A Reagan Keeter Box Set: Three page-turning thrillers that will leave you wondering who you can trus Reagan Keeter (most difficult books to read TXT) 📖

Liam Parker

Liam squirmed, confused and trying to escape as the two men fought to contain him. His whole left side was screaming out in pain after colliding with the cement. He recognized one of the men as Chris Bell. Questions sped through his mind too fast to ask. All he could do was try to push the hands away.

Liam got to his belly, then his knees. Somehow, by pushing and shoving, slipping this way then that, he managed enough wiggle room to slide out of his jacket and get free, then ran to the cab.

He was almost there when a shot rang out, muting the world around him and leaving his ears ringing. He reflexively ducked, curling inward to make himself smaller, but kept running. The taxi was right there.

Was.

The driver slammed on the gas and sped into traffic, seemingly without looking.

Liam slowed to a stop, watching in horror as his only means of escape drove off. Behind him, someone said, “What the hell are you doing?”

Then someone else said, “Do you want it back or not? Turn around!”

Liam reluctantly obeyed. He saw Chris going through the pockets of the army jacket. The second man, arms extended, had both hands wrapped around the handle of a gun and the barrel aimed at Liam.

Anita’s gun.

Chris threw the jacket on the ground. “Where is it?” he shouted.

“What?”

“You know damn well what.”

Liam didn’t think it would do him much good to say he didn’t. These men believed he was Rick and at least one of them was willing to shoot him. But standing here like this, saying nothing, wasn’t going to do him any good, either. And neither option would get him any closer to saving Alice. Only one thing would do that.

Liam bolted toward the street, betting that the man with the gun wouldn’t shoot into traffic and hoping his aim wasn’t very good if he did. It was crazy, but what choice did he have?

The gamble paid off. He glanced over his shoulder to see the men pursuing him, but at least nobody was shooting. Liam weaved through the traffic, thinking it might help put some distance between them. Perhaps it did, though not much. Chris and his friend were quick to find their own path between the cars.

Liam was burning time. Every second he spent running from Chris might be the second he needed to save his daughter. He had to lose these men fast. He thought about ducking into an alley, but decided that would probably be the worst choice he could make. In an alley, he would be isolated, just like he had been in the alley behind Collectables and Collections. If the man with Anita’s gun was serious about shooting him, he’d have no qualms pulling the trigger there. Liam needed a crowd. Someplace like—he looked as far down the street as he could see—that. Mariano’s.

Mariano’s was an upscale supermarket chain, and Liam knew it well. He carried the Mariano’s discount card and shopped at locations around the city. This one he had only been to once. He had forgotten it was here.

The supermarket spanned two floors and had an underground parking garage. On the first floor was a variety of food stations that sold made-to-order pasta, burgers, pizza, salad, and sandwiches. You could get a gelato from a woman in a paper hat, a coffee from a barista, and a drink from a bartender. Two dozen tables were cramped together in rows near the front of the store. All of them were occupied.

Liam made it inside and went for the escalator. He hoped, with the crowd, the small lead he had would be enough for his pursuers to lose sight of him. It wasn’t.

Chris and his friend came through the door, scanning faces. Chris pointed straight at Liam and they started moving again.

Liam couldn’t see the gun, but he was sure the men still had it. He pushed past the shoppers in front of him, quickly scaling the escalator. He didn’t have to look to know Chris and his friend were doing the same.

The second floor looked more-or-less like an ordinary grocery store, with aisles of food and cashiers near the elevators. The escalator ended beside rows of shopping carts and directly in front of the fruits and vegetables.

Liam ran down the closest aisle looking for cover, past shelves stacked high with pet food. In the middle of the store, the aisle ended and another began, creating an additional route for shoppers to navigate the space and cutting down on unnecessary traffic in the aisles.

At that intersection, Liam turned the corner and pressed his body as flat as he could against a Cheerios display without knocking the boxes over. On the end cap in front of him hung all kinds of gift cards. He held his breath, looked around for something within arm’s reach that would work as a mirror, but saw nothing.

He pulled his TracFone out of his pocket, confirmed it had a front-facing camera, and fiddled with the phone until he saw an image of himself on the screen. He held the phone horizontally and moved his hand barely an inch at a time. When the camera cleared the end cap, he could see the entire aisle behind him.

Just in time too, since a second later Chris and his friend barreled past it. They turned their heads, doing a quick examination of the aisle as they moved to the next one.

Liam doubled back the way he’d come, using the camera again at the end of the aisle to peek around the corner. A woman with a small child and an overflowing hand basket gave him a funny look. He smiled, trying to appear relaxed. “It’s not what you think,” he said. Of course, he had no idea what she thought, couldn’t even imagine, and Liam’s assurances clearly didn’t assuage her concern. She pulled her daughter close and