Mysterious Read Online Free Page B

unopened champagne bottle.
    For an instant Jerome wasn’t sure whom she intended using it on, but then she stepped to the other side of the doorframe just as the door clicked open. There was no time to look at Jennifer again, or to try to reassure himself about her as a sliver of hall light was thrown across the floor. Stealthily the line of light became wider and wider.
    Come on, he urged silently. Believe that we’re in the bedroom, either asleep or too busy with each other to know that you’re breaking in. Commit yourselves.
    The door was open wide when the first man began to creep cautiously forward. Jerome could see the man’s back, but he forced himself to wait until the second man entered. By waiting, he knew he was taking the risk of premature discovery. Risk, because about all he had going for him was the element of surprise. But he had to wait. Both of the men had to be in his line of vision for it to work. He could feel sweat break out on his forehead as what seemed like an endless time passed. These men were pros. They were being extremely cautious.
    The door continued on its backward route. Anything could happen. They could turn and see him ... or they could catch a movement from Jennifer behind the door.
    Now! Both men were in the room. He couldn’t wait any longer.
    It happened almost simultaneously. As he threw his coat over the head of the second man, the one closest to him, he saw Jennifer swinging the champagne bottle in a downward arch toward the back of the first man’s head. He heard a satisfying thud, and the first man gave a grunt and collapsed to the floor at the same time as Jerome spun the second man around and brought his knee into the man’s groin. The man folded forward. Clenching his hands together into one punishing fist, he brought it down hard against the back of the man’s neck.
    Jerome slammed the door shut, locked it, and groped for the light switch. The first thing he saw was Jennifer, still holding the bottle, and staring at the two men on the floor. She had remained remarkably cool and had done exactly as he had iidicated, even helping, yet when she raised her eyes, they were filled with horror. He hated the things he was thinking, but dammit, she had a lot of explaining to do.
    He crouched between the two men. They were the same two men he had seen Jennifer looking at in the bar. He began searching first one and then the other.
    "Are they dead?" she questioned shakily.
    "No, they’re not dead," he answered, removing a .45 automatic that had been concealed in a shoulder holster on one of the men. He yanked the slide back, expelling the bullet from the chamber, then ejected the clip and slipped the gun into his pocket. "They may wish they were dead, though, when they wake up in a couple of hours and feel the way their heads are pounding." He discovered a silencer for the .45 in the man’s pocket, but left it there.
    He found a similar weapon lying beside the other man’s outstretched arm, and unloaded it with equal efficiency. He put the gun in his other pocket. "As you can see, whatever I did to them is nothing compared to what they were obviously prepared to do to us." He paused. "Or should that be, to me? By any chance, are these two friends of yours?"
    "Friends? Of course not!"
    "Really?" he returned. "Well, at any rate, we’ll talk about it later." Their weapons disposed of, Jerome searched them for identification. But he found no ID of any type on either man. He checked their clothing for labels. There were none. The only thing he found besides the guns was a fat wad of bills. The evidence fairly screamed at him: professional gunmen.
    "Okay, that’s it, I’m going to call the police. I’ll be curious to see what they make of these two."
    He stood up, but Jennifer grabbed his arm. "You can’t! We’ve got to get out of here. It’s entirely possible that these two weren’t alone."
    "Is that right?" He looked down at her hand on his arm and then looked up into her