Lies(61)

“Scorpion’s dead.” Fox stands nearby, gun in hand. “Seems she was working alone.”

“No civvies were hit, but Betty, there’s blood all over your gown,” says Crow. “Are you sure you weren’t clipped?”

I shake my head. “It’s Thom’s, not mine. Where’s the ambulance?”

“On its way,” reports Bear. “Sorry she got past us.”

“Not your fault. I told you I didn’t want to intimidate our wedding guests with full surveillance and security.” Thom winces in pain. “Well, this sucks.”

“Surprisingly good shooting, Betty,” says Fox. At least none of the zoo seem to be overly impressed or alarmed by Thom’s wound. There’s a positive. “I thought she had you there for a minute. Another second and you might have been bleeding dramatically all over the floor alongside your fiancé. What a wedding that would be.”

“She had you in her sights too?” Thom asks me through gritted teeth. “I thought it was just me she was after.”

“It doesn’t matter. She didn’t hit me,” I say. “It’s over.”

Thom does not look appeased.

“Guess she didn’t like either of you very much to take on a suicide mission like this.” Fox keeps perusing the crowd, gun at the ready. “She had to know we’d all be here.”

“Yeah, but she also knew she was dead anyway. It was only a matter of time before she’d slip up and we’d get payback for Helene. She probably felt she had nothing to lose,” says Bear. “Fox, you got this under control?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’m going to go check the perimeter. Keep the pressure on him, Betty, and try not to worry. I know it looks bad, but he’ll be fine.” Bear strides away without waiting for a reply.

For a moment, no one talks. Thom just lies there bleeding, brows drawn tight. While I try to calm my breath and recover from what feels dangerously like a near heart attack.

“This is the problem with going civilian,” says Fox. “Expecting a normal life can be just as hazardous to your health. Thinking all your old enemies have forgotten you.”

“You’re not helping,” I say, voice tight.

“Fox is right. This should never have happened,” says Thom. “If it hadn’t been Scorpion it could’ve been any number of other skeletons from my closet. Me being here put a target on your back. I’m sorry, babe.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. This isn’t your fault.”

“You just had to kill someone again. Because of me.”

“Yeah, but she needed killing.”

He smiles at that, or maybe he’s just wincing in pain. “Can’t argue with that.”

I try to smile back, but it doesn’t really work. My hands are shaking, but I do as told and keep up the pressure. The bleeding seems to have slowed. At least, I hope so. “Anyway, she’s dead now so it’s over. We can go on with our lives.”

He’s looking really pale now. Scarily so. Nothing from Thom. Then a whisper. “I love you.”

“Where the fuck is the ambulance?” I yell.

Nearby, Crow is busy yelling things at our guests. Things like everything is all right, stay back please, and clear a path for the emergency medical personnel. Jen does likewise while giving me worried looks.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” I say again. But no one answers.




Hospital coffee is pretty much the worst. This is a fact. So is waiting for Thom to come out of surgery. I sit in the waiting room in my bloodstained wedding gown, watching the hours slip by on the wall clock. Jen and Crow fetched some food for us all a while back. But I’m not hungry. Mom and Dad sit on either side of me, trying to be supportive. Not that there’s much you can say. Fox already took them aside, gave them the secret government business line. So far it’s worked. They haven’t asked a single question about who’d want to shoot up our wedding.

I rode in the ambulance with Thom, though once we got into the ER they whisked him away into an operating room. Nothing I said made any difference. I couldn’t stay with him. Then we started waiting. None of the doctors or nurses will tell me a thing. At some stage, Bear and Fox disappeared. Who knows what they’re doing? You can’t really blame them. It’s not like sitting here is accomplishing anything.

When the police arrived at the hospital to get a statement from me, Crow and a woman in a slick gray suit dealt with them. Someone similar is no doubt at the house, dealing with any inconvenient law enforcement types there. The organization is obviously used to dealing with difficult situations. Because the detectives here never even got the chance to ask me any questions. Jen took this as a matter of course. But Mom and Dad were a little weirded out. Generally, when someone opens fire at a wedding and shoots the groom, you’d assume there’s going to be a thorough police investigation. That statements would be taken from everyone in attendance. Oh well. Thom can figure out what to tell them later. He’s good at that stuff.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” says Mom, squeezing my hand.

I still have blood beneath my nails. Thom’s blood. Even after washing my hands until the skin was wrinkled, it’s still there. It’s dried to that horrible dark reddish-brown color. Visible even beneath my soft pink French polish. So much for the happiest day of my life.