by Chris Bostic
When they just blinked, I said, “We seriously had to call back.”
“I guess they never dispatched the first call.”
The older man, presumably the supervisor, told the younger one, “Something came through on the computer over an hour ago, but it was flagged as unconfirmed.”
“Unconfirmed? And she told me twenty minutes. What kinda false sense of security is that bullshit?” Lee grew hotter than the fire when they didn’t reply right away. “I told the operator exactly what was going on, and repeated it. Damn!”
“I guess the dispatcher must’ve figured it was another false alarm.”
“Sure looks like one, doesn’t it? As if I wasn’t specific enough.”
“Yes, sir.” The man with the rifle stood and looked toward the flames. “You have every right to be upset. This is obviously not a false alarm.”
“You’ll see that even clearer when we show you the bodies.”
* * *
Thankfully, the cops showed no concerns with our full accounting of the story, even if it did feel like it took forever to tell the tale—as well as to have to relive it.
Clarice and Paul were excused much earlier. We stayed on the property until well after dark, leading a team of detectives around the distillery.
Once we were done around the smoldering gift shop, we cut to the chase. Rather than stumble through every rack house, we focused on the highlights, or lowlights, by taking them to the loading dock at bottling to show them the thug Lee had shot off me by the railing.
While a couple cops stayed there to gather evidence or whatever, we took them downstairs to find the man still bound in the closet.
Apparently he’d worn himself out kicking at the door. He made no sound until the closet door opened, and hardly any after. Twangy looked like a whipped puppy when they rolled him over and hauled him off to jail.
When the police finally decided we’d had enough, they brought us back to the parking lot and dropped us off by my car so a pair of EMT’s could check out my eyes, as well as our cuts, scrapes, and bruises.
“They’ll take a look at you in a second,” an older detective said, and produced a business card. He shook our hands with a polite, respect-filled nod. “Thanks for your cooperation. Try to get some rest this evening, and we’ll be in touch if we need anything else.”
“I’m sure you will.” Lee put an arm around me.
After the man walked back to his car, we waved off the EMT’s for a minute so we could have some quiet time, staring at firemen dousing the smoldering shell of what used to be the gift shop—and my office space.
“Well, it looks like I need another place to work,” I kidded to hide the pain.
Lee finally laughed at one of my jokes. “More truth to that than we know. After all this, I probably do too.”
“Here we go again.” I leaned into him and let him hold me safe and secure.
“Better luck next time, huh?”
“Not in the bourbon business. I’m done with that shit.”
“Maybe our Cabernet Sauvignon, though,” he offered with a raised eyebrow.
“Damn, you could be on to something there.” My mind drifted back to the rack house, weighing the heavenly angel’s share against a devil of a bad time. “But I don’t think I can do it. Maybe a side business, but not full time.”
“I hear you. Thinking of that wine is reminding me again that we didn’t get that nightcap.” Lee hugged me tighter. “I could sure use that double shot.”
I cringed at the wording, but said, “Doesn’t sound too bad, all things considered…only we’re not getting a free, pricey bottle this time.”
“Oh, well.” Lee’s brief frown erased. “Hey, maybe you can work for that grocery store guy. He can probably hook you up with some rare stuff. Probably some juice even better than Old Tyler products.”
“Nah.” I looked up at him. “You know, maybe you were right. I could be your partner.”
“Seriously?” He put a hand over his heart and faked a heart attack. “No way.”
“Why not?”
“That’s what I was saying before. Why the hell not?” He winked at me. “You know I really need a good partner, and you kinda fit the bill.”
“Kinda?”
He laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“Of course. I just had to say it.” I gave a little more consideration to working with Lee. It didn’t take long to come up with one critical condition. “I’ll do it, but I’m not going out in the field. No way. I’m done with all the shootout bullshit.”
“I get that, but….” His eyes narrowed. “What would you do?”
“Safe, quiet office work. You’re gonna need a good marketing rep when we start our own security business.”
“Oh, yeah. I like that.” Lee wagged his eyebrows and made the motion of sweeping my desk clean like Clarice’s.
I shook my head at his antics and focused on the start-up business at hand. “Just imagine the ad campaign. We’ve got a ton of really shitty experiences to highlight.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
“You’ll drink to anything.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Cheers and Thank You for taking the time to read Double Shot. As I’d mentioned at the end of Night Cap, this new series marks my second foray into edgier and foul-mouthed suspense-thriller tales, which are significantly more mature than you will find in my usual ventures into the PG world of young adult, dystopian adventure stories. Hopefully you remembered that this series has a bit more adult content than my typical offerings.
As a bourbon lover, I sure hope you’ve enjoyed this follow-up trip through another fictional distillery in the heart of central Kentucky. It’s a land of rolling hills, fancy horse barns, tobacco farms, and some of the sweetest smelling rack houses on earth. I’ve been lucky enough to have toured numerous distilleries over the last several years, enjoying the scenery, and especially the bourbon, and I’m more than ready to go back any time.
Your guided tour doesn’t have to end yet. If you liked the opening two books, I hope you’ll stick with me, as well as Hope and Lee, for a final volume. Please stay tuned to my social media for word on a release date for Book 3, with a title to be determined. Release date as well, but hopefully soon.
With this series complete for now, you can take more distillery tours, both working and abandoned, with The Bourbon Country Series. Released late in 2019, that series blends Psychological Thriller and Romantic Suspense into a killer cocktail.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for something a little more family friendly, think about taking a dive into one of my outdoorsy nation collapse novels. I offer up a trip through the Great Smoky Mountains in Prepper Mountain. There’s also Fugitives from Northwoods, which is set in the Boundary Waters area of northern Minnesota.
If you are looking for something with a deeper dive into SciFi, but also with dystopian underpinnings, then I certainly encourage you to take a look at The Savage Horde Series.
If dystopian is not something you enjoy, then you check out a trio of standalone adventure novels. While not a big departure from my other books, wilderness survival stories such as Game Changer, Murder Cove, and Creeper Falls provide teenage outdoor suspense adventure with new characters, exciting storylines, and unique settings.
But first, before you cast Double Shot aside, I would be grateful if you would take just a few seconds out of your busy life to leave a brief review. Good or bad, I greatly appreciate any reviews left on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else you please. Reviews help other readers decide whether or not to check out a story, so they can really help get this book noticed by others.
Thank you all for your support! It means the world to me.
To connect with Chris Bostic
Add ‘Author Chris Bostic’ as a friend on Facebook
Follow on Twitter at @CBostic_Author
Follow on Instagram at @Author_Chris_Bostic
Website: http://ChrisBostic.weebly.com
The Bourbon Heist Series
by Chris Bostic
Book 1, Night Cap
Book 2, Double Shot
Book 3, (to be determined)
Similar Titles
The Bourbon Country Series
Book 1, Whiskey Thief
Book 2, Kentucky Hug
Book 3, Barrel Strength
Young Adult books by Chris Bostic
The Bushwhackers Series:
Book 1, Prepper Mountain
Book 2, Shadow Warriors
Book 3, Jailbreak
The Savage Horde Series:
Book 1, Savage Hills
Book 2, Cold Valley
Book 3, Complex Three
The Northwoods Trilogy:
Book 1, Fugitives from Northwoods
Book 2, Rebellion in Northwoods
Book 3, Return to Northwoods
Standalone Novels:
Game Changer
Murder Cove
Creeper Falls