by Lisa Regan
She panted, trying to slow her breathing, her panic, and think. “Yes, I know her… She was beautiful, wasn’t she?”
He slapped her across the face so hard she saw stars again. “What do you know about Delilah?”
Burning tears flooded her eyes, but she blinked them away and licked the blood off her swollen lip.
“I know you loved her,” she replied, wishing more than anything that she’d be right in her analysis. “And she betrayed you.”
He looked at her with hollow eyes. “She threw me away like I was nothing!” he bellowed. “Like I was a piece of trash.”
A mother or maybe a lover, Tess thought, her mind racing with possibilities. Most likely a mother. But what was his trigger? What could’ve recently happened to make him relive the anguish of the original trauma, tenfold as painful and enraging?
“She had to be with him,” she dared, shooting from the hip and holding her breath.
“And for what? For money, like the slut that she was!” he shouted. “She chose a life of luxury while I went from foster home to foster home, getting raped, used, and beaten.”
He looked at her as if he’d never seen her before. She’d pushed herself away from him inch by inch, getting closer to the weapon that had slid under the table, almost within reach. She ventured a quick glance behind her, to gauge the distance to the gun, then looked straight at him with all the compassion she could muster.
What was the name he wore on his tag? There’d been so many… Richard. His name was Richard.
“You’re a kind person, and you’d almost forgiven her,” she said softly. “Because you still loved her. Until…”
Tess held her breath, sliding on her back one more inch, while the man stared into nothingness, into his own troubled past.
“What happened, Richard?” she asked softly.
He clenched his fists so violently his bones crackled. Involuntarily, Tess winced, anticipating a fatal blow. She eased herself farther away and extended her arm above her head, reaching for the Sig.
It was too far.
The man bellowed, then punched a hole in the wall next to him.
“She came into the restaurant one night, that piece of shit with her, and didn’t even recognize me! He didn’t recognize me either.” He grabbed Tess by the neck and lifted her from the ground. “Can you believe it, Delilah? The man who didn’t want your kid didn’t even recognize me.” He slammed her to the ground, laughing. “You’re going to remember me now, Delilah. You’ll like it.”
“What happened to Delilah, Richard?” she asked, her voice trembling, shuttered with short gasps of air.
His eyes blurred, staring into empty space while his own past haunted him mercilessly.
“She left me…all over again. From the restaurant, she went to the airport and flew away. I—I lost her all over again.” His hollow eyes focused on Tess’s face again. “I found you now, Delilah, and this time, I won’t let you go.”
She reached around, desperate, and grabbed a vase from the table and hit him on the head with it. He didn’t skip a beat. Instead, he flipped her on her stomach and pulled out a knife. She fought desperately to free herself while his hand came down with the blade.
Then she heard a shot. And another.
Richard fell next to her, blood dripping out of two chest wounds, quickly spreading onto the floor, about to reach Cat’s boots.
He kicked the man’s body away from her and extended his hand. She grabbed it, unaware of the tears streaming from her eyes. She sat by the killer’s body, too shaken to risk getting to her feet.
Cat helped her up, then hugged her tightly, rocking her back and forth, the smoking .45 still in his hand.
“That’s twice,” she whispered, wiping the blood spatter from her face. “The second time you saved my life.”
“Is he dead?” Cat asked, giving the fallen man a look. “If not, I can finish the—”
Tess crouched next to the body and checked for a pulse. “Yeah, he’s dead.”
“Great,” Cat replied.
She looked at him and saw he looked scared. “You don’t have a permit for this gun, do you?”
He lowered his eyes. “No… I’m not really someone who should talk to cops, in any capacity, if you catch my drift.”
“Jeez, Cat,” she said, then reached out and kissed his cheek. “I’ll take care of this.” She grabbed the gun from his hand. “Did you kill anyone with this?”
“Just him,” he replied, pointing at the body.
“Come on, get out of here,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Go home, tell Danielle it’s over.”
Cat ran into Donovan, Walz, and Osborne on his way out the front door.
“What the hell?” Donovan reacted, not recognizing him.
“You schmucks are late,” he groaned, giving them a dismissing stare. “The party’s over.”
Tess smiled widely, continuing to wipe the fingerprints off Cat’s gun.
Donovan rushed inside, then stopped in his tracks when he saw the body lying in a pool of blood at Tess’s feet.
“When did this happen? We were just around the corner to change cars.”
