Chapter Thirty-Five
“Get her!”
Stephen’s shout followed Kat as she ran the down the stairs, stopping short in front of Alex just before she crashed into him. She tried to sidestep, but even injured, he moved way too fast.
“Whoa, baby. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Ethan’s truck,” she said in a rush. “He just pulled in. Move!” She’d been staring out the window from the second floor, stalking Ethan’s driveway as she willed him to come home. It had been hours since Mary and Allen had left, taking their case with them. Since then, they’d been stuck in a waiting game with nothing to do. Except get Alex a recliner.
“Kat!”
Behind her, Stephen raced down the stairs, clean of the mud he’d slipped in while he and Xavier brought in Alex’s chair. He wasn’t dressed, the towel clinging to his hips, his body still dripping from his shower.
“Jesus, Stephen. Get some clothes on.” When Stephen still didn’t move, Alex said, “I’ve got her.”
Kat waited until Stephen was out of earshot. “Move or I’ll give you another broken rib.”
“Jesus, Katie, you’re vicious.”
“Let me go!”
“Not a chance. Give him a minute. Stephen’ll take you down.”
“But I might not have a minute! What if he leaves again?”
Alex didn’t answer, just held her firm. Despite her threat, she wouldn’t hurt him, wouldn’t struggle on the off chance she’d cause further injury. Instead, she silently seethed while waiting endless minutes for Stephen to dress.
“Damn it! Ethan didn’t kill her! He’s not a murderer!”
“He shot Jessica Adams.”
“Because she was going to kill him! Or me.”
The look Alex gave her was filled with sympathy, his voice tender when he spoke. “We don’t know that, Katie.”
“We do,” she whispered. “There was a bullet hole above his head. And she’d already shot you.”
“I meant, we don’t know if that’s why he shot her. He could have just been covering his ass.”
“You’re wrong.”
“For your sake, I hope so.”
“He wouldn’t hurt me!”
“But he’d hurt Stephen.”
“He wouldn’t kill him!”
But Alex didn’t look convinced. Stephen finally came down the stairs a few minutes later. “Zave at the cabin?”
“Yeah,” Alex said, stepping aside.
“Call him and have him head up this way. Tell him we’ve spotted Ethan’s truck.”
Stephen took her arm, leading her toward his mother’s car. He didn’t waste a second, starting the car and turning around as Kat nearly bounced out of her seat, needing to get to Ethan. But as Stephen raced down the driveway, she saw the tail end of Ethan’s truck already heading east.
“Hurry!”
“We’ll get him, Kat.”
But they had to wait for traffic to pass before they pulled out. Ethan’s taillights disappeared around the bend. Kat groaned or more like growled, hitting the dashboard with her fist. “Come on, come on,” she whispered, more to herself than Stephen until he finally turned onto the road.
Stephen shifted, gaining on the cars in front of them quickly, but Ethan’s truck couldn’t even be seen ahead of them. There were two cars in front of them, double yellow lines, no way around them. She had to stifle her roar of aggravation.
“Call Xavier. Tell him he’s heading down the mountain, but we lost him.”
The car in front of them slowed, forcing Stephen to do the same before the other car turned onto the hiking trail parking lot. Kat called Xavier, trying not to grit her teeth as she explained what they were doing. No, she didn’t have a plan, but she needed to speak to Ethan. Desperately. The phone clicked over to Bluetooth and Kat put the phone in the cup holder as Stephen brought the car up to full speed again. The lanes opened up and Stephen passed the car in front of them.
“Buckle up.”
“Shit,” Stephen said. “He’s behind us.”
Kat whipped around, the truck’s grille bearing down on them. “Slow down. He’ll stop.”
“He’s not gonna stop, Kat,” Stephen muttered as he sped up, the car jerking forward so fast Kat was pinned to the seat.
“Xavier, we’ve got trouble,” Stephen said. “Hang up and call the police—”
Ethan’s truck clipped the bumper, and Kat couldn’t hold back her scream as the car fishtailed before Stephen got it under control. Horror rolled through her, denial screaming in her head. Ethan wouldn’t do this to her, wouldn’t ever hurt her.
“Fuck!” Stephen yelled as the truck slammed into them again, this time sending the car into a spin before they hit they guardrail, flipping over it before they were rolling, over and over. She knew exactly where they were, the highest point of the cliff overlooking the five-state view.
Kat choked on the airbag as it nearly suffocated her, the crunch of metal as the car was crushed around them, so deafeningly loud she knew she’d hear the sounds until they day she died.
Her screams were drowned out by the loudness of the crash until it finally slowed, the car nearly on its side before falling back to the ground. She gulped in air, stunned to realize she was still alive, her head spinning as if they were still rolling. Wetness oozed down her face, glass and debris falling from her head and shoulders when she turned.
