Colorado 01 The Gamble (83 page)

“Shauna wants Max,” Harry stated.

“So?” Bitsy yelled.

“So,” Harry leaned forward, “outside, her
other asshole is lyin’ in the snow, four bullets in his chest and
her finger pulled the trigger, the residue will be on her hand. She
was out when I did it. She won’t remember a thing. And it’s the
same gun that killed that Fitzgibbon guy.”

I shifted my head to look down at the prone
Shauna before I looked back at Harry in time for him to finish.

“The same gun that’ll kill Nina.”

My lungs seized and I felt the blood drain
out of my face.

“Nina?” Bitsy whispered.

“Yeah,” Harry’s crazed eyes flicked to me
then back to Bitsy, “Nina.”

“
Why?” Bitsy asked then repeated on a
shout, “
For
God’s sake why?
”

Harry surged from the bed and I tensed as
he bent at the waist, his face having gone red, his arms straight
down at his sides, hands in fists and he roared,
“
He can’t
have it all!
”

Bitsy’s upper body leaned away from him
before she breathed, “What?”

“
Max!” Harry spat. “Max! Fuckin’
Max.
Holden fuckin’ Maxwell with his
varsity letter his freshman year and his scholarship and his
mountain that everyone thinks it’s
so great
he kept clean when all that buildin’ was goin’ on
all over the county. Max didn’t let anything touch
his
land. Oh no. Not Super
Wonderful Holden fuckin’ Maxwell. Not him. He could have made it
rich workin’ alongside Curt but he didn’t do that. Not Holden
Maxwell, man of integrity. Man of strength. He had Anna and they
were always holdin’ hands, always laughin’, always tight, lookin’
at each other like the rest of the world didn’t exist. Then he lost
her but he didn’t lose everything, not Max. No. After he lost her
everyone thought he was even
more
wonderful how he stayed cool with Curt and stayed tight
with you. How he
manned up,
”
spittle flew out of Harry’s mouth on the last two words, “how he
built that house for his Dad, how he kept goin’ even though
everyone knew losin’ Anna rocked his world. He didn’t fall. He
didn’t even falter. Not Max. Everyone thinkin’ how
strong
he was. How fuckin’
perfect.
Then the finest piece of ass in
two countries waltzes into town and before you could blink, she’s
cuddlin’ up to him at The Mark, she’s in his bed, she’s makin’ out
with him on the street and at The Dog and two weeks later she’s
movin’ from fuckin’
England
just to
keep him warm at night.”

He bent at the waist to put his face in
Bitsy’s.

“
No,” he sneered, “he can’t have everything
and I’m gonna make it so he doesn’t. I’m tired of havin’ nothin’
and waitin’ fuckin’
years
to make
your play against Curt and all the while I’m watchin’ Max have
everything he wants. Every woman opens their legs for him and
everyone in town thinks he shits roses. The same time, everyone in
town thinks poor Harry, gettin’ played by Shauna. Poor Harry,
losin’ Bitsy and pinin’ after her all these years. Poor fuckin’
Harry. Well, Bits, fuck…
that.
Max told me himself just this mornin’ to man up and I’ve
decided I’m takin’ his advice.”

“But Harry, Max doesn’t have everything,”
Bitsy whispered.

“
Yes he does, Bits. He even has you.
Even
you
think he
shits roses,” Harry retorted.

“You can’t –” Bitsy began.

“I can and I can now especially because she
knows everything and I’m not waitin’ ten years finally to have the
only thing I ever wanted, except half of it,” his eyes dropped to
her legs before slicing back to hers as I heard Bitsy gasp, “to
have Max’s latest bit of pussy take it away.”

“Harry,” Bitsy whispered, “this isn’t what
we planned.”

“
No, Bitsy, it isn’t but
I’m
the man and
I’m
sick of bein’ led around my dick so
I’m
changin’ the fuckin’
plan.”

“You can’t do that,” she told him and he
leaned back, throwing his arms out.

“No?” he asked then planted his fists on his
hips. “Watch me.”

“Harry!” she shouted when he started to move
around the bed. “If you hurt Nina, you won’t have me,” she
threatened, Harry’s body rocked to a halt and he turned on her.

