by Janie Crouch
“No, man. Frank was this guy.” Jeff pointed to one of the men at the side of the picture Frank had sent him. Shawn.
The friendly one. The one he and Finn had agreed was much more useful and bearable to have around than Frank. The one who had come early to every class, asking relevant, insightful questions, even though he’d sometimes seemed to already know the answers.
He hadn’t been there to learn. He’d been there to infiltrate. Maybe his attacks on the other women hadn’t been more than a hunt, but he’d chosen Annie specifically and deliberately.
And he’d gotten them all out here—out of reach—and Annie was alone.
Zac turned and began running. He could hear Aiden saying something to the men and knew his friend would be right behind him. Finn was bringing paramedics who could help Dorian. They had to get to Anne, or at least out of this cellular dead spot, so he could call someone—Baby, someone from the hospital, hell, the damn milkman—and get them to Annie.
Zac ran faster than he ever had in his life. He could not lose Annie. He’d survived losing everything once, but wouldn’t survive losing her. He ignored the burning in his lungs and muscles and pushed forward. His body would recover. He knew from years of experience how far he could push himself before he couldn’t go any farther.
And if needed, this time, he would go past that point.
He would do whatever he had to, to make it to Annie in time.
* * *
The only thing stronger than her fear of that hot breath on her neck, and that voice from her nightmares, was her medical training. She pushed away from Shawn’s hand at her throat, trying to get to Frank and stop his bleeding. He’d been shot in the chest but could still be saved.
“No.” Shawn yanked her back. “Leave him. His death plays into my bigger overall plan. I’ve already put seeds in place that he’s the one who’s been hunting the women. Police will find even more evidence when they get to his apartment.”
Which meant he had no plans to keep her alive either.
She could hear Duchess barking and the puppies whining behind the room Shawn had locked them in as he dragged her outside, keeping one hand at her throat, his gun pointed at her head. “I wanted us to do this right, but Frank ruined my timetable by showing up here. I wanted us to be in the woods where we could have a full chase. I could be a true hunter, and you a true prey. But we don’t have that kind of time, so we’re going to do a miniature version.”
Fear pressed at her thickly, making his words difficult to understand. Miniature version of what? Why wasn’t he trying to rape her now? Or throwing her down to the ground?
He forced her through the yard toward the warehouse, and she began to understand. He wanted a chase, a hunt, but somewhere she wouldn’t have an opportunity to get away.
No.
She twisted, bringing her elbow back hard against his abdomen, reaching to scratch at his face with her nails. Now he did push her down to the ground, facedown, covering her with his weight, and bringing his gun back up to her temple.
“C’mon now, Anne. I know Zac taught you the most important rule. You can’t ever forget that one.”
Survive.
That was the key point Zac had drilled home, not only with her, but in every class he taught. It was what Linear Tactical was all about; what Zac and his brothers-in-arms had learned in their years as soldiers and now passed to others. To survive.
“So, you either come with me, we do our hunt, and you have a chance, or I kill you right now. Plan B isn’t pleasing for either of us.”
Plan A wasn’t some big party either. But she nodded, trying to gather her wits. He snatched her up by her hair and marched her over to the door of the warehouse, yanking the heavy door open.
“I was blown away by this place when I got the tour.”
“Was it you who did all that wiring damage?”
“Yes. I had to make sure Zac didn’t leave while you were walking to your car.” He ran a finger down her cheek, and she shuddered. “It’s because you were such a good study that I knew you would notice the lights being out in the park. I was watching you and Zac outside the veterinarian’s office, saw him show you the light I’d shot out. He probably gave you the same situational-awareness spiel he gives in all his classes.”
He said it all so calmly, as if he wasn’t a violent rapist. “You’re a damn sicko.”
“Tsk, tsk, Dr. Griffin. I would expect such a highly respected doctor to be a little more clinical in her terms.”
“How about psychopath with homicidal tendencies and a proclivity for sociopathy and delusions?” She threw the words at him with a boldness she didn’t feel.
His smile grew wider. “So basically, a damn sicko.” He pushed her farther inside the building. “I knew you had to be my next hunt. You getting away...that was frustrating, but then perfect. I came here. Got to be close to you and all these soldiers who really know so much.”
She wanted to plug her hands over her ears and yell, so she couldn’t hear his words. All this time he’d been so close, and she’d never known. Should she attack him? He still had the gun. But in some way, she’d prefer that to whatever sick game he had planned.
What would delaying do? She didn’t want Wavy and Ethan walking in on Shawn’s psychotic games. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill them too.
“We need to get started,” he said as if he could read her mind. “We don’t want the game cut short. Now here are the rules. One.” He took a zip tie out and slid it through the two handles of the double door, tying it shut. “The door is closed. Not impossible to open, but it will take a couple minutes, won’t it? So, if you want to get out, you’ll have to go through me.
“Two,” he continued, putting his gun in a waist holster. “I won’t use this. Where’s the fun in that?” He reached down and pulled a nasty-looking knife with an eight-inch blade out of a holster at his calf. “But I will have this. I look forward to using this on you, Annie. To hearing you cry again. Do you remember how scared you were when I pushed you down into the ground, my body over yours? How much stronger I was?”
