My First Short Story!!!

Howdy and Shalom!!!

Ruby Mae here and very excited to announce my very first short story!!! It’s called The Deadly Close-Up. I hope you enjoy it! If you haven’t got the time to read it right now, here’s a PDF copy for you! The Deadly Close-Up

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The Deadly Close-Up
Ruby Mae O’Dell

Liquid ice pumped through her veins. Samantha Collins was so scared. Adrenaline had her heart racing. Her pulse roared in her ears. What would she do if the masked man found her?

The barn door creaked open. He’s coming inside! She sunk farther into the dark corner of the hayloft. Burying herself beneath the hay. Lord, please don’t let him find me! What did he want anyway? He could have anything she had, so long as he didn’t harm her or her son.

David. Thankfully, he went to the zoo with a friend and would be spending the night. So he should be safe.

The loft’s ladder squeaked. He’s coming up!

Lord, please help me! What do I do?

“Oh, Samantha, come out, come out wherever you are.” The man’s voice growled with excitement. Like a wildcat closing in on its prey. He knew her name? How? And what did he want with her? Her breathing slowed as the man paced the loft. Searching. Waiting for her to make an appearance. A sound. Anything to show her location.

“Hey! What are you doing up here?” The voice belonged to a stranger. She could only hope this newest stranger was a friend.

* * *

Wilson Harris stared the man dead in the eye. The man’s brown eyes and mouth were the only things visible beneath the ski-mask—a dead giveaway this man wasn’t supposed to be here. He had broad shoulders, thick biceps, about six-foot-three. Definitely not a man to tangle with. What did he want? To his understanding, his neighbors were a single mom and her fourteen-year-old son. And from the look of things, they didn’t have any valuables.

“I said, what are you doing here?” Wilson repeated.

“If you know what’s good for ya, you’d beat it,” the man spat out, sending him a deadly glare.

Wilson shook his head. “If I were you, I’d heed my own advise. I saw you sneak up here. So I called the police before coming up. They’ll be here shortly.” Wilson was bluffing of course. He’d heard creaking up here and came up to introduce himself to his neighbor. Lord, forgive me for lying and help him to fall for my ruse and leave.

The masked man seemed to be weighing the possible truth in his statement. Seconds crept into minutes. He maintained eye contact. Heart hammering in his chest. His breathing slowed. Would he take the bait?

Finally, the man mumbled something unintelligible. “Samantha! This isn’t over!” he yelled over his shoulder. Afterward, he pulled a gun on Wilson. “Get out of my way. Before I make you pay for the trouble you’ve caused.”

With hands raised, Wilson stepped to the side. The man kept the gun trained on his chest until he disappeared outside the barn. Air whooshed from his lungs. Definitely not the day he’d planned.

He’d hoped to introduce himself to his neighbor, get to know her a bit, and see what she knew about the drugs being smuggled through her ranch. His boss was anxious to crack this case. His job was to find out if Samantha Collins were the ringleader.

“Who are you? And what do you want?”

Startled, he turned around. A young woman with long, braided, brown hair and freckles stared at him. Her lips trembled as she spoke, “I asked you a question.”

Raising his hands, he gave her a friendly smile. “Name’s Wilson. I’m your new neighbor. I came over to introduce myself.” He extended his hand. She stared at it like it was some sort of trick before shaking it.

“Thank you for getting him to leave.” She shoved her hands in her pockets, then glanced frantically around the loft. As if expecting that man to return any second.

“He’s gone, ma’am.”

Tears filling her eyes, she shook her head. “It’s not that. C…can I borrow your phone?”

“Sure.” He handed it to her.

After dialing, she pressed it to her ear. “Hello, Tina? Is David okay?”

Ah, so that’s it. She’s worried about her son. Lord, protect this woman and her child. The worry in her eyes was real. Surely she wasn’t involved in the drug-ring. No one was that good an actor—were they? As a DEA-agent, he’d seen some stellar performances. But none were as realistic as Samantha’s.

“Good. Thank you, Tina.” The relief and love that filled her voice seemed too natural to be an act.

