by Paul Duffau
Hunter, or his dad, had tracked him, stayed a step ahead of him. He puzzled over it, and the only answer that made a modicum of sense was they already knew who Lassiter’s boss was. If they didn’t, they would have tried capturing him so they could get information. By implication, they knew about the SD card, and the schematics stored on it. Mitch had palmed the original, put a fake into the bag. Right now, the real card was stashed at the bottom of his computer desk drawer. He wondered how long it would be before someone came looking for it. How many someones? Hunter’s family, probably. And whoever hired Lassiter. Kenzie’s mother.
His thoughts shifted tracks.
He reached the amphitheater from the path that Kenzie had followed. He glanced up at his car. As Mercury had promised, nobody had towed it. A fluttering piece of white was stuck on the windshield. Mercury hadn’t said they wouldn’t ticket him. The slight grade felt like Everest as he trudged upward.
McKenzie knows her duty. The words burned, and now he let his emotions show, hands clenching into fists. Like she was chattel, and that left him royally pissed off. Kenzie can make up her own mind, he thought, offended at the most instinctive of levels. The rest of them could go to hell.
He glanced over his shoulder, to where he had set up the thermite. The bushes showed scorches but otherwise looked okay. As he was turning back, a glitter caught his eye, arresting his movement. Head cocked at an angle, Mitch retraced his steps. Cautiously, he made his way to the bushes, noting the new turf installed to disguise the location of Lassiter’s demise.
Whatever had captured his eye disappeared when he approached, so he dropped to his knees to look under the bushes. He took a deep, quaky breath and pushed the singed branches out of the way.
He shook his head. The remains of the thermite and piston lay concealed. A surge of adrenaline sent Mitch’s pulse racing. Graham and his people were too efficient. No way their cleanup crew would have missed collecting all the evidence.
A blue sparkle of light leapt to his attention, defying the shadow cast by the vegetation. Mitch gathered the piston and slag, dragging them out of the way. A blue gemstone, seemingly burning with an interior fire, remained. Mitch felt his eyes widen when he saw the square-cut, polished facets. Fingers trembling, he plucked the crystal from its hiding place and turned it in his hand. The spark disappeared but the light of the day refracted from the cut faces. A blue sapphire, he thought in wonder. Pure aluminum oxide. Purely impossible.
He closed his fist around the stone, and wobbled, almost falling. Kenzie’s presence leapt close to him, and his shoulder hurt worse than ever.
Despair gathered around him, and resignation.
Shivering, he pocketed the sapphire.
The sun, seemingly absent a moment ago, warmed his back.
Mitch took a deep breath. He was going to have to get better at the hero business. Fast.
Kenzie still wasn’t safe.
Thank You
Writers don’t say that often enough. I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget. I hope that you enjoyed reading Got To Be A Hero. If you did, please do me the kindness of leaving a review at Amazon and let your friends know about Hero, too.
I’m going to get back to writing and get the next book done. Again, my thanks!
Paul Duffau
Other Novels by Paul Duffau
Trail of Second Chances
Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Apple iBooks
Finishing Kick
Amazon (Kindle)
Banes and Noble (Nook)
Apple iBooks
Audible
Apple iTunes
More About Paul Duffau
By day, Paul gets to play with spider-infested crawlspaces, walk on roofs, and narrowly avoid electrocution while he checks out houses. For fun, he trail runs in the Pacific Northwest with the deer, elk, an occasional moose, and panic-inducing rattlesnakes. Bears he avoids, mostly.
You can follow Paul on Twitter and Facebook. To sign up for his non-spammy newsletter, visit his website at www.paulduffau.com.
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