CONQUISTADOR: A Sarah Ripley Thriller by Victor Gischler

Author:Victor Gischler [Gischler, Victor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Big Fake Publishing
Published: 2022-07-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“And then once we reach Blue Lot, we get in the car and get the hell out of here,” Ripley said. “Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Levi said.

“God, yes,” Grant said. “Let’s go.”

Ripley led the way out of the men’s room, pausing to look and listen. When the coast was clear, she motioned for the others to follow, Grant coming next and Levi bringing up the rear, pistol in one hand, pointed at the ceiling. Ripley thumbed the twelve-gauge’s safety forward into the firing position, careful to keep her finger off the trigger.

They entered the stairwell and headed down.

Ripley’s urge to hurry fought with an equal compulsion not to rush face first into trouble. They stepped lively, pausing at each floor to listen, and then they were at the door Ripley had used earlier to enter.

She burst into the walkway, sighting along the shotgun’s barrel, swinging it left then right. “Clear.”

Grant and Levi followed her out of the building. They turned right toward the parking lot, Ripley out front, shotgun still up and ready. She held up a hand at the corner of the building, and they halted.

Ripley looked back at the other two and pitched her voice low. “Let me have a look. One will draw less attention than three.”

Levi nodded and pressed her back flat against the side of the building. She grabbed Grant by the collar and pulled him back next to her, patting him on the shoulder when she was satisfied he was standing in the right place.

Ripley bristled at Levi’s ease with her husband.

Not now. Pay attention.

Two steps forward and she was out in the open, grip tight on the shotgun, eyes trying to dart in every direction. She was at the corner of Blue Lot and headed for the nearest car, a dark compact with tinted windows. She squatted behind it, breathing, willing her heart rate to slow.

Ripley lifted her head and looked. She wasn’t sure what Levi’s car looked like, but Grant’s Mercedes was parked at the far end of the row. She scanned the lot and didn’t see anyone. She ducked back behind the compact again.

The three of them could get to the Mercedes, but what happened after might be the problem. The lot exit looked like it might be blocked by traffic. Finding a clear path to …

In the heat of it, all she knew was that she’d sensed him coming up from behind. Much later, in a calm and quiet moment, she would examine the puzzle pieces one at a time. The crunch of grit between boot and asphalt. The slight dimming of the light as the figure stepped in front of the sun. The image in her peripheral vision of the figure reflected in the compact’s tinted window, shoulders hunching and head tilting as if raising and aiming a firearm.

Ripley threw herself on the ground, trying to turn simultaneously and bring the shotgun around. Her shoulder hit hard, jarring her whole body. She bit her tongue.

The man was tall and blonde. He

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