Free Angel's Breath (Fallen Angels - Book 2) by Valmore Daniels

that he had made his point and the meeting was concluded.
    “I was waiting for someone,” David said, his eyes scouring me for an answer to an unspoken question. “But not you. What are you doing here, Richard?”
    “Uh,” I said again, cursing myself for being so thick. I wanted to say that I had come to beg for my job, but I couldn’t get the words out.
    Cocking his head, David pointed to my hand. “Is that your mother’s key card?”
    “Yes,” I said, and I could feel the heat rush to my face.
    “Were you here looking for something, Richard? Some information?”
    In all the times I had spoken with David, he had been personable, charming, and approachable. My mother never had a harsh word to say about him.
    Now, however, there was a sharp, calculating expression on his face: the look of a hunter who spotted his prey. I suddenly felt a cold chill go up my spine as I understood the meaning behind his words.
    He knew about the espionage attempt. That’s why he was here: to foil the plan. But … it didn’t make sense to me. Why wouldn’t he have the police on hand to make an arrest?
    “What the hell is going on?” Terence demanded, clearly growing angrier at his ignorance about the situation. Al watched on, the calmness of his demeanor a sharp contrast to his employer’s.
    David, keeping his focus on me, answered his father. “What’s going on is that I set out some bait, but caught something unexpected.”
    “Enough riddles,” Terence said, glaring at his son.
    “A week ago,” David said, not taking his eyes off me, “one of my network security protocols picked up someone sniffing around our computers. My techs couldn’t trace him—he covered his tracks pretty well—but they could trace a few of his online posts. It looked like an info-trader.”
    Terence interrupted. “What is that?”
    “Insider trading, using computer hacking,” David said. “So I dangled a big fat carrot: news of a corporate merger stored on a clean computer. And then I posted a reward for confirmation on the merger.”
    “We’re not merging with anyone,” Terence said, looking confused.
    “Our hacker didn’t know that.” David narrowed his eyes at me. “A few hours ago, I received a notice that someone took the job, and would have the information by midmorning.”
    Terence gestured toward me. “Him? This is your hacker? This incompetent little punk?”
    “No,” David said. “He’s just the second-story man. Obviously, there’s someone else involved. We’ll just have to get his name from Richard.”
    While the plot unfolded, I realized just how deep a hole I had dug for myself. There was no getting out now. I was caught red-handed, and no matter that I had changed my mind about going through with the plan, David had me dead to rights. Even if I tried to explain myself, he would still feel betrayed. After all, he had given me a break and taken a chance on hiring a felon. I wouldn’t blame him if he called the cops and pressed charges.
    At that moment, I felt I only had two choices. Give up and wait quietly for the authorities to show up and arrest me, or run.
    As if he knew what I was going to do before I did it, Al extended his arm toward me. In his gloved hand, he held a handgun.
    “Seriously,” he said, “don’t.”
    I put my hands up, palms out. I hoped no one noticed my knees shaking. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
    Looking back and forth between Al, his son and me, Terence said, “Well, this is all very interesting, but I fail to see why you wanted me here, David. You should have just called the police.”
    “No,” David answered. “We can’t have the police involved … just yet.”
    “I’ve about had enough of your games, David,” Terence said. “I should never have let you into the family business. I knew you didn’t have any sense as a child, and you have even less as an adult. Instead of focusing on business, you’re spending your time setting up little scenarios like this to