Merchants with Evil Intent (47 page)

      
“Drop your weapon!” someone yelled.

      
“Who the
fuck are
you?” Viktor sneered at the man dressed in tights and a metal shirt.

      
“Ah! So ye can see me?” Eoghan asked,
raising an eyebrow.

      
“Perfectly and now I’m going to kill
you,” Viktor hissed. He had no time for intruders.

      
“Lass, Declan’s gun!”
Eoghan yelled to Camryn.

      
Camryn quickly moved through the grass
and grabbed the gun from his ankle holster. Her hand shook and she remembered
how John told her to steady herself at the range. She stood slowly to see where
Viktor was and noticed the knight she’d seen earlier. She groaned.

      
He came to a gunfight with a fake sword!

      
“Lass!
Now!” he
yelled over his shoulder.

      
Her left arm ached and she winced when
she lifted it to steady the gun. She took aim and jumped when she saw Viktor
shoot the knight at point blank range.

      
A scream lodged in her throat.

      
She blinked in shock when the knight
laughed. Her eyes grew wide when he began to taunt Viktor.

      
“Ye bloody rotten whoreson! Can ye only
shoot a man when his back is to
ye
?” he laughed and hopped
around in a circle, swinging his sword.

      
She shook her head and aimed again.

      
The knight had turned so that Viktor’s
back was facing her. She was afraid that if she shot Viktor she would
accidently shoot the other man as well.

      
She was wrought with indecision when the
knight yelled, “Bloody shoot the bastard, lass!”

      
She took aim again and pulled the
trigger.

      
Viktor fell forward from the impact.

      
In fact, he fell right through the
knight.

*
     
*
     
*

      
“Declan’s no’ answering his mobile,” Ian
growled. “Tell me again why we left ma and Aisling at the pub and are on a mad
dash to Teaghan’s?”

      
“Maggie told me to.” His hands still
shook from seeing her.

      
“And who the feck is Maggie?” Ian snarled
as he drove recklessly down the pot-holed road.

      
“My wife.”

      
“Bloody hell, man!
You’ve a wife and you’re snoggin’ me ma?” Ian screeched.

      
“Can’t you go any faster for Christ
sakes?” John yelled. “We can discuss this later!”

      
Ian glared at him, “Bloody damn right
we’ll talk aboot this later.”

*
     
*
     
*

      
Declan struggled for his gun and panicked
when he couldna find it.

      
Faintly he heard Eoghan yelling at
Camryn. He pushed himself up and saw Camryn holding his pistol.

      
He watched as she pulled the trigger and
then saw Orlov fall.

      
He met Eoghan’s eyes.

      
“Oh Declan, not you!”
Eoghan
cried,
his eyes wide with fear.

      
“What are talkin’ aboot, ya crazy ghost?”
Declan yelled.

      
Eoghan shook his head sadly.

      
Declan glanced down and saw his lifeless
body on the sand.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Her heart hammered in her chest as she
neared Viktor. She couldn’t tell if he was alive. The gun had fallen from his
hand on impact so she shakily walked a wide arc to avoid him and kicked the gun
out of his reach.

      
She wasn’t like those stupid women in the
movies who think the bad guy is dead and he really isn’t.

      
She wasn’t going to check for a pulse,
either. Instead she shot the ground where he lay and watched for any reaction
from him.

      
When satisfied he was either unconscious
or dead she hobbled back to Declan.

*
     
*
     
*

      
“
It’s
no’ your time,
Declan,” Teaghan murmured.

      
Declan jumped when he saw her. She
half-grinned in response.

      
“Am I dead?”

      
She walked towards his body on the grass.
“No’ really. You’re betwixt, but ya can’t stay.”

      
Her deep red hair hung in loose curls to
the middle of her back and her green eyes expressed mirth.

      
“Teaghan, I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

      
She reached her hand out to him and
touched his chest. “I’ve already forgiven you. Ya need to forgive yourself.
When I was dyin’ and asked you not to leave me I didna mean it the way you
interpreted it. I only meant that I didna want to die alone, love.” She watched
as Camryn removed Declan’s shirt. “She’s beautiful, Declan. You’ve done well.
Now go back to her. She needs you and you need her.”

      
When he looked back, she was gone.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Camryn’s eyes widened at the blood
pooling around Declan. Not feeling a pulse she began to panic. “Are you
serious, God? You bring him to me and then take him away? Are you effin’
kidding me?” she cried.

      
She straddled him and performed CPR. “Come
on Declan! Stay with me!” she screamed pumping his chest furiously.

      
After what seemed like hours, he finally
gasped for breath. She felt his pulse again. It was there, but very faint.

      
She didn’t allow herself to become
jubilant. He wasn’t out of the woods yet.

      
His eyelids flickered momentarily, giving
her hope.

      
“Don’t leave me!” she cried, her tears
fell on his chest.

