“Not without a reason,” I said. “So either give me one, or roll over and kiss the floor — right now! Do it!”

“You know I don’t say this lightly, Cross, but fuck you.”

Suddenly, he did roll, too fast, and a shard of glass clenched in his hand crossed the space between us. I felt the muscle in my calf tear. My knee buckled. I was halfway to the ground before I knew what happened.

And Kyle was up on his feet.

He stumbled on his way out, and it probably saved his life. The one shot I managed to get off splintered the sliding door instead of his head, just before he jumped off the terrace and disappeared outside.

Chapter 115

I FIRED ONCE into the air as I came onto the beach. Anyone who wasn’t already moving out of Kyle’s way started scattering now. His gait was erratic. It was possible he had a concussion, but my leg wasn’t doing me any favors either. I had never seen a chase like this one.

Some people were screaming; others were pulling their kids out of the water. Then, without a clear shot, I could only watch as Kyle reached down and plucked a small boy, maybe two or three years old, off the ground before his mother could get to him.

The woman ran right at them, but Kyle clutched her boy over his torso like a shield.

“Get back!” he screamed. “Get back, or I’ll —”

“Take me!” The mother was on her knees, unable to come closer or turn away. “Take me instead!”

“Kyle, put him down!”

He turned to look at me then, and I was close enough to see the calm coming back into his eyes. He had the bargaining chip he needed, and he knew it.

“You came here for me, not this boy,” I said. “Let him go! Take me.”

The poor boy was sobbing and reaching out for his mother, but Kyle just hitched him up a little higher and held on even tighter.

“I’ll need that gun back first,” he said. “No more talk. Just set the gun down and back away. Three. Two —”

“Okay.” I started kneeling slowly. My leg was seizing up, and I could barely move it now. “I’m putting it down,” I said.

But I didn’t trust that boy’s life to Kyle’s word. So I took the chance I had to take. I turned the gun at the last second and fired low. The boy wasn’t big enough to shield Kyle top to bottom. My shot caught him just below the kneecap.

He howled like a wild animal. The boy dropped to the sand and then scrambled for his mother. Kyle tried to stand, but he could get up only on one leg — and only until I shot that one, too.