The Hostage: A totally gripping action thriller by John Ryder

Author:John Ryder [Ryder, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800192911
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-11-24T16:00:00+00:00

35

Jerome was twenty paces from the gate in the barricade around Alicia’s building when he stopped walking. His right hand was in his pocket, clasped around the Smith and Wesson pistol he’d bought before leaving New York. Jerome was new to guns and he’d made a point of getting himself a pistol that had a safety catch he could be sure of. One he could see and move only on purpose. The M&P 9 Shield by Smith and Wesson was what the guy in the gun store had recommended. Matte black, squat and square, the Shield looked deadly and that’s what Jerome wanted. The pistol was to be used for intimidation, not assault. He had come here on a rescue mission, not one of vengeance or retribution. If he had to pull the Shield’s trigger, something had gone wrong, badly wrong.

The flashlight hung from Jerome’s left hand. It wasn’t switched on, and before he did use it he wanted to scope out the building. Wanted to examine it for signs of life before the flashlight announced his presence.

A service door was boarded over, as was what would have been the former main doorway. The entrance to what Jerome presumed was a subterranean parking garage yawned beneath the building’s center.

The parking garage seemed like it may be the best option, but Jerome didn’t want to go down that route if he could avoid it. That was how he suspected Alicia’s abductors accessed the building, and he wanted to find another way in to lessen the chances of running into the abductors at the wrong time.

Jerome walked forward until he was beside the gate. In the gloom he could make out more boarded-over doorways, but there was no judging how secure the boarding was. His best guess was the boarding would be half rotted, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to discreetly lever it free. The squealing of a pulled nail would be enough to alert anyone guarding Alicia. If not to his direct presence, then enough that they’d pay more attention to strange noises.

No matter how many times Jerome scanned his eyes over the building’s exterior, he saw the same thing. Dark shapes colored only by moonlight and passing clouds. There was no movement. No sparks of light emanating from any part of the building. It appeared to be deserted, abandoned to a life of decay until it collapsed on itself.

Behind Jerome there was the scuff of a stone beneath the sole of a shoe. He whirled around, heart racing, to find himself confronted with four youths. One of them was holding a knife whose blade flashed in the moonlight.

The knife holder was slight, but his face was hard and there was a cockiness about him that overrode any lack of threat his diminutive build may suggest. The fact he was backed up by bigger guys didn’t bode well.

“Put your wallet, watch, cell and any jewelry you have on the ground and you can walk away. You have three seconds.”

This wasn’t what Jerome needed, but he didn’t flinch.

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