Mind Bender
Page 22
The man came to a stop three feet away from him and bowed.
He almost felt something for the man who had given him guidance and wisdom after his mother died.
But he only nodded in reply. “Iwasaki. You have a report?”
“Yes, sir. The boy is well. Shaken, but unharmed. He made it home to our leader. He abandoned the vehicle when he got to the mountains. He walked to the next town and called us from a payphone he managed to find at a local store.”
Iwasaki looked at him as if he expected a reply.
“He is terribly sorry for failing,” he added.
It was a failure. When he thought of the millions he’d poured into that underground facility in the south...now gone. There would be no return on that investment.
Iwasaki bowed again. “He wants me to say he begs your forgiveness.”
Forgiveness? For the devastating loss he’d suffered? A two-year setback? That he could not grant. But the boy was unusually intelligent and gifted in the skills he needed right now. He would let him live. And thankfully, he had other facilities to turn to.
“Regrettably, my great-nephew was a different story,” Iwasaki continued.
Watching the grief in the man’s eyes, he let him go on, telling him what he already knew. The Atlanta police had breached the secret underground facility and rescued the woman he had targeted for them to experiment on. They had gathered evidence of the activities that had gone on there. And worst of all, one of Wade Parker’s detectives had killed Iwasaki’s great-nephew. The detective who was supposed to have been shot to death in the bank robbery while Wade Parker and Miranda Steele were out of town.
He never should have let Iwasaki handle this mission. That had been an error in judgment he would not make again.
Iwasaki was still babbling. “We have learned from this setback. Yes, it was costly, but the lessons are valuable. We will try again. We will not fail next time.”
A twinge of regret pulled at his heart as he took the semiautomatic pistol from his pocket.
As if involuntarily, Iwasaki’s hands went up in surrender. He opened his mouth, his face full of shock, his goatee still perfectly shaped around his mouth and chin.
“You must give us another chance. The boy has such promise. He swears he will—”
He fired three bullets straight into Iwasaki’s heart and watched him fall to the ground.
He studied the body a moment, then turned to his driver. “Clean up this mess.”
“Yessir.”
He strode back through the leaves to the limos and went to Iwasaki’s first. He tapped on the driver’s window and waited for it to roll down.
“Yes, sir?” said a trembling voice.
“Tell Bach to be more careful next time.”
“Yes, sir.” The window went back up and the engine started.
He watched the limo roll away, then climbed into the back of his vehicle to wait for his driver.
His plan to take out Parker’s team of investigators one by one would have to be scraped. Apparently they stuck together like a family. He’d have to take them out as opportunity presented itself. And in a way that didn’t draw attention. The new plan would take some thought.
He would have to wait a while for them to let down their guard, but he would be back.
And next time, he would not fail.
###
Dear Reader,
I’m still shaking from that one. How about you? At least Miranda’s got her Corvette back!
But what about the guy in Boston?
Dangerous is an understatement for him. That creepy underground facility was his! And now he’s bent on destroying Miranda and Parker and their team.
Will he?
But first, Miranda and Parker are called to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to solve a grisly murder case. One that stirs the reawakened monsters from Miranda’s past.
An insane serial killer is on the loose.
If Miranda and Parker can’t stop him soon, more will die.
And Miranda could be one of them.
You’ll want to read this gripping thriller, because it’s full of unexpected twists and surprises.
Get it now.
Roses from My Killer (A Miranda and Parker Mystery) #11
Linsey
Copyright © 2017 Linsey Lanier
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