Free The Kiss after Midnight (The Midnight Trilogy) by Marvin Amazon Page A

gun!” He ran away, pushing scores of people out of his way.
    More eyes focused on them, but the commotion didn’t escalate.
    Annabel tugged against Tobias’ shoulder. “Now. Do it now.”
    Tobias pulled the gun from his pocket, evoking screams from numerous people directly in front of him. He raised his hand in the air and let off a shot, and then another, the recoil almost throwing him to the ground. The explosion turned Fifth Avenue into chaos. Men, women and children scrambled away. Some ducked for cover.
    Cars stopped abruptly as people ran into the streets, many pointing toward where the shots had been fired. Annabel held firmly to Tobias’ hand. He saw that the men chasing them were throwing fleeing pedestrians to the ground.
    Annabel grabbed Tobias’ wrists and ran across the road, forcing drivers to halt by brandishing her gun. She continuously pushed panic-stricken people out of the way, all the while trying to keep her eyes on their pursuers.
    Tobias let go of her hand and ran alongside her, his laptop bag still firmly over his shoulder. Police sirens soon filled the air, and two marked cars appeared about thirty feet away, at the intersection with West Thirteenth Street. Just then an explosion rang in his ears as shards of glass from a nearby shop window shattered.
    He turned briefly toward where he’d felt the shot come from to see the bald man extending his gun as he ran through the crowd. The sound of another shot came, followed by a loud grunt. A tall man in a green jumper slumped to the ground, blood pouring from his back.
    Annabel frowned and continued running beside Tobias, shoving pedestrians aside. Three more police cars arrived, and an ambulance edged toward the civilian-filled streets, horn and siren sounding in unison. Two more shots rang out and a middle-aged woman fell to the ground.
    A third shot struck Tobias in the right arm. He grunted and slammed into a lamppost, blood covering the wound. “Fuck.”
    Annabel grabbed his arm and inspected the wound while still keeping an eye on the approaching men. Tobias strained his neck to look.
    “It didn’t go in,” she said.
    Tobias looked at her dumbfounded.
    “It’s only a graze. Now move it.”’
    She pulled him up and continued running. They made it to within ten steps of the police cars and the ambulance parked on West Thirteenth Street.
    Tobias held her hand. “Are you crazy? The police are after me.”
    Annabel glared at him and pointed toward the approaching assailants. “Them or the police?”
    Tobias shrugged.
    “You have to decide, Tobias, ’cause I’m not getting killed today.”
    Tobias nodded and Annabel put her arms round him, burying his face in her chest. She rushed toward two police officers struggling to keep order. “Please help. My boyfriend’s been shot.”
    One of the officers, a brown-haired man, ran toward them and eased Tobias to the ground. He inspected the wound for a few seconds amid the chaos.
    Annabel crouched and looked back down Fifth Avenue. Tobias’ face tightened as the officer continued inspecting the wound. Annabel returned to his side. “Is he going to be okay?”
    He waved toward a paramedic before helping Tobias to his feet. “He’s going to be just fine, ma’am.” He looked at Tobias. “You’re very lucky. The bullet only grazed your arm.”
    “Oh, thank God,” Annabel said in a high-pitched voice. “I was so scared.”
    The paramedic arrived soon with another man. They helped Tobias into an ambulance. He gave Annabel a long questioning stare. She gestured that he should remain calm. She then walked back to the Fifth Avenue intersection.
    Tobias wiped sweat from his head as he was put into the ambulance. He watched as a number of people boarded it. A woman with glass protruding from her right arm screamed in pain while a man suffering from a bullet wound to the lower abdomen was tended to. He tapped one of the paramedics. “Have you seen my girlfriend?”
    Just then, Annabel charged