Page 82 of Virtue & Vengeance

24

EDEN

“IT’S TIME TO GO,” Winston announced to Rodger when he came back into the hotel room.

He looked anxious as he shut the door behind him.

He had been out in the hallway on the phone for the last twenty minutes, and I knew something in the plan had changed during that time.

“Looks like your boyfriend didn’t care enough to send the police after you,” he mocked.

He was grinning, but despite his sarcasm and playful smirks, I knew something was wrong.

“Okay. Time to go,” Rodger said, stuffing things into his bag.

“We’re leaving for Arizona?” I asked. “All of us?” I added, needing to hear Winston say that I was still going with them.

But when avoided me altogether, dread filled me.

“We’re leaving.” Was all he said as he moved around the room, collecting his things, as well.

“All of us?” I repeated the question.

I waited for him to respond, but when he ignored my question yet again, I knew what had changed in their plan.

I wasn’t going to go back to Arizona with them.

Fear, pain, and heartbreak tore through me. I was smart enough to know they were never going to just leave me here and go on their merry way.

“What changed? Why is he doing this?” I asked, hoping I would have some kind of answer before I suffered my fate.

Winston turned my way; his eyes scanned my face before he said, “It turns out you’re more of a liability than the boss wants. We’ve been warned about Zander Hale and what he’s capable of. It’s better if we get rid of you now. There’s no need to take you along and leave a trail back to us.”

I wished I’d known this before I left Zander’s penthouse. At least then I might have still had a chance of getting his help.

Quickly, I scanned the room around me, looking for anything I could use as a weapon. Yes, Winston and Rodger had guns, but if I was going to die anyway, I was at least going down fighting.

Of course, there was nothing even remotely close to a weapon in the room. Unless you counted a lamp that I was sure was screwed down to the table.

“You guys could just let me go. You have the money. Your boss never has to know.”

I was grabbing for straws.

I knew that.

But I had to at least try.

“Not going to happen,” Rodger said, shaking his head.

My eyes went to the door. It was far from me, but I could make a run for it. Maybe I would make it out of the door quicker than they could pull their guns. Or perhaps they were terrible shots, and I would only get skimmed by a bullet.

As I was thinking these things, I knew in the back of my mind that I’d watched too much TV. This was no dramatic TV series. This was real life.

If I tried to run, I was going to get shot. Then again, if I didn’t try to run, I was going to get shot. So really why was I even thinking? I needed to stop thinking and just do.

They had their backs to me, filling their bags and chatting as if I wasn’t waiting to be murdered right behind them.

I stood slowly, praying the chair didn’t squeak beneath me, and when I did my legs felt weak with fear. I inhaled as much as my lungs could hold and then I took two steps toward the door.

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