Beautiful Criminal by Shady Grace

breath in Gabe’s lungs expelled as the familiar pain of a bullet plunged into his arm. His body collided into Ben, taking them both down to the floor.
    They rolled around, fighting each other for the upper hand.
    “Gabe!” Mima screamed.
    “Get out of here,” he shouted, as Ben rolled Gabe beneath him.
    “I should’ve killed you years ago,” Ben growled, wrapping his hands around Gabe’s throat. “You know how long I’ve waited for this? I did everything for him! Everything! And he chose to love you like a son instead.”
    Gabe struggled to remove Ben’s hands, but the bullet in his arm sapped his strength, and his efforts were useless. He choked, struggling to breathe, felt the life slowly slipping away from him.
    His vision blurred, and his hands slipped from their hold on Ben’s arms. The moment he thought it was over, that he’d lost the battle, he vaguely saw Mima standing above Ben with a chunk of firewood in her hands, right before she swung it with deadly purpose across Ben’s skull.
    Gasping for air, Gabe rolled Ben’s limp body off him and struggled to sit up. Mima’s blurred presence loomed before him. He was barely aware of the cabin door opening and two people rushing inside.
    “Mima? Oh, thank God you’re okay,” Mary cried in the background.
    Gabe pushed up on his feet, fighting the dizzy rush threatening to bring him back down.
    Terry leaned heavily against the doorframe, his hand cupping his shoulder. Blood oozed between his fingers from where Ben had shot him.
    “Jimmy?”
    “Dead,” Terry answered with a pain-filled smile. “And Ben?”
    “Out, but not dead. We need to get you home.”
    Terry swayed in the doorway. “You too. We need to tie him up and get back to base. Pop’s gonna love the news. Before we left, he said to me in confidence that if Ben did anything stupid, he’d feed him to the pigs.”
    Gabe laughed, but then shut his mouth when Mima and Mary gasped, their faces twisted in horror.
    “You’re not coming back, are you?” Mima said, tears filling her eyes. She ran into his embrace, mindful of his wounded arm. “Just when you make me care about you, you up and leave.”
    Terry cleared his throat, and Gabe regretfully pushed Mima away. “We have to go. Terry needs help badly, and we have a private doctor in Victoria. It’s the only thing we can do, or we risk the authorities coming down on us.”
    Tears slipped down Mima’s cheeks. She looked heartbroken, and he hated himself for hurting her. He knew better than to tangle with somebody outside the realm of his job, but he couldn’t help himself. He pulled her back in his arms and kissed her with all the emotion he possessed. She’d brought out a different side of him he thought long buried. But he was responsible for Terry and he was in bad condition. They had to leave now, no matter how much he wanted to stay.
    The girls helped Gabe and Terry get the bodies in the chopper, before Gabe tied Ben down on the backseat. Terry took his place on the passenger side, his face pale. He’d lost a lot of blood and would be lucky to make it to the compound in Victoria.
    Gabe started the engine with a heavy heart. He didn’t want to leave, but he had a job to finish. He owed Colton that much. But after this past week with Mima, he couldn’t help but feel that this life he knew too well might not be for him anymore. He wasn’t getting any younger and he was so damned tired of the drama. Next time he might not survive the job, and that was something he needed to think long and hard about.
    Once the blades were spinning full force, ready for takeoff, he pulled the beast into the air. The chopper did a one-eighty as it lifted into the sky, making the trees sway in the wake of the whirling blades.
    Is she better off without me? Could she ever love a man like me?
    He took one last look at the woman who’d made him feel like he was worthy of something good, something right, and directed the chopper toward