Hank.

“He’s got a good job, a nice house. He protects people for a living,” I carried on and I felt Bil y’s tense body start to go slack behind me, as if my words were pul ing al the energy out of him. His gun lowered a little and I knew I was getting somewhere.

“He has nice parents and his sister told me he did up the house himself. You ever fix anything Bil y? You ever make anything that was going wrong, go right?” Again, it wasn’t an accusation, just a soft question.

“God, Roxie,” Bil y murmured, even low, his voice was shaking.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting,” I said to Bil y, looking at Hank. “Waiting for a long time, but I guess I know what you mean. My life began when I met him.”

At my words, to my surprise, and likely everyone else’s in the room, Bil y just gave up.

His gun arm wrapped around my middle and he shoved his face in my neck.

“Roxie,” he muttered there.

Hank started toward us, slowly, not lowering his gun, not taking his eyes off me. They were not lazy, not in the slightest, they were hyper-alert and so intense, I thought they might burn me.

“You want me to have that, don’t you, Bil y?” I asked quietly, my eyes on Hank.

“I want you with me,” Bil y said against my neck.

I took my eyes off Hank and turned to face Bil y. He lifted his head at my turn and I put my hands to his cheeks. I looked at him and ran my thumbs down the stubble below his cheekbones. His blue eyes were fil ed with pain.

I wanted to care, but I didn’t. If that made me a bad person, so be it.

“Bil y, I don’t want to hurt you but I don’t think I’ve ever been with you.”

For the first time, I realized this was true. Bil y was fun.

He was freedom from the smal town I grew up in. He was rebel ion, which was something I’d been honing for a decade before I met him. He was also energy and adventure.

What he wasn’t was a life force.

Not like Hank.

I put my forehead to Bil y’s.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered

And I was.

“You’re the only good thing I have, the only good thing I ever had,” Bil y whispered back.

I didn’t get a chance to reply.

Hank was through.

I felt his strong arm wrap around my waist and, with a tug, he pul ed me out of Bil y’s arms. We walked back several steps, clearing Bil y, and then he swung me to the side. I col ided with Lee and Lee pul ed me back as I watched Bil y try to lift his gun to Hank but Marcus was at Bil y’s side, his gun pressed to Bil y’s temple.

“Drop it,” Marcus said.

Bil y kept raising the gun, almost like he wanted Marcus to shoot him.

I held my breath. Lee kept moving us back.

Hank stil had his weapon trained on Bil y, as did Marcus, but Bil y kept raising his gun.

“Drop it!” Marcus bit out.

Bil y’s hand twisted and I realized what he was going to do.

He was going to shoot himself.

Terror seized me and I screamed. “Hank, stop him!” Then, a gunshot blasted through the room.

Everyone went stil as we watched Bil y’s hand explode in a mist of red. He shrieked a hideous cry of pain as the gun fel free.

There was a nanosecond of silence.

Then Hank ordered, “Cal the paramedics.”

Hank moved toward Bil y and in my line of sight so I couldn’t see.

I looked to Luke, thinking he shot Bil y. Luke was shrugging off his jacket, blood was running down his arm.

The sight of it overwhelmed me. I sagged against Lee and he took my weight into his body at the same time he shoved his gun in a shoulder holster.

“Back off. Police,” Eddie was there, gun raised, badge out, danger was back in the room.

The two men who had to be from Chicago were approaching Hank, Marcus and Bil y. They moved back when they caught sight of Eddie.

“Drop your weapons and against the wal ,” Eddie continued. Without hesitation their weapons fel to the ground, their hands went up.

The other two men in suits had disappeared, vanished, as if they’d never been there.

Bil y was sitting on the floor, Hank hunched beside him, blocking my view.

“Get her out of here, Lee,” Hank ordered, not turning to us as what appeared to be an army of uniformed officers, led by Carl, came into the room.

“Let’s go, Roxie,” Lee said into my ear and my body went stiff.

“Luke –” I started.

“He’l get taken care of, honey, let’s go,” Lee’s voice was soft as he was pul ing me back.

I started to struggle and Lee’s arm went from gentle to no-nonsense. I gave up and al owed him to pul me out of the room.

* * * * *

Kitty Sue and Malcolm had arrived late (thank God).

Malcolm was somewhere with the men, Kitty Sue was with us.

There was so much food on the counter at my side, it could have fed the Chicago Bears, Bul s and Cubs for a week. There were four uniformed officers helping themselves to the food.

When Lee guided me into the kitchen, I noticed Dad experiencing a fleeting relief, then he detonated, cursing and blinding. Lee went to him and careful y guided him out but we heard him yel ing al the way down the hal .