      
“Teaghan?” he rasped.

      
She blinked her eyes.

      
“Teaghan?” he said louder, reaching for
her.

*
     
*
     
*

      
His arms went limp and his eyes closed.
Camryn leaned over and checked his pulse and breathed a sigh of relief.

      
She took off her sweat jacket, not a
small feat with only one good arm. She wadded it up and placed it on his chest
to help stop the bleeding. Gently she placed her knee over the area to apply
pressure and dug in his pants pocket for his phone.

      
She scrolled through his contact list
until she found Ian’s number and pressed send.

      
“Call an ambulance! Declan’s been shot.”

      
“Camryn?
Is he
okay?” Ian asked as calmly as he could.

      
She tried to respond, but no words would
form.

      
Darkness embraced her like a warm fuzzy
blanket.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Camryn awoke to soft murmurings
surrounding her. Her eyes felt sandy, gritty.

      
She bolted upright. “Declan!”

      
“Nurse!”
John
yelled.
“Cam?
Can you hear me?”

      
She opened her eyes and blinked to adjust
her focus. Her bottom lip trembled. “Declan?”

      
“He’s in the ICU.” When she lifted a
disbelieving eyebrow he patted her arm. “He’s going to be okay.”

      
She frowned at her arm in a sling but it
didn’t stop her from trying to get out of bed.

      
John and Ian inched closer to stop her.

      
“Where do you think you’re going?” John
asked.

      
She glared. “I need to see him and don’t
think you can stop me.”

      
Ian backed away, lifting his hands.
“She’s all yours.” He inched towards the door and promptly left.

      
Camryn raised a menacing eyebrow causing
the veins to protrude in John’s neck.

      
“You won’t be leaving this bed until the
doctor says you can, young lady. You were shot, Camryn!” he barked.

      
Tears pooled in her eyes. “Not as bad as
Declan.” She wiped her hand over her eyes. “If it wasn’t for that crazy guy
distracting Viktor, we’d both be dead.”

      
John’s eyebrows furrowed. “What guy?”

      
She shrugged, “The guy dressed as a
knight.”

      
The nurse entered and eased John out of
the way. “Dear ting…howya feelin’ then? A bit sore, aye?” she asked, smoothing
the bedding over Camryn. “No matter, I’ll give you a bit more pain reliever.
You’ll be feelin’ fine in no time.”

      
Camryn tried to protest, but as soon as
the nurse adjusted the IV, she began to get groggy.

      
“I need to see him, dad,” Camryn moaned.

      
“Perhaps later,” he said soothingly.

      
She nodded and then her eyes widened.
“Viktor?”

      
“He’s dead,” he hissed.

*
     
*
     
*

      
Declan drifted in and out of
consciousness. Siobhan sat at his bedside murmuring prayers in Gaelic.

      
Eoghan was
loathe
to leave Declan’s side. He’d ne’er admit it, but he was fond of the whelp and
grateful for the gel’s tenacity in bringing him back from the dead.

      
Whilst Declan slept peacefully Eoghan
drifted to Camryn’s room. Maggie stood behind the chair occupied by Camryn’s
sire. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, but stood next to her, reaching for her
hand.

      
A slight chill caused John to turn and
survey the room.

      
His voice was gravelly. “Maggie, if
you’re here, I want to thank you.”

      
Maggie tore her hand from Eoghan’s grasp
and placed it on John’s shoulder.

      
He jumped at the touch, and then eased
back into the chair. “I still miss you every day of my life, Mags.” He wiped a tear
from his cheek. “You’d be so proud of her; she’s so much like you.”

      
Eoghan’s hand tightened into a fist when
Maggie materialized behind John.

      
The pressure on John’s shoulder
increased, causing him to turn.

      
John had so many questions for her. She
shot him a devilish grin. “I can’t stay long love.” She nodded towards Camryn
and tears welled in her eyes. “She’s a lot like you, too. She’s a brave, smart
woman. She’ll be fine. It’s
you
I’m
worried about.”

      
His eyebrows furrowed. “Me?”

      
She nodded gravely.
“Aye.
Ya need to move on John. Get on with your life.”

      
“But…” he started.

      
“But nothing!
Siobhan is quite fond of you. It’s okay to fall in love again, John.” She
grinned at Eoghan who feigned disinterest. “Love endures time and distance. I
must go now. Take care of our baby. Tell her I’ll always be watching over her
and that I love her.”

      
In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

*
     
*
     
*

      
In Chicago Tom McShane called an
impromptu meeting.

      
Present were Joe Butler, Greg Travers,
Jim Brower and a smattering of fellow cops who all had a stake in the Orlov
case.

      
He sighed deeply. “I got word from the
Irish authorities that Detective Viktor Orlov was shot and killed shortly after
he shot two civilians.”

      
His words hung in the air.