Free A Pacific Breeze Hotel by Josie Okuly

hard lump. “Put away the gun and we’ll talk about it.”
    “There’s nothing to talk about.” Vance’s emotionless tone frightened her more than his anger did.
    “If you ever loved me, please put the gun away,” she pleaded.
    Vance continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Now I realize nothing I did ever mattered to you. I’ve never wanted anything in my life as much as I’ve wanted you to love me. But it didn’t matter.” A single tear rolled down his cheek. “I stopped that old coot from attacking you and then you take up with a cop. I know he spent the night at your apartment.”
    Vance pressed the gun deeper into her flesh. Felicia tried to pull away but his other hand gripped the back of her neck and held her in place.
    “You’re hurting me.” She felt the strength drain from her body, replaced by paralyzing fear.
    “Mustn’t do that.” Vance released his grip on the back of her neck, but kept the gun at her throat.
    Felicia tried to keep him talking while she figured out what to do.
    “That cop you saw was assigned to guard me. He thought...he thought I saw the person who shot DeWarner, but I didn’t.”
    “You seemed chummy with him.”
    “No,” she croaked. “He’s just some lowlife cop. I don’t even know his first name.” Which was true. She knew very little about O’Rourke, except for one very important thing. She was in love with him.
    Vance seemed satisfied. “That’s what I thought. Kind of makes me sorry I took a shot at him this afternoon.” He grinned and it was the ugliest thing Felicia had ever seen. “But I didn’t mean to shoot your girlfriend.”
    “It was just a ricochet. Lila will be fine.”
    -64-
    Pacific Breeze Hotel
    “Maybe she’ll be out of the hospital in time to be a bridesmaid at our wedding.”
    Felicia stared at him with tear-filled eyes. Could this be the same boy who had gone to school with her? Who had pledged his eternal love when they were just children? Surely some monster had taken over Vance’s body and the real Vance was back home in Arizona. Felicia was caught in a riptide of insanity, and she was rapidly losing her struggle to stay afloat.
    She lunged for the door handle. Startled by her sudden movement, Vance grabbed for her. She bit him, sinking her teeth into his flesh until he yelped in pain. The gun slipped from Vance’s fingers, bounced off the seat, and then skittered across the floorboard.
    Felicia felt desperately around the darkened car until she located the gun. She tried to hurl it out the window but Vance was too quick for her.
    He clasped a brawny hand around her wrist and tightened his grasp until she cried out in pain. As she struggled to keep control of the gun, the dark hole of the barrel angled toward her chest. A thousand thoughts flitted through her mind. If only she could see O’Rourke again. She would tell him she loved him. She would find out his first name. She would…
    The revolver went off, shattering the silence of the empty parking lot.

    ÇÇÇ

    O’Rourke wondered about Vance Morgan. Did Felicia have any lingering feelings for him? Was there any chance they would rekindle their romance? He admitted to himself Morgan was probably attractive to women, with his blond crew cut and well-toned physique. But that didn’t mean O’Rourke had to like the guy.
    -65-
    Josie A. Okuly
    There was movement in Morgan’s car, but even with binoculars, it was too dark for O’Rourke to see the two people in the front seat. Their vehicle was hidden from view by thick, leafy bushes. Suddenly, a gunshot reverberated across the still night. O’Rourke jumped from his car and sprinted forward, plowing through the bushes and across the parking lot to where Morgan’s car was parked.
    He yanked open the car door and nearly retched at the site of the blood splattered across the front seat. He was a hardened detective, but this time, the victim was someone he loved. Blood flowed from a wound in Felicia’s upper arm and stained the