Page 159 of Trouble Comes in Threes

But if I could stall him long enough, surely someone would show up and save me.

He lifted his arm, pointing the barrel of the gun at my face. “Don’t play stupid with me. Either give me what I want, or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

“Like you killed Sarah?” I countered. “And Jeremiah when he wouldn’t tell you where the box was?”

“I didn’t kill Jeremiah,” he grunted. “That stupid fool Emmett killed him. I told the boy he was no good to us dead, and then he goes and gets trigger happy.”

“Maybe you didn’t kill him, but you still tried to bury him.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “You been talkin’ to that boy who was there?” Then he looked even more surprised. “Holy shit. You’re her.”

I kept silent because I was pretty sure it wasn’t such a good thing that he knew I was the Lady in Black.

“You are her,” he said, taking a step closer. An evil grin spread across his face, and he licked his upper lip. “You don’t look so badass.”

I didn’t like the predatory look in his eyes, and waiting for someone to save me was no longer an option.

“I’m plenty badass,” I said with a leer. “Why don’t you come closer and find out for yourself.”

He was still holding his gun on me, which made things dicey, but I was going to have to take the chance. It had been a long time since I’d practiced any self-defense moves, but I could press a button easily enough.

He began closing the distance between us, and when he was about three feet away, I lifted my left hand and sprayed his face.

Multiple gunshots echoed in the room, but I didn’t wait to see if I’d been shot. Instead, I ran for the front door. While it was farther away, he stood between me and the back door. Not to mention, I’d rather run for my life on the public sidewalk than the back alley.

“You stupid bitch!” he shouted, then more gunshots rang out.

I didn’t bother ducking. He was shooting blind, and I’d waste more time trying to crouch down than if I got outside quickly. Unfortunately for me, he’d realized I was trying to escape. He started stumbling after me, shooting wildly until his empty chamber clicked.

He was out of bullets.

There was a chance he had another gun, but I wasn’t waiting to find out.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I just needed to get out the front door, and I’d be safe.

But just as I bent down to duck through the broken glass, he threw himself into my legs, knocking me to the floor.

“Where is it?” he shouted. His eyes were barely cracked open, tears streaming down his red face. “Where are the disks?!” His meaty hands wrapped around my throat and started to squeeze.

I gasped for breath, realizing he was an utter idiot. Even if I planned to tell him, I wouldn’t have been able to with my air supply cut off.

I knew I had seconds to break his hold before I passed out. I could try to pry his hands away, but I doubted that would work. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a three-inch-long pink crystal Neely Kate had bought about a year ago. She’d claimed it had healing properties and cleaned out negative energy. I stretched out my hand and clasped my fingers around it.

I was about to clean out some negative energy all right.

Using all the strength I could muster, I swung my hand up and smashed the crystal into the side of his head.

His hands loosened momentarily on my throat, and his mouth parted in surprise. His hands went slack, and he fell on top of me.

Well, crappy doodles.

It took a bit of shoving to get him off me, and just as I got him moved to the side, I saw Joe standing over me, panic on his face.

Relief washed through me, but I said with a hint of sass, “It’s about darn time you showed up. I found Jeremiah’s murderer for you.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

I half worried I’d killed Clive Maxwell, but after the EMTs showed up, they declared that he was merely unconscious from a nasty concussion. He’d roused by the time they hauled him off to the Henryetta Hospital, handcuffed to his gurney, and he was spitting mad.

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