– it felt lifeless.
‘Susan? Is everything OK?’ Her voice had started quivering with tears. With frail steps, Mollie went left, leaving delicate, wet footprints on the hardwood floor. She wasn’t familiar with the apartment’s layout, which was now illuminated only by the light that escaped from the bathroom. She used her hands to warily feel her way forward and stopped as she reached the living room. An uncontrollable rush of fear made her convulse and she tried in vain to fight the tears that blurred her vision.
‘Susan, where are you?’
Mollie cleared her eyes and took one more step forward.
The bathroom light went off behind her.
Hundred and Thirty-Five
Hunter had run out of time.
With deadly determination, Tyler raised his weapon, aiming it at Garcia’s head and pulled the trigger.
Tyler’s face burned with rage and confusion as he tried one more time, but again the gun didn’t fire.
In a flash, Hunter jumped to his feet, his hands magically freed from the handcuffs. Before Tyler could react, Hunter delivered a well-placed punch into his ribs, crushing the air out of his lungs. He tumbled to the floor but managed to swing his right leg around with tremendous force, hooking away Hunter’s legs. Hunter hit the ground hard with the small of his back, the impact sending a sickening shudder through the rest of him. Awkwardly, he immediately rolled left, anticipating and escaping Tyler’s follow-through head-crushing kick.
Tyler never let go of the gun. He finally realized what had happened. Before Hunter placed his weapon on the floor and kicked it over as he was ordered to do, he’d skillfully thumbed the safety into the lock position.
Hunter rolled right this time, but not fast enough. As the deafening gunshot noise echoed through the basement room, he felt a searing, nauseating pain envelop his left arm. He had to think quickly. He knew a second shot was coming fast. Before Tyler could aim the gun again, Hunter’s instincts took over and he kicked out. His left boot found the same patch of ribs as his fist moments earlier.
Winded, momentarily powerless and propelled by Hunter’s kick, Tyler’s defensive reaction was to roll away towards the metal table and underneath it to the other side, creating a temporary barrier between him and Hunter.
They both got to their feet at the same time. Blood was dripping down Hunter’s arm, but he knew he’d been lucky. He’d heard the bullet explode against the wall behind him, which meant that despite the excruciating pain the bullet had exited his arm cleanly. No bone or major arteries were hit. He saw the gun in Tyler’s right hand rising towards him again. This time Hunter was certain luck wouldn’t be so kind. In a desperate survival reaction, he jumped forward. His good arm stretched high above his head in a diving position. He knew he couldn’t get to Tyler from where he was, but he could get to the metal table. And that’s exactly what he did, pushing it and smashing its edge into Tyler’s upper thighs. Unbalanced, Tyler stumbled back, crashing hard against the brick wall. But he still held onto the gun. His eyes burned with murderous hate as he lifted his head, searching for Hunter, his finger tense against the trigger once again.
Left – nothing.
Right – nothing.
Where the hell was he?
Hunter’s sweeping floor kick came from under the table, taking Tyler’s legs from beneath him. Tyler flew up in the air and hit the floor awkwardly with a cracking noise. Shoulder first followed by his head. The impact strong enough to fill his vision with splashing balls of light for a couple of seconds. As they faded, his eyes focused on the barrel of a gun.
‘As I said before,’ Hunter said, holding Garcia’s gun that’d fallen to the floor when the metal table was pushed. ‘It’s over, Dan.’
Hundred and Thirty-Six
Hunter cuffed Tyler’s hands behind his back using the same handcuffs he’d escaped from less than a minute ago.
‘Carlos, wake up.’ Hunter tapped his face.
A nervous twitch followed by incoherent mumble.
Another face tap. ‘Carlos, are you OK?’
Garcia coughed, spitting out blood. He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the poor light.
‘What the fuck happened?’ he asked, looking at the mess in the room, a captured Dan Tyler and a bleeding Hunter.
‘You don’t really wanna know,’ Hunter said, freeing Garcia from the chair.
‘You need a hospital.’
‘So do you.’ Hunter chuckled. ‘Your nose doesn’t look too good.’
‘It doesn’t feel too good either. Actually, it hurts like fuck,’ Garcia replied, touching it with the tips of his fingers and recoiling with pain.
‘Let’s call this in first.’
Before Hunter had a chance to dial, his cell phone rang. The display showed Mollie’s number.
‘Mollie? Where are you? Are you OK? Where did you go?’
‘He . . . he’s here.’ Her voice was just a trembling whisper.
‘What? What’re you talking about, Mollie? I can barely hear you.’
‘He’s here.’
‘Who is where? And why are you whispering?’
‘Because he’s here. He’s in the apartment,’ she said between terrified, shallow breaths. ‘He’s after me. The killer came after me.’
‘Mollie, calm down.’ Hunter tried to keep his voice steady and winced as a new surge of pain burned through his left arm. ‘He isn’t after you. We’ve got him. He’s right here in front of me and he isn’t going anywhere. You don’t have to be scared anymore, Mollie.’
‘No. You’ve got someone else.’
Her tears were making it harder for Hunter to understand her. ‘What? What do you mean I’ve got someone else?’
‘He . . . he’s here in the apartment.’
Hunter’s gaze met Tyler’s. Only then he realized the challenging grin on the stockbroker’s lips.
‘You made a mistake, detective.’ The grin widened into a cold smile. ‘It wasn’t me who she should’ve been afraid of.’
Garcia shuddered. ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’
Hunter’s mouth went dry. ‘Mollie, talk to me. Are you still there?’
Mollie was so afraid she’d lost direction and wandered into the bedroom. The darkness was almost complete, except for the dusty sliver of colored light that crept in through the opening in the curtains. Confused and shaking, she turned around, not really knowing what she was looking for, and fear paralyzed her. From the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows, a pair of eyes blinked at her.
