Brenda stared at him, confused and wondering what was going on now. Greg looked like he’d been through a battering. His left eye was swollen shut, his lips split, and there were multiple discolored patches and swellings on his face. There was a gash on his forehead that trickled blood across his face. He staggered toward where Mack lay slumped and pushed his head up. Mack was visibly weak.
“Please help him,” Brenda blurted. “He’s bleeding out. His finger—or what remains of it—needs to be stanched.”
Greg ripped off a piece of his shirt and used it to stanch Mack’s bleeding.
“Hey,” he said, sniffing.
Brenda looked at him.
“We don’t have much time,” he said. “Now, when I was in the police station, your boyfriend here—”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Brenda interjected.
“Whatever. He promised to take care of me and my sister if I testified against Dimitri.”
Brenda felt anger rise like vomit to her throat.
“So, you want to testify now, eh? What changed your mind? Got a sound thrashing from your boss?”
“Lady, this is no time for sarcastic comments, okay,” Greg said. “I’ve had enough of my sister sex-slaving for him.”
He turned to look at the girl who was sobbing to herself.
“All I ever wanted was for her to be safe. I’d have gone through with my agreement with your boyf— with your friend, but I’d been made out. I had to play along. For me. For my sister. I can’t stand the constant harassment any longer. Promise me you’re going to keep her safe.”
“Of course. As long as you testify against Dimitri.”
“Now, you all have to leave here. I set free the group of children that were supposed to be shipped tomorrow. They’re focused on getting them back. Now’s the best time to make your escape.”
Greg’s eyes went to the table of tools. He grabbed a knife off it and cut through Brenda and Mack’s bonds. Brenda supported Mack to prevent him from falling. He’d really lost a great deal of blood.
“Do you have any weapons?” Brenda asked as she flexed her hands.
“Weapons? I didn’t have time for that,” Greg protested.
“Oh no,” Brenda began to complain. Then something else occurred to her. “Do you have a phone?’
“Yes,” Greg replied.
“Hand it over, quickly.”
Greg gave it to her. Then he went to Ava and they argued in hushed tones. Brenda dialed the number she knew by heart. The time had come to call in the FBI assault team stationed within a few miles of the island. When she was done with the call, she handed the phone to Greg and grabbed a serrated blade from the table.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” she said.
“What did you do?” Greg asked.
“Put a call through to an assault team not too far from here.”
Greg stared at her with wide-eyed shock.
“You didn’t think of bringing them in all this while?”
“You’ve got to have solid information before bringing an assault team in. Now let’s get out of here.”
Just then the door swung open, revealing a huge man by the doorway.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Simon asked, stepping forward.
Brenda eyed the semi-automatic rifle in his hand, and then she dashed toward him. He was easily twice her size—that much was obvious—but she didn’t anticipate his quickness. When she lunged at the burly man, he just smacked her on the face with the muzzle of his rifle before she even got close to him.
Greg threw himself at him almost immediately, but Simon grabbed his arm with one hand and flung him into his sister. Mack was leaning against the chair, apparently too weak to do anything. Simon turned to Brenda, who was still reeling from the blow to her face. The huge man wrapped his meaty hand around her neck, smacked her against the wall, and then lifted her up. Brenda croaked as she gasped for air, but she couldn’t get anything with Simon’s hand firmly crushing her windpipe. She struggled, and scratched his arm, but she kept on getting weaker and weaker.
Simon was watching the life go out of Brenda’s eyes when suddenly he felt a blinding pain in his back. He roared and turned to find Mack staggering backward with a bloodied screwdriver in his hand.
“You,” Simon growled, dropping Brenda.
He took one step toward Mack when Brenda picked up her serrated blade. Brenda lined up her target and jammed it in his neck, snapping his spinal cord. Simon stopped abruptly. His eyes bulged as he reached for the blade sticking out the back of his neck. But he never reached it. He was dead before he even hit the ground.
Greg led them out, clutching his sister with one hand. Brenda followed behind, supporting Mack and holding Simon’s semi-automatic rifle. They followed a corridor that terminated in a doorway leading to Dimitri’s personal harbor. The only obstacle between them and freedom was the squad of armed guards keeping watch.
