She was more angry than scared at this point, but alongside the rage, she also had a calm feeling in the back of her mind. If he did shoot her, she would get to see her baby again. Clinging to that thought, she wrapped her hand around her wrist and held tight.
The fact that she’d misjudged Wayne so horribly was going to cost her, but she refused to grovel or beg him to spare her life. She’d meet her maker as the proud, confident woman she’d worked so hard to become.
“I’ve gone along with you this whole time to spare Sam from getting involved in all this drama. He’s innocent and doesn’t deserve to be hurt by your issues, but I’m done. I can’t let you get away with killing our baby. If you’re going to shoot me, do it. Otherwise, I’m walking out of here,” she said.
Instead of a gunshot, she heard a male voice yell, “Hey, jackass. Put your gun down. This fuckery stops now.”
“Sam?” Annie gasped as Sam strode into the room, fists clenched and glaring at Wayne. His brother, Jake was right beside him and holding a gun.
Sam walked to Annie’s side and turned to Wayne. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”
Wayne’s eyes went wide, and he turned the gun on Jake.
“Big mistake, man. Put the gun down. Now,” said Jake.
“Who the fuck are you?” Wayne stuttered. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Trooper Jake MacDonald. Washington State Patrol. You are under arrest. Now, put the gun down,” he ordered once more.
Wayne stood quiet for a moment while Jake watched him intently, gun drawn and pointed at Wayne. Annie knew exactly what Wayne was thinking. Could he get away with killing all three of them?
“Don’t do it, Wayne,” she said calmly. “It’s over. Just drop the gun and give up.”
“If I shoot the cop, you two will be easy,” he said, glancing over at Annie and Sam.
“If you shoot us, you can’t get any money, and isn’t that what you really want?” said Sam slowly inching his way over to put himself between her and Wayne. Annie appreciated the gesture, but wouldn’t cower behind anyone. She stepped to his side again.
“Damn it, Annie. Stay behind me,” he muttered to her.
“Sorry, this is my problem, and I won’t let you two get hurt over it.”
“Well, you’re not going to sacrifice yourself to this idiot either.” He turned back to Wayne. “Look, we can make a deal. Put down the gun, and we can talk. Nobody has to get hurt.”
“Talk about what? Unless I kill the three of you, there is no scenario where I don’t end up back in jail.”
“The police are already on their way,” said Jake. “You’re going back to jail. It’s just a matter of how long. Killing us would only mean you’d never get out again.”
Wayne lowered his weapon but didn’t put it down. He ran a hand through his hair and grumbled to himself while taking short steps back and forth.
“No! I can’t. I won’t. I told you…I’m not going back to prison. This is all your fault, you stupid bitch.” With that, he pointed the gun at Annie again. She closed her eyes and at the blast of the gun, felt herself fall.
She expected to feel pain, maybe see a bright light, or hover over the scene for a bit before her soul went to wherever it was going to go. She waited, eager to see her baby girl again.
It took her a second to realize she was still alive. It was just hard to breathe, and she was pinned under something heavy. The thump of Wayne’s body hitting the ground roused her, and she opened her eyes. Sam was laying on top of her craning his neck to see what had happened.
“It’s okay,” said Jake. “It’s over.”
Sam sat and grabbed Annie’s head between his hands. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She gasped for air and finally caught her breath. “I’m fine,” she wheezed. “Just got the wind knocked out of me.”
Sam helped her up carefully and pulled her into a hug while simultaneously turning her away from where Wayne had been standing.
“You don’t want to see that, honey,” he said.
“Sam. What are you doing here? What happened?” She was pretty sure she was going into shock but tried to ward it off.
“Wayne’s dead,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“What?” She tried to get out of his embrace to look, but he held her tight.
“Trust me, Annie.”
His strong arms felt so good around her. She sucked up his strength and warmth. Still in his arms, she peeked around his shoulder to see Jake on the phone.
“Hey, it’s 379. I’m off duty but I just had to discharge my weapon. There’s one down. I need you to call my sergeant and Bellevue PD. Also, the coroner,” he said solemnly, giving them her address and then hanging up.
It took Annie a second, but she finally got there. “Oh, my God. Jake shot Wayne. How did you know I needed help? I thought you were in New York. And I thought the police were already on their way.”
“That was a bit of a bluff,” said Jake.
“I’ll tell you everything,” said Sam. “But for now, why don’t we go sit on the couch? It’s gonna get crazy in here soon.”
CHAPTER THRITY
He wasn’t exaggerating. Within minutes there was a horde of police officers, troopers, and paramedics amassed in her kitchen. The paramedics left fairly quickly, as there was no saving the victim. A man in a black jacket labeled “Coroner” showed up with a gurney but had to wait until the police wrapped up before he could do his job.
One uniformed trooper and two men in suits approached her. The two men had badges hooked to their belts. One sat
