“Should I know something?” Travis asked. He knew his buddy was taking the separation hard, but kidnapping his son was a whole other thing.
“No, just saying that if I wanted to take Nate and get away with it, that’s what I’d do.” Ethan shrugged.
“Talked to him?”
“Yeah, while we were waiting for the truck at the airport Molly let me talk to him a bit.”
“Good.” Travis nodded. “So, if we were Daniel, a wanted man with his mug all over the news, chances are he’d need to do the same thing.”
“Didn’t you say you think he’s been up here before?”
“Yeah, it would make sense. He got out of Dodge fast on a direct route to his hiding grounds.”
“Okay, so he’s probably thinking he’ll winter up here. He’s in an RV, so he either needs to plug up someplace or have a generator. He’ll need to be in proximity to supplies.”
“He’s not the hunting type. He might string people up and kill them, but he’s not a hunter. He’ll need to be near a store, but not anything too big. He’s got the ATV so he doesn’t have to move the RV so long as the weather is good.”
Travis glanced in his rearview mirror. A cop car pulled off the two-lane highway behind them, easing closer.
“Company,” he said.
Ethan leaned back and frogged Mason in the thigh. The kid shouted and grabbed his leg, growling at Ethan.
“Fuck. What?” Mason snapped.
“Cops,” Travis said.
“What did you do now, Ration?” Mason turned in his seat, rubbing his thigh. “Where are we again?”
“Emerald Bay, off Lake Tahoe,” Travis replied. He watched the cop stroll up the passenger’s side in the mirrors.
“What’s he doing?” Mason asked.
“Don’t know.” Travis pushed the button and lowered Ethan’s window.
The officer stopped and pulled his sunglasses off, squinting in the afternoon light.
“Afternoon, officer,” Ethan said.
Travis nodded.
“You boys okay?” The officer had to be around his mid-to-late thirties, not all that much older than Travis or Ethan.
“Yeah, just taking in the sights.” Ethan gestured at the impressive view beyond them.
“You guys here on holiday, or on your way somewhere?” The officer was looking for something. What, Travis didn’t know.
“We’re looking for someone.” Travis slipped the photograph of Bliss out of his pocket and a photocopied image of Daniel Campbell’s license. “This is Bliss and Daniel Campbell. You might have seen something about him on the news in the last twelve hours or so.”
The officer took Daniel’s picture and whistled.
“I’m Travis, this is Ethan and Mason. We work for a private security company and have been working with the FBI on this case.”
“Wish it was nice to meet you boys like this. I’m Sergeant Matt Farrow. Heard about this guy. You think he’s here?” He handed the pictures back to Ethan, who passed them to Travis. “Got some ID on you?”
“Yes, sir.” Ethan collected Mason’s driver’s license and passed them to Travis. “We tracked Daniel close to the state line. Made a guess he might be in the area.”
“Anyone fitting his description roll into town in a late model Winnebago?” Travis asked. Chances were the officer didn’t know anything, but he had to hope.
“Sorry, haven’t seen many RVs lately.” Matt leaned against the door of the SUV.
It was the answer he expected, but it was still disappointing to hear.
“Two local guys did go missing this morning, though. That’s why I stopped to see what you were up to,” Matt said.
“Two guys?” Travis perked up. “How do you know they went missing?”
“Friends of friends. Couple of cousins. Their truck was found on the side of the road, and no one knows where they are.”
“Where’d that happen?” Travis pulled out his phone. “Can you show me on here?”
“You think this is related?” Matt took the phone and tapped around on the screen.
“This guy’s killed at least forty people that we know of. Probably more. He doesn’t have much of a cooling-off period.” Travis wasn’t willing to lump the disappearances up in Bliss’ kidnapping yet, but it was worth looking into.
“Their truck was found here.” Matt turned the screen back to them.
“That’s not that far,” Ethan muttered.
“What’s this?” Travis pointed to an odd dot on the screen.
“That’s the Bayview Trailhead,” Matt replied.
“Are there ATV trails?” Travis’ stomach knotted.
“Yeah, some go all the way out to Cascade Lake.”
Holy shit.
Of course.
Lake Tahoe was a major pull. But the smaller lake off to the south end? Miles of forest and seclusion?
It was perfect.
Somewhere out there, Bliss was waiting for him.
“Officer, I need you to call this number. Tell the FBI agent who answers everything you’ve told me.” Travis scribbled Ryan Brooks’ cell phone down on a bit of paper. He didn’t have time to call it all in.
“I can’t let you boys go out there if this guy is that dangerous.” Matt took the paper and frowned.
The hell he could. Travis wasn’t asking for permission.
“Travis?” Ethan held up his hand and looked at Matt. “I get it, you’re the local law enforcement, and we’re a truck full of guys you don’t know from Adam. It’s Christmas Eve. I’m guessing you’ve got a family. We’re about to go track this guy down. Do you really want to go with us? Or would you rather spend a bit calling around, checking us out, and give us a head start on this trouble?”
Matt frowned, clearly waging a war of rules and regulations in his head. Travis shifted in his seat, ready to just gas it and be gone.
