Page 90 of Protected from Malice
“That’s not all.”
I pull my gun from my holster again. “This part is very important. Are you ready?”
His eyes widen in fear. “What?”
“You’re going to confess. You’re going to call the police and turn yourself in.”
“No—”
“Yes. You’ll turn yourself in. If they ask about your broken bones, you’ll say you fell down the stairs. You won’t mention us at all. You’ll say you felt guilty. Turning yourself in like that, you’ll probably get a shorter sentence.”
Rickard whispers, “What if I tell them about you two?”
“They’ll never find us. But.” I pause. “I’ll find you. That’s a promise. And you won’t just end up with some broken bones next time.”
After a long silence, he lets out a shaky sigh. “Alright. I’ll do it. First thing in the morning.”
“No.” I bend down to scoop his phone from the floor. “You’re going to do it now. So we can hear you. You’re going to call and say you need to confess. That you want someone to come here right now to hear your confession.”
Indecision flickers in his eyes.
Then his gaze moves to my gun.
“Okay.” He holds out his uninjured hand. “I’ll do it.”
And five minutes later, the deed was done.
We stayed long enough to listen to the call, making sure he knew damn well it had better be done right. Then I smashed his phone with the heel of my shoe, so he couldn’t make another call for help after we left. As we exited his bedroom, I left him with my final instructions. “You can get ice for your hand. But don’t think about running. We’ll know. And if you do, you know what’ll happen, right?”
Rickard gave me a miserable nod. “You’ll kill me. I know.”
On the way out, we grabbed his laptop and the burner phone he had hidden in the kitchen cabinet, just in case he got some crazy idea of trying to destroy the evidence. It’ll get to the police tomorrow, once Tyler’s had a look at it. Thanks to our connections through Blade and Arrow, it won’t be difficult to arrange for the laptop and phone to be delivered anonymously.
And if Rickard tries to backtrack on his confession? If he tries to make up some wild story about two intruders who broke into his house?ThenI’ll make good on my promise.
Not ten minutes later, we’re back at the car. In the distance, sirens approach.
We all shed our sweatshirts before I pull out of the parking lot. I flick on the radio and turn it to a classic rock station. The guns are hidden in a special lockbox beneath the driver’s seat. We pop cans of energy drinks open and lean back in our seats.
We’re not burglars. Not mysterious intruders. We’re just three friends heading back to their hotel after a trip to visit Mt. Hood. We’ve even got the hiking gear in the trunk to prove it.
No one says a word until we’re back on the highway.
Finally, Indy asks, “Do you think he’ll do what we told him to?”
“I do,” I reply. “I think he’s too scared not to.”
“And we have his confession,” Webb adds. “Along with the phone and the laptop. With all of that… it has to be enough.”
I lift my chin in agreement. “We’ll find out soon. Tyler can hack into the police database. And if Rickard doesn’t?—”
“You won’t have to kill him,” Indy interrupts, “because I will.”
CHAPTER 15
EDEN
“Eden,baby, you feel so damn good.”
