Page 21 of In Too Deep

Reacher said, “Rooms.”

“What?”

“I asked about rooms. Not girls.”

“Same thing.”

“You think that, you’re doing something very wrong, my friend.”

“Whatever. The point is, the questions stop. You leave. And if you ever come around here again, you’ll regret it.”

“Regret it, as in I would wish I’d chosen to spend my time somewhere else? Where the company’s more engaging?”

“I’m warning you, smart-ass.”

“You’re warning me?”

“Damn straight.”

“You’re not doing a very good job. Warnings have two parts. If you do X, the consequence will be Y. I’m not hearing about any consequence, other than some vague idea of regret. Spell it out for me. Say I don’t leave. What are you going to do about that?”

“Stick around and you’ll find out.”

Reacher spread his arms wide. “Here I am. Sticking around.”

“I’m warning—”

“Enough. I’ve used up all the time I have for your nonsense. Go back to your boss or whoever sent you and tell them I have no interest in whatever you’ve got going on here. I’m not looking for trouble. Stay away from me and no one needs to get hurt.”

“As soon as I see you leave…”

“That’s not going to happen. I’ll leave when I’m ready.”

“Leave now.”

“Make me.”

“Happy to.”

“Go ahead. Try. But before you do, think about this. You can still walk away. You should. While you still can.”

“What are you going to do? You’ve only got one working arm.”

“If I only had one working finger that would be enough. Be smart. Walk away.”

—

Reacher could seethe guy weighing up his next move. A twitch of his right arm. A shuffle on his left foot. He was slow off the mark. That was for sure. Reacher guessed the guy usually got by through intimidation. But that had already failed. Reacher felt his neck muscles flexing. He was ready to drive his forehead into the guy’s face. It would be a brutal move. Vicious. Devastating. One of his favorites. A kind of Pavlovian response to being confronted by an asshole. But Reacher stopped himself. He remembered the doctor’s words.Don’t hit your head on anything. It’s important.So he decided to play it safe. He watched the guy draw back his right fist. Then he stamped on the guy’s front foot. He used all his weight. He felt the little delicate bones beneath the guy’s instep crush and shatter. He stepped to the side. The guy screamed and doubled over. Reacher drove his left knee up into his face. For a moment the guy looked like an acrobat on a balancing pole, hanging in midair, then he landed on his back. His legs slammed into the ground a moment later. And after that he didn’t move.

Reacher looked around. He could see no one in the parking lot. He checked for cameras. Didn’t spot any. He checked that the guy was still breathing, then walked over to the office door. He shoved it open and stepped inside. Mary, the woman with the red hair, was standing behind the counter. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

Reacher said, “Mary? Come with me.”

Mary stood still. She didn’t respond.

“Come here.”

Reacher’s voice had become a low rumble. Mary could feel it in her chest. She closed her eyes for a moment. Reacher could see her lips moving but he couldn’t hear any words.

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