Daniel clicked the pen, and as he did, a shot rang out. The percussive blast roared through the room, momentarily deafening him. Instinctively, Jarrod’s hand went to his gun.
Daniel crumpled to his knees and dropped the pen. His hands moved to his chest. Blood seeped from a tiny hole directly over his heart. He looked at Arthur, then down at his hands. Blood collected at the creases of his fingers and dripped downward. “Arthur, you two-faced bastard.”
“What in the hell did you do, Agent? It was a goddamned pen!” He rushed to Daniel’s side just as he slumped to the ground.
“He was drawing a weapon. I thought he was a threat,” Agent Arthur said, waving his hand at the offending man like his choice to shoot was obvious. “My actions were completely justified.”
Applying pressure, Jarrod tried to stop the bleeding even though he knew his efforts were in vain. The blood soaked through the man’s clothing and spread over the ground, wetting Jarrod’s knees. So much blood.
He looked to the pen. There was something off about it, and as he picked it up, he noticed that it had a tiny pill-like plastic piece filled with powder instead of a nib. He could only guess what was inside, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been cyanide.
Beside the pen was a picture of a young woman. She had long brown hair and a playful, confident smile. He flipped the photo over with the tip of his fingernail, careful not to disturb the evidence. On the back it read: “She will be next.”
This time, death had won, but if he acted fast, and found the woman in the picture, perhaps he could stop another person from falling victim to life’s fickle master.
Copyright © 2019 by Danica Winters
ISBN-13: 9781488063626
Brace for Impact
Copyright © 2019 by Janice Kay Johnson
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