Hustlers by Claire Chilton Read Free Book Online Page A

a nasty smile as he held the phone to his ear, clearly making a call on it.
    Ellie’s amusement dried up in an instant. Jimmy was just a kid. He couldn’t handle this guy on his own.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Ellie is indisposed right now,” Starling said into the phone.
    Her pulse raced. Jimmy must have answered, thinking it was her calling him. She glanced at her father, noticing concern in his eyes. They both knew that out of the three of them, Jimmy was the least prepared for this kind of situation.
    “There’s no need to get upset, son. You just need to bring me the hard drive, and I’ll give you your sister back.” Starling flashed a nasty smile. “It’s good that you have it.”
    She inwardly groaned. Now they knew that Jimmy had the evidence, they didn’t need her or her father alive anymore.
    “In an hour. Come to the hotel,” Starling said. “Yes, they’ll be here, and they’ll be alive.” Starling hung up the phone. “Sweet kid.” He grinned.
    Ellie scowled at him.
    “Can I kill that bitch now?” Matt cracked his knuckles.
    “No, not yet. I wanna see what Jimmy brings us first. Come on.”
    “What about them?” Matt asked, pointing to her and her father.
    “These tunnels flush out around this time every day.” Starling glanced at his watch. “Enjoy your last hour together,” he said with a smile.
    He and Matt turned to leave, both smiling.
    After they left the room, Ellie turned to her father. “Jimmy can’t handle them. We need to get out of here.”
    “I know,” her father muttered. “Also, I don’t fancy drowning.”

“H ow’s it going?” Ellie glanced at her father as he held the pipe between his ankles with it pointing up toward his wrists, which were still tied behind his back.
    His shoulders tensed as he rubbed the tape around his wrists against the jagged edge of the pipe. “You couldn’t have kicked over that gigantic knife instead?” He nodded at the knife on the table.
    “I didn’t want to stab you.” She shrugged. “I just hope we nail those bastards when we get out of here.”
    “You’re going to university when we get out of here,” her father muttered.
    She narrowed her eyes. “I am not. You can’t call this an—”
    “Epic management failure?” He finished her sentence for her while shooting her an incredulous look. “Yes, I can! What happened to responsibility? You were supposed to feel out the mark, not feel him up!”
    “Bite me,” she muttered. It was humiliating because he was right. If she’d stuck to her job rather than go on a date, none of this would have happened. She’d been distracted by a pretty face, and now her whole family was in danger.
    “Oh, I think I’ve got it. I just need—” He paused as a loud crashing sound echoed down the tunnels.
    “Might wanna hurry it up,” she said, scanning the room for a safe way to escape the rushing water.
    “It’s early. He said we had an hour.” Her father quickly freed his hands. Then he reached over, ripping away at the rope that was binding hers. “Hold onto that pipe, and hold your breath.” He nodded at the thick pipe that ran along the wall beside her as he reached for a rung that was embedded in the wall behind him. “It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
    She reached out and grabbed the pipe as an explosion of murky water flooded into the room. She shivered as the icy water enveloped her, seeing the table crash against the wall before she closed her eyes and clung to the pipe as the room filled with water at high speed. The force of the water threatened to rip her away from the pipe and smash her against the wall too.
    She tucked her chin down, as the water pressure battered against her body, keeping her eyes firmly closed. The chair she’d been sitting on flew back and smashed against the wall, leaving only the legs taped to her ankles. The muscles in her arms ached as the water pressure tried to fling her back too. She gritted her teeth and hung on, waiting for the initial rush