White russian a thrill.., p.27
White Russian - A Thriller (Jacqueline Jack Daniels Mysteries Book 11),
p.27
Then he shoots her twice through the heart.
Throwing the gun away, he hurries back to Jack.
“Phin…” she whispers.
“You’re going to make it, babe,” he tells her. “We’re going to make it.”
He kisses her, so softly, and then the next words that come from her beautiful lips tear him apart.
“I can’t feel my legs, Phin. I can’t feel my legs…”
THE NEXT DAY
HERB
Herb awoke and immediately sat up, searching for Tequila.
His friend was in the hospital bed next to him. Rosalina was on the floor, sprawled out like a giant, wrinkled bear rug.
“Jack out of surgery yet?”
Tequila shook his head.
“I still can’t believe we’re here.”
Tequila nodded.
“I told you so,” Herb told him.
“Told me what?” Tequila’s voice is hoarse. A double-strangulation will do that to a guy.
“That you were a good man. That you wouldn’t leave me when you had the chance.”
“I never…” Tequila whispered.
“What’s that?”
“I never… had a friend before.”
“We’re not friends,” Herb said. “You’re my brother.”
Tequila nods, and the morphine drip puts Herb back to sleep.
When he wakes up again, someone is holding his hand.
“I can’t stop crying,” Bernice said, tears running down her cheeks. “I keep putting on make-up, and it keeps coming off.”
“You’re beautiful,” Herb starts crying as well. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I never stopped believing you were alive, Herb. I never stopped. Your funeral, we buried an empty casket. I knew you were still out there. I could feel it.”
“I love you,” Herb told his wife. “I love you so, so much. And I need a really big favor.”
“Name it.”
“Kiss me,” Herb said. “And never, ever stop.”
JACK
Phin was there when the anesthesia wore off.
“How’d it go?” I mumbled.
He patted my hand. “Good.”
“Will I walk again?”
“Too soon to say. Do you… feel anything?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Phin.”
“It’s okay.”
“You saved me.”
“Of course I did. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
• • •
Phin was there when I woke up.
“Herb’s okay?”
“He keeps asking about you. You up for visitors?”
I nodded.
Phin calls him. Turns out Herb was waiting in the hallway. His wife pushes his wheelchair in.
“Hiya, partner,” Herb says, reaching out to hold my hand.
“Herb… I… I didn’t know you were still alive.”
“I know. Chandler told me. It wasn’t your fault, Jack.”
“You’re okay?”
“I should make a full recovery. It’s Bernice I’m worried about.”
I looked at Bernice, a question on my face. She gave her husband a slap on the arm and blushed.
“What am I missing here?” I asked.
“She can’t get enough of my trim new body. So she promised me sex every day for a full year,” Herb said. “She’s got three hundred and sixty-four days to go.”
“Your arm and leg are broken,” I said.
“Everything else works fine,” laughed Bernice.
“I’m glad you’re back, Herb.”
“Glad to be back. Why don’t you guys stop in Chicago before you go back to Florida? First beer is on me.”
• • •
Phin was there when I opened my eyes.
So was McGlade. He had bandages on his face.
“Hiya, Jackie.”
“Harry. Where are Heckle and Jeckle with the cameras?”
“Good news and bad news. Good news, I’ve hit over four hundred million views. My thongs and coffee cups are selling like crazy.”
“And the bad news?”
McGlade handed me his iPhone and pressed the screen. A video started.
It’s of the land train. There was general commotion, as prisoners milled about and Chandler subdued some guards. Then Heckle came into frame, and he and Jeckle, who was obviously running the camera, moved away from the crowd and went behind the land train. They came up to Annie’s Silverado, tipped on its side. They walked past it, and over to two bodies.
One was Wyatt. Eyes open. Obviously dead.
The other was the Cowboy.
Heckle felt for a pulse, and then lifted her up.
They brought her back to the Silverado. It took them a few minutes to attach a tow chain to the undercarriage, and pull it back onto all four wheels. They put Annie into the cab, and drove off. Then the video ended.
“I put two in her chest,” Phin said.
“Right here?” Harry patted his left side.
Phin nodded.
“You can see that in the video, if you pause it. You can also see her breathing. I had a hunch. So I pulled some strings, paid a few people, to do Wyatt’s autopsy early. He was born with his heart on his right side. It’s called dextrocardia. It’s genetic, happens one in twelve thousand people. I’m betting his twin sister inherited the same anomaly.”
“Where did the twins take her?” I asked.
Harry shrugged. “Authorities are looking for them, and the truck. Nothing’s turned up.”
I sighed. “I knew those guys were bad news.”