“
Yeah? You gonna run away?” he asked
snidely and I watched Bitsy close her eyes tight then my eyes went
back to Harry when he kept speaking as he untied my ankles. “This
is what people know. Shauna wanted Max. She
always
wanted Max. And she used that Robert guy
like she used everyone else. When he became expendable, he was
gone. When Nina got in the way, she was gone. Shauna’ll wake up and
she won’t know shit. And all they’ll know is that she’s here with
the gun that made three bodies dead and she has the residue on her
hand. She fucked herself with her play on Curt, makin’ her a
suspect in his murder so they’ll probably pin that on her too. But
don’t worry about Shauna, Bits. She’ll make a good bitch in prison.
She’ll have her shit sorted exactly as she wants it before she
finishes buttoning up her orange jumpsuit.”

Then he was finished with my ankles and
started walking toward me again and I started moving on the bed,
ineffectually shifting my body to get away from him, running into
Bitsy as he pulled a set of keys out of his jeans pocket.

“Don’t do this, Harry,” Bitsy whispered from
behind me as he leaned toward my hands and I kept trying and
failing to move away.

“
Please,” I begged, using Bitsy’s words,
“don’t do this.”

“Shut up,” he muttered.

“Please,” I whispered, “please. You may
think Max had everything his whole life but you don’t know me. I
didn’t. I didn’t have everything my whole life. My Dad left me when
I was a baby –”

“Shut up,” he repeated, still working at my
hands.

I didn’t shut up. “My boyfriends cheated on
me, stole from me, beat me –”

“Shut up,” Harry said again.

“The brother I loved, I adored him, Harry,
loved him beyond anything, he had his legs blown off and couldn’t
hack it so he committed suicide.”

Harry turned to me and clipped,
“Shut
up!
”

I ignored him and kept going. “Today, I was
happy, Harry. It was the first day in a long, long time I woke up
happy.”

My wrists were freed but before I could make
a move I was being dragged from the bed.

“Harry! Don’t!” Bitsy screamed.

I struggled but Harry was big, he was a
mountain man and he dragged and shoved me toward the door even as I
twisted and pulled and tried to flee.

“Harry! Please! Don’t do this!” Bitsy
screeched from behind us.

Calm, Nina, calm and think,
sweetheart,
Charlie said
in my head as Harry kept control of my struggling frame and shoved
me through the door into a dark hall.
Keep talking, talk to him.

Instantly, I took my brother’s advice.

“
I understand what it means. I understand
how it hurts to have everyone think poor Harry because they always
thought poor Nina. But now I’m happy. And I’m sorry if this hurts
you but Max is what makes me happy. Please don’t take that away.
Not from Max,
from me.
”

He caught my wrist and yanked it behind my
pack, pulling it high until it hurt so much I cried out. He
positioned himself at my back and marched me forward, his lips to
my ear.

“Keep your mouth shut, Nina, or I’ll gag you
again.”

I clamped my mouth shut and clenched my
teeth together to stop myself from crying out at the pain in my
arm. Harry yanked me to a halt, reached beyond me, opened a door
and the cold swept in as he pushed me outside.

Okay, Nina, he’s just pulled
out his gun. You need to get his gun, sweetheart, he’s holding it
in his hand. You need to get it, turn it on him and shoot like Max
taught you to do. You with me, Neenee Bean?
Charlie said.

I’m with you,
I replied though I didn’t think
I was.

It was night, dark, we were in the mountains
surrounded by pine so thick it shrouded the space and kept out the
moonlight.

You’ve only got one hand, Nina, so you’re
going to have to be creative. You’re going to have to turn, very
fast, very, very fast, sweetheart, and use your head. Aim at his
chin and reach for the gun at the same time you have to lift up
your knee, hard, honey, as hard as you can, and aim for his crotch.
You got that?

I got it, Charlie.

Harry marched me forward and I saw the dark
outline of a body in the snow and I knew it was Robert Winston,
dead, in the dark, his body in the snow just like I was going to be
if I didn’t get away from Harry.

I had to get away from Harry.

