Page 107 of Desperate Justice

She ran toward Rafe, her instinct urging her to keep him safe. “Rafe, watch out,” she screamed.

Turning, Rafe saw Paul and ran. He was protecting her sister, she realized. Diverting Paul’s attention so gunfire wouldn’t harm her.

Rafe withdrew his pistol and ducked behind some crates as she raced toward her sister. Paul pulled the trigger as she ran. The bullet whizzed toward her, but Rafe jumped in front, grimacing as it grazed his arm.

Rafe pushed her behind him as they took cover behind a stack of crates. Bullets zinged through the air.

“Get out of here,” he told her. “I’ve got this.”

“I’m not abandoning you.”

He pushed her downward. “Stay down. Backup will be here any minute.” Rafe pulled out his cell phone and called, telling someone they were under fire and to proceed with caution.

As the men exchanged fire, she kept low and made her way toward a terrified Diana, struggling to free herself. Allison crouched down and fiddled with the knots but didn’t dare draw attention to what she was doing.

Gunfire rang out from the opposite direction. Rafe whirled, dropped to one knee and returned fire at Marty, taking cover behind a stack of crates. Now he had to defend himself from two positions.

Sirens sounded in the distance. “Get to the loading dock,” Paul screamed. “Hold them off!”

As Marty ran to the loading dock, Rafe paused to insert another magazine into his firearm. Paul rushed him, knife in hand, gleaming in the harsh fluorescent light. He swiped at Rafe’s arm. The gun fell from Rafe’s grip. He kicked it away and struggled to keep the knife at bay.

The two men wrestled on the floor. Fretting, she wished she had a weapon. The knife in her back pocket—maybe she could stab Paul, but they were moving too much...

Suddenly she knew what to do. Allison unplugged one of the table lamps. Fishing out her switchblade, she cut the cord from the lamp and then stripped the covering to expose bare copper wires.

“Trust me and play along,” she whispered to Di.

Allison plugged the cord back into the socket. Making sure to grab the protected part of the lamp cord, she screamed out. “Rafe, keep him busy! I almost have Di freed!”

Paul glanced up, and Rafe landed a solid punch to his jaw. Paul staggered and stabbed him in the chest.

Rafe dropped with a grunt of pain. Allison went still, panic rippling through her. Instinct urged her to rush forward, help him.

Don’t panic. You can do this, and you can save him. You’ve got one shot at this, Allison.

For a wild minute the memory of her frozen in the river, her sister screaming for help, overcame her.

You can’t save everyone, Rafe’s voice echoed in her mind.But you can try saving some, and live to fight the good fight another day.

She started on Diana’s bonds, watching Paul as prey eyes an advancing carnivore.

Fury in his eyes, Paul came toward her, crimson coating the gleaming blade. Rafe’s blood.

“You bitch. Diana’s mine. We’re going to marry and you’ll be dead. No bridesmaid dress for you, stupid bitch. Everything would have been fine, except for you yammering at her to elope. Chew on this, Allison. I’ll still have Diana, and nothing you can do will stop me.”

Blood streamed from Rafe’s chest. He crawled for his weapon. “Ally, hang on, I’ve got you!”

Even wounded, he had her back. Always. She kept her eyes on Paul, holding the live wire behind her.

Almost there. Almost.

As he lunged at her, Allison sidestepped Paul and touched the bare copper wire to his bare arm.

“Chew on this, asswipe.”

Paul screamed, his body going into spasms as his grip on the knife automatically tightened. She wanted to cheer.

He fell downward, convulsing. Knowing he was paralyzed momentarily, she stomped on his hand and freed the knife, kicking it away.