Page 91 of Keeping Knight

Shit. Of course she would. As soon as she saw the gun, her concern would have been Sampson’s safety. She’d use herself as a shield to protect him.

Henry is facing Ruby, so he doesn’t notice me standing in the doorway. Neither does Ruby. But Sampson must catch my scent, because his head jerks towards me. His gaze begs silently for me to let him attack.

But I can’t. Not with Ruby so close to the gun. Given the caliber of it, if she’s shot at such close range, the injury could be deadly.

“Let me put the dog in another room,” Ruby says. “You don’t need to hurt him. He doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

Henry flicks a glance at Sampson. “I don’t think so.” He lowers the gun so it points at Sampson and cocks the trigger. “In fact⁠—”

“No!” Ruby steps in front of Sampson. “I won’t let you!”

My heart stops.

I need to end this. Now.

Raising my Sig, I aim for Henry’s right shoulder. If I hit it in the right place, it’ll deaden the nerves and make him drop his weapon.

“I’ll do what I want!” Henry bellows.

His gun swings back up to point at Ruby’s heart.

“Drop it!” I shout.

Henry spins toward me, rage contorting his face as he spits, “You!”

We both fire at the same time.

I duck, but not fast enough. A burning hot poker stabs into my chest.

At the same time, my bullet slams into his shoulder. Crimson blooms. His gun falls to the floor.

“Micah!” Ruby screams.

“Get back!” I yell at her as I race across the room. “Get away from him!”

Ruby stares at me with a horrified expression. “Micah!”

I kick Henry’s discarded gun out of the way, then leap on him and wrestle him to the ground. He yelps when I wrench his injured arm behind him, and I smile in grim satisfaction. “Defend,” I order Sampson. Because shit, I don’t know if this asshole has an accomplice lurking around somewhere. “Defend.”

“Micah, oh God, Micah.” Ruby crouches beside me. “You’re hurt. You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine.” Pinning Henry’s hands with one of mine, I reach into my pocket with the other and grab a handful of the zip ties I’m never without.

“He shot you!” she cries. “Oh, God. Micah.”

Once I have Henry fully restrained, I glance over at Ruby. There’s a nasty bruise on her cheek that ignites my rage all over again. “Where else are you hurt?” I ask her. “Did he touch you? What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” she sobs. “Micah. He shot you. You need to lie down. I need to get help.”

“He hit you,” I growl.

“I was trying to protect Sampson. He got mad and hit me. But that was it.”

“You fucking whore!” Henry shouts. His eyes roll wildly. “Fucking slut!”

My fury turns incendiary. Flipping him over, I press my forearm into his throat. “Don’t call her that!” I add pressure to his throat, and his face starts to turn red. “Don’t you ever call her that!”

Dimly, I can feel hot dampness soaking my shirt. I know I’m bleeding. I know this asshole hit me. But I’ve been shot before. As far as I can tell, this isn’t a critical injury. Which means I have time for more important things.