Carlie Simmons (Book 4): The Gathering Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

earlier today; besides, it’s not like
they can dust for fingerprints anymore—this is the perfect crime.”
    “I could go for some wine—it’s been
months.”
    The lock clicked open and Jared turned the
handle, opening the door inward. They quickly inserted themselves into the lounge
and quietly closed the door behind them.
    Jared held his flashlight out and beelined
for the fridge. Amy moved with her light to the kitchen counter where wooden
crates of liquor and alcoholic beverages were stacked. She retrieved a dusty
bottle of chardonnay and rejoined Jared, who had removed a large bottle of
spaghetti sauce from the fridge.
    “What are you doing? I already found the
wine.”
    “I overheard Shane telling Matias that he
was going to make a pasta dish tonight for Carlie using some of the spaghetti
sauce left over in the fridge.” Jared placed the large jar on the counter and
unscrewed it. Then he pulled a plastic bag from his pocket and emptied the
powdery contents into the sauce. “Just a little dried habanero peppers to spice
things up for the big man.”
    “I thought we were coming here because you
said you needed to commandeer some wine, not get even with Shane.”
    “Well, no reason I can’t do both.”
    Amy put the bottle down and folded her
arms across her chest. “You sure this isn’t more about Carlie? I know you had a
thing for her early on. You’re not jealous of Shane, are you?”
    Jared stopped stirring the sauce and
turned towards Amy, his hand sliding up along her cheek while his powder-blue
eyes gazed at her face. “Mi amor, my heart only yearns for the splendor of your
company. I love you, not Carlie. She intrigued me in the beginning but she was
never my type, believe me.” Jared slid forward and kissed Amy then leaned his
forehead against hers. She stared into his eyes and grabbed his collar. “You
are trouble, Jared Sweinhart. Sometimes I don’t know if I should kiss you or
slap you.”
    They heard footsteps in the hallway and he
slid his index finger to her lips in a motion to be quiet. She brushed it aside
and pulled him in close, pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.
The footsteps faded and she pulled back, giggling.
    Jared leaned back to the counter and
grabbed sauce then placed it back in the fridge. He retrieved the bottle of
wine and held Amy’s hand as they retraced their steps to the door and slipped
back into the shadows of the hall, returning to their room.

 
    Chapter 7
    Wilkins Maximum Security
Military Prison, Walla Walla, Washington
    The gray slab walls of the prison
resembled a weathered elephant hide, its antiquated cement flaking off in
patches onto the snow beside the high fences that encompassed the four-hundred-acre
facility.
    Ryan Mitchell was standing over a
wall-sized map of the Pacific Northwest he had erected in the warden’s office.
Red marker highlighted three areas in Washington. The first was the city of
Walla Walla where the prison was situated—his prison since the first week of
the pandemic when he had seized control. The second area was the Grand Coulee
Dam a hundred or more miles to the north. This provided most of the
hydro-electric power to the state and was a key strategic position. The last
red mark was Fort Lewis just south of Seattle, nearly a hundred-fifty miles
from his present location and the only real threat to his army’s spread.
    While Mitchell pored over the map, he
would occasionally glance over at a photo of the former warden on the wall,
beside a handprint in dried blood. He kept it there as a reminder of his
previous incarceration and how he would never be in such a position again. He
thought back to that fateful afternoon when he was out on his required daily
walk in the main yard. Many guards had called in sick that week from the
contagion that was sweeping throughout the region and he was pleasantly
surprised that he would be receiving an outside recess to stretch. As he
completed his second lap around the yard, his