Disturb by JA Konrath

Author:JA Konrath
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-03-25T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Bill's eyes sprung open and he sucked in air. He sat up, frantic. His hand felt his chest.

No hole.

N-Som dream.

Theena had said they were realistic, but he had no idea. The detail, the imagery, the tactile sensations, all making him feel as if he'd actually been there.

Mike Bitner's death.

The perspective was different than the video tape. Bill felt like he'd actually lived through his death, seeing everything happen through Bitner's eyes, feeling what he felt up until the very end.

And unlike a regular dream, this remained lodged in Bill's head like a real memory. He could close his eyes and still feel the cool concrete of the basement floor under his knees...

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

Bill stood up and spun around. Carlos was standing by the front door. He had on some kind of delivery uniform. Standing next to him, a gun pressed to the back of her head, Theena was fighting not to cry.

Bill blinked and shook his head.

This was no dream.

“Sit down, Doc. Put your hands above your head.”

“Where's your fat buddy?”

“He's coming. You in a hurry to get this party started?”

Bill considered his slim options. Carlos was only half a dozen feet away, the sofa between them. Going over it was faster than going around it, but either way Carlos would be able to shoot him before he got there.

He had to think of something, and fast. Once Franco arrived the odds would become much worse.

“I have a lot of money.”

“Is that so?”

Bill nodded. He laced his hands behind his head and walked over, trying to look submissive.

“Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars. You let us go, you can have it.”

“And you got this where, in your wallet?”

“In a CD. Two phone calls, I can pull it all out.”

He stood in front of Carlos, his muscles tensing.

“And how do I get the money, once you pull it out?”

“We can go to the bank, together. Franco stays here with the girl, so I don't try anything funny.”

Carlos laughed. “I like that, Doc. You're a thinking man. Wouldn't work, though. Soon as we got out in public, you'd start screaming your head off.”

Bill set his jaw. He had to make a play for the gun. It would endanger Theena, but there was no other choice. They were both going to die anyway, and he wasn't going to go out like Mike Bitner did, on his knees wondering what the meaning of life was. One memory like that was enough.

“I can call my lawyer. He's got authorization on my account. He can bring the money here.”

Carlos grinned. “It's getting better. But wouldn't the bank be suspicious, taking out all that money?”

Bill eyed Carlos's pistol. He hadn't ever fired a gun, but he had a basic understanding of how they worked. Carlos had a revolver, the kind that gunslingers from the old West used. Pulling the trigger caused the hammer to draw back. When the hammer fell, it would hit the bullet in the cylinder, causing the gun to fire.

Bill stood in front of Carlos, his hands out in supplication, his voice frantic.

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