Wait for it, sweetheart. Wait for me to say
the word. You get a hole in him, you go. You run as fast as you
can. I’ll guide you.

Okay.

“Harry! Don’t do this!” I heard Bitsy shout
from far away.

Harry kept marching me, his hand at my wrist
twisting my arm so high and tight, the pain shot from my shoulder
all the way to my fingertips.

“You’re hurting me, Harry,” I said
quietly.

“I told you, Nina, shut up,” Harry
returned.

“You’re going to kill me, I’m asking you to
stop hurting me before you take everything from me.”

His hand at my wrist squeezed tight but then
it loosened and he moved my hand a couple of inches down my back so
the pain weakened and, although it didn’t go away, it was
something.

Well done, now wait for it,
Neenee Bean,
Charlie
whispered.

I pulled in breath.

We’re close, sweetheart,
Charlie told me.

I let out my breath and pulled in
another.

Now!
Charlie shouted.

I whirled at the same time pulling my head
back. When I was facing Harry, I slammed it forward, my forehead
connecting with Harry’s chin and pain exploded in my forehead but I
ignored it, lifted my knee, fast and vicious, connecting with his
crotch. Harry let out a startled, pained grunt, he let my wrist go
and I reached for the gun, twisting it out of his hand and taking
two running steps back.

Shoot him, Nina!
Charlie yelled.

I lifted the gun and aimed it at Harry,
shouting out loud to Charlie, “I can’t!”

Do it!
Charlie urged.

Harry, one hand at his crotch, his upper
body bent almost double but his head back and eyes on me started
stumbling toward me.

“Charlie,” I whispered, my hand holding the
gun and trembling, “I can’t.”

Then don’t shoot… run!

“Bitsy,” I breathed.

Now! Now, Nina! Run!

I turned and ran.

My high-heeled booted feet crunched through
the snow and I heard Harry crunching after me. Pine needles whipped
my face, snow flying off their limbs stinging me with pinpoints of
freeze as I kept going.

Left here, veer left. Max is
coming,
Charlie told
me.

Relief swept through me.

Oh thank God.

Keep running. Faster, sweetheart.

I veered left and tried to run faster but
slipped and slid when my high-heeled boots hit rocks, finding
purchase when they hit snow-covered turf, sliding and wavering
again when they hit stone. Every step I took I heard Harry’s pained
grunting and his feet pounding behind me.

I looked back, just like all the stupid
heroines in the horror movies do.

Keep going, don’t look,
Charlie instructed me,
just keep
running.

I looked forward just when the toe of my
boot caught on something solid and then I was flying. Yes, like all
the stupid heroines in horror movies do, I fell, landing with a
body-rocking jolt on my hands and knees at the same time stupid,
stupid,
stupidly
losing
the gun.

“Dammit!” I screamed.

Keep shouting! Max will hear
you! He’s close!
Charlie
yelled.

But I didn’t get to shout. Instead I let out
an “oof” as I tried to push to my feet and was tackled from behind
by Harry. We rolled through the snow down the mountain, a tangle of
arms and legs.

Fight, scratch, kick, bite,
scream, sweetheart, scream!
Charlie ordered.

I screamed, loud and shrill and I kept doing
it as I fought, punching, shifting, flailing, scratching and
kicking. We’d come to rest on an outcrop of rock that felt hard,
cold and abrasive even through my clothes as we wrestled on top of
it and I kept screaming as I kept fighting. I gave it all I had but
Harry got me to my back and straddled me. I continued to pound on
his chest, scratch at his neck and kick out with my legs, bucking
my hips and shrieking in terror as both his big mountain man hands
cupped either side of my head, yanking it up so my chin was in my
throat and I knew he was going to pound it into the rock. My
fingers wrapped around his wrists and I pulled out hard but didn’t
succeed in moving his hands.

SCREAM!
Charlie shouted.

I screamed.

Then Harry was gone because Max was there,
tackling him from the side, they both went flying. I sucked in
breath, relief so extreme it felt like it ripped through me,
shredding my insides. I scrambled back on all fours and ran into
something then hands were in my armpits and I was being dragged
back.