Jason fol owed them; his usual good-natured expression had again disappeared.

Detective Jimmy Marker had come and gone, taking my statement while he was there. The whole time I talked to him, Mom stood beside me holding my hand. Annette stood close behind me, taking the weight of my shoulders into her torso. At that time, it was too fresh, I couldn’t have held myself up without Annette and, like any best girlfriend would, she knew it.

Detective Marker told me Luke had a flesh wound in his arm. It was superficial and he’d be fine. He went on to tel me Bil y was going to the hospital, under armed guard, but his hand looked bad. Final y, he told me that it was Vance who shot Bil y.

“Boy’s a good shot. So’s Lee and so’s Stark. Even though he used you as a shield, you were covered. If they’d fired, none of those boys would have hit you,” Detective Marker said calmly, as if, the whole time, I had nothing to worry about.

“Stark?” I asked, confused.

“Luke. Last name’s Stark. Known by that on the street though Lee’s boys cal him Luke,” Detective Marker explained.

“How do you know they’re good shots?”

Detective Marker hesitated, shuffled a bit realizing he shared too much and final y said, “Just do.” Now, with Detective Marker gone, the activity was beginning to die down and Al y was helping herself to some Brie and apple slices while Shirleen spread a wodge of pâté on some French bread.

“Wel , Sugar, you made certain sure I’m gonna get a doozy of a write-up in the society pages,” Daisy told me on a tinkling laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

“Damn straight, Daisy-girl. Never read the society pages but I sure as hel won’t miss this one,” Shirleen threw in.

Annette’s arm came around my chest and neck and she kissed the top of my head. I leaned further into her, realizing, final y, that it was over.

Over.

Thank God.

And I breathed another sigh. This wasn’t a happy one, this one was relieved.

“I’m just glad he didn’t tear her gown or get any blood on it. I don’t know if blood washes out of satin and I don’t want to know. That is a piece of laundry knowledge I’d be happy to go to my grave without. You girls are kil er on my dresses, what with bar brawls and the like. I have to go shopping weekly to keep stocked up,” Tod added.

“That’s hardly the reason you go shopping, Tod,” Stevie put in.

Tod turned to Stevie. “Excuse me but Burgundy has to have choice. She never knows which way she’s gonna go,” Tod declared then turned to Shirleen. “By the way, is the offer open to me to borrow that necklace? It… is…
fine.
”

“Sho’ ‘nuff, sweet thang,” Shirleen said.

I felt a bubble of hilarity start to rise in me but caught Indy’s eye and it disappeared. She and Jet were watching me like hawks and they didn’t think any of this was funny.

“I’m okay,” I mouthed to them.

Jet sucked in her lips. Indy looked about ready to hit the roof.

“Real y,” I said out loud.

Indy nodded her head with just a hint of a sad smile on her lips. I got the feeling that she wished she had it in her power to erase my whole history with Bil y with a wave of her magic wand.

Jet simply said quietly, “Okay.”

“What?” Mom asked, missing the byplay.

I leaned over a bit and rested the side of my head against my Mom.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Where on earth is Hank?” Kitty Sue asked and she no sooner uttered the words then the air in the room charged and the Hot Boy Brigade (plus Dad) entered the room, led by Hank.

“Uh-oh,” Al y muttered.

Annette’s arm fel away and I straightened. I would have smiled at Hank but one look at his face told me that was not the way to go.

“What’s happening now?” I asked when he was a few feet from me. I was thinking Bil y had gotten away again, visions of him bursting out of the back of the ambulance, stil on the run and after me, fil ing my head.

Hank stopped right in front of me and I tilted my head back to look at him. His face was hard and angry.

“What in
the fuck
did you think you were doin’ out there?” he roared.

Yes, Hank Nightingale, master of control,
roared
.

Hmm, seemed he was mad at me, not mad about the fact that Bil y had escaped.

Wel , at least that was good.

“Whisky –” I tried.

“Oh no,” his voice instantly dipped low, dangerously low.

“Don’t fucking ‘Whisky’ me. You walked right up to him!” My relief that Bil y was stil under armed guard was short-lived and melted instantly into anger at Hank.

Excuse me but
I did not think so.

I jumped off my barstool and got in Hank’s face.

“He shot Luke!” I shouted.

“We had it covered,” Hank shouted back.

“He tried to shoot
you!
” I yel ed.

“We had it covered,” Hank repeated.

“He pointed his gun at Lee!”

“We had it fuckin’
covered!
”

I put my hands to my hips. “I warned you, I wasn’t going to let anything happen to any of you and I wasn’t!” I was back to shouting.