Annabelle’s lip twitched in humor as if she found this situation humorous instead of serious.Mac wondered if the woman had a few screws loose.“Monster is a relative term.To a mouse, a cat looks like a monster.I’m the apex predator now, and you’re the prey.”
“And what about when all the sharks are gone?You just lost your profit.”Annabelle obviously hadn’t thought this whole plan through.
“Oh, Mac, no vision at all.”She tsked.“You of all people should know there is an ocean full of sharks, and quite a few have trackers on them, making them so convenient to find.And just think, if we find the breeding grounds, I’m sure people will pay a fortune for a baby shark.Oh, that makes me think of the song.”She started humming the baby shark song and swaying back and forth.
“You’re delusional if you think you could get away with something like that.”
“And who’s going to stop me?”
“I will stop you,” Mac said, pulling out of Burt’s arms.
“No, Miss Grant.You will not.You are just a ripple in a pond no one will ever notice is gone.”
“There’s one little problem in your plan.”
“And what’s that?”Annabelle sighed now, sounding bored with their verbal sparring, but Mac knew something Annabelle didn’t.
“Carver is out of business.”All of the color drained from Annabelle’s face.“Authorities have him in custody.It’s only a matter of time before he sings like a canary and tells of your involvement.Miles’s name on the papers will mean nothing.”
“But you won’t live long enough to see it.”The gun centered on Mac’s heart.Mac stiffened her spine, knowing the end was coming.There was no way to avoid it.Mac closed her eyes, not wanting to see the end.She conjured up an image of Barry in her head, wanting that to be the last imagine in her mind before she died.Mac wished she had told him she loved him, but now it was too late.
She only now realized the feeling she was fighting for him was love.She had just been too scared to realize it.Too little, too late.
“I beg to differ,” came another voice Mac recognized.Her eyes popped open to see Barry standing behind Annabelle.Annabelle whipped the gun around with a look of determination.Mac feared she was going to watch Barry be shot to death, but Barry was faster.
He batted the gun out of her hand as easily as swatting a fly.Her fist came up quick to punch him in the jaw.Barry easily overpowered her and grabbed her fist, tucking it between his arm and side.She swung her other fist, and he did the same thing and headbutted her.
He released her to watch her stumble back, unsteady in her heels, blood dripping from her nose before her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor.Burt took advantage of the moment and picked up two of the fallen guns, aiming one at Miles and tucking the other into the back of his pants.
Miles held his hands up in surrender, knowing there was no way out of this now.Barry stepped over Annabelle and gripped Mac’s arm just under her bandage.
“Are you alright?”
“I am now.”Mac grinned, never so happy to see him.
He gingerly touched her bandaging.“What’s this?”
“Grazing from a shark tooth after Carver threw me into a food frenzy.I’ll explain later.”She waved off his concerned look.“The point is, I’m fine.”That’s what they needed to focus on.“We need to call the police.”
“Already done.”
“How?”Mac asked; how did he know they would need police, or even that she was here?
“They didn’t find one of the of audio recorders,” he explained.“I heard everything as I was racing over here.”
“The buyer meet was a setup.”
“I know.I found out too late.I tried calling you, but your phone was dead.”
“Yeah, sea water will do that to electronics.”
“I raced here as fast as I could,” he said softly as if he had to explain himself.
“I’m just glad you’re here.”Now was the time to tell him before anything else happened.“I love you, Barry.”
She waited with bated breath to see what Barry was going to say, if he said anything at all.Neither of them had planned on loving each other.They both had their own lives.She belonged here and he in Vegas.How could they make a future work?Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all.Love just complicated matters.
Barry leaned down and kissed her briefly, well aware of their audience.“I love you too.We’ll talk later.”
