A scream tore through the night, followed by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot.
Final showdown in the rain, upper deck of theG-Spot
Jasmine was about to make a break for it. Like she didn’t have a care in the world, she was carefully lowering a ladder over the side of the boat.
Gabby ran through their options. Her feet were untied, and her wrists, almost. None of Markus’s ropes were undone, but his ankle ties were loose enough to shuffle. Conceivably, Gabby could charge Jasmine and tackle her, but she only had one chance.
Phil still hadn’t revived. He was going to sleep through the entire high-stakes escape. Maybe he was drugged, but it reminded Gabby of how he’d slept through the kids’ holiday program last year. Not even the sixth-grade trumpet section had woken him up. At the end, he’d said, “Great job, kids,” not having heard a thing. If he survived this, it would be the same.
“You know that radial ass-kicking move that Genesis loves?” Markus whispered. “The one fromPower Couple?”
He couldn’t be serious. “I took down a yoga tent when I tried to stand on one leg and kick.”
“I’m here too.” Markus locked eyes with her. “We’ve got this, Gabs.”
And it hit her. She had a partner. “I got this” had never been doable, not with the amount of work that she had on her plate. She was a mom and a spy. But a love life didn’t have to be another thing that she needed to squeeze into her schedule. True romance brought a partner, someone who she could kick butt with together. Someone who could lift her up when she was down, even if it was to strike Jasmine in the face.
Just because Phil slept through holiday programs didn’t mean every guy would. She had forgotten that. A real romance wasn’t about flowers and chocolate; it was building a life and taking care of each other. It waswegot this.
Without a partner, Gabby didn’t have it all; she’d just been doing it all. While her brain was exploding with this epiphany, Markus tried explaining, “It’s like that yoga move, but we’re going to do it together. I’ll do the balancing, and you do the kicking. It’s the one from the end ofPower Couple.”
Gabby was overcome, overheating, and melting at the same time. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. They might be at the beginning of a physical battle, but she’d just come out victorious in a mental battle she’d been fighting for years. Gabby’d rather fight a bitch any day than be trapped in her own self-imposed, over-scheduled hell again. She took a steadying breath and pulled it together.
“We’ve got this,” she said, echoing a tagline she really believed in now. “You can count on me. Next time your ex tells me that you’ve joined a cult and are colluding with a megalomaniac, I’ll ask you first. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”
He laughed. “Deal. Same.” With a nod toward Jasmine, he said, “Let’s do this.”
Gabby and Markus hustled across the deck as quickly as possible. G was sprawled on the deck, bleeding.
Jasmine saw their concern and said, “If he’s not dead now, he will be soon.” Then, evil villain-style, Jasmine pointed a flare gun at the boat itself and fired. The flare lodged in the deck, glowing hot and red in the wooden floorboards and spewing smoke. It looked bad, but easy enough to put out, if they got to it quickly. If they didn’t…
“Is that flare gun enough to set the boat on fire?” Gabby asked, already knowing the answer.
Markus nodded.
Those were the flames Sheridan had seen in her vision. TheG-Spotwas about to burn up with everyone on it.
With a look of annoyance, Jasmine said, “And now I’m going to have to do something about you two pains in the asses.”
Instead of shooting them, Jasmine squared offMortal Kombatstyle. “I always enjoy a fair fight.”
Gabby didn’t point out that Jasmine was the only one with a gun, and Markus was bound. Hardly fair, Jasmine.
Before Markus had a chance to prepare, Jasmine kicked him in the chest. But even tied up, he hopped back and avoided the full impact of the kick. That was it. Gabby wasn’t going to take any more. It was time for radial ass-kicking. It seemed like a move that only worked in the movies, but with their wrists bound, it was their only real option. Even if it wasn’t, it’s not like they had time to make another plan.
Markus turned so that he and Gabby were back-to-back. They locked arms, and he hefted her into the air.
Jasmine started to laugh. “Are you two really? This is great.”
Gabby gripped Markus with all she had and bicycle-kicked with her legs, smacking into Jasmine and cutting her evil laugh off mid-chortle. Gabby’s feet connected squarely with Jasmine’scenter mass with enough force to send her sprawling backwards. Jasmine’s flare gun clattered to the ground.
In a weird flourish, the immense train of her stupid dress swooshed over Jasmine’s prone form. In the background, the deck was starting to smoke.
Gabby and Markus might not have attended all the classes or paid that much attention at the Power Couple Retreat, but they werethepower couple, fighting back-to-back against their enemies.
Gabby kicked the flare gun farther away from Jasmine, unholstered her engagement taser, and depressed the button. The electrodes launched with a loud snap, and Jasmine’s muscles seized up as the taser hissed.
“That was better than a ring,” Gabby said, holding the taser up.
