Jesus Christ, it was hot.
I wasn't complaining, merely stating a fact. The long, straight highway that cut through the unforgiving, barren Nevada landscape was steaming in the afternoon August sun. I could've taken my leather jacket off. I could've stayed on the Greyhound that had air conditioning for another four miles. But I didn't. I chose to walk and I'm glad I did.
But it was damn hot.
I got the call in the early evening two days previous. A job in Heaven's Valley. I'd heard of the place's reputation, but I'd never been myself. It was a basin city in the middle of the Nevada desert, about a hundred and fifty miles north of Vegas. Bordering it to the north and the west were mountains; to the south and the east was nothing but sand.
I was in Milwaukee when I got the call. I was standing on the balcony of a fifteenth story apartment. The temperature had been a refreshing sixteen degrees there. Inside the apartment, on the bed, was a dead man. I'd tracked him across the city for three days, and struck when I knew he was alone.
I'd knocked on his door, and when he answered, I’d kicked it hard so it flew open and hit him in the face. I'd figured there would be a security chain in place, so that initial force would have been necessary to gain entrance. He'd stumbled backward and fell over, clutching his nose, which was bleeding and presumably broken. He'd stared up at me, wide-eyed. His face a mixture of fear and confusion.
‘Sit on the bed,' I'd said to him.
He didn't initially comply, but when I'd taken my gun out and aimed it at him, he didn't hesitate a second longer. With him sat on the bed, I’d reached into my pocket and attached the silencer. I’d made a point of taking my time. Letting him see what was coming. Letting him process the terror. Letting him realize this was the last night of his life.
Crucible on Amazon US
We allow you to read the first page of a book, look at its cover and then buy it, but only if you like it. Nothing beats sampling a novel. Experience the simple pleasure of finding novels that you like, fast, with BooksGoSocial.com.
