Page 8 of Dr Feel Good
Confusion assaulted me, and I shook my head. We’d been sent to deliver the suitcasetoRoman. How could he be dead?
I couldn’t imagine him as a corpse.
She was staring at me with expectation, but what the fuck did she want me to say?
“On your fucking knees,” Trixie ordered, a wad of spit hurtling from her mouth.
Still clutching the briefcase, I dropped to my knees. Thirteen sauntered forward and jammed her reloaded shotgun against my temple.
“Beg,” she said, low.
“That will never fucking happen,” I snarled. “Fuck you. Save yourself a little time, bitch, and just fucking kill me.”
“A shotgun blast will end this twat too quickly.” Chantilly’s nasally voice grated on my fucking nerves, even now when I was a second away from death. I’d wait for that bitch on the other side. “Let’s put a few holes in her first. See how long she can suffer.”
Gunfire cracked, and a bullet landed in my shoulder, the impact burning through my skin and dragging bits of material from my clothes into the wound.
“We can do this all night,” Trixie crowed. “Play target practice with your narrow ass.”
Chantilly shot again. Pain careened through my thigh. I fell face down.
“Who’s out there?” a deep voice demanded.
“Fuck! Let’s go!” Thirteen ordered.
In response, Trixie opened fire. She’d always been a gun-happy bitch.
I closed my eyes as more gunfire burst around me.
Breathing heavily, I leaned against the tree, listening for footsteps or any sign that whoever was out there still posed a threat. The silence suggested my warning shots scared them away.
Snow flurries drifted around me, and I cursed the tiredness that put me behind schedule.
Instead of adhering to my carefully laid plans with a power nap, I’d stretched out on the sofa and slept for several hours. By the time I awakened, the light snow that greeted me on my arrival was falling in heavy drifts, though I still needed my luggage and supplies.
Which I had yet to get because I’d been halfway to the car when I heard voices. Trespassers always infuriated me. Most times, they ignored the clearly designated ‘Private Property’ signs. Never had I been met with gunfire.
Wild animals? Yes, which was why I armed myself.
Criminals?Never.
This deep in the forest, I was both defense and offense. To summon help, I’d need to use my snowmobile to get to the ranger station about three miles due north if my two-way radiowas down.
Before I lost the chance to finish my tasks and froze to death, I dug my cell phone out of the pocket of my overcoat. Unable to search for the flashlight app while I held my gun, I shoved it away. A moment later, I had a smidgeon of light to see in front of me.
Scowling, I directed my phone to various spots and found everything in order. Just as I was about to turn and head back, someone moaned, and I froze. I shone my phone at various angles, and the light finally fell on a head of dark hair near a stand of trees on the outer edge of my property.
Without thinking, I jumped into action and ran toward the person. A glance over with the flashlight revealed a female face and a lithe, feminine body, surrounded by red snow.
Blood.
She’d been shot.
“H-hurts,” she managed.
“I know,” I soothed and scooped her into my arms. I needed to assess her injuries.
“C-cold,” she murmured.
