Page 57 of Hero & Villain
Trixie snorted. She might have said something else, but Minx said, “I see dust.”
“Is that bull ready?” Trix asked.
I held the rifle in my arms and glanced at Bo, where he strained against the lines. He made quite a picture against the bluff in the fading light. Jezebel frowned at me. “We need to get off the road.”
“Here he comes,” Minx said, apparently just up ahead. “He’s slowing down. I shouldn’t have smiled at him. He’s ugly. Bald. His friend’s not too handsome either. Um, Jezebel, we have a problem. Ugly and his friend are pulling over.”
Jezebel stared at me, a look of shock on her face. “They wouldn’t stop, not with what they’ve got in their truck.”
“What exactly is in their truck?” Trixie asked. “I can hit them with an explosive. I can be there in three minutes.”
“No explosives,” Jezebel spat. She held very still for a few seconds and then she pulled out one of the stakes holding down the line. “Looks like I’ll be bull-riding this morning. And to think that I forgot my spurs. Pink, you’re going to take the bike from the back of the truck and ride it south. If either of the men are touching Minx, you shoot them. In the head.”
I only hesitated for a second before I nodded and ran for the truck. The bike was light, sleek, modern, and when I pulled it upright, it purred almost silently instead of roaring to life. It had the usual gears and accelerator. I climbed on and took off, shooting over the dirt like a rocket. When I got to the road, Jezebel was on the bull, ropes flinging all over the place while she hung on somehow looking calm and at ease, like she did this every day. She whipped him around, trying to get him headed in the right direction as she turned him with the halter she’d somehow gotten on his muzzle.
“Go,” she growled, and I heard it in my ear, through the helmet.
I nodded and raced down the road, crouched over the small bike, hugging the road as I took the curve right before the truck.
“I’m waiting for my boyfriend,” Minx said in a soft voice that wasn’t for me. I couldn’t hear the guy’s response, but if he was close enough to talk to her, that was a problem.
She giggled and sounded slightly hysterical. “Oh, right? There isn’t a cell signal right here. I don’t know if he’d come, anyway. I think he’s cheating on me.”
“Why don’t we have a sniper?” Felicia demanded.
“The sniper’s the honey pot today,” Jezebel responded, sounding calm and in control. “Pink, can you see them?”
I came around the curve and saw the truck parked with its long trailer. Two men were on either side of Minx, gradually moving closer, trapping her. I gunned the bike and pulled out the gun in my holster, getting in sight.
The strangest thing happened as I got close enough to take the shot: my hand froze and I couldn’t pull the trigger. I veered behind the truck, jerking to a stop at the end of the trailer, and dumped the bike.
“I couldn’t get them. I’m behind the truck.” I kept my voice low while my heart pounded and frustration made me want to cry or scream. How could my body betray me at a time like this? It had to do what I needed it to do, or I wouldn’t survive. I shook out my hand, staring at it like it was a stranger. Come on. I could do this. I’d shot at targets a million times and hadn’t missed for years.
“What are you guys doing?” Minx asked, sounding anxious.
I could hear one guy answer, keeping his voice low and soothing, like that would fool her. “We’re going to help you get your car running. My friend’s going to look under the hood while I have a little fun with you.”
Minx was in serious trouble. I had to do something to take control. I could do this. I could shoot someone who clearly had ill intent. In fact, I could shoot someone in cold blood for the funof it. I just had to take my emotions and put them in the little box I always kept for unpleasant occasions, like my first Thursday.
I stepped out from behind the truck, took careful aim and shot at the man’s thigh, but I flinched at the end and barely grazed him. The man whirled around, his eyes wide enough that I could see his whites before he stalked towards me, barely limping, his own gun coming out.
Of course he had a gun. I stepped behind the truck in time to miss the peppering of bullets.
“Don’t shoot the truck,” the other guy said. “We’ll get her too.”
“Jezebel, this situation is out of control,” Trixie said coldly. “Do you have a plan?”
“Of course I have a plan. Pink, keep shooting. Keep their attention on that side, but don’t let them get too close. Minx, stay low.”
“Got it,” Minx said, voice muffled.
I crouched and peered under the truck, then reached out and let off a few shots at them without looking, because it made no difference. Baldy shot back at me, and I felt the burn of a bullet along my arm.
I touched it and saw red. “He’s a good shot,” I said while the pain kicked in and my stomach churned. This was real danger, real bullets, and I couldn’t control my reactions at all. What kind of villain was I if I couldn’t even defend myself? I’d had no problem breaking Dirk’s nose, so why couldn’t I shoot these guys, even somewhere nonlethal?
“Anything mortal?” Jezebel asked.
I bit my trembling lip. “No. Just a grazed arm. Still, watch it.”
