Beth is 10 feet from her car at the park when Red pulls up. Blocks the front end of the car with his truck. Not that it does much good. Beth could still back out. But it gets her attention.
Red rolls down the window. Holds the grip of Beth's Glock 23 out. It's a stupid thing to do. The barrel points back at Red. He doesn't seem to care.
"Looking for this?" Red says.
Red holds the Glock out in his left hand. His right holds the Colt Anaconda revolver below the door. The hand is invisible to Beth. Not a stupid thing to do.
"You're giving me back my gun?" Beth says.
"Come on. Take it," Red says. Wags the pistol.
Beth takes a step toward the truck. Pauses. "Why?" she says.
"Because I don't want you pulling a fast one on me to get the gun back anyway. Focus on finding Wil. Not me," Red says.
Beth takes another step toward the truck. Gauges how easy it would be for Red to pull her inside. Chances aren't in Red's favor. But he could pin her against the side regardless.
"Get out of the truck. Leave it on the ground. When I take a step forward, you take a step back. Remember that?" Beth says.
"We don't have time for this. Just take it," Red says. "Trust me. If I wanted to hurt you, I'd've done it by now. You have to be well enough to get me to Wil. And you can't be well if you're not armed. Not around here."
Beth doesn't move.
"Show me your other hand," she says.
Red rolls his eyes. Releases the revolver. Raises his right hand like he's taking an oath.
"You want me to swear on the Bible next?" he says. Returns his hand to the revolver out of view.
Beth grabs her pistol back in mid-sentence. Red doesn't flinch.
"Good. Now we can get on with things," Red says. "Jane must've called you with directions to Wil, right?"
"She did," Beth says. Racks the slide on the Glock.
"Now hear me out on this. I got an idea," Red says. Tightens his grip on the revolver. "What if we worked together on this? I know the area. The people. You're down a partner anyway. Maybe we can both walk away from this happy. What do you think?"
He barely finishes his sentence before Beth puts a bullet in Red.
*** PLEASE SUPPORT MY WRITING! ***
This story will only be posted on Wattpad for a limited time. If you'd like the full version, head to your favorite online e-book/book retailer and pick up your own digital/print copy. Search for "Invisible Hand Sobieck." Or leave a review of the book on Amazon once you're finished reading on Wattpad. Thank you. ~Ben
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The Invisible Hand - A crime novel
Mystery / ThrillerA corrupt sheriff hires a ruthless vigilante to hunt down a murderer during the modern day North Dakota oil boom in this crime thriller full of unexpected twists and turns.
