“You heard what I said. Out of town. Divorce. Never return. If I ever see your face again, I guarantee you’ll end up in the hospital. Got it?”
I stood up and waited a minute. When he just stared at me without a response, I kicked him in the side.
“Fine,” he groaned, his pain-filled voice nasally. “Fine, I’ll do what you say. Just leave.”
“Gladly,” I spat. Picking his wallet back up, I pulled out the handful of hundreds just to be an asshole. Then, I turned my back and headed for the door. I wanted to get back to Erica, but I should probably get a few hours of sleep first-”
BANG!
My thoughts were cut off as the explosive sound of a gun going off sounded behind me, followed closely by the pain of a bullet grazing the top of my shoulder.Holy shit.The fucker was firing a gun at me.
Whipping around, I reacted without thought, embracing to instinct to protect myself. My gun was in my hand before I consciously decided to draw it. There was no time to assess Jeff since his next shot might not miss. It was him or me. I aimed for the largest part of his body, his chest, and put a slug into the middle of it.
My heart was hammering against my ribcage, and the adrenaline rushing through my body made my limbs shake. Jeff had been on his knees, holding a gun he pulled from his suitcase on the floor. When the bullet hit him, he stilled, looking down at the point of impact. Then, he fell forward onto the carpet, motionless.
I had killed him. It wasn’t my plan. I had thought about it, of course, but I was too concerned about Erica’s reaction. The guy treated her like crap, but he was the father of her child, and I assumed that she loved him once.
Would she hate me for this?
I hoped not. But, I couldn’t keep it from her, I wasn’t the type to do that. So, I’d find out how she felt soon enough.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Hawk’s number.
“What’s going on?” he answered in a sleepy voice. It was almost two in the morning, so I wasn’t surprised that he had been sleeping, but I needed his help.
“I need a clean-up crew,” I said, tossing my gun down onto the bed. It would have to be tossed, but I could get a new one easily enough. I pulled out Jeff’s cell phone too. That was something else that would need to be stopped.
“What?” Hawk sounded fully awake now. “Who’s the vic?”
He must have a good idea of who it was already. He’d helped me find the guy.
“Erica’s husband. We’re in his hotel room.”
“I thought you were just going to rough him up,” Hawk said, but there was no accusation in his voice. This sort of thing happened, not often, but it was the reason we had these procedures in place. I could hear the unmistakable sounds of Hawk getting dressed on the other end on the line; the rustling of fabric, the drag of a zipper, and the jostling of the phone as he pulled on a shirt.
“Started out that way, but he pulled a piece on me, and I had no choice.”
“Fuck. What a mess. You need medical?”
I reached up and touched my shoulder tentatively. It stung at the contact but wasn’t too bad. I’d be okay I’d stitch it up myself later.
“No, I’m fine. Let’s just get this taken care of.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
While I waited for him, I took a seat on the edge of the bed. Shouldn’t I feel something right now? Maybe guilt or happiness or something? I didn’t have much of anything. The only strong emotion I had was concern about what Erica would say.
I’d been honest with Erica when I told her that I’d never done this before. I’d been involved in some violent situations, but not killing. Not until now. But there was a comfort in knowing that she and Dominic were both safe because of my actions. That made it all worth it for me. Even if she hated me for it, I knew that I took care of her.
Twenty-Six
Erica
“Stupid Jeff,” I mumbled under my breath as I tried to get myself dressed. It was no easy feat, requiring a lot of bending and shifting that aggravated my injuries.
The doctor checked up on me first thing this morning, and I told her that I wanted to leave. She argued with me, saying that she was concerned about my head injury and wanted to keep me here for another day, but I insisted. I had barely established an identity here, and I didn’t have health insurance. The thought of what this hospital stay might be costing me made my head spin. Besides, the sooner I started working on an exit strategy, the better.
I had managed to get my bra and panties on and was attempting to pull my jeans up my legs. They were a little tight around my bandaged ankle, and the act of bending down to get my legs in them was horrible for my ribs, but I managed. As I buttoned the pants, I automatically reached into my pocket for my cell phone, only to frown as I remembered that Jeff had crushed it.
