lynn sat in the Nazi love seat and stared at the cows. She hoped Esther appreciated her bringing the creepy things back. Flynn had no idea, she’d gotten all of five minutes’ sleep the night before and Esther had shown up for none of it. Every slight noise had her rushing out to the front door, sure that Tucker would be there to either apologize or accept her apology. She didn’t much care which. It wasn’t until the sun rose that she finally gave up hope, and by then it was too late to sleep, so she’d just run a bubble bath and sulked until she ran out of time.

She glanced at the wall clock. Eight forty-five. If Tucker didn’t show up within the next fifteen minutes to stop her, she was going to that breakfast with Gordon Chase. She could find a way to make it up to Tucker, but that three hundred thousand wasn’t going to be knocking on her door again. The hard part was convincing herself that it wasn’t the worst sort of betrayal for her to take money from a man Tucker despised with every fiber of his being.

Although it was. And she knew it.

There was a knock at the door, shaking her from the grip of her own thoughts. She glanced at the clock and her heart sailed; eight fifty-one. Guys like Chase were never early. It had to be Tucker. Suddenly her choice seemed so clear. After all, there were other ways to make money.

There was only one Tucker.

She hopped up off the love seat and ran to the door, wording her apology in her head as she pulled the door open.

Then she saw Chase’s tinking smile and wanted to throw up.

“I’m a little early,” Chase said. “Are you and Jake ready?”

“No,” Flynn said. “Tucker isn’t here, and I’ve come to a decision—”

Chase stepped inside and looked around. “He’s not? Wow. I was really hoping I could take the two of you out. You’re both so familiar with Annabelle and Rhonda...”

He trailed off, looking so sad and betrayed that Flynn almost felt bad for him, but then she realized that he was probably mourning the loss of his three million more than the loss of Rhonda Bacon.

“Look, Gordon,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’ve thought it over and we just can’t do it. You really should take this to the police.”

“I can’t take it to the police,” he said quickly. Flynn crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him. He broke within seconds.

“Okay, see, the thing is...” He sighed. “How do I say this? I’d rather not bring these particular funds to the attention of the police, if you know what I mean.”

Flynn’s stomach turned. “Oh, God, Gordon. It’s stolen money? Are you kidding me?”

He put one hand on her shoulder. “Not stolen. Just not necessarily obtained exactly legally. Look, I really need your help. I’ll double your commission. Six hundred thousand dollars. You don’t have to commit now, just let me take you out for breakfast and we’ll talk. Just talk.”

Six.

Hundred.

Thousand.

Dollars.

Flynn sighed. He looked so pathetic, she was so broke, and it was just breakfast. A breakfast that could be the difference between her being here for six months and being here forever.

With Tucker.

She closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and said, “Okay.”

“Wonderful!” Chase grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, thank you.”

She held up one finger. “It’s just breakfast. I’m not committing to anything.”

“Of course, of course,” he said as he held the door open for her. He walked her to the street, where his town car was parked. She reached for the passenger side door, then noticed it was filled with bags.

“Are you going somewhere?”

Chase reached for the back door handle. “Yes, I have to catch a flight this afternoon.”

She watched him, a niggle of suspicion sprouting in her gut as he guided her into the backseat. “And what’s the matter with your trunk?”

He grinned and shrugged. “It’s... full.”

He shut the door and she watched as he shuffled around to the driver’s side. He put the key in the ignition and started it up. Flynn reached for the door handle and pulled.

Nothing.

“Um,” she said as Chase pulled out into the street. “These back doors don’t open from the inside?”

Chase shot her a guilty look over his shoulder. “Child safety feature.”

“You don’t have kids.”

Chase shrugged and turned down Main Street. “Nope.”

Should have listened to Tucker. Should have listened to Tucker. Should have listened to Tucker. She had a brainstorm, and reached into her purse, riffling through it but coming up empty.

“They’re right here,” Chase said, holding up her cell phone and her Mace key chain.