She finished up and returned his phone. “Thanks—again. I’m Samantha, by the way. Nice to meet you. Would you care for some coffee?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

* * *

Samantha carried two cups of coffee out to the screened porch, smiling at her handsome guest. His hand raked through his wavy, brown hair and his broad smile lit his tanned face perfectly. Lord, thank You for sending me help.

“So what brings you to Roaring Fork, Kentucky?” she asked, handing him his cup.

He took a sip before answering, “Work.”

“What kinda work are you in?”

“I thought it was my turn to ask a question.”

“Alright, ask.”

“What kind of work are you in?”

“I’m a photographer.”

“Really?” He set his cup down and stared at her with interest. When she nodded, he asked, “Could I see some of your work?”

“Sure! I just took some the other day of newlyweds.” She rushed inside and retrieved the extra copies of the couple. “Here you go.” She handed them to him.

He flipped through them. “These are wonderful!” His smile was bright. But the last one chased his smile away. Replaced with a frown as he studied the picture with intensity.

“What is it?”

“I think I just found out why that man was after you.” He handed her the picture. “Look toward the left in the background.”

There was a burly man at the wood’s edge behind the smiling couple. The man was looking straight into the camera. But he was so far in the background, she could hardly make out any other features.

“What’s he carrying?”

He stared at her. Studying her. “You don’t know?”

“No. It looks like bags of sugar.”

He shook his head. “I wish. It’s cocaine.”

The color drained from her face. Suddenly she was lightheaded. Someone was smuggling drugs across her property?“Ar…are you sure?”

“Positive. You’ve evidence against him. Not only do you have a shot of his face, but you also catch him with the drugs red-handed. That’s a grand motive for murder, Miss Collins.”

She took a step back. “H…how do you know my name?”

* * *

He slipped up. Oh, well. He was ninety-nine percent positive she was innocent anyway. Might as well be truthful. “I’m a DEA-agent. I was sent to investigate you. To see if you were part of the smugglers who’ve been smuggling drugs across your property. Now, I’m going to make sure this guy is stopped before he hurts you or your son.”

She blanched. Her body visibly trembled. “You thought I was operating a drug-ring?”

He shook his head. “No. I was sent to find out the truth. Now, I positive you aren’t.”

“Alright. Do you have any weapons? Anything to use in defense when that man returns?”

“My dad’s old revolvers and rifles are upstairs in the hall. You’re welcome to them.” She handed him the key to the gun cabinet.

* * *

It didn’t take long to get the guns out and loaded. He examined the weapons stretched out on the table in the dining room. Not bad. At least they weren’t defenseless.

The doorbell chimed. Filling the house with its short tune. Samantha jumped at the sound. “That must be the pizza man. I’ll be right back.”

Seconds after she left the room to retrieve the pizza they ordered, her home phone rang from its spot on the kitchen counter. He lifted it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Who is this?” answered a woman, her voice filled with panic.

“I’m Will, Samantha’s neighbor. Who’s this?”

“This is Tina.” At the name, Wilson’s senses went on full alert. “Tell Sam, David was kidnapped.” Tina was crying now.

Samantha’s screamed. Pumping ice through his veins. Causing him to drop the phone and rush toward the living room. “Let him go!” Samantha’s plea stopped him from entering. Pressing his back to the wall, he stayed out of sight. His breathing slowed. “Please! Let my son go! You can have anything you want. Just let him go!” Samantha pleaded with the man.

“I want those blasted pictures you took three days ago. Give them to me and your boy will live. If not, then he’ll get a bullet right through his skull. Got it?”

“Alright, alright! Just don’t hurt him.” Wilson could hear both Samantha and David whimpering in terror.

I need a weapon! He crept back to the dining room and grabbed two revolvers. He slid one in his belt at the small of his back and kept the other in his hand. Footsteps broke through the silence. They were heading to the study. Samantha was taking him to the pictures. He had to get Samantha and David away from him. Lord, help us!

* * *

Lord, get us out of this mess alive! Also, keep Will safe and use him to help us.

