Jessie didn’t buy that for a second.Her eyes moved from Hannah, unconscious on the living room floor, to Ryan, slumped in the chair, to Kat, beaten to a pulp on the kitchen floor in front of her, with a bloody butcher knife lying nearby.
These weren’t the actions of a woman who would just give up.These were the actions of someone who wanted to destroy everything that mattered to Jessie.Suddenly, she felt the familiar bubble of fury magically appear in her gut and start to rise up to her chest.
Even as her grip on her gun tightened, she tried to control the rage coursing through her.She did her best to push the image of Pierce, dead on the floor, out of her head.Her job was to bring the woman to justice, not to her maker.
She kept her attention on Pierce but searched for something—any small detail she could focus all her energy on—that could help pull her back from the brink.That was when her eyes fell on the Post-It on the fridge behind the killer.On it was a hand-written note that read:RH?? JH.
It had been there for weeks, ever since Ryan left it for her one morning when he had to go to work early, knowing she’d discover it when she went to make her breakfast.The note’s stickiness was failing.Half of it had peeled off and it seemed to be clinging to the fridge for dear life.
The sight of it filled her with a warm sense of comfort.It was little things like an unexpected love note that made this life so meaningful.And despite the carnage that Pierce had wreaked tonight, that life was still possible.Her loved ones were all still here.She realized that the bubbling bloodlust in her chest had subsided.
Jessie pulled her eyes away from the Post-It and returned her attention to Pierce, who was studying her warily.The woman’s eyes darted briefly to the butcher knife, just out of her reach.It was clear that she still hoped to find a way out of this.
“Don’t worry, Jessie,” Pierce said, still huffing heavily.“Everyone’s still alive.They’ll eventually recover.I guess that for a hitwoman, I’m pretty bad at my job, huh?”
Jessie didn’t respond.Instead, she reached for her handcuffs.She did her best to hide her wince, as the move caused a shiver of discomfort in her shoulder.Even so, she was pretty sure that Pierce saw it.The hitwoman sighed.
“I guess it’s back to prison for me,” she said with a tone of mock resignation.“Maybe I should have stayed away when I had the chance, Jessie.Instead, I chose revenge.And now look at me.I’m right back where I started.”
They were the words of contrition but said with amused contempt.She didn’t mean any of them.And that’s when Jessie knew—this had to end here.
Ash Pierce was never going to accept her fate.Twice she’d escaped confinement.Both times she could have disappeared forever.But she chose to return so she could pursue payback against the only people who had ever bested her: a retired, wounded army ranger and a teenage girl.She would never accept that.Her pride wouldn’t let her.She would keep coming, until she finally got her vengeance.
She had eluded justice twice.There was no reason to think she couldn’t do it again.Until she tried, they’d all be living on pins and needles, wondering when the other shoe would drop.
There would be the trial, the sentencing, the move to a correctional facility, the time behind bars.There were so many opportunities in all of those proceedings for Pierce to make her move.Even if she was locked in solitary confinement, Jessie suspected she’d find a way out.
They would never be free of her.Hannah—her baby sister—would never truly feel safe again.That’s when she made her decision, not out of malice but instead, out of practicality.This simply had to end.
“I’m going to toss these to you,” she said, dangling the handcuffs in front of Pierce, giving the woman a moment to game this out in her head.“Put them on.”
She saw the killer fight off the hint of a smile at the corner of her lips as she formed a plan.At the sight of it, Jessie didn’t feel concern.She felt relief and maybe, something close to giddiness.Then, in a dramatic gesture that she suspected that the killer would appreciate, she tossed the cuffs high in the air.
Just as she expected, rather than reaching up for the cuffs, Pierce’s hand shot over to grab the butcher knife.Jessie waited until the woman had it clutched in her hand, about to fling it, before she fired.
The bullet landed in Pierce’s gut just as the handcuffs dropped beside her with a loud clang.The hitwoman looked up at her, with an odd combination of surprise and expectation.It was if she knew Jessie might do this but couldn’t truly bring herself to believe that the profiler would quite literally pull the trigger.
Her hand was still on the handle of the knife but her grip had weakened.Then, apparently sensing that she didn’t have the strength left to throw it, she released her fingers entirely.The knife landed on the floor with a soft clank.
“I didn’t think you had it in you, Jessie,” she said with great effort and what sounded like real admiration.Her lips curled into a nasty grin.There was blood on her teeth.“But I guess you win and I lose.I surrender for real this time.”
A sudden bang on the front door made Jessie jump.
“This is the LAPD!”someone shouted from just outside.“Open the door!”
Jessie realized that SWAT must have heard the gunshot and rushed over from the other house.
“The calvary’s coming,” Pierce said with a weak smile.
Jessie shook her head.
“Not soon enough to help you, Ash,” Jessie said calmly.“By the time they get to you, it will be too late.”
Pierce’s smile faded.
“What?”
Jessie stood up straight and took aim.
