Lucien
With an oath, Lucien clutched his chest where the bullet had pierced him as he spun around to shield his wife from the killer who stood in the doorway. His right arm, his firing arm, hung lifelessly as the blood-stained his shirt, seeping through to the dinner jacket he wore.
Proserpina mewled a sound of pain, trying vainly to staunch the bleeding, looking around helplessly for something to bind her lover's arm as he stood, his face grey with pain and fury as he watched the man approaching them. Turning helplessly, she stood before her husband, shielding him with her body, glaring at the man who had walked in, who was raising his arm and taking aim to fire again.
***
Proserpina
"Shark!' I spat out,' You despicable, evil man!'
He laughed, he was on a high with s*bstance and the thrill of having shot at Lucien, effectively crippling his shooting arm.
"Despicable?' he crooned, stepping forward, pointing his gun again at Lucien,
Then coldly, he went on,
"Move out of the way, c*nt. I will not hesitate to shoot you. But it is Delano that I want now.'
Lucien dug his fingers into my arm, trying to make me move behind him but the injury had weakened him.
I knew it was a chest shot and I could hear the rasping breaths he took as he struggled to breathe. He was holding on to the edge of the desk for support, almost swaying with the effort as he said in a low voice,
"You f*cking bastard,'
Shark laughed again, a high, ugly sound. Maniacal in its pitch, a devilish gleam in his yellow eyes.
'You're the real bastard, Lucien. Let's not forget who was born on the wrong side of the blanket!'
I flinched. After all that Lucien had done for this miserable man, this was what he had to say?
I turned to him, my fury and disgust on my face. But Shark's eyes were glittering with a madness that no one had seen coming. The madness of the devil.
'Why bro?' now Lucien sounded as though he was pleading as he spoke, his voice hoarse with the strain,' Why?'
Shark was closer but he stopped, his pistol trained squarely on Lucien.
'WHY?' bellowed Shark,' WHY? Because you became a pussy once that bi*ch entered your life.'
He swung around and I almost stopped breathing as his gun was now trained on me.
'You destroyed him, you sl*t. You and your endless train of children."
His gun dropped to my belly and I recoiled as I felt my lover grip me, trying to force me behind his bulk.
The hate in Shak's voice made me shrink.
I thought of an incident that had happened many days ago:
Ria was sitting on the stool as I brushed her hair. She seemed to be thinking.
Kissing the blonde head, I whispered,
'Poppet? What's it?'
She pulled a face.
'Mumma,' she said reflectively,' Mumma, I don't like Unca Shark.'
"Uncle Shark. I said absently as I laid the brush down and pulled her into my arms.
Piers was leaning against my lap, and he piped up.
"He stares at Pappa as if he hates him.'
I turned in astonishment and began laughing. "No, my sweet kiddo, I smiled, "they have been friends for years!'
Piers shook his small head,
"He is not a good man,' my son had insisted solemnly and his twin had nodded her head sagely.
I had laughed it off that night. Now I realized that they had been right, intuitively, they had seen what we had failed to recognize.
***
Shark was speaking, his voice dripping venom as he snarled,
"The dr*g deals I was pushing through, the women we were going to bring in from East Europe, everything stopped. '
And then, the hate in his eyes multiplying manifold, he looked at me as he said.
"Because of a woman. A GOOD woman, he said. He wanted to become a GOOD man for you, you bit*ch.'
The rage in his voice was palpable.
He stepped forward, snarling,
"All because of YOU.'
I stepped back, pressing myself to Lucien, winding my arms around him, supporting him, aware that he was breathing heavily, painfully. My heart was pounding, I did not want to lose this wonderful man, my husband and I was ready to do anything to stop Shark.
Lucien wheezed painfully,
"Just get the f*ck out of here, Shark.' He growled now, speaking with difficulty. Alarmed, I raised my hand to his cheek. Lucien went on,
"Leave my woman out of this.'
With a laugh that was more a sound of ugly triumph, Shark reached out and grabbed me by my hair, jerking me to him painfully. Pulling me to his body, he stepped back, now leveling the gun at Lucien, dragging me along backward with him.
