Marcus stared in shock and disbelief as Maggie tumbled over the edge. Her scream pierced his heart as she plummeted toward the ground.
Within a split second, Ackerman jerked the black nylon rope attached to Maggie’s ankle. The killer used the railing as leverage as he held her in place. With his other hand, he raised the gun to Marcus and halted any advancement. Maggie dangled upside down a few feet below.
Marcus trained his gun on a spot between the killer’s eyes, but he couldn’t fire. If he did, the killer would release the rope and Maggie would fall to her death.
“Throw the gun over the railing,” Ackerman said.
He hesitated as he searched for an alternative.
Ackerman let slack into the rope, and Maggie fell another few feet before the killer halted her descent.
“Wait!” With no other options, he tossed his gun into the night.
Ackerman nodded. “See you soon.”
With those words, the killer released the rope and leapt from the top of the fire escape to the building’s roof.
Maggie plummeted head first toward certain death.
He dove forward. The killer forgotten, saving Maggie was his only thought. He grabbed the end of the rope just as it slid over the railing’s edge.
The sudden weight wrenched on his shoulders, and fibers from the rope dug into his skin as it slid between his palms.
But he held tight.
Maggie swung like a pendulum below.
Hand over hand, he arduously pulled her toward him until she was safely back on the platform.
He held her tighter than he had ever felt the need to hold anyone before. She returned his embrace. They melted into each other.
He considered pursuing Ackerman, but he knew that the killer was long gone. As he held Maggie, the rest of the world and the events of the past few days faded away. In that moment, they were the only two people on Earth.
But a part of him knew that Maggie hadn’t forgotten the revelation into his past that Ackerman had forced into the light. Because I murdered someone.
He also knew that, even though they had survived this battle, the war was far from over.