Page 126 of Trial of Deceit

Everythrumplayed louder in her ear.

As Jediah looked over his shoulder.

As his lips loosened from shock, then pulled into a straight line.

As he sneered at her with a ferocity she never knew she could be at the receiving end of again.

Jediah’s eyes darted to the barrel of Ashari’s raised gun before he looked her in the eyes.There was no love or lust.No understanding or comfort.Just plain hatred and malice for the woman who’d promised to never betray him again.

Her hand holding the gun trembled.Tears formed in her eyes as she dropped her open clutch, its contents spilling onto the ground as she barely managed to hold the pistol tighter.“Just raise your hands, Jediah,” she begged, her voice weak.“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Ashari,” he spat.“I swear, when mi done wid yu—”

She pulled the trigger.

Her eyes snapped shut in the seconds it took the bullet to travel.

She couldn’t bear watching it rip through Jediah’s tailored tuxedo.

A sob ripped from her throat at the sound of feet swarming forward from every direction.

Ashari flicked on the safety and tossed the gun to the side as if it burned.

Jediah hurled curses, unable to mask the pain caused by the sting of the bullet, as the police slammed his body into the ground.

“Jediah Richardson, you’re under arrest for the murder of F.B.I.agent, Romar Payne,” said a local law enforcement officer.

Ashari forced her eyes open.Toby stood closeby, watching as local law enforcement kneeled in Jediah’s lower back to restrain his flailing body.Ashari’s eyes drifted to Jediah’s face, being pressed against the grimy ground while another officer handcuffed him.

She wanted to yell for them to be gentle.

They were hurting him.

The arrest needed to be quick or else he’d bleed out before he got to the closest hospital.

Her eyes searched his body for where she’d shot him, but it was hard to tell through a teary vision and the bustling commotion.Ashari wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, then stooped to take up her gun.As her finger hit the cold metal, a mocking chant formed in her head.

Ashari: three.

Ashari: three.

Ashari: three.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the scratches on the metal table.However long it’d been, it was enough time for all the long lines of different shapes and sizes to blur before her vision.It was when they started to refocus, she realized that she wasn’t alone.

Ashari looked from the scratches to Senior.He towered above her, his frame blocking some of the light emitted from the ceiling bulb in the interrogation room.

He stared at her for a nerve-wracking moment before releasing a long sigh.Toby pulled out the other chair, then sat on it.Clasping his hands atop the cold table, he said, “This case is a misfortune.”

“How?”Ashari asked, her voice hoarse.She cleared her parched throat.

“Do you want some water?”

Ashari shook her head.Water was comfort.She didn’t want to become comfortable in this stuffy room.

“It’s a misfortune because what you’ve achieved isn’t the goal of your assignment,” Toby said while shuffling the paperwork atop the table.

“I still got him arrested.”

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