“Doesn’t matter, we got the guy,” she replied, moving to unload the weapon and wipe the fingerprints off each bullet under their stunned eyes.
“The host, huh?” Donovan said. “How on earth did he find you?”
She turned toward Osborne, the smile still lingering on her lips.
“Did you leave the car while we were in the restaurant?”
“Only for two minutes,” he said. “I had to use the restroom.”
Tess pressed her lips together. “I’m willing to bet he put a tracker on the limo when you were gone.”
Osborne’s blood drained from his face. “I—I don’t know what to say, SA Winnett. I’m so sorry.”
She dismissed the apology with a hand gesture that brought a wince of pain to her face. “Don’t worry about it. We got the guy. That’s all that matters. That’s what I’ll put in my report.”
She slid the bullets back into the magazine and started handling the gun to leave her own fingerprints on it.
“What’s that?” Walz asked.
“My backup weapon.”
“You carry a Colt 1911 as your backup weapon?”
“It’s my dad’s from ’Nam. I don’t carry it. I keep it there, just in case,” she replied, pointing at a two-shelf coffee table. “It hasn’t been fired in ages.”
They looked straight at each other for a while, then SSA Walz said, “Shouldn’t be a problem, because we witnessed you shooting the suspect in self-defense. Over the years, many people might’ve handled, repaired, or cleaned that weapon; some before you were born.”
She nodded almost imperceptibly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
She let herself sink into the cushions of her couch and whimpered when the move kindled the pain in her shoulder.
“I’ll get you an ambulance,” Donovan said, and immediately made the call.
“Never mind that,” she groaned. “What the hell am I going to do with that BCI Insurance case?”
“What insurance case?” Patto asked, walking through the open door. “I heard you got the guy.”
She pointed at the dead body, then turned to look at Patto with a blooming smile on her bruised lips. “Patto, you owe me one, don’t you?”
He shook his head, frowning.
“Really, you do,” she insisted, pointing at the body. “You see, I need a favor. There’s this insurance fraud case… I’m sure you can dig up something and close it in no time.”
About the Author
Leslie Wolfe is a bestselling author whose novels break the mold of traditional thrillers. She creates unforgettable, brilliant, strong women heroes who deliver fast-paced, satisfying suspense, backed up by extensive background research in technology and psychology.
Leslie released the first novel, Executive, in October 2011. It was very well received, including inquiries from H
ollywood. Since then, Leslie published numerous novels and enjoyed growing success and recognition in the marketplace. Among Leslie's most notable works, The Watson Girl (2017) was recognized for offering a unique insight into the mind of a serial killer and a rarely seen first person account of his actions, in a dramatic and intense procedural thriller.
Leslie enjoys engaging with readers every day and would love to hear from you.
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Tess Winnett Serial Killer Thrillers
A crime fighter. A profiler with the FBI. A serial killer hunter. A damaged woman hiding a terrible secret. FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett is all this, and more.
“WoW! Holy Smoke! Best thriller I have read in years and I have read hundreds. Absolutely movie material. WoW just WOW!!!” – Mawna, five stars review on Amazon for Dawn Girl.
The Tess Winnett Series
Get ready for some sleepless nights
Dawn Girl (I) The Watson Girl (II) Glimpse of Death (III) Taker of Lives (IV)
Baxter & Holt Series
Explore the nights when all bets are off
Las Vegas Girl (I) Casino Girl (II) Las Vegas Crime (III)
Standalone Novels
Stories Untold
The Alex Hoffmann Series
A rookie private investigator, a different kind of mystery
Executive (I) Devil’s Move (II) The Backup Asset (III) The Ghost Pattern (IV) Operation Sunset (V)
Copyright © 2019 Lisa Regan for the story Over the Edge
Copyright © 2019 Coleen Helme for the story Behind Blue Eyes
Copyright © 2019 Amy Vansant for the story Parental Kilt
Copyright © 2019 Julie Smith for the story The Big Crazy
Copyright © 2019 Leslie Wolfe for the story Not Really Dead
All rights reserved.
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This is entirely a work of fiction. Characters, organizations, agencies, corporations, places, aircraft, and incidents depicted in this book are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events, is entirely coincidental or used in a fictitious manner.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third‑party websites or their content.
Italics Publishing Inc.
Edited by Joni Wilson and Susan Barnes.
Cover and interior design by Sam Roman.