by Janean Worth
Rebounding, he stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance.
“Excuse me,” he said, starting to apologize, but the gun in the man’s hand stopped him from continuing. His words dried up in his throat. He took a step back, but the man raised the gun, leveling it at Leo’s heart.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the man said, his voice rough with violence.
Leo raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, “Hey, it’s ok. You want money? I can give you plenty.”
The guy smirked. “I know you can, Mr. Vance.”
A shock of fear cut through Leo. If the man knew his name, and knew that he had money, then this indicated premeditation, not a general opportunistic mugging. And that meant that the situation was even more dangerous than Leo had first surmised.
Leo glanced over his shoulder, barely holding back a muttered curse as he saw the three men in hoodies nearing the entrance to the garage. Oddly, the man that Leo had hallucinated earlier was still with them, keeping step with them, as if they were traveling as a group.
Dismissing the problem with his mental state because he simply did not have time for that at the moment, Leo glanced back at the massive man in front of him, realizing that he had only a few seconds left if he had a chance at escaping whatever they had planned for him. And he now had no doubt that they were all working in tandem.
He glanced around the parking garage. It was full of cars of every make and model, but empty of people who could serve as witnesses. To his left, a low concrete half wall divided the entrance from the parking area; to his right, the entrance road curved around to the upper level.
Leo chose left, banking on the fact that, if the men wanted more money than he currently carried in his wallet, they’d know that they needed him alive.
He feinted toward the man, then darted left, saying a quick prayer for success.
“Stop!” the man shouted, but Leo paid no heed.
He barreled toward the half wall and then, to his own surprise, managed to vault over it like a professional hurdler.
Behind him, the muscle‑bound man cursed and fired the gun.
The bullet pinged off of the concrete wall, ricocheting back toward the man with a dangerous whine.
Leo ran for all he was worth, knowing that his Hummer waited just down at the end of the row of parked vehicles. He was unutterably thankful that he’d managed to find an open spot on the ground level that morning.
As he ran, he groped in his pants pocket for his key fob, managing to push the unlock button on it even while his legs pounded against the concrete in a flat‑out run.
The Hummer’s horn chirped as it unlocked, and to Leo, it sounded like the most beautiful sound that he’d ever heard. He could hear the pounding footfalls of the others behind him as he neared his vehicle, but he didn’t dare to look back.
Skidding to a halt beside the massive SUV, he ripped open the driver’s door and leapt inside, slamming the door behind him and quickly hitting the automatic locks for the doors.
Hand shaking, he still managed to fit the key into the ignition and start the vehicle. He backed up without looking behind him, tires squealing against concrete as he gave the Hummer too much gas, and then maneuvered the large vehicle onto the exit road.
His would‑be assailants were now in front of him, on the exit road, running toward the Hummer.
The muscled man must have decided that it was worth the possible death of their target to prevent Leo’s escape. He raised his gun and fired, emptying the gun into the hood and windshield of the Hummer until the magazine was spent.
The glass of the windshield bloomed with multiple starbursts, and the hood dented as the bullets pinged off of it, but neither was pierced by the gunfire.
Leo whooped in triumph, adrenaline surging through him in powerful waves.
He revved the engine and barreled toward the men.
“Armored vehicle with ballistic glass!” he yelled at the muscled man as he passed, the man and his companions leaping out of the way of the speeding SUV. “I got all the extra options at no additional cost!”
Feeling high on escape and adrenaline, Leo laughed aloud as he rocketed out of the parking garage, passing the man from the elevator as he went, now not so sure that he had been a hallucination after all. He ignored the glares of veiled menace that the man and his companions cast his way.
Read more of RICHES, INVISIBLE 2, now available at Amazon.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41