"Miss Lark?"

Sara lifted her head to see a nurse looking down at her. She rubbed at her eyes and straightened, praying that whatever she had to say, it would be good news. "Yes?"

"Jack Neumann is out of surgery," the nurse told her. "The surgery was a success. He's going to be fine."

Sara sagged back against her chair, sighing in relief. Oh, thank you. "Can I see him?"

"Yes," the nurse said with a smile. "He's still asleep, but you can see him."

Heart bursting with joy, Sara stood and followed the nurse into a dark hospital room. Jack lay on a cot in the center, eyes closed, but the pain that had defined his expression earlier seemed to have vanished.

Pulling a chair up close to his bedside, Sara sank down into it and grasped his hand, lying on the sheet. "Oh, Jack," she murmured as the door shut behind the nurse. "Oh, Jack, why did you have to jump in front of me?"

She twined her fingers through his, reaching her free hand up to brush aside his hair. "I can't lose you," she confessed quietly, knowing he couldn't hear her but needing to say it anyway. "It took you jumping in front of a bullet for me to realize that. Thank you, Jack, for saving me, but thank you also for not dying. I couldn't have taken that."

Staring up at the ceiling, Sara blinked, a wave of weariness suddenly sweeping over her. All she wanted to do was lay her head down and fall asleep. But she couldn't, not yet, for she still had the question of whether or not to continue her quest for justice hanging over her head.

Leah didn't want her to, but Leah didn't understand what it was like to hear that her sister had been murdered, to watch her sister's body lowered into the ground, a headstone carved with her name proclaiming gloomily her new residence. Leah hadn't been faced with the prospect of her sister's killer getting off with only a couple years for coldblooded, calculated murder, with no one else to turn to for help.

Leah hadn't had to face all that, so Leah didn't get a say in how Sara handled all of it.

But still. Innocent people are getting hurt. Two others beside Jack were shot, and someone was killed. All because I'm getting in too deep.

When have I gone too far?

Sara looked back to Jack. "I like you," she said quietly. "But I'm not sure how to say it. And this whole thing with Leah...it makes me want to push you as far away as possible. I don't want you getting hurt, not for anything, but definitely not because of me." She tilted her head up. "Oh, Leah, I could use your advice on how to handle this about now."

"What do you need my advice for?"

Leah's voice echoed in Sara's mind and she furrowed her brow, turning to see a glimmering figure standing behind her. Transparent but still colorful, Leah's red hair swung as she walked toward Sara, standing just behind her and looking at Jack. "Hello, Neumann," she said, managing to express just the right amount of disgust to mimic Jerry Seinfeld. Then she laughed. "Thanks for keeping Sara safe."

"Leah," Sara said, her voice shaking. She couldn't believe either her eyes or her ears. "Leah, is...is that you?"

"Yep," Leah declared cheerfully. "It's me."

"But you're dead," Sara managed.

Leah gave her a look. "Since when do I let being dead stop me? Sara, I'm your sister. I'll always be with you. Even though you can't always see me, I'm always here, in your memories and in your heart. And you're always with me." She smiled down at her. "Anyway, to continue, you don't need my advice."

"Yes, I do," Sara argued. "I've always needed your advice, Leah. I have no experience dealing with feelings or anything. You do."

"Sara," Leah interrupted. "Look where I got myself. Married to a hitman who decided to kill me when I found out too much. Do yourself a favor and don't look to me as an example to follow." She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Sara's neck. "You've found a good man, Sara. One that would take a bullet for you instead of putting the bullet through you. That's an important distinction, in my experience."

Leah straightened and smiled down at Sara. "It's like Fall Out Boy says: Sometimes, before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger. The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger. It's funny, because that's what happened to me." She shrugged and turned, walking away from Sara toward the wall of the hospital room, her voice dying away as she melted through the wall. "Oh, we're fading fast. I miss missing you, now and then."

[----]

"Sara? Sara?"

Sara lifted her head up from the side of the cot, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Hmm?" she said, momentarily wondering where she was. Then she straightened and saw Jack looking at her with a bemused expression. "Jack!"

Before she could think, she had flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Jack folded his arms across her back, letting out a quick breath of surprise at her sudden movement.

"I'm so happy you're okay," Sara said softly.

The nurse opened the door. "Miss Lark? You're going to need to leave soon, Mr. Neumann needs his rest."

"I'm fine," Jack protested as Sara sat back, giving him a shy smile. The nurse just gave him a look as Sara stood, picking up her purse and coat, subtly checking that her gun was still in her pocket.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Jack."

"Is that a promise?" he demanded.

You've found a good man, Sara. "Yes, that's a promise."

As Sara stepped out of the hospital room, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and noticed she had five missed calls and about twenty texts from her mother. Alarmed, she hit her mother's number and held the phone up to her ear as she walked quickly down the sterile hallway.

"Mom? What's going on?"

"Oh, Sara!" her mother's voice answered, an exhalation of exhaustion and relief. "I was so worried! I saw on the news that someone had shot up the pharmacy but you never answered your phone!"

"I'm okay, Mom," Sara said, her throat closing up. She hadn't even thought about her mother being worried about her. "One of my coworkers got shot and I was at the hospital with him."

"Oh, I hope it wasn't that nice boy Jack?"

"Yeah, it was Jack."

"Oh, no! Is he okay?"

"He's fine now," Sara said. "I'm just leaving."

"Oh, Sara, that reminds me. Something else awful happened today! I heard that Darius' plea deal was sealed today. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for only a year in prison!"

Sara froze as the words struck her. Only a year. Darius is getting only a year for murdering my sister!

That means my sleuthing has been for nothing. By the rule of double jeopardy, he can't be brought to trial for Leah's murder again, no matter what evidence I have that she wasn't cheating on him.

Leah's not going to be given justice.

Darius won't be brought to justice.

No!

Sara felt a harsh scream building in her throat and darted out of the hospital into the dark parking lot, hanging up on her mother. She ran through the snow, icy snow biting against her skin as she raced for her car. Only once she was inside did she let the scream out, pain wracking her body as she screamed herself hoarse.

"No! No, no, no! No!"

I can't let this happen. I need justice, I need closure for Leah's death. Darius needs to pay for me to have that.

But what is left to me? How can I get justice now?

Sara touched the gun in her pocket, an idea coming to her so suddenly, but so clear and obvious, that she straightened, resolve forming in her mind. I can kill Darius. Then Leah will have justice. An eye for an eye. Darius' life for hers.

And I will have closure.

I will have revenge.

/**/

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! And thank you so much for reading this book!

Skylar Wittenborn