Allyson put her fingers over her mouth, feigning surprise. “Uh oh! It’s empty. Frank, what happened to all your gold?”
His eyes went wide in an instant. He rushed toward the vault, but she raised the weapon threateningly.
He stopped in midstep, bracing his hand on the desk. His voice trembled as he spoke. “What did you do?”
“Oh. That’s right. Yeah, I have this little tool I lifted from a friend. I doubt she’ll care. It’s really handy at bypassing systems like yours. Anyway, I gave Terry a few of your gold bars to let me in. I think he’s earned it, working for you for so long. You never treated him that well.” She leaned forward a little with a just-between-us-girls look on her face. “Personally, I think he’s kind of losing it. If he’s gonna go, he might as well do it in style.”
He rushed at her. “You ungrateful little—”
“Okay, I think we’ve had enough here.”
The weapon popped four times, piercing his chest with each round. He slowed to a stop. Terror washed over his face as he looked down at the crimson stains already soaking through his shirt. He took a staggering step back and put his hand out on the desk again.
He winced at the pain coming from so many places in his body. Breathing became difficult as fluid started seeping into a lung. He wobbled but balanced himself defiantly, staring hard at Allyson with fire in his eyes.
“It’s been real, Frank.”
With a last gasp, he shouted at her. “I’ll see you in—”
The gun popped again, opening a small black hole in his forehead. His eyes crossed a little and then grew vacant as he collapsed to the floor. Allyson cocked her head to the side and looked down at him with a distant curiosity. Then she spun around and grabbed the device, tucked it under her arm, and returned to the desk. After hitting the button again to close the secret vault, she headed back toward the door and into the welcoming darkness of the hallway.
Down in the courtyard, Allyson opened the passenger door to a white moving van and hopped in. Rain spattered against the windshield and pecked away at the cab’s metal roof. An old man in a butler suit looked over at her and smiled absently.
“Where to, Miss Allyson?”
She closed the door and stuck the device on the floor. After taking a deep breath through her nose, she released it and smiled. “Let’s go somewhere sunny.”
Thank You!
I just wanted to say thank you for reading this story. I know there are millions of other books out there but you chose to spend your time with mine and I appreciate that. I hope it was worth your while.
If you enjoyed it, swing by Amazon and leave a review. Reviews help other readers decide on what books to read, and they help support authors at the same time.
Be on the lookout for more Adriana Villa in the future with her friends in the Sean Wyatt series.
Thanks again,
Ernest
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my editors, Anne Storer and Jason Whited, for their incredible work on my books. Their efforts make my stories shine brighter than I ever imagined.
I’d also like to thank all of my VIP readers for their support and constant feedback that helps guide me along this writing journey. My VIP group is more than just a group of fans; they are truly my friends, and I hope I always entertain them with my words.
And last but not least, a big thank you goes out to my advance reader team, an elite group of VIP readers who are always supportive, constructive with their critiques, and who evangelize my stories to the world. Thank you all so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you.
Ernest
Dedication
For my friend Chris Hawkins. Thanks for always believing in my creativity.