“Stephen! No, no, no!” His body was slumped against the door, his head hanging out the blown-out window. His right arm hung lifelessly, his hand reaching toward her.
“Stephen!” she yelled, louder than before, over and over as she tried to unbuckle her seatbelt. Ignoring the throbbing pain, she managed to unbuckle it, slowly reaching toward Stephen’s wrist, but her fingers were trembling so badly, she knew she wouldn’t be able to feel his pulse even if he had one. She followed his hand up, reaching for his chest, placing her hand flat over his heart, blinding relief when she felt the rise and fall, signifying life.
Her entire body hurt, but she ignored the pain as she twisted in her seat, testing each body part, relieved to find only minor aches. She tried her door, shocked as hell when it opened, creaking in the silence, so loud it made her cringe.
Kat looked around in growing darkness, trying to get her bearings. They were in a clearing. Sitting ducks. They couldn’t stay there. Frantic, she looked for a solution, knowing if she moved him, she was taking a chance of hurting him worse. But she couldn’t leave him here, had to drag him into the tree line where they could hide until help arrived, because the driver of that truck…
She refused to believe it was Ethan. Didn’t have time to think about it as she raced to Stephen’s door, cursing when it wouldn’t open. Climbing back through her side, she unbuckled his belt, every movement a force of will because now that she was moving she hurt so fucking bad.
Kat grabbed his arm and pulled, wincing when he flopped forward, his head hitting steering wheel. She never gave up, pulling and pulling until she was finally out the car, still pulling as his body slid out, landing on top of her as she fell on her ass.
Through it all, Stephen never woke. Shoving him off her, she rolled on the ground, taking precious seconds she didn’t have to wait for the dizziness to subside. Then she was struggling to get to her feet, quickly assessing for any obvious damage, but it was even darker now, and she couldn’t be sure. He was alive, she told herself.
Squatting next to his head, Kat wrapped her arms under his, locking them in the crook of her elbows, her wrist still too weak. Holding tight, she dragged him away from the car, slowly making her way toward the tree line.
Fuck, he was heavy. Sweat dripped down her face, mingling with the blood as she dragged and dragged, sucking in deep breaths before pulling with all her strength. By some miracle she managed to get them into the tree line. Even still, she couldn’t seem to stop, pulling and tugging until she collapsed in exhaustion, her breathing loud and heavy in the silence of the night. She ran her hands down Stephen’s body, whispered softly in his ear.
“You’re gonna be alright, Stephen. Just hang on, okay? Stay quiet until help arrives.” Not that she needed to add that last part. She closed her eyes, sending up a prayer of thanks when she felt Stephen’s gun, still holstered to his side. She found a rock, or more accurately a boulder, and dragged Stephen behind it with the last of her strength.
Help would be coming, but the enemy was out there, too. It was only a matter of luck who’d be there first. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, peering around the boulder. From her position, she could see the highway above. So very far above. It was a miracle they survived. At least the drop hadn’t been completely vertical. She could see headlights on the highway above, but didn’t see emergency lights yet.
The adrenaline was leaving her body, she thought as every muscle hurt. The sound was faint as first, the distant sound of a motor. Not a car or truck. An ATV. Kat shrank against the rock, her heart nearly stopping in her chest before it pounded once with a brutal thump. The beam of a flashlight shined over the area, a slow progression until it landed on the car. The ATV stopped before changing direction, heading away from the car.
Friend or enemy? High on the road above, she could still the lights, more than before, lining the road along the cliff. Stephen chose that inopportune to moan. Kat scrambled backward, covering his mouth with her hand, pressing her lips to his ear, praying he could hear her. “You’re okay, Stephen. I’m okay. But you need to stay quiet. Please, please, please be quiet.” She lifted her head, staring straight into her eyes, relief that his were open and locked on hers. The sweetest relief.
“Quiet,” she whispered again. He blinked once, slow and deliberate, and she took that for a yes. There was a gash on his head, but it didn’t look too terrible. Maybe a concussion, but he was alive. And she was going to make damn sure he stayed that way.
Easing back up, she peaked around the corner of the boulder again. Two shadows circled the car, too dark to make out their faces. But neither of them were Xavier, of that she was certain. Because the two shadows were about the same size and there was nobody else she knew who came close to Xavier’s size.
Enemy, then?
Until proven otherwise, that was her working theory, but still, she wasn’t about to shoot. Not only wasn’t she sure, she wasn’t about to give away her location. Help would be here. She believed that with every fiber of her being. She only had to keep them safe for a little while longer.
“They’re gone.”
