Chapter 8 - The Waitress Strikes Back
Penny didn't scream.
Fourteen months of working late nights at the Lantern Room, dealing with handsy drunks, aggressive line cooks, and angry managers had given her one very specific skill: she reacted before she had time to talk herself out of it.
Before the shooter could fully turn his torso around in the tight front seat to aim the weapon at her, Penny reached down, grabbed a heavy iron fire extinguisher stored beside the center console, and swung it with both hands like a baseball bat.
CLANG!
The heavy red cylinder slammed directly into the side of the man's head.
He let out a choked yell, his gun dropping into the footwell as his head bounced off the steering wheel.
"Get out of my face!" Penny screamed, swinging the extinguisher a second time.
CRACK!
The metal base caught him square in the shoulder. He collapsed across the front seats, stunned, groaning in pain.
Penny didn't wait for him to recover. She scrambled over the center console, kicked the driver’s door wide open, and shoved the heavy man out into the freezing mud of the driveway. He hit the wet ground with a splash, moaning, out cold.
Penny reached down, scooped his fallen handgun off the floorboards, and slammed the SUV door shut, locking it from the inside.
She sat in the driver's seat, heaving for breath, holding the heavy black pistol with both hands, her knuckles white.
"Happy... birthday... to... me," she panted, staring out at the rain-soaked terminal.
Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from between the containers, moving fast through the dark.
It was Matthew.
His black shirt was soaked with rain, his face smeared with grease, his handgun held low at his side. He saw the man unconscious in the mud beside the SUV, saw the driver's door unlocked, and accelerated into a full sprint.
He yanked the driver's door open, his gun raised.
Penny instantly aimed her pistol straight at his face.
Matthew froze.
For three seconds, they stared at each other through the rain.
Matthew looked at the gun in her shaking hands, then at the unconscious man bleeding into the mud, and then back at Penny's furious, terrified face.
Slowly, Matthew lowered his weapon. A slow, incredulous smile spread across his features.
"Did you do that?" Matthew asked, gesturing toward the body on the ground.
"He tried to take me," Penny gasped, her arms shaking so hard the barrel of the gun wobbled. "I hit him with the fire extinguisher."
Matthew reached out, his warm, large hands gently taking the pistol from her fingers. He checked the safety, slid it into his belt, and reached into the vehicle, pulling her straight into his arms.
He hauled her out of the driver's seat, cradling her against his broad, wet chest right there in the pouring rain.
"You are incredible," Matthew murmured against her hair, his arms locking around her waist with a fierce, protective grip. "Absolutely incredible."
Penny wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the warm crook of his neck, uncaring that his clothes were soaked with rain and grease.
May you like
"Is it over?" she whispered against his skin.
"Marcus Vance is finished," Matthew said, his voice deep and absolute. "The harbor is clear. It's over, Penny. You're safe."
