Page 105 of Pepper, the Biker & the Vanishing Body

I really, really hated this woman.

“But I will see that you get what you deserve, just as I made sure the man who assaulted my son three times got what he deserved.”

I blinked. “Jones is the one who attacked your son in the Treetop parking lot?”

“He is,” Edna said, her tone suddenly sharper. “The fool bragged about it to me, not knowing that Guy was my son, thinking he was after the Willow treasure like Swatcher.”

I exhaled slowly. It all made sense now.

“So, when you found out Swatcher hired him, you made him an offer,” I said. “You paid Jones to find the information that you already had from Waters. Meanwhile, he was also feeding you intel on Swatcher’s movements.”

“So I could keep track of what those two were up to,” she confirmed.

“And then you waited for the right moment… to kill him,” I said.

Kelly gasped.

I felt her stiffen beside me, clutching my arm. She understood exactly what I had just done—I had forced Edna to confirm she was a killer.

If Edna could kill Jones, she’d have no problem killing us.

A slow, pleased smile spread across Edna’s face. “As I said I made sure he got what he deserved. He never saw it coming. I stabbed him as soon as he stepped out of the tunnel, and he went down hard. Then I kept stabbing him.”

My stomach twisted.

“And when I knew he was close to death,” she continued, her voice filled with satisfaction, “I made sure to let the fool know that he was paying with his life for what he had done to my son.”

Kelly whimpered beside me, her body trembling. I could feel her weight pressing into me, her fear mixing with the pain of her impending labor.

We were running out of time.

I had to do something and… NOW.

CHAPTER 29

Edna’s grip on the gun was firm, but she wasn’t expecting me to make the first move.

I shoved Kelly behind me and lunged, throwing my full weight, as slim as I am, into Edna. Kelly let out a startled cry as I got a hold of Edna’s wrist and twisted it fast and hard, knocking the gun upward out of her hand. A shot rang out, echoing through the mansion, the bullet embedding itself harmlessly into the ceiling.

I didn’t wait. Balling my fist, I threw a punch, catching Edna’s jaw and sending her tumbling back onto the floor. We had no time to spare. We needed to get away from her since she was already moving.

Grabbing Kelly’s arm, I hauled her toward the grand staircase, my pulse hammering in my ears.

“Move, move, move!” I hissed.

Kelly was gasping, struggling to keep up, but we had no choice. Edna wasn’t out of the fight, and she wasn’t about to leave us to be found.

We reached the second floor, and I cast a quick glance around frantically searching for an escape route or the best place to hide until help arrived. I scanned from one end of the corridor to the other.

My eyes shot wide as realization struck. “That’s what it is!”

“What is?” Kelly asked, her voice breathless and hopeful.

“I’ll tell you later,” I said and recalled the armory, a place where I could get a weapon.

I yanked Kelly to the right, leading her down the corridor to the end to make another right straight into the armory.

Numerous weapons common to the period when the house was built and up until Ignatius’s death hung on the walls and a display case held antique weapons—some real, some replicas—but I wasn’t interested in an exhibit right now. I needed a weapon I could handle with some confidence.

---