He was trying to scare her.
It was working.
She was breathing heavily, her feet backing her up of their own accord. “N-n-no.”
“There it is.” He licked his lips. “That’s the look I’ve been waiting for.”
She was giving him exactly what he wanted, but she couldn’t help herself. Couldn’t remember one single thing Zac had taught her.
“Nobody’s going to hear you scream in here, Doc. I made sure to check the plans on this building. Soundproofing was something the town required before giving them permission to build it. To make sure it was insulated and isolated enough that no one would be disturbed by any ruckus.” His voice became deeper. “Ready for some ruckus?”
Chills racked her body even though the temperature was comfortable. Her teeth began to chatter.
He walked behind her, his breath blowing hot on her neck once more. “Come on now, Anne. Don’t make it too easy for me. I’ll give you a two-minute head start. Then the hunt is on.”
She stood staring at him, a roaring in her ears. She couldn’t make herself move; it was taking every ounce of strength she had just to stay upright. That voice. That hot breath. The fear drowning her.
“One minute fifty seconds. Run, Anne.”
Survive.
Make me a warrior, Zac.
You already are one.
Something snapped in her brain, like a rubber band that had been stretched to the very edge of its breaking point, then released. She hissed out loud at the burn in her psyche, but the roaring in her ears stopped, and everything came into focus.
Survive.
She ran.
The fear was behind her, much closer than Shawn and his knife. She had to avoid both, because the fear would drop her just as fast as the knife if she let it.
“No one’s coming to save you this time, Annie,” he said in a singsong voice. “Not someone taking out
the trash, not your precious soldier. He’s not coming to your rescue.”
She didn’t respond, just kept moving. She didn’t need Zac to rescue her. He’d respected her enough to teach her how to do it herself.
Use your strengths and figure out your enemy’s weaknesses.
She wasn’t as strong or fast as Shawn. She didn’t have a weapon or his training.
But she damn well knew where the emergency exit was in this building. She ran for it in the back corner, unwilling to wait and see if he was going to keep his word and give her however many seconds she had left before he started his chase.
She pushed herself, running at the door full force. And was promptly flung back onto the floor when it wouldn’t open at all. She groaned, her barely healed ribs screaming in agony.
“Sorry, Annie, I forgot to mention I blockaded the outside. Good thinking though!”
Was he closer than he’d been before? It was hard to tell over the sound of her breathing.
What should she do? Run? Hide?
Movement is life. Staying where you are almost always means death.
She heard Zac’s voice in her head, his coaching from the past few weeks. She had to keep on the move while she came up with a plan. Shawn would expect her to hide.
She scurried under a wooden deck used by fighters to hide behind while training here. Her natural inclination was to stay there, hidden, but she rolled until she was out the other side, then crawled and scooted around a corner. Not moments later, Shawn’s voice was right where she had been under the deck.
“I sort of expected you to hide, little Annie. Isn’t that in your nature? To stutter, stammer, and make yourself invisible?”
It was in her nature, he was right.
She darted away from the corner, hiding behind another barrier before scurrying to a different one. Where was Shawn? His silence was much more frightening than his monologue.
Think about your strengths, your enemy’s weaknesses.
Damn it, what were her strengths? Somehow, she didn’t think organization and memorization—the two that had helped her most in med school and her years as a doctor—were going to help her now.
She ran and hid behind a car covered in paint from all the battles held here, the same one Zac had used when he and Finn had finished off the Sweetwater County SWAT team a few days ago. She’d watched it all from the control room.
For the first time, the smallest seed of hope bloomed in her chest. That was her strength. She’d studied this place, watching Zac and the guys. She knew it. Knew where the different barriers and hiding places were located. Maybe Shawn did too.
But would he know them in the dark?
Because that was her only strength in this situation, her spatial awareness and ability to memorize. If she could cut the power, she would still be able to find her way around easily if she visualized the facility. Shawn wouldn’t.
She hoped.
She quickly made her way toward the back, zigzagging behind various objects and walls, keeping herself low. She didn’t think Shawn would expect her to move in this direction. It was a dead end. If he caught her here, she’d be trapped.
She reached the electrical closet, opened the door as silently as she could, and quickly found the master power switch. This was it. As soon as she hit this, the facility would go dark, only the faintest glow from the emergency lights in the corners offering any sort of illumination at all. Definitely not enough to see very well.
And once she did it, he would know exactly where she was.
She would have to make a break for the door, but he would be expecting that, and she couldn’t be able to get the zip ties off anyway.
She needed his knife. That meant taking him by surprise.
Becoming the hunter, rather than the prey. She’d been making herself invisible her whole life. Now it was going to serve her well.
Use your strengths.
She flipped off the master power, then ran.
Across the building, close to the door, Shawn muttered a curse. She’d been right, he hadn’t expected her to go for the lights.
Sticking to the shadows, visualizing the layout in her mind, she slipped toward the door. She could hear Shawn stumbling around, fumbling to find his way in the dark.
