Page 170 of Dead Man's List

“Somewhere very far away. Enough questions. You’re done.”

“Wait.My parents.” Her voice cracked and Sam didn’t know if her emotion was real or feigned. “I won’t get to say goodbye.”

“Neither did any of the others. Now down on your knees. Unlike Munro, yours will be quick.”

Sam’s panic rose higher. He couldn’t watch Kit die. Why wasn’t Navarro shooting?

Sam glanced the lieutenant’s way to see that he was repositioning the rifle he held, moving a few feet to his left. Navarro didn’t have a good line of sight. He couldn’t safely shoot while Shoemaker had Kit in that position. He might either shoot Kit or cause Shoemaker to pull the trigger.

Either way, Kit would be dead.

They needed a distraction.

“Hey!” Sam yelled, before he knew he was going to do it. “Hey, Shoemaker, you fucking sonofabitch!”

Shoemaker spun, taking Kit with him, but at that moment, his gun was no longer pressed to her head.

Kit’s eyes widened at the sight of Sam, and then her eyes narrowed. She waspissed. But she was smart and she dropped to her knees.

Shoemaker was swinging his gun back up to Kit’s head when someone fired. Startled, Sam turned to look at Navarro, who looked equally stunned.

It was then that Sam noticed the window in the back seat of Kit’s department car was partially rolled down, a gun resting on the window’s edge.

Connor. That the detective wasn’t getting out didn’t bode well. He had to be hurt, and his injuries had to be bad or the man would have been running to Kit’s side. But for a long moment, no one moved.

Shoemaker had dropped to the ground, falling to his side, one hand clutching at his hip. But he wasn’t dead and he hadn’t dropped his gun. Kit was twisting in the mud to grab her gun, but Shoemaker was already pointing his weapon at her again.

Sam didn’t even pause to think.

He lifted Navarro’s handgun, pulled the trigger, and shot Shoemaker in the head.

The sound of the gun firing left his ears ringing, but Sam swore he heard other shots going off as well. Shoemaker didn’t move after that, his gun hand open, his weapon on the ground beside him.

Ripping the goggles off, Sam ran to Kit, making sure she wasn’t injured before kicking Shoemaker’s gun out of the way. Just in case the man tried again.

But…Shoemaker would not be trying again. Ever.

His head was…not there. Blood and brain matter were everywhere.

I killed a man. I just killed a man.

But Kit was alive. She knelt in the mud, her gun in her hands, which had started to tremble. “Sam?”

Sam dropped to his knees at her side, not looking at what was left of Peter Shoemaker. “I’m here. Are you hurt?”

“No. But Connor is.”

Navarro had run to join them. He took one look at the scene before him, then gently took the gun from Sam’s hand.

“You okay, Sam?” he asked.

I killed a man.“Yes,” he said aloud. “I’m fine.”

I’m not fine.

Kit climbed to her feet and held her hand out for Sam. “You’re not fine,” she said knowingly. “But you will be. You guys saved my bacon. Thanks.”

It’s worth not being fine. Kit’s still breathing.