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Back The Short Drop Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gibson put up a hand. “Give me a break.”

Billy cracked a smile to show he was being a wiseass. “I don’t know . . . I saw you there, and I just had a feeling that you’d get it.”

“You don’t know me.”

“No, but Suzanne did. She trusted you, and that’s good enough for me.”

“That’s a big risk to take on a ten-year-old reputation.”

“Maybe. But I’m just tired, man. I’m tired of hiding. Tired of being scared. One way or another, I need this to end.”

“You still love her,” Gibson said.

“Don’t you?”

“Not the same way you do, but yeah. She’s not the kind of girl you stop loving.”

“Amen,” Billy said. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“Meiji.”

Jenn played George’s voice mail for Hendricks. They looked at each other. She played it again, listening for nuance that she’d missed the first five times. There was none, but the meaning was unequivocal. It meant George was in trouble and so were they. It meant get to high ground and lie low. Don’t be heroes. Don’t go looking for him and don’t try to make contact. Wait for his all clear.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think I hate Pennsylvania.”

“What about George?”

“Probably loves it.”

“Hendricks. What do we do?”

“What was wrong with getting out of here?”

He had a point.

It took the rest of the day and night to scour Grafton Storage of their presence. Hendricks bleached and scrubbed down the unit where they had held Tate. Jenn reinventoried their equipment in case their party crasher had taken more than just the gun.

Empty storage units rarely catch fire, so they needed to paint a believable picture. It wouldn’t get much scrutiny unless the fire department was given a very good reason. Hendricks dressed the unit to look like a homeless person had been squatting in it and had foolishly tried to build a fire inside the unit. When he was satisfied, Hendricks struck the match and watched his Rube Goldberg arson project go up in flames.

Jenn was already in the SUV when he slid behind the wheel.

“I used to like Fridays,” he said.

It took her a minute to do the math. “It is Friday, isn’t it? What a fucking week.”

“Anything more from George?”

She shook her head.

“Damn.”

“There’s more. You’re not going to like it.”

“What?”

“The phones at ACG are disconnected,” she said.

“Jenn . . . That is not protocol.”

“I know.”

“Wait. All of them?”

“All of them.”

“Our direct lines?”

“All of them.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Told you.”