He was strong. Stronger than she was. Bigger than she was. And now he had the advantage, his upper body strength pitted against hers, as he struggled to force the gun from her hands. She could feel it slippingslipping from her grasp. But now she could feel his weight easing off the lower part of her body as he concentrated all his efforts on retrieving the gun.
Yes-her legs were free! And she brought one knee up, hard, between his legs.
In that same second there was a deafening explosion.
Then everything went still.
For Corbett, hearing the gunshot was a thousand times worse than getting shot himself. His reaction was instinctive; he tried desperately to get up, go to her, see if she was all right. Help her any way he could. He managed to lift his upper body a few inches before crushing pain slammed him back down. He dragged in a breath, and that hurt, too. He gritted his teeth and got out one word: Lucia
Take it easy, mate. Dont try-
Adam-Lucia-I heard
Shes okay. Cant you hear her? Shes the one swearing a blue streak over there. Lie still, you bloody fool, dont you know youve just been shot? Point-blank range, too. If it hadnt been for that armor youre wearing, that slug wouldve put a hole through your chest as big as my fist. Whered it hit you? Oh, crikey. Damn good thing it wasnt a couple inches higher, it wouldve stopped your heart for sure. As it is, Im bettin youve got some busted ribs, at the very least.
Yeahhurts to breathe. Feels likeIve been kicked by a mule. Where the hells our shooter? Did Lucia- Corbett grimaced and put a hand over his eyes. He swore under his breath, then said, Please tell me she didnt kill him. Damnation-we needed him alive.
Adam glanced over his shoulder. Nah, hes not dead-not yet, anyway. Bleedin pretty badly, though. Our girls doing what she can for the blighter. He looked back at Corbett, grinning. Wish youd seen her. Ive never seen anybody move that fast in my life. She was like a whirlwind-like that cartoon-crazy little guy, that tasmanian devil, you know? Came out of nowhere. Poor sod never knew what hit im. Not at first, anyway. Dropped his weapon, they both went for it, and thats when she shot him. Mightve been an accident, I dont know. Either way, she didnt have much of a choice, mate, so youd better not be blamin her for whatever happens now. You know she saved your life, right?
Im not blaming heror anybody else. He set his teeth and struggled up onto one elbow. My fault. Shouldve given the go-ahead sooner
Damn straight, Adam said.
Hes just a kid.
It was the first thing Lucia thought when she rolled the inert body off her. His body was lithe and strong, but slender, slim-waisted, like a boys. She pulled back his hood and pressed her fingers against his neck. It was smooth and warm, and she could feel his pulse tapping rapidly against her fingers. Corbett will kill me if he dies. Dont die, damn you.
Damn straight, Adam said.
Hes just a kid.
It was the first thing Lucia thought when she rolled the inert body off her. His body was lithe and strong, but slender, slim-waisted, like a boys. She pulled back his hood and pressed her fingers against his neck. It was smooth and warm, and she could feel his pulse tapping rapidly against her fingers. Corbett will kill me if he dies. Dont die, damn you.
But, my God, where was all the blood coming from? The front of his jacket was soaked with it already. She looked around frantically for something to stem the flow, but except for the clothes they were wearing, there was nothing. Her dress was useless, so she rolled the bottom half of the boys jacket and shirt into a wad and pressed it against the wound high up on his chest. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that it came as something of a shock when she looked at his face and saw that his eyes were open. Fierce blue eyes, wide with shock and fear, and staring straight up into hers. His lips moved, his mouth opened, but no sound came.
Dont try to talk, she said, forgetting he probably wouldnt understand English.
But he was still struggling to get words out, so she leaned closer. And heard, garbled but unmistakably in English, Dontwant to die
She lifted her head and yelled, Adam-I need help!
She heard Corbett say in a grating voice, Go on. Im fine. We cantlose him. Hes the only lead weve got towhoevers responsible for this damned vendetta. We have to get him to our medical facility. Cant let the French authorities-
Too late, mate, Adam said.
Lucia heard it then, too-the raucous seesaw braying of incoming emergency vehicles, so markedly European and so different from the wail of sirens she had grown up with in the States. She saw Adam and Corbett exchange looks of helpless frustration, and she knew the other agents on the spot had already melted away into the night. She became aware of shouts and running footsteps. Embassy security reached them first, along with the few pedestrians out in the chilly evening. People crowded around the four of them; hands reached to offer aid and comfort. Lucia looked down one last time into the terrified eyes of Corbetts would-be assassin, and with a small sob of gratitude, gave her desperate fight to keep him from bleeding to death into more capable hands.
