While Carmen was in the store, Shane quickly drove to her lover’s apartment and went inside, hiding in the shadows and giving the cops a sign to be ready for the showdown.

An unmarked police car was parked one house down the block on the driveway and two officers were watching the apartment complex from inside their vehicle. They noticed Shane going inside and soon after they saw that Carmen arrived and parked her car in the appointed spot.

“How long do you think it will take him to go inside the apartment?” one officer asked his partner quietly.

“Well, he will wait at least an hour or so to give her time to get drunk and pass out. I don’t think he needs any unnecessary complication and probably will go in when it’s quiet so he could try staging a robbery or something.”

Another 45 minutes passed by and the cops didn’t see or noticed anyone.

“You know, the house owner is a really nice lady. She told me to come inside anytime we want and get a drink of water or coffee…I’m gonna run inside really quick and grub us some coffee…I’m falling asleep,” one of the officers said and hurried to the house.

The second officer shifted his stiff body on the driver’s seat and closed his eyes for a second or so he thought. By the time his partner came back they both missed the shadowy figure that crept towards the dark house and sneaked silently inside.

Carmen was lying in her bed with all the lights off, pretending to be asleep. She washed her mouth with some whiskey that she bought earlier and spilt some of it on her clothes to make it appear that she was completely drunk.

All her senses became acute and sharp as the time went by. She tried to hold her breath so she could hear every noise in the apartment. She knew Shane was hiding in the shadows of the bedroom and it took all of Carmen’s strength to stay in her bed and not run into the safety of her lover’s arms.

Carmen heard a faint cracking of the floor board and her entire body stiffened in alert. She could hear his heavy breathing, she could smell his sweaty odor, and she could feel panic chills running through her body.

Suddenly, she heard swift and quiet steps, the collapse of two bodies and a shot. Carmen hastily got out off the bed, turned on the bedroom lights, and covered her body with the sheet when she saw two cops running inside with their guns drawn.

She glanced at the floor in front of the bed with tears quickly filling her eyes and all she could see was two lifeless bodies, both covered in blood.

“Oh my God, what have you done, you fucking asshole…Shane, nooooooo!!!” Carmen screamed, slowly sinking down to the floor.

“Carmen, I’m okay…I’m fine…it’s his blood, I’m not hurt,” they all heard Shane’s voice and saw her crawling out from under Eric Fisher’s dead body.

One of the policemen was talking on his radio, relaying the incident in Carmen’s apartment while another helped Shane to get up, checking on the intruder.

“Heavy bastard,” Shane managed to say before getting surrounded by two loving arms, her face and neck covered with gentle kisses, and her lover’s voice whispering into her ear, “I love you, I love you…thank you.”

TBC…