Page 55 of So Alone

“Please,” Arthur blubbered. “Just let me go. Teach me what I did wrong. I’ll do better next time.”

“No, you won't," Chung said bitterly. "No one does better next time. That's why you don't get a next time."

“No!” Arthur shouted. “No, please! Please don’t!”

Chung lifted the aerosol can and aimed it at Warhol.

"Dammit," Faith swore under her breath. She leaped to her feet and aimed her weapon at Chung. "Drop the can!" she shouted.

Chung spun toward her, stunned, the can still outraised.

“Drop the can right now, or Iwillshoot you!” she called.

He blinked, still holding the can. “What is this?”

“I’m Special Agent Faith Bold, FBI. You’re Jay Chung, and you’re under arrest for the murders of Gerald Conway, Gigi Demetrious, and George Merrill along with the attempted murder and assault of Arthur Warhol. There will be a lot of other charges by the time we’re done with you, but those are the big ones.”

Faith wanted him to keep talking, so when he didn’t reply after a moment, she said, “Just put the can down, Chung, and we can talk. I know you’re upset that Mr. Warhol abused his dog.”

“Hey!” Warhol protested, “I didn’t—“

Faith spun toward him with a glare. His jaw snapped shut, and Faith continued. “This is no reason to go to jail, Jay. Just put the can away, and we’ll talk.”

She inched closer as she spoke, Turk standing in between her and Chung’s dogs, which watched from a few yards away. They were all well-trained, sitting still in spite of the strange dog and the woman holding a gun to their owner’s forehead.

Jay laughed. It was a soft, melodic sound, almost feminine. His voice was equally soft and soothing. It was no wonder he was so popular with dogs.

His words were somewhat less soothing than his tone. “Don’t play me for a fool, Special Agent. We both know I’m done for if the sheriff’s find me.”

“When the sheriff’s find you,” Faith corrected. “They’re here any minute now, Jay. Even if you killed me, Warhol and my dog, you still wouldn’t have enough time to get away. Even if you left your dogs behind—”

“I willneverabandon my babies!” he shouted.

“All right,” she said, lifting a hand to placate him. “I’m only saying that there’s no way for you to get out of this, but if you come quietly now and cooperate, we can make things easier on you.”

“What’s an easy life sentence, Special Agent?” he replied sarcastically.

“There’s a big difference between medium security and maximum security, Jay. I don’t mean to be judgmental, but types like you don’t do well in maximum security. Believe me, you want the easiest time of it you can get.”

Jay chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t think so, Special Agent, but nice try.”

Faith lifted her weapon and pointed it at Jay. “You can go right now if you’re in that much of a hurry,” she said calmly.

Jay smiled at her. “We’ll see.”

His smile disappeared in a snarl as he lifted the aerosol can and sprayed.

At Faith. Faith cursed and tried to sidestep, but the spray hit her before she could get out of the way. She looked up to see Warhol running toward the hole in the fence, already sixty yards away from Chung and the dogs.

He didn’t need to run. The dogs didn’t care about him anymore. It was doubtful they even remembered he existed.

She heard a chorus of growls and turned to see Chung’s dogs glaring at her, teeth bared. Chung grinned and stepped out of the way. “Better luck next time, Special Agent.”

Faith swung toward him, aiming her weapon, when she heard another, much closer growl. She realized what it was, and her heart sank even before she looked down at Turk.

He glared at her, his eyes glazed over but at the same time in perfect focus. His lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing his perfectly white, sharp teeth. The absurd thought came to her head that David would be proud of her for taking such good care of Turk’s teeth.

If she survived to tell David.

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