Stunned, Flynn looked back in her bag. “How did you do that?”

“I’m a thief and a liar,” he said. “I have skills.”

Skills, she thought as she watched the lovely country pass by her window. Uh-huh.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going at least?” she asked finally.

He met her eyes in the rearview. For what it was worth, she could tell he was at least mildly conflicted.

“There are some men in this world who can be poor, Flynn,” he said as they pulled onto the highway. “I don’t happen to be one of them.”

“Damnit,” Jake said and snapped his cell phone shut. Flynn wasn’t answering at home, and her cell was going to voice mail. He’d left a few messages, but didn’t tell her exactly what he was doing. He figured, after what he’d put her through the night before, it was the sort of thing better said in person. He leaned forward in the backseat of the Suburban and tapped Gerard Levy on the shoulder.

“About how much longer before we get there?” he asked.

Gerard glanced at his watch. “Forty minutes, maybe.”

“And you’re sure they’re both there, right?”

“We can’t be sure of anything. We activated the LoJack on a car we think they might have stolen. I’ve got a good feeling about it, but who the hell knows?” Gerard eyed Jake suspiciously. “Look, Jake, I called you out of courtesy. My ass could very easily get burned for bringing you along.”

“If it’s any comfort,” Jake said, “I’m a private detective now. It’s for an official case.”

Gerard huffed. “Who’s the client?”

Jake shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Gerard chuckled. “Okay, I know I’ve said this before, but I’m saying it again. SWAT goes first in case they’re armed, then once they’ve secured the place, I go in. When I give you the okay, you get fifteen minutes with them to get your information, and you’re gone like you were never there, you get me?”

Jake nodded, flipped his phone open again, and started to dial.

“I got you.”

He put the phone to his ear and sat back again.

Hi. You’ve reached Flynn Daly. I’m sorry I’m not here to take your call—

“Damnit,” Jake said, and snapped the cell phone shut.

Flynn blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the small house. Chase’s shoulder was digging into her gut and she wished she’d eaten before she left just so she could boot all over his backside.

“Bastard asshole,” she grunted, struggling against him again, but unfortunately, Chase was stronger than he looked. She had made his extracting her from the car a royal pain in the ass—she highly doubted he’d be having sex again in the near future—but in the end, he’d clocked her in the head and knocked her out, and by the time she woke up, she was over his shoulder, being hauled up a dirt path with nothing but trees and a downward view of Chase’s bastard ass to focus on.

She tried to look for some defining characteristics in the landscape, but didn’t catch any. She knew they were somewhere in the Catskill Mountains, but they’d traveled on little side roads for so far that she’d completely lost her bearings. Even if she got away from Chase and got her cell phone—if she could get service way out here, which was unlikely—she wouldn’t know what to tell the police.

Or Tucker.

She closed her eyes and banished all thoughts of Tucker. If she thought of him, she’d get all emotional, and she needed to maintain her pissed-offness if she was going to stand a chance against Chase.

They moved up a porch and Flynn heard the sound of a door opening.

“Ooompth!” she said as Chase tossed her down on the old wood floor. She started for the door, but Chase grabbed both of her arms and held her in place. She managed to get a good grunt out of him when she jabbed at him with the heel of her boot, but it wasn’t nearly as gratifying as the kick to the balls she’d delivered earlier.

Ah. Good times.

“Annabelle!” he called. “We’re here!”

“Oh, you’re kidding me!” Flynn yelled. “You’re delivering me to Annabelle McCrazy?”

“And then she gives me my McMoney, yes,” he said. “Sorry, Flynn. I like you and everything, but I don’t do poor.”

“Where’s Jake?”

Chase whirled around, taking Flynn with him, and they both came face-to-face with Annabelle holding a gun on them.

“Crap on a cracker,” Flynn muttered.

