Death Night. Todd Ritter

      Death Night

      TODD RITTER

       Copyright

      Published by Avon an imprint of

      HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      This edition published in Great Britain by

      HarperCollins Publishers 2015

      First published as Devil’s Night by Minotaur Books, NY, 2013

      Copyright © Todd Ritter 2013

      Cover design © Head Design

      Todd Ritter asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Ebook Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 978-0-00-813319-1

      Version: 2015-05-14

       Dedication

       To Sarah

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

24 Hours Earlier

1 A.M.

2 A.M.

3 A.M.

4 A.M.

5 A.M.

6 A.M.

7 A.M.

8 A.M.

       9 A.M.

       10 A.M.

       11 A.M.

       NOON

       1 P.M.

       2 P.M.

       3 P.M.

       4 P.M.

       5 P.M.

       6 P.M.

       7 P.M.

       8 P.M.

       9 P.M.

       10 P.M.

       11 P.M.

       MIDNIGHT

       1 A.M.

       2 A.M.

       Acknowledgements

       About the Author

       Also by Todd Ritter

       About the Publisher

      It was dark.

      Too dark for Kat’s liking.

      Windows were few and far between, and those she did pass were so small they offered nothing more than narrow slips of moonlight. Rather than lighting the way, they only made it harder for her eyes to adjust to the blackness pushing at her from all directions.

      Kat had a flashlight, but she didn’t dare use it. The beam might reveal her presence. And the element of surprise was more important than visibility. Other than her gun, it was the only weapon she had.

      Her trusty Glock was clenched in her right hand. Her left hand was just below it, supporting her outstretched arm at the wrist. Walking that way slowed her down, which was good. She couldn’t risk moving too fast. Like the flashlight, sudden movement would give her away. Kat couldn’t have that happen. Her life likely depended on it.

      So she skulked through the darkness, trying to fight the exhaustion that clouded her mind. Thoughts came slowly, taking twice as long as normal to piece information together. For instance, she should have known that she was nearing the stairs, but her brain was too sleep-addled to realize it. Instead, she ran right into them, slamming her big toe against the bottom step. The pain was so