The Blue Zone

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Raab held the gun at his brother’s head, his finger on the trigger. And Kate steadied her gun with both hands. She had no idea what she would do.

Then, slowly, Raab released the hammer and lowered the gun.

“You’re not going to shoot me, are you, pumpkin?”

“Kate, get out,” Mercado said to her. “Run. Let him do what he has to do.”

“No!” Kate glared at Raab, trying to fight through the vision of everything she once trusted and loved. All the pain he’d caused. It was going to end. Here. She shook her head and leveled the gun at his chest.

“I’m not running.”

“Put it down,” Raab said to her. “I’ve never wanted to hurt you, Kate. He’s right. You can get out now.”

“Oh, you’ve already hurt me, Daddy. Nothing in the world could undo the hurt you’ve caused.”

There was a calculating pause in Raab’s eyes. And then, with a smile that sent a chill through her, Raab slowly brought the gun back up to Mercado’s head.

“You wouldn’t shoot me, would you, baby? Not the person who loved you all these years? Who raised you? You can’t undo that, Kate, whatever you now feel. Not for this-”

Raab nudged Mercado with his foot and he rolled onto the floor.

“Please don’t make me do something horrible, Dad,” Kate said. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“Go,” Mercado said. “Please…” A pool of blood began to spread onto the floor.

“If you can do it, go ahead, Kate…shoot!” Raab turned toward her. “We both know I’m going to kill him in a minute. So go ahead, pumpkin.” He raised his gun up at her. “Kill me, baby, if you can do it. Now’s the time…”

Kate’s fingers froze. She fixed on the thin, gray barrel of his gun. She didn’t know what he would do. Squeeze, squeeze, a voice inside insisted. He’s not your father. He’s an animal. She leveled her own gun toward his chest and shut her eyes. Squeeze.

Then she opened them again.

He was smirking. “I didn’t think so, Kate. But he’s right. Get out, Kate, now. I won’t come after you.” He turned back to Mercado and put the muzzle inches from his head. “I’ve got what I want.”

A shot rang out. Kate screamed, shutting her eyes. When she opened them, Raab’s gaze was still fixed on her, but his expression had changed.

He staggered back. He glanced at his shoulder in a state of shock. He put his hand inside his jacket, and when he drew it away, it was covered in blood. He looked at her, disbelieving. Then he pointed his gun at Mercado.

“No!”

Kate squeezed the trigger one more time. This time Raab spun and grabbed his right arm, his gun clattering across the floor. He looked confused. For a second, Kate didn’t know what he was about to do.

Then he took a stubborn step toward his gun on the floor. Kate pulled back the hammer one more time. “Please, don’t make me do this…”

Her hands were trembling. Tears burned her eyes. She took a step and leveled the gun at the center of Raab’s chest.

“What are you going to do?” Raab stared down at the blood on his palm as if unable to believe what she had done. “Kill your own father, Kate?”

Kate steadied her hands. She slowly shook her head. “You’re not my father, you son of a bitch.”

Raab stopped, bent over the gun, breathing heavily. His wounded arm dangled at his side. Then he reached down.

Kate’s fingers quivered on the trigger. “No!”

Raab leaned a little further, his fingers wrapping around the gun. He slowly brought it back up.

“Please, Daddy…” Kate cried.

“You always were the fighter in the family, weren’t you, pumpkin?” He steadied the gun until it pointed toward her. “I’m sorry, baby, but I just can’t let him live.”

A shot rang out from behind. Raab pitched forward, a spatter of blood erupting from his chest. Then another-more blood spraying, his gun clattering across the floor. Raab spun, his fingers still wrapped around an imaginary weapon, pointing it at the air, legs buckling, fixing on the shooter.

He fell.

Greg stood in the doorway, white as a ghost, his arms extended. He turned to Kate and shook his head. “I wasn’t going to let him hurt you, baby. I told you, you could always count on me.”