This couldn’t be it. This wasn’t how she was going out. She needed to postpone.
Mandy didn’t want to do this. Roxy could see it in her eyes. She was against the whole thing. Roxy just needed to give Mandy time to Mom-up and nip this in the bud. Get Gretchen talking.
“How did you find me?”
Gretchen sighed. “Does it matter? I followed you and your boyfriend when you left the house.”
“You can’t shoot me like this.”
Gretchen scowled, but the gun stayed leveled at Roxy. “Why not?”
That was a good question. There had to be a good answer. Maybe. “Because this is a drive-by, right? That’s why you shot through the windows. You have to shoot me from farther away and from outside, or the crime scene won’t look right.”
Roxy was reaching. Hell, they tagged inside the house, so nothing of what she said was true. Nothing made sense. But maybe, just maybe, she could get them to hold off until she could figure something out.
“You’re right.” Gretchen sighed again and waggled the cocked gun.
Mandy’s eyes widened. She hadn’t left. She was still here. “Gretchen, darling, we can just leave. We’ll go away.”
“No, Mom, we can’t.” Gretchen glared at her. “Can you please go outside and get the car ready?”
Mandy shook her head. “We need to rethink this.”
Gretchen yelled, “There’s nothing to rethink,” and the hand with the gun waved out to the side. Away from Roxy.
This was it. This was her chance. Roxy dove to the floor and grabbed the poker. She slammed it into Gretchen’s knees as a shot went off. Roxy didn’t have time to figure out what it hit. She yanked the poker back, and somehow the metal hook caught on Gretchen’s arm.
That same arm that held the gun currently aimed at Roxy. Shit. Another yank freed the poker, and Roxy scrambled to her knees. She used every ounce of strength to bring the poker down on Gretchen’s arm. The gun flew off who knew where, and Gretchen fell to the floor with a scream.
The gun. It was right there.
Roxy dove for it, but so did Gretchen. She grabbed Roxy’s ankle. “Mom, give me the gun,” Gretchen groaned.
It was like she had superhuman strength. The more Roxy kicked, the tighter Gretchen’s grip. Roxy needed leverage. She kicked out with her other foot, landing a heel to Gretchen’s face. Her grip loosened. The gun sat next to the front door—feet from Mandy.
“You girls stop it!” Mandy stared at Gretchen and Roxy with terror written on her face. She yelled like they were toddlers fighting over a toy.
Roxy wrenched her leg away and staggered to her feet. She stumbled, her fingers so close, she could almost feel the rubber grip. But before she got there, Mandy picked up the gun.
Oh. Hell. No.
The bear. They’d made their peace. Now she needed his help. Roxy pivoted like a drunken pole dancer and got behind the bear.Shoved as hard as she could. Nothing. Heavy sucker. She wedged her butt between the wall and the bear. Braced her legs and pushed. The bear rocked. Again. It didn’t take more than a few seconds, yet it felt like a lifetime before the bear tipped away. Roxy heard a loud thump and a yell as the bear knocked Mandy to the floor, pinning her in place.
“Help me.” She raised a hand to Roxy.
Like hell.
Roxy’s breath stuttered in her chest as she leaned down and grabbed the gun. That took way too much work because now she was dizzy. She turned to the living room and aimed.
No Gretchen.
Roxy pointed the gun like she’d seen in the cop shows and crept around the wall into the dining room. In the kitchen, red pooled along the floor in staggered puddles. She jumped around the island.
Nothing.
Dammit. Roxy snuck to the other kitchen doorway. Little patches of blood smeared the floor, but that could have been from Roxy’s bloody feet when the shooting first started.
She kept the gun up as she crept down the hall where the bear lay on the floor, Mandy squirming underneath.
“Bitch,” Gretchen yelled.
Metal slid against Roxy’s throat. She dropped the gun as her hands flew to her neck. Gretchen pulled Roxy closer, yanking the poker harder against Roxy’s throat. Gretchen’s body pressed into her.
Lungs burning. Head spinning. Roxy flailed her arms, trying to reach behind her. She slammed a fist into Gretchen’s face. The poker dropped to the floor with a clang. Roxy fell to her knees, the air sputtering into her lungs in large gulps. She turned her head.
Gretchen, complete with crazed eyes and bloody nose, rushed toward her.
Not today, crazy. Not. Today. Roxy grabbed the poker as she stood up, and swung it like a tennis racket. The metal crunched into Gretchen’s face and she fell backward onto the floor.
Gretchen didn’t move.
Shit. Roxy didn’t mean to kill her.
Gretchen’s chest rose and fell. Not dead. Thank goodness. Roxy might not like the bitch much, but she didn’t want her kids to be half-orphans. No one deserved that. Especially now that Roxy could breathe.
The front door swung open and another gun appeared. For the love of…
“Police.”
Roxy lifted her hands above her head. “I’m not armed.” She pointed toward the gun. “Get that thing out of here.”
MacAuley came through the front door. “Are you okay?”
She might have nodded, but she wasn’t sure. Her head spun, and she dropped her hands just in time to keep the floor from hitting her face. Her body ached. Who knew fighting crazies would take so much out of a person?
MacAuley stepped over Mandy and picked up the gun. “Amato, get over here.”
Roxy eased her sagging bones to the floor. MacAuley’s eyes glinted with worry even though the guy had to see this stuff all the time.
“No need for concern. You don’t still think I’m the bad guy, do you? ’Cause I’m not the guy.” She tried to lift her hand to point, but her arm was so tired. So, so tired. Fighting with these women had taken it out of her. “They’re the guy.”
“Does it hurt?” Rafe walked toward her looking way paler than he should.
She giggled, a breathy laugh that made her side burn. “You should see the other guy.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Why do you keep asking that?”
Rafe and MacAuley exchanged glances.
“EMT.” A woman carrying a large bag stood at the door. Good. She could make sure Roxy hadn’t accidentally killed anyone. Although it wasn’t all her fault. The bear did his part.
“What about the bear?” Rafe looked at her like she had two heads. “There’s a bullet hole over here.”
A bullet hole? Who was shot? The bear? “I didn’t shoot the bear. I found him like that. Don’t try to pin it on me.”
She wasn’t the guy.
“Lie down.” Rafe helped her lie flat on the floor. Her side burned. She felt around for why. Wetness. She pulled her hand back. Blood. Her blood. Her vision went fuzzy at the edges.
“Roxy, stay with me, sweetheart.” Rafe’s voice was strained and so far away. He was disappearing.
Or maybe she was.
The darkness moved from the edges and closed in on her.