Page 83 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

“I shot the freaking mayor!” Kins yelled. “I’m going to go to jail!” Her gun accidentally fired again, a bullet slicing through the carpet. She shrieked and dropped the gun on the ground. It fired again and plaster went flying from the wall.

“Stop firing that thing, you psycho.” Liza grabbed the gun from the floor. “Where did you even get this?”

Kins pointed to one of the guards behind her.

“Jesus, your fingerprints are all over it now.” Liza shoved the gun into her coat pocket. “I taught you how to use this,” she said and picked up a taser off the ground. “Not a freaking gun! What were you thinking? You could have killed us!”

“I’m sorry!” Kins said. “Oh God, what have I done?” She stared at Don’s body on the floor.

“It doesn’t matter, it was just his thigh. But we have to go. Now.” Liza grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

“Wait,” I said.

“Wait? They’re going to get up any second. And surely everyone on this floor heard the gunshots because someone who shall remain unnamed is trigger happy.” She glared at Kins.

Kins put her hands over her mouth. “I’m going to go to prison,” she mumbled into them. She dropped her hands. “We have to get out of here!” She ran out the door.

“Kins, we have to stay together!” Liza yelled and ran after her into the hall.

I didn’t move even though I knew Liza was right. The guards at the door were starting to stir. The police would surely be coming any minute.

I stared down at Don’s body. I wanted to kill him. I needed to kill him. My eyes scanned the room for the broken bottle. Where had it gone?

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life in jail!” Kins sobbed from the hall.

What the hell was I doing? I wasn’t going to put my friends’ lives in jeopardy. They had come to save me. Not to kill Don. I grabbed my necklace off the table and ran after them.

We burst out of the stairwell into the hotel lobby.

The man at the front desk looked up at us as we ran by. “Ladies are you okay?” He looked down at my bare feet and then at the doors we were running toward. “It’s freezing out there.”

“We’re great! We’re going to leave you a raving review!” Liza said as she ran past him.

“Excuse me!” he yelled after us. “You can’t…that robe is hotel property!”

We pushed through the doors and ran down the front steps of the hotel. I didn’t feel the icy concrete on my feet or the wind against my bare legs. All I could feel was fire. Everywhere Don touched me was aflame. I stood there, gripping my robe shut as Liza hailed down a taxi.

She pushed me and Kins in before climbing in after us. Kins started crying hysterically as soon as the door shut. I sat there frozen. Liza calmly gave the taxi driver directions to somewhere near our apartment.

He eyed us from the rearview mirror. “Look, I don’t know what kind of party you girls were at, but I’m not…”

“We’ll double the fare. Please just go,” Liza said. “Now!”

He stared at us for another moment before he finally pulled out onto the street.

Liza clapped her hands together and squealed. “Girl power!” She lifted her hand for a high five.

When Kins didn’t offer her hand, Liza reached across her, lifted mine and proceeded to slap it.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe we just pulled that off! Can you believe it?” She nudged Kins with her shoulder.

Kins lifted her face out of her hands. “We’re going to go to prison for life, right?”

“Sh!” Liza hissed.

“Longer? Oh God, what if it’s longer?”

“It can’t be longer than life, drama queen. Besides it’s not like we killed someone.”

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