Time passed. It could have been days or minutes, for all Lucia knew. She spent it in a dreamlike state where time could stretch or compress without rhyme or reason. An eternity filled with the press of people and the cacophony of voices giving orders, asking questions, demanding one thing or another all faded seamlessly into the quiet efficiency and muted murmurs of medical personnel in a well-equipped emergency van. Over her strenuous protests she was checked for trauma, treated for shock and released; then, in another blink of an eye, shed found herself transported through time and Paris streets to a hospital waiting room where, in the manner of such places the world over, time seemed to pass with the speed of glaciers.
At some point Adam joined her, bringing her strong bitter coffee in a foam cup. She sat and held it, warming her cold hands while two policemen came and questioned them about the shooting.
Just a formality, they assured her. It was clearly a case of attempted robbery gone wrong, and witnesses all seemed to agree that Lucia had acted in defense of her own life and her escorts, and that the shooting of the would-be robber had been accidental, taking place in the course of the struggle for control of the gun.
Zere is just one sing I do not understand, the older of the two policemen said in his heavily accented English, as he tucked his notebook and pen back into his pocket. Do you know ze reason why Monsieur Lazlo was wearing body armor? Was he expecting some kind of trouble?
No, I dont, Lucia whispered. Then she cleared her throat and added in a normal voice, Corbett is a bit eccentric
Adam grinned. Rather like whats is name-Howard Hughes, I guess, eh? Or Michael Jackson.
Not at all like Michael Jackson, she retorted, turning to glare at him, and the younger policeman chuckled.
Zere is just one sing I do not understand, Lucia said to Adam sotto voce after the two law officers had departed. Your story about being a passerby who just happened to witness the incident and stopped to help seemed to satisfy them all right, but I happen to know you had a gun. What on earth did you do with it?
He gave her an enigmatic look, then after a moment relented. In a seemingly casual movement, he lay one ankle across the opposite knee and gave his pantleg a twitch-just enough to reveal the holster strapped to his leg. He muttered out of one side of his mouth, Copsd have no reason to pat down an innocent bystander whos just tryin to be a Good Samaritan, now, would they?
Lucia began to laugh, silently at first, with one hand over her eyes. When, to her shock, the laughter became a sob, she clamped the hand over her mouth, but it was too late to stop it. She gave Adam one brief, horrified look, then closed her eyes on the streaming tears. And after a moment she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder, then begin to pat her, awkwardly, tentatively. The rather touching sweetness of the gesture turned the tears back into watery laughter.
She dabbed at her cheeks with the blanket the emergency medical team had given her, since what was left of her gown was a bit gory and left a good deal of modesty to be desired. She had no idea what had become of her fur wrap and shoes.
Sorry, luv, havent got a hanky, Im afraid. Adam didnt know whether to be relieved or disappointed shed turned off the waterworks. Not that he minded being cast in the role of comforter, but his usual methods of dealing with female tears seemed far too dangerous in this particular circumstance.
Thats all right. She sniffed, blew, wiped, then asked, How soon will we know something?
Havent a clue. But no worries, Laz is gonna be fine. Hes just got some busted ribs. Theyre probably running tests and monitoring his condition to make sure theres no damage to his heart. He took a pretty good hit to the chest, you know. Bullets can do some damage, even with a vest on. Believe me, I know.
She just looked at him for a moment with those aquamarine eyes of hers-reminded him of the color of the water off the Great Barrier Reef from the air-then said in a voice he could barely hear, I know all that. I was asking about the boy.
Adam actually rocked back a bit when she said that, as if shed gobsmacked him. The boy-you mean the shooter? Youre askin me about the devil that almost killed-
Hes not a devil, Adam, hes not even a man. Didnt you see him? Hes just a kid.
Yeah, a kid with a bloody big gun. He couldnt believe what he was hearing. Could he be wrong about her feelings for Laz after all?
Corbett didnt want him dead, she went on in that hushed, almost fearful voice. What if he dies, Adam? What if I killed him? Corbetts going to be so angry with me.
He snorted. I seriously doubt that. Especially considering the alternative.
Thealternative?
Yeah-you dead instead of the kid. He shoved himself to his feet, because he felt as if some sort of giant spring inside of him was getting ready to let go. Look-you stay put. Ill go and see what I can find out, okay?