Shadow One hissed the words. Enemy. She ducked her head as the flashlight swept the tree line. Oh, God. They’d see. They’d see where she’d dragged Stephen through the weeds, leading them directly to where they hid. Sucking in a breath, she rose to a crouch, still taking cover behind the boulder. Stephen tried to grab her, but he wasn’t fast enough. Backing further away, she took a split second to look around, spotting a tree big enough to hide behind. She had Stephen’s gun, could distract the enemies if needed.
“Thrown from the car?” The flashlight was still make a slow circle, getting closer and closer to where Kat had dragged Stephen. She spied another tree, planning her next move that would lead the men to her.
And then a blessing. The roar of an engine, the sliver of headlights as they cut through the trees, winding down the side of the mountain at a crawl. So slow, she’d probably be dead by the time it arrived.
“Get him.”
Who—Kat sucked in a breath, stifling her gasp as a third man was lifted from the back of the ATV, unconscious or dead, she couldn’t tell. Horror filled every cell in her body as he was propped against the front of the ATV, arms and legs bound. One of the men pulled the man’s head back, shining a flashlight on his face.
Ethan.
Brutally beaten. And from the distance that separated them, Kat couldn’t tell if he was breathing.
“Come out, Miss Collins, or your boyfriend here is a dead man.”
Choking back a sob, Kat wondered whether he already was. As soon as the man let go of his hair, Ethan’s head fell forward, his body slumping to the ground. And she had to fight every instinct to rush forward and protect him, to kill the men who’d done that to him. And then a sick, sick thought overcame her as she wondered exactly how long they’d had Ethan. If they’d had him for these past three days, torturing him…
“Ten…nine…”
Jesus, Kat thought. The second shadow raised his gun, the first man shining the light so Kat could see the gun aimed at Ethan’s face.
The ring.
She had a flashback of the party, the ring on the man’s finger. And even though they’d suspected, it was still a shock to see, to know Mark Prescott was involved in the murder.
And the man shining the light?
Well, that had to be Senator John Harrington, didn’t it? His partner in crime. She should have recognized his voice, was surprised she hadn’t. This was going to be a fight to the death, because she’d bet her life both men would die before sitting in a prison cell.
Which meant they had nothing left to lose.
“Eight…”
Going out there was a death sentence, but she couldn’t stand here and watch while they killed Ethan right in front of her. Could she kill them both before they turned the gun on her? Shoot one and run further into the woods and hide until she could shoot the other? Think, think, think!
She drew in a breath and lifted the gun, forcing a calm she didn’t feel. But as she lined up her shot, every extraneous thought was wiped from her mind. She no longer heard the countdown, no longer saw the headlights as they made their way down the mountain. She didn’t see anything but Mark Prescott’s chest as she finally pulled the trigger.
She didn’t miss.
But she ran. Ran in the opposite direction of Stephen as bullets from Harrington’s gun sprayed through the trees, his shots wild. Heart hammering, Kat choked back the bile that threatened to come up. She’d never killed a man before and the repercussion from that would haunt her, she knew. She dropped, scrambling behind another boulder, forcing herself to take in shallow breaths, waiting for the blast to come, but it never did.
“Very good, Miss Collins. I must admit, I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Kat tried to ignore his comments, watching as he dropped Ethan. Without killing him. Why…and that fast it clicked. Harrington was going to use Ethan as the killer before making it look like Ethan killed himself. He’d disappear before the police got there.
The entire accident had been a setup.
Luring her out with Ethan’s truck, plowing into them so they’d go over the mountain. The ATV, already in position.
She looked toward the mountain again, no longer saw headlights.
“You just killed in cold-blood.”
No, she hadn’t. She’d killed to protect Ethan. “You gonna kill me now?” he taunted, following the flattened brush, making his way toward Stephen. Kat rose, slipping through the trees, careful of her movements, the forest floor much too loud to her own ears. As much as she hated the taunts, she welcomed them, allowing her to move easier. She just prayed she’d reach Stephen before he did.
She didn’t.
Fear clawed at her as Harrington pulled Stephen into the clearing, using him as a shield. Stephen was standing on his own and Kat hoped he had the strength to fight. “We’ll try this again. Another countdown? Or maybe this time I shouldn’t take my chances? I’ll just shoot him on the spot?”
“No!” The scream tore from her lungs when the senator raised his gun. She knew it was a trap, knew the move would most likely get her killed, but she couldn’t do nothing. Couldn’t watch Stephen be killed without trying to save him.
“Ah, there you are, Miss Collins,” he said when she came through the trees. “I must admit I find your loyalty to this man somewhat shocking. After all, his family is responsible for the death of your own. And you stood beside him again, even after witnessing his hands on the knife. It wasn’t planned, killing Emma. At least not yet, but when Stephen Chandler walked in…it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
They’d killed Emma.
“Snuck out after Ethan gave his speech.”