“Hey, Flynn!” she said, smiling brightly. “I’m so sorry about all this, but there just wasn’t any other way. I promise it’ll all be over soon, though, okay?”

Chase shoved Flynn down on the couch that sat between him and Annabelle, and pointed a finger at her.

“She’s crazy, but she’s a good shot. Don’t move.” He turned to Annabelle. “Where’s Rhonda?”

“She’s in a car out back, waiting for you,” Annabelle said. “Where’s Jake?”

“He didn’t make it,” Chase said. “Now give me my money.”

“Oh, man,” Annabelle said. “I need Jake.”

“Call him. Tell him you’ve got a gun on Flynn. He’ll be here in a shot.”

Annabelle thought on that for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah. I guess that’ll work, too.”

“My money?” Chase said.

“Rhonda has all the information.” Annabelle tossed him a set of keys. “You don’t take her, you don’t get your money. You know the drill.”

Chase gave her a look of pure loathing. “You both are insane.”

Annabelle smiled at him, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Tick tock, Gordon. You’re losing interest as we speak.”

Chase muttered something under his breath, then turned and rushed out the door. Annabelle grinned and bounced over to sit on the other end of the couch from Flynn, the gun trained on her.

“Poor Rhonda,” Annabelle said. “It’s so sad, you know? And she could have done so much better. A nice haircut, a little lipstick, she really could have been something, you know?”

Something niggled at the back of Flynn’s brain. “Could have been?”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a tremendous boom came from outside, followed by a second, smaller explosion. Annabelle used one hand to pull back the curtains, then giggled.

“Oh, yay!” she said. “It worked!” She let the curtains fall back. “I got the plans off the Internet, and you just never know how those things are going to go. Good thing there’s nobody around for five miles or there’d be cops all over this place, and that’d be no good.” She nodded toward the window. “Wanna see?”

Flynn tucked one finger behind the curtain, her heart pounding in her chest. Outside she could see the dark outline of a car engulfed in flames at the far edge of the driveway.

“Holy shit,” she said, and pulled her shaking hand back from the curtain.

“Cost of doing business,” Annabelle said, a sad look on her face. Then, suddenly, her expression brightened and she tapped Flynn on the knee with her free hand. “Hey, wanna make a phone call?”

They’d just pulled off the highway when Jake’s phone rang. He yanked it out of his pocket, not bothering to check the caller ID.

“Flynn?” he asked. “Where have you been?”

“I think where I am is probably more important.” Her voice was blank and flat. Was she still pissed off at him? Probably. And she had a right. He could only hope she’d get over it when he told her what he was doing.

“How did the breakfast go?” he asked.

“Not well.”

Jake felt the first strings of alarm ripple through him. “Flynn? Are you okay?”

“Ow! Quit it!” she said, her voice remote, and then louder, “Tucker? You still there?”

Jake gripped the phone tight in his hand. “Flynn? What’s going on? Where are you?”

Flynn rattled off an address and Jake’s heart sank. He tapped Gerard on the shoulder.

“Punch it,” he said.

“What?”

“They’ve got Flynn!” he yelled. Gerard tapped the driver and gave a small nod, and the sirens went on.

“Flynn?” he said into the phone.

“She says no cops,” Flynn said. “Just you.”

“All right,” Jake said, making eye contact with Gerard. “Fine. No cops.”

Gerard motioned for the driver to shut the sirens off.

“Flynn, what happened?”

She sighed. “Well. It turns out I was right about Annabelle being in love with you. And you were really right about Chase.” He heard her voice crack. “But we don’t have to worry about him anymore, because he’s dead.”

“He’s what?”

“He’s dead. So is Rhonda.”

He shook his head, trying to put the pieces together in his head. “You mean Annabelle’s got you?”

“She’s a CWIL with a gun. The worst kind.”

A gun? Jake rubbed at the back of his neck. “Flynn, I’m coming, okay? I’m already on my way. You just hang in there. I’m coming.”