“I’m not playing with you anymore, bitch. It’s time for you to start screaming.”
She climbed as silently as she could on top of a stack of crates, fighting terror with every step. An emergency light several feet away let her see just enough without casting a shadow that would give her away. She would only get one shot at this. Shawn was still wandering in the dark, looking for her in the low hiding places, exactly where she would’ve been before Zac had taught her. She waited until he was barely past her, took a breath, then jumped.
They both crashed to the floor as she landed on top of him. Immediately she rolled, using her elbow, muscle memory now after hours of practice with Zac, to slam into Shawn’s face. The doctor in her knew exactly what that sickening crunch signified and totally didn’t care.
She swung her leg around hard to connect with his arm, sending the knife sliding across the floor. She scrambled for it, but he grabbed her ankle, yanking her back.
He roared as he grabbed hold of her by her hair and dragged her to her feet. She had no way to avoid the fist that crashed into her face, throwing her to the side. As she came back up she tried to jab at his throat, but he caught her hand with one of his as the other slammed into her abdomen. She doubled over, gasping for breath, as the pain exploded.
He pulled her up again by her hair, and despite the blood from his broken nose streaming down his jaw, he still grinned at her. He liked it. Liked her struggle. Liked what he had planned for her next.
She neither stopped, nor hesitated. She swung her knee as hard as she could straight into his groin, then slammed it down on the top of his foot. He let go of her and fell to the floor. Anne turned and ran, sweeping up the knife from the ground on the way.
Her breath wheezed in and out and she used the deadly blade to cut through the zip tie. She could hear Shawn getting to his feet, knew he still had the gun. Even if she sprinted out the door, she wouldn’t make it to the tree line before he shot her.
But she was damn well going to try. Because she’d discovered her enemy’s biggest weakness: he had underestimated her and how much she wanted to live.
She flung the door open, the bright Wyoming spring sun blinding what she could see from the eye that wasn’t swelling shut. She stumbled forward a few steps, as he roared behind her and shuffled out of the training building. “I always catch what I hunt, you bitch!”
The sound of a single bullet blasted loudly in the sunshine. She waited for pain. None came, so she kept moving forward.
“Next shot isn’t going to hit you in a nonvital organ, asshole. My daddy taught me how to shoot when I was eleven, and I’m a Wyoming girl, so you can bet I haven’t forgotten how.”
Mia?
The blast of a second shot rang out from her other side. Behind her, Shawn cried out.
“The lady said she had no problem shooting you. But I wanted to get in on the fun too.” A man’s voice, also familiar, but she couldn’t see very well out of her swollen eye on that side.
“That’s right,” a third voice yelled at Shawn. “Stay down and keep your hand far away from that weapon. Because you damn well better believe my shotgun will finish the job that Trey and Mia started.”
“Mayor?” Anne turned around, realizing Shawn had well and truly been subdued. Three guns were pointed at him. Mia with some sort of tiny Smith & Wesson, Trey to her left holding his own handgun, and Mayor Dimont had a shotgun hiked to her thin shoulder.
And cars were squealing into the Linear driveway, more townspeople running toward them with weapons ranging from high-powered rifles to baseball bats. Susan Lusher. Riley. Finn’s brother, Baby.
Mia was the one who rushed over to Anne and helped ease her to the ground.
“What?”
she asked the other woman. “I don’t understand. How did you know to come here? Why?” She couldn’t even figure out the words, just held out her arm to the crowd that was growing larger by the minute. “How?”
Mia wrapped an arm around her. “This is what happens when Oak Creek gets word that one of our own is in trouble. We come running.”
By the time Zac arrived, except for the ambulances, Linear looked like it had last summer, when they’d had a Fourth of July party and had invited the whole town, minus the pies. Everybody was there and talking.
The thirty-eight minutes and fifty-two seconds it had taken for Zac to make it to cell phone coverage had been the longest of his life. He’d run faster than he ever had before. Aiden had jumped into the truck next to him as he’d torn off down the path, a sideview mirror and probably half of his truck’s suspension left behind in the wilderness surrounding Mt. Bannon.
Annie’s phone had gone straight to voicemail. Aiden had kept trying while Zac had called the person who’d always had Oak Creek on speed dial, and would know exactly how to get people to where they were needed the quickest.
Mia.
It had taken her about four seconds to realize that something was wrong, and to her credit, she hadn’t taken even a moment to play the woman spurned, something for which Zac would owe her for the rest his life. She had listened and then cut him off midsentence when she understood the gravity of the situation. She’d promised she would get Annie the help she needed.
He’d never dreamed it would be Mia herself.
And evidently the rest of the town.
Five different people had already called to tell him what had happened. How Annie had burst out of the warehouse with a knife, and how Mia had shot Shawn as he’d come after Annie, about to shoot her in the back.
They were fifteen minutes out when Baby had sent a picture of the wounded Shawn, in cuffs, being placed in an ambulance. In his next shot, Annie, Mia, and Riley were sitting on the ground, close together, whispering like old friends. Annie was even leaning into Mia.