Suffer the Flesh (18 page)

He flipped her onto her back, straddled her, and with the knife in both hands he raised his arms overhead. Just as he drove it into her stomach she pulled the trigger, blowing away most of Zack’s stunned expression.

Blood bubbled out of her mouth, gushing from gashes on her body. Sobbing, reached for the phone. So weak … barely able to reach it. Picked up the receiver and listened. No dial tone.

“God …” she groaned, vomiting blood. Fell to her hands and knees on the floor, crawled toward the living room. Cell phone on the coffee table. Thick gore trailed her across the room.

She’d gotten him. Knew she’d probably saved Jess, Claudia, and Marie from the maniac. Knew they would have been next. She smiled, suddenly feeling no pain, feeling instead a comfortable warmth, like being immersed in a soothing bath.

Punched 911 on the cell phone keypad. “Need … help …” she muttered, leaning against the sofa, life’s blood escaping through fingers pressed against her stomach.

Couldn’t talk anymore, even when the dispatcher asked her questions. “Don’t hang up the phone. Help is on the way. Can you hear me?”

Zoey dropped the phone. Closed her eyes, the hint of a smile on her lips.

She was finally free.