“I’m so sorry, Tucker, I—”

The phone cut off.

“Flynn? Flynn!”

Silence. Jake slammed his phone shut and put his face in his hands, trying to stay calm. Annabelle wanted Jake, so she wouldn’t hurt Flynn until Jake got there. And once Jake was there, he could protect Flynn. So it was going to be fine. It was going to be fine.

“... phone number? Jake!”

He raised his head to find Gerard yelling something at him.

“What?”

“Did you get the phone number?”

Jake opened his phone and scrolled through the ID list, then nodded.

“Good,” Gerard said. “We’re gonna need that when we get there.”

He opened his own cell and made a call. Jake caught random words like “negotiator” and “hostage situation” but mostly all he heard was Flynn’s voice.

I’m sorry, Tucker.

He’d bet his life he was sorrier.

“Breathe into this,” Annabelle said, holding out a small paper bag to Flynn. Flynn reached out a shaky hand and took it, breathing into it slowly as Annabelle sat down next to her. She had been able to hold on to her pissed-offness until she’d heard the panic in Tucker’s voice when he’d told her he was coming for her. If Tucker was worried, she knew she was good and screwed.

“He loves me, you know,” Annabelle said, rubbing Flynn’s back with one hand while holding the gun on her with the other. “I’ve been there for him all along. Eileen wasn’t supposed to get him fired. She was just supposed to get the laptop. She did it on purpose, you know. Went after him like that. She was always jealous of me.”

Flynn pulled the bag away from her face. “You know, if you want me to calm down, maybe you could cool it with the crazy, okay?”

Annabelle pushed up from the couch. “I’m sorry, Flynn. I know you have feelings for him, too. And I never wanted you to get hurt in this. Chase got what he deserved for hurting Jake the way he did and Rhonda... well, poor Rhonda was just never going to get it, you know? But you... you’re an innocent. And I know that, but you have to understand that he loves me, okay?”

Flynn tried to resist opening her mouth, but the shock of knowing that two dead people were charbroiling in the driveway had put her in a very surreal, very stupid place.

“So, what’s your plan? You put a gun to my head and make him tell you he loves you? Of course he’s going to do it. It won’t make it true.”

She put the bag back over her mouth, concentrating on the crinkling sound it made when she breathed to keep herself from passing out.

“Oh, honey.” Annabelle stared down at her. “You are nobody. You’re a blip on the radar. Before you came, everything was fine. He would have asked me out ages ago, but Esther told him not to.”

Flynn gasped into the bag, and lowered it again. “Holy shit. You killed Esther, didn’t you?”

Annabelle’s eyebrows knit for a second, but then she smiled in understanding. “Oh, not for that. She’d been snooping in my books, which meant that sooner or later she would have figured out what I was doing, and let me tell you, I did not want to go back to jail. Do you know what kind of girls are in jail? Girls like Eileen Dietz.” She sat down next to Flynn again and patted her knee. “I was so freaked out when I thought you’d had the schnapps, by the way. You, they would have autopsied, and it would have been hell to explain an overdose of heart medication with you.”

Flynn felt her chest explode with rage. “You crazy bitch.”

Annabelle stood up and put her hand to her chest, tears springing to her eyes.

“There’s no need to get personal,” she said. “I just did what I had to do, Flynn. Do you think I like this? Do you think I feel good about this? I don’t. I’m just doing what I need to do. This has been really difficult for me, you know.”

Flynn raised the bag to her face and concentrated on breathing in and out.

In and out.

In and out.

Annabelle paced back and forth, whispering something to herself that Flynn couldn’t hear over the crinkling of the bag. Which was just as well.

Because the bitch was crazy.

Jake had darted out of the car before the Suburban came to a complete stop, and was oddly surprised when he felt Gerard yank him backward.

“The negotiator isn’t here yet.” Gerard put both hands on Jake’s shoulders, clamping down tight. “You wait.”

