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“Give them to me,” Voss said

Once Lance was tied, Voss set the rifle down on the counter and tucked Morgan’s gun into his waistband He brought Morgan to a second chair She had to act now She wasn’t going to get another chance But it had been years since she’d practiced physical self-defense Would she do it correctly? If she didn’t

Before he could force her into the chair, she slapped her hands on the top of her head, crushing the fingers entwined in her hair Pinning his hand to her scalp, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head toward his knees, bending his hand backward Bone crunched as his wrist broke His useless fingers released her He reached for her with his other hand

No! She wouldn’t allow hiet a fresh hold on her

She scra around her throat like fingers Breathing hard, Morgan rolled onto her back and kicked out Voss juet around her feet, but she kept her legs drawn up and prepared to fire another kick

Lance sprang to his feet Mrs Voss’s knotsVoss around the waist They landed hard on the floor and rolled in a tangle of lirunt, Voss heaved Lance off him

“Mrs Voss I’ in” The rookie kicked at the door It didn’t open He kicked again

Morgan hoped he’d called for backup She climbed to her feet and raced for the door She opened it, and the rookie stumbled inside He recovered his balance and lifted his drawn handgun Pointing it at the men on the floor, he shouted, “Freeze”

Voss ju his shirt Voss spun around, his right hand cradled against his body

Boom!

The gunshot reverberated in the san’s heart skipped a beat A red stain bloomed across Voss’s chest He fell to his knees and swayed for a few long seconds before crashing facedown to the floor

The rookie didn’t un was still pointed at Voss Lance was on his knees beside Voss “Get me a towel”

Crying, Mrs Voss ran to the kitchen and brought a dish towel Lance put it over the wound on Voss’s chest and applied pressure “Call for an ambulance”

The rookie ju his weapon, he used his radio to call for assistance

Morgan’s knees felt like water as she stumbled to Lance’s side Despite Voss’s attack, she didn’t want him to die He couldn’t help what he’d done He wasn’t sane “How is he?”

“Bleeding way too much” Lance said “I need another towel”

Mrs Voss brought him a stack Then she dropped to her knees beside her husband She grabbed his hand “Dean? Dean, don’t you give up”

Lance caught Morgan’s gaze He shook his head The bullet had hit Voss in the center of his chest, right over his heart

Morgan put two fingers to Voss’s neck but felt nothing “No pulse”

Lance started CPR and performed chest compressions until the paramedics arrived Then he stepped back The para their heads “He’s gone”

Mrs Voss began to weep Morgan went to her, putting an arm around the woman’s shoulders

The next few hours passed in a blur of I can’t believe that just happened More police arrived Morgan’s and Lance’s guns were recovered from the scene and kept as evidence until they were cleared by ballistics Though everyone agreed the rookie had shot Voss, a thorough investigation dotted every I and crossed every T The police deterh an upstairsat the back of the house

Morgan, Lance, and Mrs Voss went to the police station to give statements They were separated and put in individual rooan recounted the incident like a robot She wasn’t even aware that she was shivering until an officer brought her a jacket and a cup of coffee As the adrenaline faded, her scalp throbbed from her encounter with Voss, but other than a few bruises, she was uninjured

It was after lunch by the tied fro for her