The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Jenifer Ruff's New Book: The Numbers Killer.
Author Jenifer Ruff is an Amazon Best-Selling medical thriller author.
The Numbers Killer
An Agent Victoria Heslin Thriller Book 1
Author: Jenifer Ruff
AVAILABLE
Amazon
You’ll never view odd numbers the same way again.
When a key witness in an organized crime trial turns up dead in his kitchen with liar and the number two scrawled on his forehead, the FBI assumes the murder was a hit to silence him. Then the calls start coming in—more victims with similar markings and no connection to the mob.
As agents Victoria Heslin and Dante Rivera struggle to catch a break in the case, they receive a series of cryptic, personal messages from the killer, complicating the investigation. Something disturbing and frightening is underway, and anyone might be next, including the agents, unless they uncover the common denominator.
Excerpt from The Numbers Killer
Chapter One
In the dark, decaying woods behind the Sonesta Hotel, fierce gusts of wind cracked brittle branches, and Beth Dellinger’s trembling hand tightened around a 9mm Glock. As she pulled the trigger, something snapped deep inside her brain. Two terrible incidents occurred. A murder—the end of one life—and the inescapable new beginning of another.
Twisted brambles tore into her skin as she fled down the narrow path toward the parking lot, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm. Only one instinct fueled her. Get away. With ragged breaths, she counted her hurried steps in fours.
Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-two.
She slipped on the incline at the edge of the woods and her bare feet flew out from under her. Windmilling her arms, she hit the ground with a thud and slid down the wet earth, dirt smearing the back of her bare legs, filling tiny scrapes with grime. She scrambled up, looking back over her shoulder, stumbled, and kept moving. Pebbles and beer caps littered the rough pavement and a broken bottle shard sliced the edge of her dirt-caked foot. She had yet to register the pain.
A nearby train barreled down the tracks with an overbearing whoosh and grind, its horn blaring, intensifying the pulsing blood in her eardrums.
Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-two.
When she reached her car, she stared blankly at a tube of lipstick she was carrying. She had no idea why it was in her hand. With a violent shudder, she hurled the lipstick back toward the woods as if she’d been clutching a hot coal.
Fumbling for her keys, she yanked the door open, and plopped down behind the wheel.
She tossed her purse on the seat beside her, struggling to catch her breath. With a death grip on the steering wheel, she stared through the windshield, seeing nothing.
What did she remember? Fleeing the hotel. A beautiful woman holding the back door open for her. She remembered screaming, and a fiery pain erupting from her cheek. Nothing more. What had happened next? All she knew was that she had done something bad, something she couldn’t undo. Had anyone seen? She slumped forward on the edge of her seat, hung her head, and covered her face with her dirty hands, wincing when she touched the bruised skin around her eye. A burned stench emanated from her hands—the smell of gunfire. Blood dripped from her foot onto the floor.
Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen . . .
A sudden noise made her jump in her seat.
“Beth, Beth, Beth. What am I going to do with you now?” Danny bent over and stared from outside the car, his blood-shot eyes level with hers.
Beth shook her head, squeezed her eyes shut, bit down on her bottom lip between her teeth. A tremor coursed through her veins. When she opened her eyes, he was still peering in at her. He rapped his fist against the glass. “Roll down the window.”
She turned on the ignition and lowered the window half-way. He glowered at her as wheezy breaths constricted her chest.
“Are ya happy now?” He pounded the roof of the car with his hand. “What you just did, it’s a whole lot bigger than one of your little identify thefts. You might not get away with it. This time, you might really pay for what you’ve done. As in going to jail for the rest of your long life.”
Beth clutched the neck of her shirt, gripping it tight.
“They saw you. You know that, don’t you?” His harsh whisper made his words all the more terrifying.
She didn’t want to answer him. She didn’t want to have this conversation. But she couldn’t help herself. She had to know what he meant. A lump had formed in her throat.
Struggling to swallow around it, she leaned farther away. “Who saw me?”
“All of them. They all saw you.” He made a sweeping gesture toward the windows lining the back of the Sonesta Hotel. Most were large blackened squares. Some had light peeking out around the edges of the blinds.
“No. They couldn’t have.” Her voice shook. She studied the windows for a shadow or a flicker of movement, any sign of life behind them. What did they see?
He gritted his teeth. “Yes, they did.” Each word was like a slap, punching through the air and smacking her in the face. He shifted his weight, still towering outside her window, seeming larger than he really was. “They know because you were screaming like a . . . like a . . .” His face flushed red. Vocabulary was never his strength. “Like a damn crazy lunatic. You know what you have to do now, don’t you?”
She stared out the window, away from him and the sadistic grin he was sure to be sporting.
“You’ll have to take care of them before they betray you, too.”
Author Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Website: Jenifer Ruff
Twitter: @Jen_Ruff
E-Mail: jeniferr@carolina.rr.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description: Jenifer Ruff is the author of psychological thrillers and an avid fitness enthusiast and hiker. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her family and a pack of greyhounds.
Author's Book List
Do No Harm Collection is COMING SOON. [July 30, 2019]
Do No Harm
Seventeen Medical Thrillers
Author: Jenifer Ruff
AVAILABLE
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store
iTunes Store
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