“You should have said something to me,” Harry said.
• • •
Phin woke me up, holding out my phone. “You should take this.”
I expected it to be Sam, or my mother.
“Heard you still can’t walk.”
It was Chandler.
“Bullet hit my T-11 thoracic nerve. I have no feeling below my belly button.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re feeling bad, you can come and change my diaper.”
“Pass. Meant to visit, but I had business out of the country. I thought that you should hear something. Might make you feel a little better.”
“You’ve got some secret government serum that can regrow nerve tissue.”
“No. I’ve been doing some digging into the land train and its owner. His name was Yuri Morozov. Former KGB, head of a death squad in Belarus. Real first class asshole. On board the train were eight tungsten rods, two and a half tons each. You ever hear the term rod from god?”
“No.”
“It’s a kinetic bombardment weapon. In a nutshell, you put the rods on a low earth orbit satellite, then drop them on your target. They hit going Mach 10. Each one has the explosive force of twelve tons of TNT. I did some digging, and Yuri actually had a satellite ready to go.”
“There are agencies that stop that sort of thing. Right?
“Wrong. The Outer Space Treaty bans WMDs in orbit. But tungsten carbide isn’t considered a weapon of mass destruction.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Welcome to diplomacy. Yuri would have launched, and he could have killed tens of thousands. Maybe hundreds of thousands. And who knows what that would have led to.”
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
“You did good, Jack. You and McGlade prevented the biggest terrorist attack in history. Something that may have caused World War 3. How do you feel about that?”
“Numb.”
“Interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“I feel the same way, every time I save the world. I gotta run. Do everyone a favor and get better.”
Chandler hung up.
“We saved the world,” I told my husband.
Phin said, “Cool.”
• • •
Phin was there when I woke up.
So was Tequila.
“Thanks,” he said.
I nodded.
Not one for conversation, Tequila left, Rosalina trotting along behind him.
• • •
Phin was there when I opened my eyes.
I began to cry.
“I might never walk again,” I said.
“You won’t need to,” he assured me. “I’ll carry you. Everywhere.”
• • •
When I opened my eyes, Phin was there.
Phin was always there.
It took me too damn long to figure that out, but I finally did, and the feeling of being so loved overwhelmed me.
“I love you,” I said, holding his hand. “I love you so much.”
• • •
I opened my eyes, and Phin was there.
So was Mom. And Sam.
Without asking, Sam hopped up onto my hospital bed and threw her arms around my neck.
“I missed you Mommy I love you so much!”
I winced. “I love you too, Sammy. But you’re hurting Mommy’s legs.”
Phin’s eyes got wide.
I was confused, then I realized what I just said.
And I knew, I just knew, that everything was going to be okay.
EPILOGUE: SOMEWHERE, SOMEWHEN
THE COWBOY
Jerry is dead.
Murderdead.
And Annie is going to kill everyone responsible.
The ache for vengeance is more powerful than ever.
“We hacked McGlade’s office computer,” says Heckle.
“We need to search the data dump, but we should be able to find where Jack and Phin live,” says Jeckle.
Annie smiles. “My guardian angels. Saving my life. Nursing me back to health. What did I do to deserve you? I owe you both so much.”
“We only want one thing in return,” says Heckle.
“Only one thing,” says Jeckle.
Annie knows what it is. But they say it anyway, in perfect unison.
“Teach us to be like you.”
THE END
DEAD ON MY FEET
His name is Phineas Troutt. He’s a problem solver.
If a woman is being stalked by her ex-husband, Phin can convince him to stop. If a union is being squeezed, Phin can squeeze the squeezer. He’s not a mercenary. He’s not a bodyguard. He’s not a private dick. He’s a guy who takes cash for solving problems with violence.
When a doctor at a suburban women’s health clinic is being harassed, she hires Phin to make it stop. But the situation proves to be larger, and more dangerous, than even he can handle on his own. So he calls in some friends to help out; a P.I. named Harry McGlade and a female cop named Jack Daniels…
DEAD ON MY FEET by J.A. Konrath
Set in 2007, Konrath turns up the noir and gives leading man status to his favorite tough guy. Phin has appeared in the bestselling novels WHISKEY SOUR, RUSTY NAIL, SHAKEN, RUM RUNNER, LAST CALL, and many others, but now he’s the main character. Filled with the same action, humor, and intrigue as the Jack Daniels series, but with a grittier, hardboiled edge, DEAD ON MY FEET is the first in a Phin Troutt trilogy, which also includes DYING BREATH and EVERYBODY DIES.