She isn't going to be yours anymore, bro.' he said, sneering. And pulling me to him, twisting my arm painfully behind my back, he raised his free hand and slapped me hard across the face.
I cried out, tasting blood on my lip and Lucien roared, like a wounded animal.
Shark raised his pistol and shot at him again and my lover crumpled on one knee, cursing as I screamed, sobbing out, begging the man who was holding me in a vice-like grip;
'Please, Shark, please, leave him, leave Lucien...don't I beg you, don't'
I sobbed out loud as I saw Lucien crumple to the floor, the blood flowing freely from the fresh shot in his shoulder.
"Blo*dy fu*k,' he groaned, although his voice was not as strong as before,' If You had a problem man, we could have talked it over.'
His grey eyes were dark with pain, raw with sorrow in his pale face and I knew he was losing blood rapidly.
The man who held me captive, laughed, a cackle of sound.
"You took my guns, you bas*ard.' Lucien added, sinking to the floor, his arm a dead appendage, his face grey with pain and loss of blood.
Shark dragged me with him as he stepped forward and aimed a kick at Lucien, who was on the floor.
"No,' I screamed, struggling wildly, kicking at his shins.
"Shut up, you f*cking wh*re' he gritted, twisting my arm fiercely, making me scream,
' I have it all worked out. I'll sell you to someone who likes leaky tits.'
He laughed as Lucien raised his head, his eys flashing fury impotently
'I got plans for you, c*nt. A dr*g lord in Mexico, a sheikh in the Middle East, so many takers.'
He laughed again and squeezed my breast cruelly with the hand that was not holding the gun.
Lucien groaned, trying to raise his head but he was too injured to be able to be effective. He was almost prostrate on the floor near his desk. But then I saw him inch his left hand surreptitiously towards his gun which had slipped under his large desk.
Our eyes met, just a brief touch and I saw the glint in them.
We were near the table and Shark gripped my face inflicting pain, forcing me to look at him, taking a sadistic pleasure in detailing the horrendous life he had planned for me.
'You ever heard of white slave traf******g, b*tch, eh? Cos that what I got ready for you. To be passed from man to man...'
In a sudden spurt of desperate rage, I bit down hard on his thumb and he dropped his gun, howling in pain and rage. He raised his hand and hit me again across my face, and my ears seemed to ring; the wave of blackness from the blow made me reel and I sagged.
***
Lucien
The sight of Shark, his closest friend, his oldest friend, who had betrayed him, standing before him, made him feel furious.
In some part of his mind, he had been trying to deny the fact that Shark had been responsible. His friend from childhood, the one he had saved, that he could turn against Lucien had been incomprehensible for him.
Yes, he had been aware that Shark had been greatly put out by the total rejection of expanding the women traf******g business that Shark had wanted to explore. Dr*gs were totally out.
But to think that the dismissal of his pet theories had turned Shark into a vengeful beast was something he had not been able to believe at first.
Which was why Shark had the element of surprise to help him in his attack.
Shark had taken them by surprise and had pumped the bullets into Lucien mercilessly. He had also taken care to immobilize Lucien's shooting arm without which he would not be able to fire, even if he had had a gun.
Lying on the ground, feeling the blood soaking through his shirt, he felt his right arm, his shooting arm, hang uselessly. But the sight of Shark slapping his wife around, and the things he threatened to do to her, made Lucien's spirits revive. He would die trying to save her.
With a superhuman effort, he inched his left hand slowly towards the Taurus which was half-hidden under the table. For a brief moment, he met Proserpina's eyes as she turned to look at him, misery etched large on her face. The sight of her face, swollen and red from Shark's brutal beatings, made him experience a fresh wave of rage course through him.
Even as Shark jerked her around, painfully, grabbing her face in his hand, she bit him hard in the soft palm.
Shark howled and hit her again, the gun dropping from his hand in the melee.
That was the chance Lucien had been waiting for, that split-second window of time when Shark was unprepared.
Lucien reached out and grabbed the gun while Proserpina was fighting Shark. The blow caused her to fall heavily to the ground, crying out in pain.
Now, supporting his useless arm with his left hand, using every ounce of his rapidly waning strength and ignoring the pain that tore through his weak body, raising himself on his knees with difficulty, Lucien fired.