Page 67 of Time Served in New York
I held my breath as Jenn balanced on the rail and slapped my hand over my mouth to hold in a scream of terror when she squatted down and jumped toward the balcony next to ours. Her robe flew out behind her like a cape, and it felt like time stood still as she soared through the air. I sucked in a deep breath when she landed on her feet and then rolled forward until she was flat on her back. I heard her moan and gasp for air but didn’t waste any more time checking to see if she was okay. She wasn’t a splat on the pavement 90 floors down, so if something was wrong with her, it could be fixed.
Before I lost my nerve, I stepped onto the chair and then onto the rail. I had to bite back a screech as I launched myself toward the other balcony and then again when I landed and fell forward, skidding on my knees until I bumped into Jenn.
“Oh fuck. We’re not dead.”
Jenn groaned as she pushed herself up and then stood. She held her hand out to help me up and winced when she saw my legs. “Shit. You’re bleeding.”
“But I’m not dead. That’s what I’m taking away from this,” I said firmly as I reached for the balcony door. “Please be unlocked. Please be . . . Yes!”
Jenn and I ran through the suite, and I bumped into her back when she skidded to a halt in the doorway of the small kitchen. She turned inside and started pulling drawers open and rifling through them. “Look for a knife. Here!”
Jenn held a butcher knife in her hand and handed me a smaller knife.
“Are we just going to walk in and stab him?”
“No. I’m going to stab him from behind. You’re going to grab Boo and run for help.”
“But . . .”
“Believe me, Bernadette. All the women in that room need is a one-second window of opportunity, and they’ll rip that man to shreds.”
“Okay. Okay. We can do this.”
Jenn nodded. “I’ll get him in the arm. You stick this in the back of his thigh right before you grab Boo. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Jenn slowly opened the door and peeked out into the hall. “Fuck. There’s a man out there I don’t recognize, and the guards are gone.”
“We’ll walk toward the elevator like we don’t have a care in the world and take him out.”
“God. You already sound like one of the girls,” Jenn said with a nervous laugh. “Can you do that? Kill him?”
“Did you hear that baby crying?”
“Alright then. Hide the knife in your sleeve. You go for the soft parts, and I’ll go for his neck.”
I took a deep breath and gave her a nod. Jenn opened the door and walked out into the hall like she didn’t have a care in the world. When we got closer to the man in the hallway, she asked, “Are you a guard?” He didn’t say a word, just glared at her. She stepped closer to him and asked, “Is there someone famous in there?”
“Move along.”
“Thereissomeone famous in there!” Jenn said, excitement in her voice. She stepped closer to him and acted like she was going to lean around him. He turned his body, and without even thinking, I stabbed the knife into the paunch of his stomach and yanked up as hard as I could. He let out a shocked gasp but barely had time to move before Jenn pushed the butcher knife into his throat. He bent forward and made a horrible gurgling sound that just got worse when Jenn yanked the knife out and stepped back to let him fall. He hit his knees, his hands at his throat. Jenn yanked up the back of his jacket, searching for a weapon.
“Found it!” Jenn said as she stepped back with a gun in her hand. “Now remember, grab the baby and run, okay?”
“Got it,” I assured her.
“We’re gonna have to be quick. Once he hears the door open, he’s gonna start to turn, if he’s even in the same position he was in before. Shit. I don’t know what to do.”
“We do what needs to be done, and that’s go in there and take care of business. I’ll get the baby and take her to safety. What do we do about this guy?” I asked as I looked down at the dead man between us.
“Let him rot.”
???
MATALIE
“Okay, I’m ready,” I said as I braced my feet and leaned back, holding Frankie’s hands in mine.
