Read Online As the World Ends by Marian Lanouette - Free Book Online

leg.
    “Making sure this idiot stays down,” Rob replied, almost too nonchalantly.
    Lauren knew better, her husband was wired. What she saw in his eyes scared her. They were dilated and glossy. His clothes disheveled after rolling around on the ground. A wild look about him look made him look uncivilized.
    “Rob, you’re not going to shoot him…are you?” Lauren reached for Rob’s arm and rested her hand on his forearm. He shook it off. Stunned, she reached again, but his look stopped her in her tracks.
    “Lauren, step back now. Make sure to stay behind me.”
    “Rob, you’re scaring me. You’re not going to kill him, are you?” Her voice shaking, Lauren bit her bottom lip.
    Though she couldn’t be sure, she didn’t think Rob recognized her in that moment. Had it come to this, her gentle, loving husband turning into a killer for them to survive? Under these circumstances did she want to survive?

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Rob half turned toward her until he had her in his sights, never letting his full attention wavier from Roan’s body. The fear he saw in Lauren’s eyes barely registered. When she cowered as he crossed toward her, it pulled him up short. He forgot he still had the gun in his hand aimed waist high. Dropping his arm he pointed the gun at the ground.
    “Lauren, I’m not going to shoot him while he’s unconscious. I’m going to talk to him. Find out what he was thinking. If I don’t like his answers and I think him crazy, then I’m going to shoot him,” Rob explained.
    “You can’t just shoot him, Rob,” Lauren argued.
    “Yeah, I can. I told you whatever it took to survive and protect you I’d do. Remember?”
    “Yes, but we can tie him up and take him down with us. Once we reach a town, we’ll turn him over to the police,” she pleaded.
    “Who knows what we’ll find when we get off the mountain. There might not be any police down there. Why can’t you understand that?” Rob tried to reason.
    “I understand that we know nothing…nothing, Rob, and until we do know something, and you shoot him, we’re breaking the law.”
    “Lauren, I don’t care. I’m not going to let him have a go at us again.”
    “Oh, Rob…” As Roan began to stir and groan, Rob held his hand up to quiet Lauren.
    “Look who decided to come around,” Rob said, raising his gun as he walked closer to Roan using his body as a shield to protect Lauren.
    Rob stood over Roan and kicked his leg. Roan had stopped moaning and lay quiet on the ground. Playing possum, Rob thought . I should have tied him up when he was unconscious.
    “Come on, Roan, I know you can hear me. Open your eyes,” Rob commanded.
    Roan moaned and opened his eyes, as much as he could. They were both swollen from the pounding he took. Rob noticed they were already turning black and blue. His face looked like he’d lost the final round in the heavy weight title bout. Rob wondered what his own looked like.
    “Sit up, Roan.” Rob kicked him.
    “Hold on one God damn minute. I’m having trouble breathing here.”
    “No sympathy, Roan. You brought this on yourself,” Rob said, stepping back from Roan to give him room to sit up.
    “I know.”
    “That’s it. You know?” Rob asked, astonished.
    “I heard you say you were leaving the mountain. I had to stop you the only way I knew how. I jumped you.”
    Rob eyed Roan, “Where did you hear us talking about leaving?”
    He knew but he wanted Roan to say it out loud, so Lauren understood the danger he presented. So she gave him no sympathy.
    “At the spring.”
    Rob ignored Lauren’s gasp. His own blood boiled at the thought of Roan watching Lauren in a state of undress. If I wasn’t there, he would have attacked her.
    “You had to stop us. Why didn’t you try to speak with us?”
    “I don’t know. I overreacted. I didn’t want to be left up here alone.” Trying to play on our sympathies. Well, I have none left.
    “Well, you’re an idiot. What did you think you’d accomplish here?”