Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Hall
I killed the night-light and pressed my back to the wall.
The footsteps moved through the living room. Careful. Professional. No rush.
A woman’s voice, low: “Clear left.”
A man answered from the kitchen: “Clear right. Check the kid’s room.”
I had the dead guy’s gun still in my waistband. One bullet left, maybe two. Not enough.
The door to Tyler’s room started to open.
I moved. Fast. Grabbed the woman by the hair and yanked her inside. She spun, elbow coming up. I blocked it and slammed her into the dresser. Toys crashed. She went for a knife on her belt. I put the barrel of the gun under her chin.
“Don’t.”
Her eyes were cold. No panic. “You’re Jake Harlan.”
“Where’s my son?”
She almost smiled. “Safe. For now. Give us the drive and he stays that way.”
My finger tightened on the trigger. “You took him.”
“Insurance. Same as your wife tried to pull.”
The man from the kitchen called out. “Sarah?”
I kept the gun on her and raised my voice. “Come in slow or she dies.”
Silence. Then the man’s voice again, closer. “We don’t want the kid hurt. Just the drive.”
I looked at the woman. “Call him off. Now.”
She didn’t move. “You shoot me, your boy dies before you reach the street.”
Outside, a car door slammed. Marcus’s voice shouted my name.
The woman’s eyes flicked toward the window.
In that half-second I made the choice.
May you like
I pulled the trigger.
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