“Fuck the negotiator.” He stared up the dirt road. According to the map, the house was less than half a mile away. Through the autumn-thinned woods, he could see the outline of a white house, and a column of thick black smoke.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.

“I know this is hard, but this is not your operation, Jake,” Gerard said. “There are people coming who know how to handle this type of situation. Unless you want to get Flynn killed, you need to let them.”

Jake broke free of Gerard’s grip, but didn’t run up the dirt path. Instead he focused his rage and kicked a sizable dent into the side of the Suburban.

“I’ll pay for that,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it.” Gerard stepped closer and put one hand on Jake’s shoulder. “We’ll convene here, make the call, and send you up once we have proof of life. That’s the plan.”

Proof of life. The words sliced through him, but he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah. Okay.”

Jake’s cell phone rang. He exchanged a glance with Gerard, then checked the caller ID. He held it up for Gerard to see and answered off his nod.

“Flynn? You okay?”

Annabelle’s voice bounced through the line at him.

“Jake! It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“Is Flynn okay?”

“Oh, she’s fine, but... sweetie, I said no cops. Didn’t she tell you no cops? We can’t really talk this out if there are police around. I won’t be able to concentrate, and I have some really important things to say.”

He shook his head at Gerard, and Gerard closed his eyes and swore. “I’m sorry, Annabelle. They were with me when you called.”

Annabelle sighed. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. But they know I’ve got Flynn, right? And a gun? And they know I’ll kill her, right?”

“Annabelle,” he said, “don’t.”

“I don’t want to,” she said. “But I will if I have to. Can you tell them to go away and then come on up alone? We’re kinda running out of time.”

“Let her go, Annabelle. I’ll be on my way as soon as I know she’s safe.”

“Jake, if she’s safe, those policemen are gonna come and get me and then we won’t have any time to talk. I’m so sorry, I just can’t. You understand, right?”

He leaned one hand on the Suburban and dropped his head, clutching the phone to his ear. “I need to talk to her first. I need—”

“Oh, what? Proof of life?” Annabelle giggled. “Right. I saw that movie. Here.”

There was some shuffling, followed by a strange crackling sound, and then, finally, he heard Flynn’s voice.

“Tucker?”

Every muscle in Jake’s body tightened. “I’m on my way. Nothing is going to happen to you, okay?”

“Chase is dead. Did I tell you that? I told you that, didn’t I? So is Rhonda. And Annabelle? Is crazy.”

Jake’s heart cracked listening to her. She sounded so scared. He tried to inject calm into his voice. “Yeah, babe. I know. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Chase said she was a good shot. I’m inclined to believe him.”

Jake flashed back to the night in the cabin.

So, who shot at us?

A bad shot who tried to kill us and then got scared off, or a good shot who wanted to send a message.

“I think maybe I should have stayed in Boston,” she said.

“I’m going to get you out of this,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Hi! Me again!” Annabelle’s voice came back on the line. “Jakey, you really have to send the police away. I’m so sorry. Look, I’ll give you one minute, okay? Starting... now!”

Jake flipped the phone shut. “Go. Now.”

“Jake—”

“Game’s over, Gerard. If you stay here, Flynn dies. And the only way you’re going to stop me from going up there is to shoot me yourself. It’s your operation. Your call.”

Jake was halfway to the house when he heard the Suburban pull away behind him.

Flynn folded up the paper bag neatly and set it by her side. Her breathing had returned to normal. She found that she could forget the smell of the burning car outside by concentrating on the shapes of the water stains in the ceiling.

One of them looked kinda like Vladimir Putin.

Annabelle put down the binoculars and shoved the heavy drapes shut over the window, settling the room into a dark gloom that seemed appropriate.

“Oh, yay! They’re gone,” Annabelle said. “Thank God. That could have been so messy, you know?”

Flynn nodded. Finally, the urge to talk back had left her. She knew that Jake would be walking through that door in a moment, and he would save her and then some lucky therapist’s kid was going to be lousy with ponies off of Flynn’s monthly bill.