“Hurry it up!” The man hissed. His voice was like pure venom, suffocating her.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t concentrate past the sound of her son crying in fear. Her fingers trembled with such vigor, she had trouble sifting through the folders. Why did she ever put them away? To keep them safe until I could give them to the police, that’s why. Though, now, she regretted that decision.

Finally, her hands grasped the manila folder. She sucked in a shaky breath. In slow motion, she turned to face him. The fear in her sons eyes broke her heart. Lord, help us!

“Give it to me! Now!” The man growled.

“Let my son go first,” she demanded with more strength than she felt.

He chuckled lowly. “My dear, you don’t get to call the shots around here. I do. Now, hand me the folder, or you’ll watch your son die before taking a bullet yourself. Now, what’s it gonna be?”

His threat sent a frisson of terror through her. Chilling her to the core. She had no doubt he would make good on his threat. With trembling hands, she started to reach the folder to him. The sound of a gun being cocked filled the silence.

“How about doing things my way instead?” Will said from the doorway. “Now, turn around. Nice and easy.”

The man whipped around with David and cocked his weapon. “Out of the way or the kid gets it.”

A scream tore from her throat. “No! Please, let him go!”

“Set your gun on the ground and kick it toward me,” the man growled.

* * *

Wilson took one look into Samantha’s fear and worry filled eyes and knew he couldn’t risk it. Even with there being a chance of success. “Alright.” He laid his gun on the floor, raised back up, hands in the air, and kicked it toward the perp.

“That’s more like it.” He retrieved the revolver from the floor and tucked it in his belt. With an evil sneer, he tossed David to the side and whirled around to face Samantha. “Now, give it to me!” he commanded, gun aimed at David who was cowering in the corner.

“H. . .here.” Her hands trembled as she practically thrust the folder into his hands before dropping to David’s side. They hugged each other close. Both of them wept.

The masked man commenced to flipping through the pictures in the folder. Wilson pulled the second revolver from his belt. Aimed it at the man and pulled back the hammer. “Put your guns on the ground. I don’t want to shoot you. But I will if you don’t cooperate.”

The perp lifted his gun. Wilson didn’t hesitate. He fired a round and shot the gun from his hand. “Now, let’s try this again. Put your other gun on the ground.”

Gripping his hand, the perp sent him a deadly glare. He started toward Samantha and David. Wilson fired another shot. Hitting him in the shoulder. The perp yowled in pain and fell to the ground, gripping his shoulder. Wilson was on top of him within seconds. Wrestling the gun from him. A gun cocked. Freezing them in their tracks.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot.”

It’s Samantha. Wilson took the opportunity to pin the man’s arms behind his back. Samantha gave him some zipties from her desk. He used them to bind the man’s hands. Wilson pulled him to his feet and led him outside to his car. Thank You, Lord! He was glad it was over and they were all safe. Now, maybe he could get to know the strong and courageous woman who’d played a part in subduing this criminal.

* * *

Seven months later. . .

Wilson led Samantha and David farther into the woods. Wouldn’t be long now. Just a little bit farther.

“Will, where are you taking us?” Samantha asked, coming up beside him.

“It’s a surprise. You’ll find out soon enough.” He gave her a broad smile.

They’d spent the last seven months getting to know each other and frankly, he didn’t know how he’d ever gotten along without her. His heart swelled with love for this woman and her son. God had bonded them in a way only God could. They were a family. Today, he planned to make it official.

When they reached the clearing, Samantha and David sighed in amazement at the massive waterfall in front of them. Pulling the ring from his pocket, he kneeled in front of Samantha. She gasped when he grabbed her hand. Her other hand went to her heart. A surprised smile lit her beautiful face. Tears of love shimmered in her blue eyes, causing them to glimmer like sapphires.

“Samantha, I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you and David being apart of it. Would you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

Tears streaming down her face, she nodded and wrapped him in a hug. “Of course I will! I love you, Wilson Harris!”

“I love you, Samantha,” he declared, slipping the sapphire engagement ring on her finger.

David smiled and clapped his hands. “Alright, Mom!”

Wilson couldn’t be happier. He felt more blessed than any man alive. And he was sure today was only the beginning of many more blessings to come.