Page 67 of Kane's Bounty
She didn’t know if the bullets had hit their mark. If they had, they didn’t have much effect. Banta and Kane tumbled to the floor. Lena moved closer. It was dark. She couldn’t tell who was winning. She thought she saw some kind of mask on Banta’s head. He looked as if he was a space alien she’d seen in the movies.
Kane was on the bottom.
She rushed forward with her lamp. By the time she crossed to them. Kane was on the top.
She backed away.
Again, she noticed some strange mask on Banta’s face. She ran the three feet to the wall and hit the light switch.
Banta screamed and tore the mask from his face.
It was enough distraction for Kane to pull the giant’s other hand from around his neck.
Lena’s eyes adjusted quickly.
Banta clutched at Kane’s head.
Kane’s eyes were wide.
She ran forward and bashed the back of Banta’s head with the lamp.
He stilled, but didn’t go down.
She hit him again and again.
He fell to one side.
She kicked his head and back, wanting to keep hurting him. Lifting the lamp one more time, she felt it pulled out of her grasp. It hit the carpet with a thud.
Kane’s arms wound around her and pulled her away.
Tears streamed down her face and a high-pitched scream tore from her mouth.
Kane turned her body into his and pulled her tightly against him. He was saying something, but she had no idea what it was.
Other voices joined in.
Rage and despair entwined and her body shook violently. She didn’t know how long she stayed that way.
When she opened her eyes, she was cradled in Kane’s arms and they were seated on the couch. Blake and Joshua were in the room along with FBI, police and hotel security. Troth Banta lay unmoving on the carpet with blood all around him. EMTs rushed into the room.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
Kane kissed her cheek. “Incredibly, no. I shot the bastard twice and you beat him over the head with a metal lamp and he’s still not dead.”
Joshua walked over. He was shaking his head and smirking. “No, but even if he wakes up, he’ll be in prison for a long time.”
“Go shower, Lena. We still have one more thing to take care of today. That is, if you’re up to it?”
She wiped her face and looked over at the immobile body of the man who tried to destroy her and kill Kane. It was empowering to have fought back. She took a deep breath. It was definitely time to put an end to her past and move forward. People were swarming around the room, doing various things. “Don’t I need to give a statement or something?”
Agent Blake came forward. “You’re not going to leave town in the next few minutes, are you, Ms. Cruz?”
She looked at Kane. “I’m not going anywhere but to see my ex-husband today, Agent Blake.”
“Well then, you can get cleaned up and dressed. We can get a statement from you after that.”
The hot water poured over her and she started to relax. It was almost over. She kept telling herself, she only had to hold on a little while longer. The bathroom door opened and closed. She didn’t even bother to open her eyes. She knew it was Kane and she knew he was worried about her.