See? she thought. Everyone wins.

There was a knock at the door. Annabelle smoothed her hand over her long blond curls and grinned like a teenager on prom night.

“Come in!” she called, and stood next to Flynn.

The first thing Jake saw was Flynn sitting on the couch, her hands tucked primly between her knees. He started for her, but froze when he saw the gun, which Annabelle raised and pointed directly at Flynn’s head.

“I’m sorry, Jake,” Annabelle said, “but we’re kinda running out of time, so I need you to tell her.”

Jake stared at Annabelle. “Tell her what?”

Annabelle laughed, but her smile soon faded. “That you don’t love her. That you love me. Then I’ll have to kill her, which is a shame, but we can get away, and I have scads of money. I’ve got two tickets on a flight to Buenos Aires that leaves in...” She checked her watch and made a face. “Oooh. Three hours. That’s kinda tight. So... go ahead.”

“Wait,” Jake said, holding his hand out. “Annabelle, I’m not going to let you kill her.”

“I know. It sounds horrible, I know. But these people, they kind of deserve it. Esther was going to send me to jail, which is not nice. Eileen made you lose your job. Gordon Chase was a complete waste of humanity. Rhonda betrayed the man she loved just to get him to love her back, which, yeah, that was my advice, but she took it, you know? And Flynn...” She looked at Flynn and sighed. “I liked Flynn, but she tried to take you away from me, so this is really her own doing.”

Keeping her eyes on Jake, Annabelle cocked the gun. He held his hands up.

“Don’t, Annabelle,” he said. “I’ll go with you. Fine. Just don’t shoot.”

Annabelle leaned her head a little to one side, looking like a dog who was unsure what she had to do to get the treat. “But you don’t love her, right? I mean, it’s always been me, right? The only reason why you and I aren’t together is because Esther told you not to ask me out, right?”

“What are you talking about?” Jake said. “Esther and I never talked about you.”

“But you did. She told me. She said that you liked me, but Esther told you not to ask me out because she didn’t want employees dating.”

Jake shook his head. “Annabelle, she never told me not to ask you out.”

Annabelle’s face contorted in confusion. “What? Well, then... why...?”

Flynn sighed. “She was being nice. She probably knew Jake would never ask you out and she felt sorry for you, you freakin’ whackjob.”

“Flynn,” Jake said, warning tight in his voice. “Why don’t you let me do the talking?”

Flynn threw her arms down at her sides. “I’m gonna die. I need to bite my tongue, too?”

Annabelle’s eyes filled with tears, and the gun shook slightly in her hand. “It’s not true, Jake. It’s not true. You love me. You just... Esther...”

“Christ, Annabelle,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “You don’t have to kill her. I’ve only known her for a week. I’ve known you a lot longer than that and I do care about you. But we need to talk this out, and I can’t talk if a gun is pointed at someone. Put it down.”

“See?” Annabelle said, her hand steadying as she held the gun on Flynn. “I told you he didn’t love you.”

Jake glanced at Flynn, and she met his eyes and gave him a slight, knowing smile.

Give them what they most want, or show them what they most fear.

“No,” he said, but Flynn had already stood up.

“If you’re gonna shoot me, Annabelle, then quit the sniveling and shoot me,” she said. “But if you think for a minute that Jake is ever going to love you, you’re batshit crazy.”

“Ignore her, Annabelle. Look at me,” Jake said, sidling closer. Annabelle’s focus was totally on Flynn. If he could just get between Flynn and the gun...

“You’re so obsessed with whether he loves me or not. Who cares? What does it matter? I’m not your problem, Annabelle. Your problem is you. He’s never going to love you, whether I’m in the picture or not. That’s all there is to it. It’s just never going to happen.”

Jake watched as Annabelle tucked a shaking finger inside the trigger.

“Get down!”

