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

play out. It’s clear to me that you are completely ill-equipped to run my company.”
    When he finished his tirade, Terence waited for David to respond. The seconds ticked by, and for a fleeting moment, I had hoped they had forgotten about me, and I could slip out unnoticed. Al, however, kept his gun trained on me.
    Finally, David replied; his tone calm and assured. “There’s just one more little scenario to play out…”
    There was something peculiar about the way he spoke those words. My stomach tightened. Deep down, my instinct for self-preservation told me to run and take my chances. Maybe Al wouldn’t fire, or his aim would be off. Unfortunately, it felt like my feet were encased in concrete; I couldn’t move.
    “I’m tired of asking the same question,” Terence said, exasperated. “What are you talking about?”
    “I’m talking about your power.” David stood up from his chair. “You’ve been keeping it from me. You’ve selfishly kept it for yourself. You’re either too stingy or too afraid to use it the way it was meant to be used.”
    I had no idea what David was referring to, but the ashen pallor that fell over his father’s face told me that he did. “How did you—?”
    “Trust me. I know your secret, Father. Did you think no one ever followed you on your monthly ‘retreats’? It was only a matter of doing my homework to fill in the blanks.” He gestured to his computer.
    “David,” Terence said. His voice was hollow and desperate. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s too much for you to handle. It’s too much for anyone.”
    “Oh, I understand it, and I know why you’ve been trying to push me out of the company.”
    “I was only trying to protect you.”
    David sneered. “Don’t give me that. You knew what would happen if I found out. And now that I have, it’s time for me to collect my inheritance.”
    With a careful motion, David opened the top drawer of his desk and reached inside. When he pulled his hand out, he had a gun in it—a match for Al’s—and he pointed it at his father.
    While I was still struggling to put the pieces together, the senior Mr. Matheson must have already figured out the plan.
    “Don’t do this, David.” He turned to his driver. “Al, stop him.”
    Al stepped away from his boss, though his gun remained pointed at me, unwavering. “Sorry, Mr. Matheson. I’m afraid I no longer work for you.”
    I had no idea what the underlying conflict between father and son was about, but the one thing I knew deep in my bones was why I was here.
    I was the patsy.
    David hadn’t laid the trap to catch whoever was hacking the company’s network; he had dangled a big enough prize to get someone into a position where the evidence was overwhelmingly incriminating.
    They were going to kill Terence Matheson and pin the murder on the burglar.
    That setup would only work if they didn’t have any witnesses, namely me. I could hardly plead my innocence if I was dead. In the back of my mind, I realized that they would also have to silence Chuck.
    There was a look of intense concentration on Terence Matheson’s face, as if he were trying to solve a complex equation. He reached his hand to his collar and slowly loosened his tie. Through gritted teeth, he said, “You have to stop this. I won’t hold it in much longer. I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “There is no stopping it, Father.”
    In an act of desperation, Terence screamed something unintelligible and dashed toward the door behind me. At the same time, he pulled a dark, beaded necklace out from under his shirt—a rosary?
    David yelled something and made a jerking motion with his gun hand.
    The shot was startlingly loud.
    Terence Matheson stiffened as the bullet struck home. There was a look of horror and surprise on his face as he fell toward me.
    It all happened like in a slow-motion movie, with the ringing in my ears the only soundtrack.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the crazed look of