Page 52 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

“Along country roads through farmland and wineries?” Kim grinned. “Not likely.”

“Maybe skinny guy’s room has a minibar,” he grumbled.

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Chapter 22

Saturday, June 4

Niagara Falls, Ontario, CA

Audrey Ruston had pushed the heavy door of Westwood’s suite inward just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of gunshots in one of the bedrooms. Two guns fired.

One shot from the first, followed by two shots from the second weapon.

After the second shots, she’d heard a heavy thump, like a man falling to the floor.

Audrey crept closer to the bedroom and stood with her back to the wall. She turtled her head through the open doorway for a quick scan.

Three people across the room. Two were still vertical. One on the floor, obviously dead.

Audrey had never seen the big man and the Asian woman before.

Operatives of some sort, judging from their demeanor and the easy way they handled both the weapons and the situation.

Probably not private security.

More likely a couple of well trained members of Uncle Sam’s team, one way or another.

For a split second, Audrey worried that Brax had sent backup to replace her. But that made zero sense.

Brax was a slimy bastard, but also a man of his word. He’d give her the twenty-four hours he’d promised to find Liam Stuart and the prototype before he sent someone else.

Audrey cocked her head. Two professionals standing over a man down.

All three looked like they’d been rolling in the mud. Faces and clothes were crusted with dried earth.

Even from this distance, Audrey easily pegged the unlucky recipient of the bullets. No challenge at all since she knew the guy.

If names were destiny, Ace Fox was fated to become a cunning killer the moment he drew his first breath.

His tall, skinny frame and pointed face conveyed his sly, feral, nocturnal habits.

Fox had perfected the art of murder for hire after a decade of successful contract hits, paid for by men who operated on the fringes of Uncle Sam’s payroll. He was a very wealthy man. Which didn’t make him any more likable.

Audrey had wondered why Fox stayed in the game. She shrugged. Now, she’d never know. She’d lost her chance to get any intel at all from his thin and narrow lips.

The two operatives were preoccupied with Fox and his activities. After a moment’s quick scan of the situation, Audrey turned and crept silently away.

She made it all the way out of the suite.

But she’d misjudged her exit.

The heavy door slammed closed behind her, faster than she’d expected and loudly enough to raise the dead.

She’d had to move fast.

Instead of heading downstairs, Audrey scurried back to the observation post she’d commandeered across the hallway. She slipped inside the room and put her eye to the peephole.

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