Page 70 of Savage Peril

“That would have worked,” Sheldon said. “The idea was that after our lunch, you’d drive toward the clinic. But you wouldn’t have made it.”

“And now?”

“It’s more difficult,” Sheldon said. “But same result. You won’t make it back to the clinic.”

Gunner stood in the doorway. “Then it’s good that I dropped by to give her a ride.”

Sheldon stiffened. “I think not. Since you overheard our conversation, I can’t allow you to leave.”

Gunner pulled Lori up from the chair and stood in front of her. “That’s not your decision.”

Sheldon took a pistol from his jacket pocket and pointed it at Gunner. “I think I can change your mind. I would rather not kill you. Instead, I have an offer for you.”

“I bet you do.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Sheldon said. “Lori will die as painlessly as possible. I promise you that. But you could walk away a wealthy man.”

“I’ll walk away with Lori.”

“You haven’t heard my offer yet,” Sheldon said. “I’m talking about more money than you’ll see in a lifetime.”

“I don’t want your filthy money.”

“Oh, come on,” Sheldon said, as though talking to a buddy. “Every man has a price. I’ll make it worth your while. Just name an amount.”

“Go to hell.”

“One hundred million dollars,” Sheldon said, with his chin high and his eyes gleaming. “You’ll never work again. You can have any woman you want.”

Lori gasped and pressed herself against Gunner’s back.

“Just step aside,” Sheldon said. “That’s all you have to do.”

“I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed your hospitality,” Gunner said. “But we’ll be leaving now.”

Sheldon roared then grabbed the edge of the glass tabletop and dumped it onto the floor. Lori jumped to the side and sprinted toward the hallway. Gunner glanced at Sheldon, who aimed for Lori.

Gunner leapt into the air, using his body to shield Lori. The bullet went into Gunner’s back and he dropped to the floor, searing pain burning through him.

Lori screamed and raced over to Gunner, just as Wyatt and Hunter burst into the room. It was about time. Gunner had called for backup as he’d raced toward Brentwood.

“Put the gun down,” Hunter said.

A deafening gunshot exploded in the room. Gunner watched Sheldon slump to the floor with his gun in his hand. He had shot himself in the temple and blood was everywhere. Lori was sobbing and Gunner’s vision was beginning to fade. Wyatt was beside him. “We’re here, buddy.”

*****

Lori had sprinted away from Gunner so Sheldon would point the gun at her. But she had no way of predicting that Gunner would ruin her effort to protect him by becoming a human shield. He had dropped to the floor, blood pouring out, and Lori had rushed to his side.

Lori had panicked, but Hunter had taken over to control the bleeding until the ambulance arrived. She later learned that a gunshot victim frequently died from blood loss, rather than the injury. She would have been horrified to know that a person could bleed to death in five minutes.

While Hunter intervened to save his buddy, Lori talked. “Stay with me. I love you.” She hadn’t known if it would do any good, but she had to try. Her pleading had gone unanswered, but she kept it up. The paramedics had arrived and Lori rode in the ambulance with Gunner.

Lori had no attention for anything else, but she remembered someone saying that Sheldon was dead. The police had arrived to take charge of the scene. Hunter and Wyatt had stayed behind to relay what they knew.

After many agonizing hours at the hospital, the surgeon had come out to talk to Lori. She had let out a long breath when she heard that Gunner would be okay. The bullet had gone into the right side of his back, missing his liver and intestines.

It seemed that Gunner had withstood the trauma quite well. The bullet had lodged into muscle, and the surgeon had successfully removed it. Since the shot had been from a light, compact gun, the bullet was small caliber, so there had been less damage than there might have been.

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