Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Tony and Kat arrived at the plane, his gun nudging her side. The boarding stairs were already down, signaling the pilot was on board. He prodded her in the ribs, gripping her arm as they ascended the stairs and entered the plane. Once inside, he bound her hands and shoved her onto a seat.

“Don’t make a sound or try to escape. If you do, I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

He didn’t want to take any chances with her running, so he also tied her feet. He then made his way to the cockpit and knocked on the door.

“Hey, are you in there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Xander gave you instructions, so I suggest you follow them if you don’t want to get hurt. I’ll let you know when we’re ready for takeoff.”

Tony didn’t trust the man to stay put, so he used the steel pipe he had brought along and jammed it through the handle, making it impossible to open from the inside.

He then returned to Kat and sat down across from her, glancing at his watch.

“He’ll be here soon. You should take one of your pills to calm your nerves.”

“I don’t need them anymore, not since we broke up. So, is your girlfriend in on this?”

“No, the bitch left me when I lost everything, and that’s all thanks to that asshole you married. Who needs her? With five million, I can have any woman I want.”

“The police will find you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. As far as they know, I’m out of the country, and with you and Xander dead, they won’t know I was involved.”

“The pilot will know.”

“He doesn’t know it’s me; even if he did, dead men don’t tell tales.”

“You’re sick.”

“Do you hear that? I believe he has arrived.”

Xander parked the car and stepped out; his heart was pounding. The air was dry, and there was no breeze. The silence was unsettling, and he had a gut feeling that something was off. As he grabbed the bag full of money and started toward the plane, Tony appeared at the top of the stairs, his hand on Kat’s arm and his gun aimed at her head.

This wasn’t the plan; he was supposed to take the money inside the plane and make the exchange. Xander felt a surge of anger and pain when he saw the bruise on her cheek.

“Stop right there, West.”

He looked at Kat, wanting to rush to her, but he didn’t dare with the gun pointed at her.

“Tony, I thought you wanted me to bring the money inside.”

“Change of plan. We’ll conduct our business out here. I wouldn’t want to dirty your jet. Stay right there.”

He descended the stairs, still maintaining his hold on her.

Xander covered his mouth with his hand so Tony wouldn’t see his lips moving when he spoke to Mark.

“Mark, Tony’s outside the plane with Kat. Be ready to shoot him when you have a clear shot.”

“Okay, Tony, I have your money. Let Kat come to me, and then I’ll toss the bag over.”

Then he heard Mark’s voice in his earpiece. “Buddy, we have a problem. That bastard has jammed the door to the cockpit, and I can’t open it.”

Xander cursed under his breath. He was on his own and needed to think fast.

“No, not until I have the money. Walk toward me. Okay, that’s far enough. Take off your jacket and lift your shirt. Then roll up your pant legs and turn around,” Tony ordered.

“I’m not carrying a weapon,” he said as he complied with Tony’s orders. “There, you can see I’m clean.”

“Just don’t try anything, or I swear I’ll shoot her.”

“Kat, baby, did he hurt you?”

She was crying when she looked at him, knowing they were both going to die.

“I love you,” she replied.

“West, come a little closer and then throw the fucking bag over here.”

The only thing he could think of was to toss the bag just out of Tony’s reach. Then, when Tony bent down to pick it up, the gun wouldn’t be touching her. He would have to move quickly and wrestle the gun from his hand.

He knew that Tony wasn’t going to let them go and would kill them, so he hoped his plan would work. Getting closer, he tossed the bag just out of his reach.

When Tony let go of her and reached for the bag, Xander yelled at her to run.

Tony was caught off guard when Xander lunged at him.

She started running but stopped to look back. It was like she was watching a movie. Even though it was only seconds, it felt like an eternity, and everything seemed to move in slow motion.

She watched in horror as the two men wrestled on the ground. But Tony managed to overpower Xander, and as he lay on the ground, Tony stood up and pointed the gun at him.

“Shooting you will give me great pleasure. As I watch you die right before my eyes, I will shoot the bitch.”

Everything happened so fast, and just when Xander was about to get shot, a voice behind Tony yelled out.

“Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot you.”

Tony turned to see Mark pointing a gun at him. He knew there was no way out of this situation, but he wasn’t going to let Xander go unpunished. He lowered his weapon and, looking at him, slowly raised his gun.

