Chapter 16 - The Uninvited Guest
Marcus and I froze. The storm outside raged louder, casting jagged shadows across the bookshelves as the hum of an approaching engine echoed up the long gravel driveway.
“Federal marshals are twenty minutes away,” Marcus said quickly, reaching into his coat pocket for his phone. “We need to secure the house—”
“No,” I interrupted, slipping the hardware token into my pocket and picking up the micro-cassette recorder. “We don't hide anymore. Not in this house.”
We walked out of the library and stepped into the grand foyer just as heavy, concussive pounding echoed against the massive front oak doors.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Abigail! Open the door!” a desperate, exhausted voice shouted over the roar of the wind.
I looked through the brass peephole. Standing on the porch, drenched from head to toe in rain, his expensive suit ruined and his face gaunt and panicked, was Julian Vance. He looked nothing like the polished corporate executive he used to be. He looked like a man running out of time.
I reached out, unlatched the heavy deadbolt, and pulled the door wide open.
Julian stumbled forward into the foyer, catching himself against the entryway table, breathing heavily. He looked up, his eyes wide with a mixture of fury and terror, as he realized I wasn't cowering.
May you like
“You...” Julian choked out, wiping rainwater from his forehead. “You have the hardware token from the globe, don’t you? Give it to me, Abigail. The people I represent... they don't care about federal prison. They eliminate loose ends.”
I stepped forward, holding the micro-cassette recorder in my palm, my posture unyielding. “The only person whose time is up, Julian, is you.”
