Deadline by Maggie K. Black

Author:Maggie K. Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Jack’s shout echoed through the store. Meg froze. She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from shouting back and pressed herself back into the rack of life jackets. Her ears strained for his voice.

A grunt. A cry of pain. The sound of a shelf tipping over.

Where were they? Could she make it through the store to the front door without getting killed? And if she ran, what would happen to Jack? Help us, Lord. Help Jack. Help me know what to do. She slid her phone from her pocket and dialed nine-one-one, wincing as the sound of it ringing filled the air.

“Nine-one-one Emergency.”

“This is Meg Duff,” she hissed. “I’m in Extreme Sports Plus on Main Street. Someone’s broken into the store.” She closed her eyes. “Jack Brooks is here with me, and I think he’s been attacked. Send the police. And an ambulance. It’s life or death.”

“Can you describe what’s happening?”

No. She couldn’t see. That was the problem. That and as long as she was holding the phone to her ear she couldn’t possibly defend herself against whatever was out there, or help Jack. “Hurry!”

She hung up, then crawled through a wall of life jackets until she reached the end of the rack. She took a deep breath and climbed up to the top of a shelf of camping gear.

Her eyes searched the aisles. Then she saw them. The Raincoat Killer and Jack were locked in a desperate struggle for control. Jack was the stronger fighter. But it was clear he was on the defense, dodging and swerving to avoid the cruel, jagged edge of the killer’s hunting knife. Fishing lures and netting spilled around them, nothing Jack could use as a weapon. Not against a knife anyway. But maybe she could help even the fight.

She braced her feet on the top of the shelf and gripped a low-hanging ceiling beam with one hand for balance. Then she grabbed a heavy kerosene lamp off the shelf, swung it around like a shot put and let it fly. It crashed into the rack behind them.

The Raincoat Killer’s head snapped up toward her. Through the ski mask she could see his pierced lips part in a snarl. Good luck climbing up here to get at me. She paused in her tracks just long enough to watch as Jack sent a crushing blow into the back of the figure’s head. Blood dripped from the killer’s mouth. But the knife still hadn’t left his grasp.

The killer swore loudly. He swung toward Jack. His blade flashed through the air.

She knew that voice. Why did she know that voice?

No time to think. She ran down to the end of the shelf, leaping over equipment and ducking under ceiling beams. A canoe and paddles hung in the air above her, suspended on interlocking chains. Guess she just had to hope Benji had used a solid anchor. She grabbed the side of the canoe and leapt, slithering into it on her stomach. The canoe swung wildly beneath her.

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