When she saw what was about to happen, she called out Xander’s name and ran toward him.

“Kat, no,” he cried out when he saw the gun pointed at Kat, and then he heard two shots. One was from Tony’s gun, the other from Mark’s.

He ran to her and caught her in his arms just as the bullet struck her.

^A FEW MINUTES EARLIER^

When Mark heard Xander say that Tony was outside the plane, he immediately grabbed his gun and tried to open the door. It was jammed, and he realized the man had done it intentionally. He used his left shoulder and tried to break it down.

After several attempts, it broke from the hinges, and he dislocated his shoulder. Ignoring the pain, he rushed out and yelled at Tony to surrender. The guy had tricked him, making him think he was lowering his gun. But then he raised it and pointed it at Kat. It all happened so fast.

Mark shot at him but was a split second too late. The bullet had hit her just as Tony fell to the ground from the gunshot to the head.

He raced over to the body, kicked the gun away and hurried over to Xander, who was screaming Kat’s name over and over. He reached for his phone and called for an ambulance. The reply he got had him cursing under his breath.

Xander was cradling her in his arms as the tears rolled down his face.

“Baby, hang on, help is coming. I love you; don’t you give up.” He then looked at Mark. “When the fuck are they going to get here?”

“There’s a major collision downtown, so it might take some time for help to arrive.”

“But she doesn’t have time to wait.”

“Then you’ll need to rush her to the hospital yourself. It’ll be faster. Let’s get her into the car.”

Mark swung open the car door, and once she was settled inside, he gave Xander’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll stay back and wait for the cops. I’ll meet you at the hospital as soon as I can.”

“Kat, you’re going to pull through this,” Xander said, glancing back at her.

He had to believe that she would survive. She was his entire world. She hadn’t uttered a word when the bullet hit her, but her eyes were filled with fear and pain. His heart was shattering, and all he wanted was to hold her close, but he knew he had to get her medical attention immediately.

He made it to the hospital in record time, driving like a man possessed. He pulled up to the entrance, jumped out of the car, and carefully lifted her from the back seat.

Once inside, he began to shout for assistance.

“I need help! My wife’s been shot!”

Several hospital staff members rushed over, and someone called for a stretcher. A doctor quickly assessed her gunshot wound to the chest and turned to Xander.

“How long ago did this happen?”

“About half an hour. Is she going to be okay?”

“We need to examine her immediately. Please wait in the waiting room. I’ll send someone to update you as soon as we know more.”

As they wheeled her away, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him. He walked alongside them as far as he could, repeating his love for her and assuring her that she would be fine.

He sank into a nearby chair, replaying the moment the bullet hit her over and over in his mind. He was consumed with guilt for putting her in harm’s way and failing to protect her.

His world was crumbling as he watched her suffer, not knowing if she would survive. He barely registered Mark’s voice telling him he would handle the police and inform their family about what had happened.

He was on edge, waiting for news about her condition. It was only twenty minutes before a doctor came to speak with him, but it felt like an eternity.

“Mr. West, the bullet is dangerously close to her heart. We need to operate immediately to remove it. However, it’s lodged in a difficult spot.”

“But you can get it out, right?”

“I won’t sugarcoat it. If we don’t operate, she won’t make it. But even if we do, there’s only a thirty percent chance she’ll survive.”

“No, no, you have to save her.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to save your wife. The procedure is delicate and will take several hours. I suggest you contact your family. A nurse will bring you some wet cloths to clean the blood off your hands.”

He glanced down at his hands, stained with her blood, and sank back into his chair. He didn’t look up when the nurse arrived with a wet and dry towel.

“Sir, these are for you. I’m sure your wife will be fine. Dr. Forrest is the best surgeon in the country.”

Without looking at her, he accepted the towels and muttered a thank you. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk with a stranger.

As he cleaned his hands, he was oblivious to the hustle and bustle around him. His thoughts were consumed by Kat. Tears welled up in his eyes and trickled down his cheeks. He was a powerful man who could have anything he wanted, but all his money and power couldn’t save the woman he loved more than anything.

Another nurse came out to inform him that Kat was now in surgery and promised to keep him updated.

An hour later, he looked up to see Mark approaching, his arm in a sling.