Page 62 of Don’t Say a Word (Angelhart Investigations #2)

Chapter Forty-Six

Angie Williams

Angie stood frozen outside the back door of the Cactus Stop, her pulse pounding in her ears. The night air was suffocating. Or was that just in her mind? She rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension, then she heard something.

She glanced around, scanning every corner of the alley, every shadow, as if she could feel eyes on her, watching her, watching everything she did.

She saw no one. Every instinct screamed that she wasn’t alone, even though no one was there.

Yeah, she was scared—hell, she was terrified .

Benny’s text had promised something big, said he knew what happened to Elijah and she had to come to the store when he got off at midnight.

But now that she was here, dread crawled up her spine with each passing second.

She was early, her mind racing with dark thoughts she couldn’t shake.

The promise she’d made to Margo hung heavy on her soul like a lead weight. She wasn’t supposed to be here—out in the open, in plain sight, at the Cactus Stop. Margo told her to stay away... that someone might get suspicious... but Benny needed her. She couldn’t let Benny die like Elijah.

She pulled out her phone, fingers trembling, and shot him a message:

I’m here, out back, I’m not coming in.

Her heart skipped a beat when his response came too quickly.

What? You’re in my backyard?

Angie scanned the parking lot again, but Benny’s truck was nowhere in sight. Her breath caught in her throat. This didn’t make sense. Her gut churned with the sinking certainty that something was terribly wrong.

Did you text me an hour ago and ask me to come to the Stop tonight?

She stared at the screen, waiting for him to respond. But her skin prickled, every fiber of her being screaming for her to run— right now . The seconds stretched. Her pulse thumped, waiting.

One, two, three, four...

Then, finally—

I got off at 8. Where are you? I’ll pick you up.

No. No. No! She immediately texted back, her fingers shaking:

I’m leaving. I’ll call in a bit.

A muffled pop! Pop! Pop! Came from the store.

It sounded like gunfire.

Again, another deafening crack echoed from inside the store, followed by a fifth shot, closer this time, too close. The sharp, hollow sound sliced through the night, and her body surged into motion before her brain even caught up. She didn’t stop to think, didn’t wait to see who or what was inside.

Run, run, run.

The mantra propelled her legs to move faster, every step carrying her farther from the danger, but she wasn’t fast enough.

The back door of the Cactus Stop slammed open, blinding light spilling out behind her.

She heard the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked—another shot fired, this one louder.

The bullet grazed the pavement just inches from her heels.

The weight of terror pushed her forward. The world blurred as she sprinted, her lungs burning, the sound of another gunshot ringing in her ears. How could she outrun a bullet?

But she didn’t want to die, so she ran.