Flynn took the cue and darted to the floor just as Jake bent down and launched himself at Annabelle’s midsection. The gun went off and chunks of ceiling fell over them.

“Flynn! Get out!” he yelled as he grabbed for Annabelle’s hand, grasping it by the wrist as the gun went off again. He heard a crash and a scream behind him.

“Flynn?!?” He tried to look for Flynn, but Annabelle almost got free from under him.

“He loves me!” she screamed, her eyes wild. She cracked him in the head with the gun, and he grabbed her wrist and banged it against the floor as hard as he could. He heard the crack of bones, and Annabelle screamed. The gun slid from her grip and without letting her go, he shifted one leg out to kick it out of her reach.

He put one hand on the floor to push himself up off of her, but hands grabbed him and pulled him away before he could get to his feet. The hands released him and he realized that they belonged to two SWAT guys. He had no idea when the cops had come in, but the room was suddenly filled with uniforms. He turned around and frantically searched the room.

“Flynn!”

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and whipped around to see Flynn behind him. He pulled her to him, one hand cradling the back of her head as he held her tight, drinking in the feel of her alive in his arms.

“Thank God you’re okay.” He pulled back, holding her by her upper arms and glancing over her body. “Are you okay?”

She smiled, then slowly shook her head. “Don’t think so.”

She bucked in his grip, and that’s when he felt the slipperiness under his left hand. He put his right arm around her waist to catch her.

“I need a medic!” he yelled as he guided her to the couch.

“On the way!” a voice yelled back.

“I’m shot,” Flynn said, her voice high and calm. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been shot.”

Jake leaned over her right arm, trying to get a good look in the dim light. All he could see was a growing dark patch on the sleeve of her sweater.

“Flynn...” He glanced over his shoulder and shouted, “A medic! Now!”

He rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and used it to put pressure on her arm, blocking out her gasp of pain as he did what needed to be done. The blood seeped out from under his hand, dripping into a small pool on the couch. It was a lot of blood, and it was coming fast; Annabelle had hit an artery.

“You don’t look good, Tucker,” she said.

“I’m fine.” He raised his eyes to hers and forced a smile. “You’re gonna be fine, too. I’ve seen worse paper cuts.”

“Oh, I’ll bet.” Her voice was frail. “Hey, Tucker. You wanna hear something funny?”

“Always.” He kept the pressure on her arm, and tried to look casual. “What is it?”

“I love you.”

He looked up, not sure how to respond, not even sure if he heard her right.

She chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna shoot anyone over it or anything.”

“Flynn...”

A light smile fluttered on her face. “I know it’s only been a week, but there are people getting crispy in a car outside and I was held at gunpoint and it occurs to me that life is just too freakin’ short, you know? I love you, and I just want you to know that.”

Tucker bit the inside of his cheek and concentrated on maintaining the pressure on her wound. “Anything you need to tell me, there will be plenty of time to tell me later.”

She raised her good arm and put her hand on his wrist.

“I want you to know now. Just in case—”

“Knock it off, Flynn.” He looked her in the eyes. “You’re gonna be fine.”

“Oh. Of course.”

He reached up with his free hand and touched her cheek. “When you wake up on the other side of this, after I give you a healthy ration for scaring the shit out of me, I’ll tell you that I love you, too.”

“You don’t have to say that,” she said. “It’s okay.”

“Flynn...” His voice shook on her name and he took a moment to steady it. “Flynn, if I was the kind of guy who’d say that when he didn’t mean it, I would have said it to Annabelle.”

She thought on that for a second, then offered a weak smile. “Good point.”

Even in the dim light, he could see how pale her face was, and it scared the shit out of him. He smoothed some hair away from her face, and stared into her eyes, anchoring himself in them. “I’m not just saying it, Flynn. I love you.”

“Well, yeah,” she said, smiling. “I mean, who wouldn’t?”

Then her eyes closed and Jake turned his head toward the door and screamed, “Where is my fucking medic?”