“Fine.” Matt snapped cell phone pictures of their licenses and handed them back, with the addition of a business card. “Here’s my info. You run into anything or if you find those boys, let me know.”
Travis nodded and shifted into drive before the state trooper could change his mind. Poor guy did not want to get mired in a manhunt on Christmas Eve.
The signs for the Bayview Trailhead weren’t even a mile later.
Hold on, Bliss. We’re coming for you.
5.
Bliss squeezed her eyes shut.
Daniel grunted, and a wet, sloppy pop resounded through the RV.
“Oh, God,” the man chained up on the floor next to her muttered.
Don’t look. Don’t look.
“There,” Daniel said in triumph.
He grunted again, and something hit the floor next to her. Warm liquid splashed her hands.
Bile coated the back of her throat and her head pounded.
“You monster, freak,” the hillbilly spat. He rattled the short chain that bound him to the bench. At some point the duct tape around his boots had come undone.
“Monster?” Daniel parroted back.
“Be quiet,” Bliss whispered. As long as Daniel was preoccupied with the dead guy, he wouldn’t bother them. It was too late for him, but she and the other man could still survive this. Couldn’t they? She had to wonder if it was worth surviving. If this was going to be her life, did she want to live it?
“Freak?” Daniel’s footsteps rounded the end of the table.
He was just a few feet away.
“That’s my cousin,” her fellow captive said. Anguish twisted his voice, and she could see his horror-stricken face in her mind’s eye.
Bliss pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, making herself as small as possible.
This couldn’t be happening.
There was no way this could be real.
“You know what the definition of a monster is? A monster is an imaginary creature.” Daniel’s steps came closer. “I assure you, I’m very much real.”
The man grunted and Daniel
yelled.
Bliss’ eyes snapped open. The new captive had a knife buried in Daniel’s thigh, hilt deep. Where had that come from? She stared at his leg and the blood darkening his jeans. Daniel had one hand buried in the captive’s hair and the other grasped at the knife.
Bad could always get worse.
She scrambled back, crab-walking on her hands and feet. Her hand slipped in a puddle and she went down hard, knocking her head against the metal floor. She rolled to her side and face-planted in flannel.
The other man’s arm.
His dismembered arm.
The scream stuck in her throat, but she shoved up into a sitting position. The captive shot to his feet, grappling with Daniel. The knife was in Daniel’s hand and he held it up, poised to stab.
She froze, torn between self-preservation and the desire to fight back. Could they overpower him? She’d never before waffled on a decision. This was a whole new state of mind, and she didn’t like it.
Daniel cracked the other man in the head with the butt of the knife, sending the smaller man to his knees, but not down for the count. The captive lunged forward, taking Daniel’s legs out from under him. The knife clattered to the floor as the two men grappled with each other.
This was her chance.
It was time to be brave.
The choice was easy.
She shoved forward onto her hand and knees, reaching for the hilt of the blade.
Daniel took a step and kicked it out of her reach, sending it skidding across the width of the RV.
She stared up into his face, twisted in rage.
The other man had maybe two or three feet of chain. Bliss’ was closer to a dozen or more. She grabbed her leash and pushed to her feet, gripping the bloody table for balance.
“No you don’t,” Daniel yelled.
He yanked her back by her shirt. Seams ripped, but held. She sat down hard once more. The hillbilly held onto Daniel, but the fight was gone from him. Determination was the only thing keeping him going.
“I’ll teach you a lesson,” Daniel growled, sounding less human by the second.
Daniel unlocked the man’s chain and hauled both of them out of the RV. Bliss’ feet slipped and she stumbled over her own tether. Before long, the only thing keeping her upright was Daniel’s hold on her shirt.
He shoved both her and the man face down in the snow. The icy top layer broke, cutting into her hands and face. The blood from her clothes stained it pink.
“You want to attack me?” Daniel roared.
The other man was already on his feet. Free of his chains, the only thing keeping him bound were the handcuffs. She struggled to get up, but she had nothing left. Between the drugs, the elements, and nothing to eat or drink, she was done for.
“Kill me then, go on,” the man yelled.
Daniel hauled back with the knife and swung, slashing the other man’s arm and chest. He yelled and Bliss screamed, bringing her arms up to protect herself.
A SCREAM RENT THE AIR.
Travis stilled. He didn’t even have to hold up his hand, everyone froze.
The sound reverberated on the rocks, through the trees. It was almost impossible to tell where it came from, but he knew.
That was Bliss.
She was alive.
For now.
“That way,” Mason said.
“Wait, we don’t know—”
“I do.” Mason jabbed his finger to the south and east. Toward Cascade Lake. “I grew up tracking in the mountains. That way.”
Another scream, this time shorter, spurred them on.
Mason took point, loping easily over the snow, kicking up a spray of white powder in his wake. Travis and Ethan flanked the kid to either side, keeping six to ten feet apart. The terrain was tricky, and the snow disguised roots and rocks that tried to trip them up.
Adrenaline pushed Travis onward. His hands were near frozen, so he gripped his gun and the handle of his knife tighter.
“Oh my God,” Bliss yelled.
A man shouted incoherent words.
Mason veered to their left, slowing his pace.