Who did? He did? Somehow Kat couldn’t picture the senator getting his hands dirty like that. Mark Prescott, on the other hand…
“But the secrets will die with you.”
They won’t, Kat thought. Too many people knew. She glanced over at Ethan. “You’d kill your own son?”
“Son?” he snorted. “I have no sons. At least none I’m willing to claim. This bastard,” he said, waving his gun toward Ethan before training it back on Kat. “He’s not mine. He was a mistake that should have never happened. Had I known Karen Young got knocked up, the problem would have been taken care of long before she gave birth. Just another unfortunate detail that he hadn’t been with Karen that night.”
“You killed her.” It wasn’t a question. She looked over at Ethan and prayed he was still out cold, wasn’t hearing the sick and twisted words coming out of Harrington’s mouth.
“Me, personally? No. I always thought that was one of the other two, but I never asked. Plausible deniability and all that.”
“Police! Put down your weapon!”
Kat breathed a sigh of relief. Never in her life had she thought she’d be happy to see Lieutenant Allen.
The senator whipped his gun toward Allen but didn’t fire.
“Let him go Harring—”
Stephen thrust his head back, slamming Harrington in the face, the sound of crunching bone ricocheting through the valley as Stephen ran toward her, nearly crushing her with his strength.
“It’s over Harrington,” Allen said. “Nice and slow, put down the weapon. Don’t force me to shoot.”
Allen had to know the senator had nothing left to lose. Harrington kept his gun trained on Allen, slowly stepping toward him. Forcing Allen to shoot even as he taunted her.
“Congratulations, Miss Collins,” Harrington said with a slow mocking smile that sent shivers up her spine, his mask completely falling away. “It appears you’ve won.”
Kat watched as he slowly raised his hands toward the sky before pointing the gun at his own head. “But in all your investigating—”
“Don’t do it, Harrington,” Allen shouted, slowly moving forward. He was ten feet from where she and Stephen stood, directly in front of them, Harrington off to their right. Stephen slid his hand down her arm and she gladly released the gun.
The senator wasn’t paying attention to Allen. His gaze was still locked on Kat. Stephen inched forward, blocking her from Harrington. “You’ve forgotten to verify one thing.”
What had she forgotten? Her mind spun, trying to figure out what she was missing, but it was nearly impossible to focus on anything other than the gun in his hand, the cruel twisted smile on his face. Stephen turned his body, keeping her behind him, making sure she was protected.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Lose the gun, Harrington!” Allen shouted, all of them very aware that at any second the senator could move, killing any one of them. “Final warning.”
“Ask!” Harrington yelled.
She glanced at Allen uncertainly, who she could still see clearly. He gave a curt nod of his head. So she asked, more to buy time than anything else.
“Wh—” she licked her lips, nerves making her voice crack. “What did I forget to verify?”
She couldn’t see his face, but no way did she miss the mocking smile in his voice. “The third man.”
And in a moment of pure horror, she watched as Allen swung his gun toward her and fired. Beside her, Stephen tackled her to the ground, spinning her so fast before a roar of pure rage filled the night, cut short from the cacophony of weapons being discharged. Kat felt the crushing force of another body falling on top of her and Stephen, but she couldn’t see, couldn’t hear over her own screams as all hell broke loose. Stephen clamped his hand over her mouth, stifling her screams, yelling that she was okay, he was okay, until she finally heard him over the ringing in her ears.
So much horror, too much horror to live through in one lifetime.
And then she remembered the second body falling on top of them. Stephen rolled, swearing under his breath. “Help me, Kat!”
Fighting the dizziness in her head, Kat flipped over. “Ethan!” The scream ripped from her throat, painful to even her own ears.
Oh God, not again.
Stephen already had his shirt off, pressing it against Ethan’s chest. Tearing off her own, she shoved it at Stephen. “Where’s he hit?” she asked, panicked. Help was so, so far away. “And, oh God, where’s Allen?”
“He’s down.”
How?
“Chest.”
The word, spoken so quietly, came from Ethan. Kat looked down at him, his eyes slits through the bruising on his face. She couldn’t hold back the tide of tears, couldn’t hold back her choked sobs. “Don’t you dare leave me, Ethan,” she choked out between sobs. “Please, please, please hang on. You’ll be okay. We’ll get help. Don’t leave me.”
“Never,” Ethan whispered but she only heard because she was watching his mouth, saw his lips move. She bent closer and he lifted his arm, reaching for her.
“Stay still, Ethan,” Stephen demanded. “Don’t move.”
“Love…you,” Ethan breathed. “Always. More…anything.”
“No! No, Ethan!” she screamed when his eyes closed. She felt like her own life was being ripped from her body, the pain crushing. “Stay with me. I love you, Ethan,” she whispered on a sob. “I need you.”