Page 235 of On a Fault Line

“Leave us alone!” Penny screams at Tanner’s body that stands over us like a dark cloud.

His pistol is aimed in the air between us. One of his brainwashed goons must have gotten one and left it in the hallway. I doubt he had it during his prison time.

But then I remember Penny’s declaration.

Brothers.

They are twin brothers.

Well, that explains their motives for helping a demented, psychopathic criminal.

Mark looks down the barrel of his pistol. “But I only have one bullet left.”

“Liar,” I call out, making him smirk. I need to keep him distracted.

He alternates the weapon between both Penny and me. “Choices, choices.”

But when he points it back at me, I sweep forward and knock him on his back.

His gun goes sliding across the waxed floor.

With no time to waste, I reach for the weapon, but Penny has it first. So I pull out my own from my holster and aim it at Tanner’s head.

“Well, this was a fun ride,” Tanner snickers, getting up from the floor.

I track him with my weapon. “Hope the temperature is perfect for you in hell.”

Tanner laughs deeply. “Only time will tell.”

“Give me your gun, Penny.”

She shakes her head no. “I want to end this once and for all.”

“If you end me, my brothers will avenge my death.”

“You’re not that special,” I say.

“To them I am.”

“Too bad they’re already all dead,” I say with a smile. I got a text earlier confirming their fates, as I rushed to find Penny stranded here with a madman. “You can thank the Hoffmans for their dedication to waste management. You will soon be a forgotten name. No legacy. No lasting impression.”

“My brothers are safe then?” Penny asks, her voice quivering and full of hope.

“Yes.”

Mark snarls. “It’s not over. My nephew will retaliate.”

“If you’re referring to that fucker, Rex, well, he’ll have to come back as a ghost if he chooses to haunt us from his grave. Killing him was my pleasure.”

Tanner’s eyes twitch. He has no way out of this now. “I just wish I would have seen your face when you opened up the back of the prison transport van and found that poor guy dead instead of me alive. Did you at least take a selfie of your reaction?”

“I’m done with your little games,” I respond. He’s deflecting.

“I hope you stayed for the fire that followed the big reveal. No?”

“I’m tired of you messing with my head,” Penny says with an exasperated voice, pulling his attention from me to her. “And killing you will be my cure. Ineedto be the one.”

I move behind Penny. Lining up our weapons beside one another, I allow my breathing and heartbeat to match her rhythm. Then I take the gun from her hand and into mine.

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