Contents (84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
Grace was just too far.
And so he could nothing as Romeo fired twice, sending one bullet high towards Grace’s neck and the second deep into her gut.
SEVENTY-NINE
Grace fell hard, scattering the fine snow in every direction with the impact.
Dempsey reached her in seconds and dropped to his knees beside her. Without hesitation he ripped open her bodysuit to expose the two wounds he had seen her take.
The second bullet had hit her in the centre of her stomach. Dempsey had watched the impact. Without attention such wounds were fatal, but they were also slow. And so his priority was her neck.
Moving his fingers up towards Grace’s throat, he examined it as carefully as the situation allowed. Blood was already flowing from the wound, but not as freely as he had feared. Had the bullet hit an artery then Grace would have been beyond help.
‘Leave her,’ Romeo said. ‘We’re gonna have that talk after all.’
Dempsey ignored him, instead switching his attention to Grace’s stomach wound. He ripped open the bloody undershirt that hid it, and focused on the deep, clean wound to her stomach.
‘I said leave her where she is.’
Dempsey’s eyes met Grace’s.
‘You’re gonna be OK, Eden. You’re gonna be OK.’
Grace opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Only blood. It was not a good sign.
‘I WON’T TELL YOU AGAIN!’
Romeo’s shouted threat made no difference. Dempsey continued to ignore him. Three warnings and no bullet? It proved his instinct right. Romeo had been ordered to question him.
‘You’re gonna be OK, Eden. You just have to get through the next few minutes, you understand?’
Grace nodded.
‘You need to press down on your wounds, OK? Press down hard. Do that for me. Do it now.’
Dempsey placed one of Grace’s hands on her own neck and one on her stomach, applying pressure to both. He could only hope that, in the time she had, Grace would stay focused and keep that same pressure up.
‘You’ll be OK,’ he said, one final time. ‘I promise. Just trust me.’
With ten gunmen only a few yards away and with a mission to complete, it was all the help Dempsey could provide. He turned and rose to his feet.
‘She needs a medical intervention right away,’ he said, looking directly at Romeo.
‘What?’ Romeo’s brow furrowed as he spoke. ‘Are you insane? You think we’re going to get her a medic?’
‘All I’m saying is that she needs a medical team.’ Dempsey spoke slowly and clearly. ‘And she needs it now.’
‘And all I’m saying is that you’re some sort of fucking idiot if you think we’re getting a medic for a bitch I just shot. Now, what have you got to tell me, Limey? Or should I just put a bullet in your head now?’
Dempsey didn’t answer the question. He had done all he could for Eden.
‘Is that how the Secret Service does things now, Romeo?’ he asked. ‘You shoot your own agents?’