Read Online Time to Live: Part Five by John Gilstrap - Free Book Online

small house. They could see three people. An older woman—Scotty’s Gramma—sat stiff and tall in a chair on the left. Her posture suggested that her wrists might be bound to the arms of her seat.
    “They tied up my gramma,” Scotty said, his voice dripping with contempt.
    No one seemed particularly bothered.
    “Is that Nicolette Janssen there on the couch?” someone asked, pointing to the woman on the right-hand side of the screen.
    Eyes turned to Scotty. “That’s the sick girl,” he said. “The guy is Brad. He’s the one I shot.”
    From this worm’s eye view, they could see not only the two women, but also the short hallway that led to the bedrooms beyond them, and the edge of the door to the kitchen.
    “You dictated a pretty good picture, Scotty,” Donnelly said. Scotty felt himself blush.
    A cop touched the dark spot on the front of Brad’s T-shirt. “Looks like he’s bleeding.”
    “I knew it,” Scotty said.
    Donnelly seemed annoyed. “If he believes he’s finished, we’re in a hell of a lot of trouble here,” he said. “There’s not an animal in the world that’s not most dangerous when it’s cornered and hurt.” He turned to a young dark-skinned cop that everyone called Muhammad. “Call the teams and verify that all assets are in position.”
    Muhammad talked into his radio. A moment later, he reported, “When Hayes gets back to his post, they’ll be all set. Two three-man entry teams, two sniper teams.”
    “Good,” Donnelly said. “Tell them to get comfortable. We’re in no hurry.”

Chapter Seven
    A soaked trooper—his name tag read P. EVANOW —stood at Carter’s car window against a backdrop of yellow barricade tape that blocked all access to the beach road. “You have to turn around, sir. There’s a hostage situation in progress.”
    Carter showed his badge and credentials. “I am a district attorney, and I have information that the incident commander needs to know.”
    Trooper Evanow was unimpressed. “I’m sure that badge means something in New York, but right here, it means that you still have to move along.”
    Carter felt his face flush as his mind raced. How could—
    His cell phone rang, and Carter snatched it from the seat where he’d left it. “Janssen,” he said.
    A familiar voice said, “Carter, this is Warren Michaels. You were right, June Parker does have a cell phone. I have the number right here.”
    * * *
    Brad gave in to the need to sit. His belly was getting hotter all the time.
    “How are you feeling?” Nicki asked him.
    “Like somebody’s barbecuing chicken in my gut.”
    Between the thick clouds, the setting sun, and the pulled drapes, it could have been midnight inside the Parker home. Out there somewhere, people were planning their deaths.
    “Do you keep hearing noises?” Nicki asked.
    “There’s a friggin’ army out there,” Brad said. “But we’ve got time. I don’t think they’ll make their move till the wee hours. They’ll hold out as long as they can.” He tried to sound like the authority. Certainly, that’s how it went down when they arrested him before. Then, they waited till four in the morning and took him out of a sound sleep.
    “Why prolong the inevitable?” Gramma asked.
    “You’re a hundred years old,” Brad snapped. “Why do you prolong the inevitable by getting up in the morning?”
    “Brad!” Nicki gasped.
    Gramma’s tone was smooth as cream. “I need to be alive for that little boy you brutalized.”
    Brad’s laugh came with a lot of pain. “Yeah, I brutalized him . He’s got a boo-boo on his head and I’ve got a hole drilled through me.”
    Nicki decided to try again. “Brad?”
    “I’m not letting her go,” he said for the thousandth time.
    “But she didn’t—”
    “—do anything to deserve this.” Brad finished the sentence for her.
    “But you can’t be willing for her to get hurt.” Nicki said this as a statement of fact. “Think how you’d feel if that happened.”
    “That