“Don’t you dare talk about my brother.” He leaned forward and was about to stand.
“Ah, I wouldn’t.” Niki leaned toward him with her gun.
He sat back against the wall and continued to rock. “I’m not going to prison, I can’t. I won’t last. Not from what my brother told me.”
“You’re just scared. Despicable. Less than a man.”
“I am a man.”
“No. You’re a coward.”
He turned up his nose and scowled at her, but she couldn’t shoot him, not there, not like that. He wasn’t worth the bullet.
“Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give you two options.”
“Options?”
“Yeah. Two options for the end of your life.”
He gritted his teeth but didn’t say anything.
“Option one, I give you the coward’s way out. An end to your worthless, horrible existence by leaving you with one round in the chamber to take your own life. Option two, you prove me wrong and walk out of this basement with your hands held high and take the punishment due to you.” Niki dropped the magazine from the weapon and laid the gun on the floor next to his leg with only one round remaining in the chamber. “It’s your choice.”
She turned and walked up the staircase. She waited at the top of the stairs for only a moment. She wondered what he would choose, but deep down she knew all along. The unmistakable sound of gunfire echoed from the basement and throughout the house.
She shook her head, dropping it low, and thought, Figures.
Epilogue
Marathon, Florida
TWO DAYS AFTER THE chaos ended in New York, Niki found herself sprawled out on the couch of her father’s home in Marathon. Gage was overjoyed that she came for a surprise visit, as was Salma. In between her studies and what happened with ZULU, she found little time to come down to see her father and soon-to-be stepmother.
Turning away from the TV for a moment, Niki noticed the bridal magazine on the coffee table. On the front was a caramel-skinned model with beautiful features dressed in pure white. Niki couldn’t help but picture Salma in the same dress, replacing her with the model. She grinned for a long moment, happy for them both.
“What’s on your mind, Nik?” Gage said from across the room.
She lifted her attention away from the magazine and said, “Nothing. Just happy for you, that’s all.” She glanced over her shoulder to see Salma in the kitchen working on a snack tray. They caught eyes and shared a smile too.
“Niki, you see this?” Gage said, turning Niki’s attention away from Salma and toward the TV. “This was some kind of sex slave house or something.”
“How terrible,” Salma added from the kitchen. “Did they catch the assholes who did this?”
But when Niki stared at the TV, she saw a man dressed in a finely pressed suit being interviewed by a reporter. The reporter held her microphone into the man’s face and asked one question. But the question wasn’t what Niki focused on, but rather the house behind him. She never saw the house from the outside, at least not in the light of day. It was a beautiful manor-style home. White with black shutters, now riddled with bullet holes. Before, it would’ve been a beautiful place to call your home. Thoughts probed her psyche. Thoughts of Ashley. Of all the girls. Then the faces, the laughing, evil faces of the men and women who were there to do despicable things, to bid on the women like cattle.
“Looks like it,” Gage answered Salma’s question. “Guy being interviewed said a lone woman was responsible for bringing them all down.”
Damn right. They got what they deserved.
Then Sergei’s face popped up on the screen. Just the shot of his face turned her stomach. And just as they returned to the man for questioning, a woman flashed across the screen in the background.
“Wait.” Gage leaned forward in his chair and brought his feet to the ground. “Is that . . . Collar?” He looked to Niki.
Niki shrugged. “Don’t think so.”
“No, I swear.” Gage grabbed the remote and rewound, then pressed pause. “It is. That’s her.” Again, Gage looked at Niki.
“I guess it is,” Niki said.
“Was she the woman who brought them down?” Gage asked, not expecting he’d get the answer. “Has she said anything to you?”
Niki bit her lip, debating what to say. She didn’t want to lie to her father, but she had to protect him from the truth. “Not recently, no.”
“Huh?” Gage questioned, then let the newscast play on.
After the interview, the reporter stared into the camera and said, “I guess we just have to thank the FBI and the rest of those involved in this takedown, but most of all the lone woman responsible for bringing these fanatics to justice.”
Although Niki felt pride that she was able to bring justice to such heinous criminals, depression and fear settled in her gut. The abuse she endured was worse than any she’d known before, even more so than her experience in the Virgin Islands. She realized her faith in humanity had waned with every mission ZULU had sent her on. Deep down she wished Collar had never approached her in the gym last summer. But then she would’ve never been able to rescue those seven other women, whose lives had been changed forever. She herself still held on to some semblance of innocence, but for those women and countless others in the world with similar stories of abuse and trauma, life as they knew it would never be the same again.
Thank You Reader
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Acknowledgments
TO GOD BE THE GLORY. Without him allowing me to use my gifts, none of this would be possible. To my wonderfully understanding wife, Connie—you have allowed me to chase my dreams all the while keeping things together with our family.
To my remarkable editor, Deb Hall—without you, none of this manuscript would make any sense. You have made this novel what it is today. To my beta readers—with your help, my story has begun to shine. To David Rupert—you’ve inspired me through our writers’ group to want to become a better writer. And finally, thank you to my fans.
About the Author
J.D. DUDYCHA BELIEVES the best stories are written with characters overcoming real life struggles and everyone deserves a shot a redemption. To get his debut novel for FREE, please visit his website: www.jddudycha.com
After a long stay in the baseball world, both as a player and a coach, J.D. has turned to his real passion, creating gritty, in-your-face characters who leap off the page and ooze practicality. You can’t help but continue to read because you don’t know where the story will take you next.
J.D. spends his time with his wife and children in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. When he is able to step away from the world of writing fiction, he enjoys golf and fly fishing, and he never met a mountain he didn’t want to climb or an ocean he didn’t want to explore.
His inspiration is drawn from many different authors. Some of his favorites are C.S. Lewis, Clive Cussler, Lee Child, and Vince Flynn.
For more information visit:
www.jddudycha.com
Twitter: @JDDudycha
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/jddudycha
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