Urgency demanded Travis surge forward, but he kept one eye on the kid and the other on the trees ahead of them. If he acted on his feelings, he would get Bliss killed.
They broke through a stand of evergreens into a scene out of a horror movie.
“Daniel Campbell, freeze,” Travis roared.
His vision hazed red.
Bliss crouched on her knees, hands up. There was no way to tell if the blood on her clothes was hers or the other man’s. Daniel had one of the missing men by the scruff and held a knife to his throat. More liquid shined off the butcher apron wrapped around his girth. The poor guy in his grip was soaked and gasping for air.
“Oh my God, Travis? Is that really you?” She blinked several times, as if she wasn’t sure she believed he was there.
“Bliss? Stay calm.” Travis couldn’t look at her. If he did, he would rip Daniel Campbell limb from limb for what he’d done to her. There were other victims, other innocents, but this was Bliss. The one bright spot he could remember, and now the same darkness that poisoned him had touched her. It was a crime punishable by death alone.
“Put the knife down, buddy,” Ethan side-stepped toward the front of the RV while Mason went toward the rear.
Daniel’s gaze narrowed. He pivoted, putting his back to the RV and used the hunter as a shield.
“He said put the knife down,” Mason repeated Ethan’s words.
“I don’t think so.” Daniel kept the knife at the man’s throat and reached behind him, drawing a six shooter he aimed at Bliss. “If you don’t want me to shoot you now, stand up.”
“Don’t do it,” Travis blurted.
Bliss glanced from him to Daniel and back.
“Do it,” Daniel adjusted his aim to Travis, “or I shoot him.”
“Okay,” she stood on shaky legs.
“Bliss, no,” Travis said.
“Easy,” Ethan whispered.
“Don’t hurt anyone.” Bliss clutched a length of chain that attached to her wrists.
Daniel reached out and snatched the chain, yanking her close so fast Travis didn’t dare squeeze off a shot.
“There we go, this is better.” Daniel hugged Bliss to him, the gun pressed up under her jaw.
There was no way this was going to end well.
Variants, statistics, and past experience rattled around in Travis’ brain. He’d been here a number of times with different jobs. Hostage situations at gunpoint were bad. Unless they could turn the tables somehow. But how?
What had Bliss told him about the house?
What was the one thing missing in the fire?
“You aren’t getting out of here, Daniel. Think about your kids,” Travis said. The jars Bliss had reported were missing in the devastation. What were the chances Daniel had taken them?
“They are my flesh and bone. I can create more,” Daniel said without skipping a beat. “You want to know how this will end?”
“You dead?” Travis knew he should shut up, but that man had Bliss. He couldn’t line up his shot without seeing her pale face. Her lips were almost blue and there were leaves stuck in her hair.
“I’m going to kill this man and your two friends. Then I think I will skin you alive and make her watch. She and I will leave here. No one will find your bodies, and when I’m ready to put down roots again, she will bear me new subjects to experiment on. I’ll take something from her first so she doesn’t get any ideas about running away, but I’ll leave the important organs untouched.” Daniel stroked Bliss’ hair.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
She didn’t think they were going to rescue her.
He tightened his grip.
He’d show her.
One way or another, Daniel was going down. He only had six bullets, and it took a lot more than that to knock Travis off his feet. He had the scars to prove it.
“There’s a problem with
your plan,” Ethan said.
“Yeah, we already told the FBI where we were. Local cops are on their way,” Mason said.
The two really did work well as a team, while all Travis could think about was how much he wanted to kiss Bliss again. Hold her.
He willed her to keep looking at him, to focus everything his way. When things went down, he hoped she didn’t see any of it.
Daniel glanced around, his gaze straying to the trees.
He hadn’t counted on backup.
“Nervous?” Ethan asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Daniel said. “I have a plan.”
Daniel squeezed the trigger and fired.
Everything happened at once.
Bliss screamed and dropped to the ground, hands over her head.
Ethan grunted and went to his knees.
Daniel’s eyes bulged the second he realized he was exposed. He drew the knife blade across the other man’s throat and ducked around the front of the RV Ethan was supposed to be covering.
Travis dove for the other hostage. The hunter lay crumpled on the snow, hands clutching his throat. Travis hit his knees, shoving the man’s hands aside to replace them with his own. Blood leaked out from between his fingers, but it was sluggish. The man’s wide eyes darted around and his mouth opened, gasping for air.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Ethan yelled. “Go after him.”
Mason sprinted around the RV, but they all heard the ATV engine in the distance. There was no way they’d catch him on foot.
Daniel Campbell was gone.
6.
Bliss perched on the hospital bed, her hands gripping the thin blanket they’d given her. Her feet and fingers were still cold. No matter what anyone did, she couldn’t seem to get warm.
The nurse said she was still in shock, or something like that.
At least the nurse had stopped talking to her and was going straight to Travis now.
Travis.
He’d rescued her.
They hadn’t said more than a dozen words to each other, but he hadn’t left her side. Not for a single instant.
“Bliss?” Travis’ hand rested on her shoulder, shaking her out of her deep well of thoughts.
“Hm?” She blinked at him. She’d missed something important, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall what had been said.
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