30 Seconds by Chrys Fey Page B

stroked Dani’s hair. “And boy…” His hand touched her naked shoulder and caressed her arm. “It’s beautiful what we want.”
    Dani’s skin crawled. She could feel his eyes on her body and it made her want to scrub herself with bleach. Red’s finger skimmed back up her arm. “But she’s not the only thing we want, now is it? We want each other dead. Killing each other is the easy part. Deciding who will get her is not. How about we settle this with a good old-fashioned shoot out?” He released the cartridge from his gun, letting it slip to the floor. “One bullet. One shot to kill. What do you say?”
    Blake responded by ripping off his Kevlar vest and removing the cartridge of bullets from the Glock waiting at his hip. He lowered it to his side and looked back at Red, his eyes were full of rage and hate.
    “Whoever doesn’t die will get the prize.” The tip of Red’s finger skimmed her jaw. She would’ve jerked her head away if the gun wasn’t digging into her temple. “But she’s not going to be watching. Oh, no. She’s going to be in the middle of it.” He shoved Dani forward, causing her to stumble. Trying to stay upright, she felt the gun at the back of her head. “Walk!”
    She stepped forward. Her knees wanted to buckle, her legs were gelatin, but she was able to walk until Red ordered her to stop.
    “Our only visual is over your pretty shoulders, Doc,” Red told her. “So don’t move. Don’t even flinch.”
    Dani locked her gaze with Blake, willing him her strength and gathering his around her. His face was as hard as stone. She knew the odds. She knew both of them were going to get shot, and she knew the chances of a lethal wound were great, far greater than survival. With every fiber of her being, every cell in her body, she prayed for Blake to live. He was her high school sweetheart, the man of her dreams. She loved him with all her heart. She mouthed the endearment, wishing she could say it aloud and hoping she’d have a chance to again. She knew Blake understood it, because when he raised his gun, his eyes were fierce.
    Horror pumped through her, leaving her ice cold. She couldn’t breathe. What if Blake dies?
    “Don’t worry, Doc,” Red said from behind her. “This will be over in thirty seconds.”
    She swallowed hard. Her ears burned red hot. She could feel the two guns, the two sets of eyes trained over her shoulders. Anger sizzled with anticipation. She closed her eyes, held her spine stiff, even when it felt like it would crack. She held her breath, even when she thought her lungs would explode.
    She heard a gun go off, followed instantly by another bang. The twin booms echoed in her ears and two bullets sailed past her head as her mind screamed. She opened her eyes to see Blake fall.
    “Blake!” She ran to him and fell to her knees. A dark shadow was spreading across his chest. She tore open his uniform. Her hands stilled at the sight of the red stain soaking his white T-shirt.
    “How bad is it?”
    She looked into Blake’s green eyes. “It’s not. It’s not.” She used the hole from the bullet to tear his shirt apart and examined the wound. The bullet was in the middle of his chest. She searched for a puddle of blood at his sides and found none; the bullet was still inside him. She watched blood bubble out of the wound and pressed his shirt to it, while praying his artery hadn’t been clipped.
    “Red?” Blake asked.
    She peered over her shoulder. Red was flat on his back in a thick pool of blood. “He’s down, doesn’t appear to be breathing. I don’t want to leave you to go check, though.”
    She turned back to find Blake’s eyes shut. “Blake?” She put a cold hand to his cheek. To her relief, his eyelids opened. “I need you to keep your eyes open, okay?”
    “Sure. You sound scared.”
    “Of course I am, you idiot. I told you not to get shot. If you weren’t already injured, I’d kick your ass.”
    He wore a lopsided grin on his pale face.