Shame on You

Pulling the slide back to load the first bullet into the chamber, he winks at me while I watch his finger tighten on the trigger. There’s nothing I can do at this point but squeeze my eyes closed and brace myself for the pain.

I hear a loud yell of protest and fear that comes from Griffin, along with the unmistakable sound of the gun going off. What feels like a brick wall crashes into the side of me and I’m slammed down roughly into the dirt and broken cornstalks. I can’t breathe with the heavy weight on top of me and all I can think about is that being shot hurts a whole fucking lot more than I thought it would.

Another shot goes off and it makes me flinch and finally open my eyes. When I don’t see a white light or any golden gates, I realize I’m not dead. I’m flat on the ground with Griffin on top of me.

“OH MY GOD, I SHOT HIM! Oh no, I’m going to puke. It’s happening. Right now. I’m going to be sick,” McFadden yells as he bends over at the waist and dry-heaves next to a screaming Steve who holds on to the bloody mess of what’s left of the hand McFadden shot off.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Griffin asks in a panic as he takes some of his weight off me and runs his hands over every inch of me, checking for bullet holes.

“Jesus, that just took ten years off my life,” he whispers in my ear as he pulls me against him and I bury my face in his neck.

“Seriously, does no one even care that I’m throwing up over here? I need a cold washrag and some 7 Up,” McFadden complains through his heaves.

As good as it feels to be wrapped in Griffin’s arms, knowing that we’re both safe and sound, there’s something I need to do before this goes any further. With a sigh, I gently push Griffin off me and ignore the questioning look on his face as I get up and walk over to McFadden.

Patting him on the back with one hand as he gags, I reach into my back pocket with my other hand and pull out my zip ties. While he’s busy retching, I pull his arms behind his back and secure them together with the pieces of plastic.

“I saved your life and this is the thanks I get?” McFadden complains as he stands up and struggles to move his arms.

I refrain from responding to him, on the grounds that it may result in me murdering him in cold blood in the middle of his precious crop circle. Instead, I leave him there to complain and walk back over to Griffin.

“So, I guess this means you won the bet. You don’t have to go on a date with me now,” he tells me with a cocky grin.

I smile sweetly right back at him. And then I punch him square in the jaw.

Satisfied that this stupid bet can stop looming over my head, I grab on to the front of his shirt, quickly haul him to me before he can complain and plant a kiss square on his mouth. After a few seconds, I pull away and give him my own cocky smile.

“How about we just call it a tie.”

GD stalemate.





EPILOGUE




Two weeks later . . .

Putting on the finishing touches, I check myself in the mirror one last time and take a deep breath before exiting the bathroom. I walk out into the main area of Fool Me Once and stay silent for a few minutes as I watch my family and friends all standing around bickering with one another. Since I had a bunch of work to catch up on at the office, I brought my change of clothes with me so Griffin and I could leave for our date from here. Everyone said they were stopping by for a little congratulatory toast over McFadden’s capture and that we all lived to tell the tale, but I’m pretty sure they had another reason for coming here tonight. I knew Griffin wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. I’m just thankful that Griffin still has a mouth to keep shut, no thanks to me and my idiocy out at the farm a few weeks ago. Thank God for my brother, Ted. As soon as Griffin woke up alone that morning and noticed me gone, he didn’t hesitate to call my brother, who told him all about Sven/Steve and where he lived.

“I’m just saying, it could be a very lucrative side business,” my dad states, taking a sip of champagne.

“I don’t care how lucrative it is, Buddy. Prostitution is still illegal in Indiana,” Lorelei tells him.

“Oh, speaking of whores, what’s going on with that case of yours, Paige? Weren’t you working on catching some slutty guy whose wife suspected him of cheating?” my brother Ted asks her while he pours some champagne in her glass.

In all the chaos, I totally forgot about our other two pending cases that Paige and Lorelei took while I was busy with McFadden. I watch in fascination as Paige’s cheeks redden at my brother’s question. She looks away from him and quickly downs the entire glass of champagne in one swallow.

“Guy? What guy? There’s no guy. I don’t know a guy. Who wants more champagne?” she asks, grabbing the bottle from Ted’s hand and walks away from him.

Well, that was weird.

“Hey, Buddy, I have some work stuff I need you to sign,” Uncle Wally says as he walks up to my dad and thrusts a paper and pen in his hands.

“What is this?” my dad demands as he scans the page.

“You don’t need to read it, just sign it.”