Jordan opened the ship-wide communication system and called out to the chopper hovering above. “Schreiber’s injured. Call it in. We’ll need medical standing by when we arrive. I’ll turn the ship around and take her back to port. Follow us in and set down at the marina.”
The helicopter pilot responded over the loudspeakers. “Copy that, Agent Quest. Are you okay?”
“We’re good,” Jordan replied. “Ms. Chastain is fine.”
“Copy that. Nice work.”
“You could have had it all, Lacey,” Otto said. His wound had opened. Blood flowed freely now.
“Shut up,” Lacey replied.
“Money, houses, cars… I could have given you the world.”
“You’re pathetic.”
“All I ever wanted was to love you.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Otto looked overboard, stared at the choppy ocean. “These waters are dangerous, Lacey.”
“You told me that before. So what?”
Otto smiled. “I should have learned how to swim.”
The killer shouldered Lacey aside, rolled himself over the railing, then fell off the ship and plunged into the cold Atlantic.
“No!” Lacey yelled. She looked over the side of the ship. Ava’s Dream widened the distance between them. She called out. “Agent Quest!”
Jordan turned as she heard Lacey’s cry.
“He’s in the water!”
Agents Hanover and Penner and their pilot looked down as Schreiber gave himself to the sea.
Chris opened the door, grabbed the outside railing, prepared to jump into the ocean to rescue the drowning man.
Penner held him back, pulled him inside the chopper. “It’s no use,” he said.
“We have to try,” Chris yelled.
Penner shook his head. “Forget it. It’s too late,” he replied. “Look.”
In the water below, dozens of ghostly forms circled the murderer.
“Sharks.” Chris said.
Penner nodded. “Great whites. This section of the coast is their main migratory path. Schreiber fell right into the middle of their breeding ground.”
Otto’s fall had opened the wounds in his stomach and shoulder. His blood flowed freely in the dark water. “Make it right,” he said aloud as he looked up at Lacey from the roiling ocean. “Make it right… make it right… make it...”
The first contact with the deadly creatures pulled him under the water.
The gray water surrounding him turned black.
Fins broke the surface. Bodies thrashed beneath the waves.
Chris and Penner watched as the sharks pulled the killer’s body apart, limb by limb, until he was no more.
Lacey looked over the railing of Ava’s Dream and watched her captor die a horrific death. In the moment, a great sense of relief overcame her.
Jordan turned the ship back towards port. Lacey joined her at the helm.
“You okay?” Jordan asked.
“I am now,” she said. “Thank you, Agent Quest. You saved my life.”
Jordan smiled. “I’d say you did that all on your own,” she replied.
182
DEGARIO AND ANTON followed Sam Chapman and the Hells Angels into Garney’s Marina as Ava’s Dream pulled into her slip. The FBI helicopter set down in the parking lot. Special Agents Hanover and Penner exited the chopper and ran to the yacht. Penner wrapped his jacket around Lacey and escorted her down the gangway and along the wharf.
Chris walked with Jordan. “You see what happened to Scroll?”
Jordan nodded. “That was one hell of a way to go.”
“Poetic justice, I’d say.”
“He almost got away.”
“But he didn’t,” Chris said. You stopped him.”
“You mean we stopped him. It was a team effort.”
“We didn’t jump out of a helicopter, save the hostage, commandeer a yacht, and drive it back to shore. You did that.”
Jordan smiled. “I have to admit the jumping out of the helicopter thing was pretty cool.”
“It was,” Chris agreed. “Just do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t make a habit of it.”
Jordan laughed. “I’ll try not to.”
“How’s Lacey doing?” Chris asked.
“She’s one tough customer. Scroll grossly underestimated her. In the end, he didn’t stand a chance against her.”
“Think we’ll ever know how many women he killed?”
Jordan nodded. “One day.”
Chris said, “Forensics is still processing the dungeon in the bookstore.”
“They find more evidence?”
He nodded. “He’s been at this for a very long time.”
“We’ll need to expand the investigation, look at unsolved homicides in other states,” Jordan said. “I doubt someone like Scroll restricted his kill zone to New York City.”
“I agree.”
Penner opened the security gate. The agents watched as Lacey ran along the pier and fell into Anton’s waiting arms. Chris stared at the reunited couple. “Now that is a very happy sight.”
Jordan smiled. “Kind of makes it all worthwhile, doesn’t it?”
“Better believe it.”
“Any word on the trooper Schreiber attacked?” Jordan asked.
Chris watched the Hells Angels mount their motorcycles. The bikers revved their engines, then slowly exited the parking lot. “Our pilot was in touch with LifeFlight. Their paramedics were able to stabilize him on the flight to the hospital. He’s going to be all right.”
“Thank God.”
Anton put his arm around Lacey, walked her back to the car. They stopped, looked back at the agents, and waved.
Jordan and Chris waved back.
In the parking lot, the helicopter’s engines began to whine. Its rotors turned slowly. The chopper prepared for liftoff.
“It’s been a long day, Jordan,” Chris said. “You ready to go home?”
Jordan looked up. The storm was beginning to pass. The sun had returned. The air felt lighter, the day brighter. “Absolutely,” she replied.
“Then let’s get out of here,” Chris said.
“Right behind you,” Jordan answered.
Also by Gary Winston Brown
The Jordan Quest Thriller Series (in order):
Jordan Quest (Jordan’s backstory. Free series prequel)
Intruders
The Sin Keeper
Mr. Grimm
Nine Lives
Live To Tell
Jordan’s next adventure is coming soon!
Visit Gary Winston Brown for the latest updates on new releases.
Standalone thrillers:
The Vanishing
About the Author
Gary Winston Brown is a retired practitioner of natural medicine and the author of the Jordan Quest FBI thriller series and other works of fiction. His books feature strong, independent characters pitted against insurmountable odds who are not afraid to stand up for those in need of protection.
On the Author-Reader Relationship
Getting to know my readers and building strong relationships with them is one of the best parts of being a writer. I put a great deal of effort into creating my books. My goal with every novel I write is to make it better than the last, earn your five-star review, and make your reading experience the best it can be.
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This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Fiona.
I’m lucky to have you in my life and in my corner.
ILYBBOBKS…ATS
Copyright © 2021 Gary Winston Brown. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this eBook/print book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, cloned, stored in or introduced into any information storage or retrieval system, in any form, by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the publisher at Gary Winston Brown [dot] com.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents – and their usage for storytelling purposes – are crafted for the singular purpose of fictional entertainment and no absolute truths shall be derived from the information contained within. Locales, businesses, companies, events, government institutions, law enforcement agencies and private or educational institutions are used for atmospheric, entertainment and fictional purposes only. Furthermore, any resemblance or reference to persons living or dead is used fictitiously for atmospheric, entertainment and fictional purposes.
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