Greg’s sister cried and tried to hold him back, but he knew what he had to do. There was no way they would survive this without going past the guards.
“Make sure my sister is safe,” Greg told Brenda. He flicked his eyes to Mack. “He promised.”
Then he kissed his sister goodbye and swiped the semi-automatic from Brenda’s hand. She was too startled to resist. Greg ran towards the guards, yelling and shooting like a maniac.
The diversion was good enough. Brenda sneaked past with Mack and Greg’s weeping sister. Ava saw the first bullets hit her brother before Brenda clutched her by the arm and dragged her away.
Chapter Seven
“Yesterday, the FBI’s raid of multi-millionaire Dimitri Stankovich’s compound uncovered evidence of human trafficking and murder. People were willing to step forward as witnesses in court. However, the authorities didn’t have Stankovich in custody. Two boats seemed to be missing from his personal collection. The FBI speculated that Stankovich must’ve boarded one of those boats. Meanwhile, a formal investigation was being launched into the Island’s police unit on claims of corruption, and aiding and abetting Dimitri Stankovich.”
Dimitri watched the TV in the lobby announce the latest breaking news and shrugged it off.
Dimitri owned the building through a subsidiary firm. He thought that would come in handy and it definitely did. He’d just come in from a poker game that didn’t go as expected. He exchanged greetings with the pretty receptionist and winked at her before he went into the elevator. Inside, he pushed the button for his high-end penthouse.
Marco Island was Dimitri’s second most favorite place in the world. Each time he came here, he left with the memory of two things: the exquisite taste of their food and the aesthetics of the soft white beach sand against the alluring blue of the ocean. However, on this occasion, his stay in the island wasn’t exclusively for luxury.
The elevator doors opened right into his large living room. The first thing his eyes caught was the half-empty bottle of tequila on the table. He picked it up, took a swig, and carried it into his bedroom.
Dimitri groped about till he found the light switch.
At the same moment he was flicking the lights on, he heard the sound of a cocked gun behind him. He turned. To his chagrin, a familiar face sat in one of the armchairs, pointing a gun straight at him.
“Hello, Mr. Stankovich,” Mack greeted.
Dimitri tried to say something but his voice barely rose above a whisper. His heart beat furiously and disbelief appeared on his face.
“There’s no magic trick to pull anymore, Dimitri,” Mack said. “Whichever way you choose to go, just know you’re definitely paying for your crimes.”
At that same moment, the elevator pinged open, pouring out a number of operatives into Dimitri’s living room. Leading the company was Special Agent Brenda Lawson of the FBI with a triumphant smile on her face.
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Lawson & Abernathy Series
Special Agent Of FBI Brenda Lawson and Homicide Detective Mack Abernathy
Give No Chance
Everyone fears him. Too bad there’s someone doesn’t.
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* * *
Lie No Lies
What do you do when you can’t trust your own friends?
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Illusive Series
Brenda and Mack’s Past
Illusive Storm
A storm, a group of strangers, a murder, and one question—who’s next?
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Illusive Times
The law failed him. It’s time for him to take matter into his own hands.
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Illusive Trust
She tried to leave her past behind. But murder followed her home.
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About The Author
Lily Campbell is a #1 Amazon Bestseller Author, topping many Amazon charts on multiple occasions. Her books are available on many of the major retailers, with exceptions to books enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, including iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and most notably, Amazon.
Lily is a lover of all things mystery-related. She grew up watching mystery shows and learned that the truths are generally those you least expect. She’s married to a man who’s much less fascinated by murder mysteries. With a fascination of serial killers, family gatherings can get awkward due to her love of discussing such topics—often at the dinner table.
Since young, Lily has been an avid writer, getting awards as far back as elementary for her amazing writing skills. She has a knack for making stories suspenseful and getting that shocking twist. Her stories will keep you up reading late at night, guessing whodunit until the very last page.
She loves getting reader feedback and personally reads all of them. You can contact her at [email protected]
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