but she knew it was there.
Suddenly Alfred jerked his arms up. The gun exploded in Penny’s ear, deafening her. She turned her head and saw Gary yell and disappear behind a rock. She didn’t know whether he had been hit. Alfred tried to go toward the rock, but she wrapped her arms around his legs like a football player and hung on. Gary’s life depended on it.
He hit her on the head several times with his hand, but she continued to cling to his legs. She expected him to hit her with the gun, but he would have to shoot her to make her let go. He momentarily stopped struggling. She risked letting go of his legs with one hand, and before he could react, she grabbed the zipper of his fly and tried to pull it down. It stuck.
Before she could try again, Alfred hit her hand.
“Let’s do this right.” Penny grabbed the zipper again.
“No!” Alfred yelled, pushing her hand away.
“I want you, Alfred. Take me like a man.” Penny got a fresh grip on the zipper. This time she succeeded in unzipping his pants.
He hit her hand with the gun. Hard. Then he gave a cry like a banshee, broke free from her grasp, and ran toward the cliff. As Penny watched, aghast, he jumped off the cliff and disappeared from view. She could hear the wail continue for several seconds, descending in pitch, and then-just the lapping of the waves on the rocks below.
CHAPTER 33
For a split second, Gary thought it was Penny who was screaming. He straightened up from the crouch where he had positioned himself to charge when Alfred came around the rock. He looked over the top of the rock in time to see Alfred race for the cliff and jump off. The pain gripped Gary’s stomach again, as if he were the one going over the cliff. He relived the moment when he had almost fallen.
When Alfred stopped screaming, Gary swiveled his head and looked for Penny. She was on her knees, staring at the spot where Alfred had last been visible, with her mouth open. The first feeling that came to him was relief that Penny was alive and apparently unhurt. And joy at how beautiful she looked. An ache in his heart replaced the pain in his stomach and showed how much he needed her.
Penny saw him at that moment and said, “Gary, are you hurt?” She stood up.
“I’m fine.” He winced as he said it. “Aside from my shoulder. I fell on it. And I think the bullet grazed my cheek.” He tried to lift his hand to touch his cheek, but was stopped by the tape that bound his arms together.
“You poor sweetheart. You’re bleeding.”
Penny hobbled toward him. He met her halfway. She had a dazed look in her eyes, but she inspected his shoulder and his cheek, being careful not to hurt him.
“There’s a scratch on your cheek, but it doesn’t look too bad.”
“I’m all right, honey. Really. What about you? Did Alfred hurt you?”
“My ears are ringing. He hit me but he didn’t hurt me. He never hurt me. He was going to kill you.” She repeated, “He was going to kill you,” as she turned Gary around and unwrapped the tape from his hands.
She fumbled a bit, and when Gary saw her hand he realized that it was swollen. It could have been much worse. He could have killed her.
“You’d better get some clothes on.”
She looked down at her body in disbelief, as if she had forgotten she was naked. She laughed, hysterically.
“Clothes? Who needs clothes? I want to see Alfred. I want to make sure…”
They walked to the edge of the cliff together. Gary held onto Penny, not convinced that she was completely rational. He didn’t want to lose her now that the danger from Alfred had passed. They looked straight down. Gary wasn’t usually afraid of heights, but his stomach felt very queasy.
They could see Alfred’s body lying on the rocks below. The inhuman positions of his head and limbs convinced them that he wouldn’t bother them anymore. Penny appeared to be fascinated by the sight of Alfred. Gary was afraid she would forget where she was. He was getting dizzy. He stepped back from the edge, pulling her with him. He put his arm around her and walked her to her clothes.
As Penny got dressed, she said, “Gary, I’m a bad person. You heard what I said. I’ve done terrible things. I don’t deserve you.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
He embraced her. “You risked your life to save mine. I will never forget that. I love you. That’s all that matters.”
