CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Kat squeezed Mitch's hand as they left the theater.

She didn't think the movie was great. It wasn't even good. But they had enjoyed giggling at its absurdity as they sat in the back row, trying not to offend other audience members who might consider it a masterpiece.

They stepped out of the lobby, and a rush of bitter air cut through her. She'd forgotten how cold it was and had neglected to zip up her jacket. Mitch saw her shiver and pulled her toward him.

"Use me as your personal windbreaker while you zip up," he said.

She did exactly that, huddling against him to keep warm until she was bundled up.

"My hero!" she exclaimed when she was done. "I think you deserve an ice cream cone as a reward for your gallantry."

He shook his head. "I'm still full from dinner," he said. "That steak was big."

"Yeah, well you're big too," Kat said.

"Still, there's no way I could have another bite of anything," he protested. "Besides, I'm amazed you want ice cream, what with how cold it is."

"I'm going to tell you a little secret about me that will help guide you through our lives together, Mr. soon-to-be-an-LAPD-officer Mitch Connor," she said leaning in conspiratorially.

"What's that?"

"I will never say no to ice cream," she informed him. "When we go to the engagement party tomorrow night at Jessie and Ryan's, I assure you that Hannah will have made cakes and tarts and pies. I will try all of them. But if there's ice cream, it's mine."

"Noted," he said with a smile, "Then let's get you some ice cream. I saw a place just up the street."

He took her hand in his and they waited to cross the intersection. Because of the large crowd in the area on a Friday night, there was an officer helping direct traffic.

"You should chat him up," Kat teased. "After all, pretty soon you'll be co-workers."

"You should stop messing with me," he countered, before leaning down from his considerable height to kiss her.

The officer blew a whistle and motioned for their group to cross the street. They did so, trying to dodge the swarming mass of humanity all around them. They had just stepped onto the curb on the other side when a young man just ahead of them turned around.

He was short and skinny, with sandy blond hair, freckles, and a weak chin. He wore a red puffy jacket and camouflage cargo pants. For some reason, he was grinning crazily at her. Kat didn"t know what his problem was and decided to give him a wide berth. She tugged at Mitch"s hand to let him know she wanted to go around the strange little guy. But then the guy opened his mouth.

"I am the new chosen one!" he shouted, his voice somehow both squeaky and feral at the same time. "I will complete the mission begun by my predecessor. I am the assassin now!"

Then he pulled a handgun out of his jacket and aimed it at Kat. She barely had time to comprehend what was going on before she saw his finger squeeze the trigger.

She felt Mitch release his grip on her hand. Just as the gunshot sounded, her fiancé leaped in front of her. He stood there for a second, blocking her view of the shooter, then dropped heavily to the ground.

People began to scream. Kat's mind went blank, and her body went numb. Unclear exactly what had happened, she knelt down to check on him. Mitch was slumped on his stomach, and she reached over to roll him onto his back. But then her attention was pulled elsewhere.

"Two is better than one!" the guy with the gun screamed.

Kat looked up and saw that he was now standing directly over her, the gun pointed at her head. In the back of her mind, she remembered that she had a weapon too, but there was no way she could reach it in time and right now, that wasn't her priority. Mitch was.

"What's your name?" she asked the young man, staring into his frenzied eyes, hoping to do anything she could to delay the inevitable.

The question seemed to take him by surprise. But he recovered quickly.

"I'm Jimmy," he told her, "but you can call me the angel of death."

He extended the gun, and she saw him squeeze the grip harder as he prepared to fire. She was about to close her eyes when she heard a loud pop behind her. Jimmy was slammed back onto the sidewalk in front of her. Blood spewed from his chest, dark red against his bright red puffy.

He managed to lift his head up slightly and look at her. He opened his mouth to smile, and she noticed blood on his teeth. His eyes were still wild and then all at once, they weren"t. They went dull, and a moment later, his head dropped back on the sidewalk.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" someone asked from over her shoulder.

She looked up to see the officer who had been directing traffic at the intersection behind them. He was holding his service pistol.

"My fiancé needs an ambulance," she said, noting that her voice sounded strangely disembodied.

"I'm calling for one now," he said. "Let me assist you."

He knelt down and helped her roll Mitch onto his back as he called in their location to dispatch.

The first thing Kat saw was that Mitch had a hole in his gut, just to the right of his belly button. It was big. He was breathing quickly, and his eyes were squeezed shut in pain.

"Mitch," Kat said, "Can you hear me?"

Her voice made his eyes pop open.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, looking at the bleed seeping rapidly out of his wound. "You?"

"I've been better," he told her, gritting his teeth as he answered.

"Just hold on," she said, unzipping her jacket, taking it off, and pressing it against his wound. He groaned, but she didn"t let up. "I know this hurts but I have to put pressure on it to stem the bleeding."

He nodded weakly and Kat noticed that he was horribly pale. She put her hand on his forehead. It was clammy.

"The ambulance will be here soon," she said, "just stay with me. Remember, you owe me an ice cream."

He smiled thinly at the crack before wincing.

"It hurts," he said.

"I know it does, babe," she replied. "But the ambulance will be here really soon. They'll give you some meds for the pain and patch you up. Just hold on."

"Kat," he said, suddenly looking at her with eyes more intense than she'd ever seen, "it really hurts."