STOP A MURDER
This is unlike any mystery or thriller book you’ve ever read before. You play the sleuth, and try to follow the clues and solve the puzzles to prevent a murder from happening.
In this five-book series, you’ll be tasked with decoding the mind and motivations of a nefarious killer who is plotting to commit an unspeakable crime.
Each book contains an epistolary collection of emails, texts, and letters, sent to bestselling author J.A. Konrath, by a serial killer. This psychopath is leaving detailed, cryptic hints about who will be murdered, why, when, where, and how.
Some of the hints are easy to figure out. Others are much more devious.
Do you like solving mysteries? Do you enjoy puzzles or escape-the-room games? Are you good at spotting clues?
Only you can stop a murder.
Are you smart enough?
Are you brave enough?
Let the games begin…
#1 STOP A MURDER – HOW: Puzzles 1–12
#2 STOP A MURDER – WHERE: Puzzles 13–24
#3 STOP A MURDER – WHY: Puzzles 25–36
#4 STOP A MURDER – WHO: Puzzles 37–48
#5 STOP A MURDER – WHEN: Puzzles 49–60
JOE KONRATH’S
COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY
JACK DANIELS THRILLERS
WHISKEY SOUR
BLOODY MARY
RUSTY NAIL
DIRTY MARTINI
FUZZY NAVEL
CHERRY BOMB
SHAKEN
STIRRED with Blake Crouch
RUM RUNNER
LAST CALL
SHOT OF TEQUILA
BANANA HAMMOCK
WHITE RUSSIAN
OLD FASHIONED
SERIAL KILLERS UNCUT with Blake Crouch
LADY 52 with Jude Hardin
65 PROOF short story collection
FLOATERS short with Henry Perez
BURNERS short with Henry Perez
SUCKERS short with Jeff Strand
JACKED UP! short with Tracy Sharp
STRAIGHT UP short with Iain Rob Wright
CHEESE WRESTLING short with Bernard Schaffer
ABDUCTIONS short with Garth Perry
BEAT DOWN short with Garth Perry
BABYSITTING MONEY short with Ken Lindsey
OCTOBER DARK short with Joshua Simcox
RACKED short with Jude Hardin
BABE ON BOARD short with Ann Voss Peterson
WATCHED TOO LONG short with Ann Voss Peterson
PHINEAS TROUTT THRILLERS
DEAD ON MY FEET
DYING BREATH
EVERYBODY DIES
STOP A MURDER PUZZLE BOOKS
STOP A MURDER – HOW: PUZZLES 1 – 12
STOP A MURDER – WHERE: PUZZLES 13 – 24
STOP A MURDER – WHY: PUZZLES 25 – 36
STOP A MURDER – WHO: PUZZLES 37 – 48
STOP A MURDER – WHEN: PUZZLES 49 – 60
CODENAME: CHANDLER SERIES
EXPOSED with Ann Voss Peterson
HIT with Ann Voss Peterson
NAUGHTY with Ann Voss Peterson
FLEE with Ann Voss Peterson
SPREE with Ann Voss Peterson
THREE with Ann Voss Peterson
FIX with F. Paul Wilson and Ann Voss Peterson
RESCUE
THE HORROR COLLECTIVE
ORIGIN
THE LIST
DISTURB
AFRAID
TRAPPED
ENDURANCE
HAUNTED HOUSE
WEBCAM
DRACULAS with Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson
HOLES IN THE GROUND with Iain Rob Wright
THE GREYS
SECOND COMING
THE NINE
GRANDMA? with Talon Konrath
WILD NIGHT IS CALLING short with Ann Voss Peterson
CLOSE YOUR EYES
FOUND FOOTAGE
TIMECASTER SERIES
TIMECASTER
TIMECASTER SUPERSYMMETRY
TIMECASTER STEAMPUNK
BYTER
EROTICA
(WRITING AS MELINDA DUCHAMP)
FIFTY SHADES OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND
FIFTY SHADES OF ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
FIFTY SHADES OF ALICE AT THE HELLFIRE CLUB
WANT IT BAD
FIFTY SHADES OF JEZEBEL AND THE BEANSTALK
FIFTY SHADES OF PUSS IN BOOTS
FIFTY SHADES OF GOLDILOCKS
THE SEXPERTS – FIFTY GRADES OF SHAY
THE SEXPERTS – THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL NECKLACE
THE SEXPERTS – LOVING THE ALIEN
THE SEVEN YEAR WITCH
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WHITE RUSSIAN
Copyright © 2017 by Joe Konrath
Cover and art copyright © 2017 by Carl Graves
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the authors.
November 2017
J.A. Konrath, White Russian - A Thriller (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Mysteries Book 11)
