BooksBarbecue
Back None Shall Sleep Save as PDF
Contents ( 49)
  1. Copyright
  2. Contents
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  48. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“KRISTIN!” Simon bellows.

Emma slips, stumbles, gets up, takes two strides for the exit. Her consciousness is ablaze with a kaleidoscope of images: Ross, the gun, Bell on the floor, Simon in his cage, Kristin’s bright hair falling, the awareness of the FBI forces just beyond the walls. If she can get to the door, if she can tell them—

“Run out that door and I will shoot him in the head.”

Emma stops.

Time comes to a standstill. She’s facing the open doorway. In her peripheral vision, Kristin is a puddle of white. Behind her, Bell groans. Ross’s voice has come from the same direction. If she turns her head, she knows what she’ll see: Ross standing over Bell, the Model 13 aimed and ready.

Every muscle in Emma’s body is shaking on the precipice.

“I’ll say it one more time. If you run, I’ll shoot.”

Not you. The voice in her mind sounds like Simon’s. He won’t shoot you.

It doesn’t matter. She’s been to this country before. She knows what’s at stake. She’ll run and she’ll be safe, and the FBI will catch the Butcher. She’ll run and Bell will die. She’ll run and Kristin will be defenseless, and Simon will be alone, and her world will reverberate endlessly to the sound of the shot, just like it trembled to the sound of a knife parting flesh—first Vicki’s neck, then Tammy’s.

Her whole body shudders, ripped with the force of irreconcilable instincts.

“Turn around,” Ross says quietly, “and bring me the keys.”

The keys are in her right hand. Clutched in the bundle, the thin black key for the foyer door. She brings right and left hands together, brings the keys in, presses them to her stomach. Hardly able to think with the shaking. Screaming in her mind and tears in her eyes.

The click of the hammer being cocked.

Emma sobs once.

She turns around.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Good choice,” Ross says.

Ross is in front of the cell, his hand tugging Bell’s hair, lifting his head, the gun pressed into Bell’s temple. The cords in Bell’s neck stand out. Red stains his shirt. When he sees Emma, he groans.

Emma’s chin and bottom lip are wobbling. Her body shudders. It’s all she can do to stand there, silent.

“Come here and give me the keys,” Ross says. He is utterly expressionless. His previously warm brown eyes are now dark and hard with cold.

The Butcher.

Seven steps back into the room, away from the open doorway. Each step feels like a death sentence. When Emma gets close enough, Ross releases his grip on Bell and aims the gun at her forehead. The tears tracking down her cheeks don’t move him at all.

He holds out his free hand, palm up. “The keys.”

Emma’s hand is shaking so much it’s hard to release her fingers. She gives him the keys. Her grip on the metal has scored white marks into her skin.

“Thank you.” Ross smiles. He slips the lanyard over his head. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Miss Lewis.”