No Ordinary Day by Tate, Harley (best large ereader .txt) 📕

“That’s not possible. I smashed his head in with a crowbar.”

“It’s all bandaged up.”

“Did you check his pulse?” Raymond asked.

“I—no. I was focused on getting John out of there, I thought—” Emma’s mind raced. How could she have been so stupid?

“How did he find you?”

“I don’t know. There had to be some sort of tracker. Maybe on the Jeep?”

Raymond swore. “I knew we should have left John behind.”

“It’s not his fault.” Emma rushed to defend him. “I’m the one who left the scene. I should have finished the guy off. I should have shot him to make sure.”

“We don’t have time to assign blame.” Gloria cut off the argument. “He’s not alone.”

Emma blinked. “More men?”

“Worse. He’s got Holly.”

Raymond strode across the room and grabbed the shotgun leaning against the wall. “We need weapons.”

Emma turned around. “The rifle is still in the Jeep.”

“I’ll get it,” Gloria offered.

“No. You stay here.” Raymond handed his wife the shotgun. “Whatever happens, you stay safe, okay?”

Gloria planted a quick kiss on her husband’s lips. “I’ll try.”

“Do more than try.” He squeezed her shoulder, practically shaking her until she nodded. The door slammed as he headed outside, straight for the Jeep and another weapon.

“What are we going to do?” Emma covered her collarbone with her hand.

“Olly Olly oxen free! I’ve got a present you’ll want to see!” Willy’s voice crawled over Emma’s skin.

She shivered. “He’s insane.”

“We can’t let him hurt Holly.” Gloria pressed her lips together as she stared out at the turnaround. “We have to do something.”

“Raymond said—”

“I know what he said, but sometimes he’s too stubborn for his own good. I’m not letting her get hurt because he told me to stay here.” She motioned toward John. “Does he have a gun on him?”

Emma hurried back to the makeshift infirmary on the floor and searched his waistband. As she rolled him partway over, he roused. “Wh-what’s going on?”

Emma leaned him back over. “It’s nothing.”

“That man you fought,” Gloria interrupted. “He’s here.”

Emma glowered at Gloria. “It’s okay. We’ll handle it.”

John struggled to rise, shoving his elbows behind him and lifting his head off the ground before collapsing back to the floor. “You need to run.”

“He has Holly.”

John gritted his teeth. “If you go out there, Willy will kill you.”

“We can’t leave her.”

“It won’t matter. He’ll kill her, too.” He struggled to sit up again, but rolled onto his side instead, vomiting up a puddle of bile onto the floor. “Your only chance at staying alive is to go. Now. Run away and never look back.”

“I can’t do that, and you know it.” Emma pulled away from John as he reared up into a sitting position. “You have to stay here. The stitches are barely holding. If you try to stand, they’ll rip and you’ll bleed out before you even make it to the door.”

Sweat beaded across John’s pale face. Emma doubted he could stand even with all his effort.

He fell back onto the ground. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

She frowned. “For what?”

John reached behind him, grunting with the effort, and pulled a handgun from his waistband. “That I couldn’t protect you.”

She didn’t know what to say and didn’t have time to figure it out. She snatched the weapon as Gloria waved her forward and together they peered out the window by the front door.

Willy stood in the turnaround, Holly shoved out in front of him like a human shield. A bandage wrapped around his head, already coated in blood. He wobbled as he lifted his head to shout. “Get out here or so help me God, she dies on the count of three.” He pressed a gun into Holly’s temple. “One.”

Gloria opened the front door and stepped onto the porch, followed by Emma.

Willy grinned. “See, I knew this would all work out.” He wavered on his feet, using Holly as a counterbalance to his unsteady legs. “Where’s John?’

“He didn’t make it.”

“BS. That man survives anything.”

“Not you.” Emma crossed her arms to hide their tremor. “He died halfway here. I dumped his body in a ditch on the side of the road.”

“Liar! He’s still here and I know it!”

Emma shook her head. “He’s not.”

Willy let go of Holly to dig his hand into his pocket. “Don’t move!” he growled at her, as he pulled a device free. He turned the screen toward Emma. “See! There’s a little blinking dot right here on this property. Wherever it is, John is. So where is he?”

“He’s unconscious in the house.”

“Gloria!” Emma whispered her admonishment. “What are you doing?”

“We have to keep him talking until we figure out a plan.”

“No whispering!” Willy waved his gun. “Both of you off that porch. Now!”

Emma took a halting step forward and Gloria did the same.

“No weapons. I see that shotgun. If you’ve got a weapon, drop it now.”

Gloria hesitated, glancing down at the shotgun in her hands.

Willy brought the handgun up to Holly’s temple and jabbed it so hard into her skin, she whimpered. “I mean it! Drop your weapons or I’ll shoot her right here.”

Gloria set the shotgun on the ground. Emma held her hands up, twisting to the side to prove she was unarmed.

“Much better. Now walk out here where I can see you.”

The women did as he instructed, walking into the gravel turnaround and stopping in the middle. From that distance, the tears staining Holly’s cheeks and the terror in her eyes were plain. How were they going to get out of this? Emma scanned the area, searching for any evidence of Raymond, Vince, or Sandra. If they were smart, they were hiding. They weren’t who Willy was after.

“How about you let her go?” Gloria spoke with conviction. “We’re who you want. She means nothing to you.”

Willy cackled and Emma’s skin crawled. “You think I’m going to give away the only leverage I have? You really do have mush for brains.”

Emma stepped forward, hands still held in the air. The handgun she’d managed to conceal beneath her shirt dug into her back with every step. She had no idea how to pull