The Prettiest One: A Thriller
Page 36
Thousands of dollars.
Stokes swiped a hand across his forehead. It came away wet with sweat despite the cool autumn air in the shadowy woods.
That was a hell of a lot of money lying there. And that was merely what had spilled from the bag. If there was more inside, which there looked to be, it would be more than Stokes had made in years, maybe a decade—certainly far more than he had made honestly. And it was just lying there.
He saw two options: leave the money, knowing it would probably wind up under somebody else’s mattress—maybe whoever found the car, maybe the first cop on the scene—or take the money. The dead guy sure didn’t need it. Stokes sure did. The decision wasn’t a tough one for him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2015 James Hankins
Bestselling author James Hankins pursued writing at an early age. While attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he received the Chris Columbus Screenwriting Award. After career detours into screenwriting and the law, Hankins recommitted himself to writing fiction. Since then, he has written four popular thrillers—Shady Cross, Brothers and Bones, Jack of Spades, and Drawn—each of which became Amazon #1 bestsellers. Additionally, Brothers and Bones received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was named to its list of Best Books of 2013. Hankins lives with his wife and twin sons just north of Boston. He can be reached through his website, www.jameshankinsbooks.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
EXCERPT: SHADY CROSS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR