Chase let out a growl, a deep, chilling sound filled with rage and frustration and something else that Lanie couldn’t quite define, but something that had her blood running cold. She had no time at all to react before Chase was shoving his free hand between them and tearing at the button of her jeans. With alarming precision and speed the button and zipper were undone and his hand was shoved past the waist band and then…he was groping at her in a way that brought a flood of sickness crashing in on her.
Lanie opened her mouth to scream, but Chase stifled her attempt by crushing his mouth to hers and forcing his tongue into her mouth. She could taste the blood that she’d drawn from him.
A piece of Lanie’s mind simply could not believe this was happening to her. This was Chase Wylie! This was the boy she’d grown up, the boy that all the other girls chased after, the boy who had been over to her house a hundred times! This was the boy she had thought was charming only a minute before!
What had happened to Chase Wylie in the past few moments to turn him into this…monster?
Chase suddenly pulled his mouth away from hers and Lanie reacted, jerking her head up off the ground and smashing it against his face. Another growl flew out of Chase and for a split second his vice-like grip on Lanie’s wrists loosened. Instantly, she jerked her right hand free and using every ounce of her strength she slammed the heel of her palm straight into the center of his nose, feeling the bone give way.
An anguished howl erupted from Chase and his weight rolled off her. Without wasting a second, Lanie’s body jerked into action and she was scrambling to her feet and bolting forward away from Chase just as fast as she could go. But, she only made it a few feet before strong hands bit into her shoulders. A shriek tore out of her as she was pulled backward, lifted up into the air, and then rammed against the side of the building hard enough to cause her vision to go black and pain to radiate through her entire body.
“Bitch! You shouldn’t have—“ Chase’s words were cut off by a sudden gasp and his hands digging into her shoulders were just suddenly…gone.
A loud, dull thud sounded out, echoing through Lanie’s skull and she fought for a few seconds to clear the darkness from her eyes. When the shadows were blinked away and she could focus her gaze, she found herself looking at Chase Wylie, being held high up off the ground by…Kyle Vincent, who had a hand wrapped around the boy’s throat.
“What did you do to her!” Kyle snarled right in Chase’s face, giving him a shake that caused him arms and legs to flail wildly. Chase didn’t answer, which seemed to enrage Kyle, who gave him another hard shake, sending the boy’s head snapping backward. “I said what did you do to her!” Again, Chase didn’t answer and in a quick move that Lanie almost missed, Kyle was slamming him against the building with such force that Lanie heard his skull crack against the brick.
Fear shot outward through Lanie’s limbs and she sucked in a breath so that she could shout out at Kyle to stop before he hurt Chase, but then she paused, the words dying on her lips. On second thought, maybe Chase Wylie needed a little bit of hurting.
Letting out an angry roar, Kyle smashed Chase into the brick wall again and then tossed him aside like a weightless bag of garbage, sending him skidding along the ground for several feet. That done, Kyle turned and was standing in front of Lanie, his face a mask of guilt.
“Lanie, are you alright? Did he…did he…hurt you?” he asked hoarsely.
Before Lanie could answer, Kyle whipped around and gave her a quick second to see Chase flying at him, his bloodied face twisted in rage and his fists drawn back, ready to fight. Lanie watched Kyle simply swat the boy aside as if he was nothing more than an annoying insect, sending him flying through the air and crashing to the ground with a loud thunk.
“What’s happening over here!” a loud voice sounded out a split second later and Lanie spun around to see Finn and a couple of his teammates, Bryan Watts and Spencer Frank, standing at the corner of the building.
Finn and the others took a second to assess the scene before them, their eyes darting from their felled teammate, to Kyle Vincent, who was a complete stranger to them, and then over to Lanie. Without a word spoken between them, the three of them charged Kyle, fairly shoving Lanie aside to get to him.
In opened mouth horror Lanie watched as the three hulking boys descended upon Kyle like raging bulls. She knew—she hoped—that Kyle could defend himself against all three charging football players, but if he did people would…know about him! It would be so obvious that he wasn’t normal and how would she explain! How would she keep her dad from hearing about him!
Kyle didn’t seem to be thinking along those lines as he easily dodged two of the boys, snatched the third, Finn, up by the shirt collar and flung him aside as if he weighed little to nothing. Confused, the two football players spun around and charged Kyle again, one getting in a hard left hook that snapped Kyle’s head sideways. From out of nowhere, Chase came barreling in from the side and tackled Kyle, picking him up off the ground and carrying him forward until he was smashed into the side of the shack with a tremendous and sickening thud!
Almost instantaneously, there was a small horde of people swarming Kyle, fists flying and knuckles cracking and Lanie stood, frozen in shock, waiting for the moment when Kyle threw the boys off him and then snapped their necks one at a time. Seconds, horrible seconds during which those fists continued to assault Kyle, dragged by and still Kyle did nothing to get the boys off him.
“Stop! Finn, stop it!” Lanie heard herself shouting as she suddenly surged forward toward the writhing mass of bodies. She flung herself at them, ready to fight tooth and nail to pull Kyle free, but at that same instant Kyle swept the bodies aside, sending them all three flying off in different directions. Kyle was standing in front of her before the bodies even thumped to the ground, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side.
“This ends now!” Kyle roared, his voice rumbling through the darkness. “The first one to take a step toward Lanie is the first one who dies!”
Lanie gasped at Kyle’s words. Oh God! How would she explain this! Everyone would know!
Finn, picking himself up off the ground and squaring his shoulders for another round, pinned Lanie with an angry glare. “Lanie, what the hell is going on! Who is this guy and what the hell is he on!” he growled.
Lanie, feeling addled, tried to force her thoughts into line, but Finn made a move to charge forward. “Finn, stop!” she yelled at the boy, fully prepared to throw herself in between him and Kyle. “Kyle was helping me!”
Finn halted, his eyes narrowing. “Helping you what! Kick Chase’s ass!”
“Chase was hurting me, Finn!” she shot at him, her voice breaking.
“What? What do you mean?” Finn demanded, his gaze going to Chase, who was picking himself up off the ground. “What does she mean, Chase?”
Chase looked at Finn, his blood still oozing down his face, his expression twisting with anger. “She was overreacting! And this guy came out of nowhere—“
“He wouldn’t get off me, Finn!” Lanie said hoarsely. “And I’m the one who did that to him! Not Kyle!”
Yes. She had broken his nose, probably a couple of times, and she would do it again given the chance! That thought had her bring her hand up to her face, trying to wipe away any of Chase’s blood that might be there.
Finn’s gaze swept back to Lanie, studying her through the dim light. Lanie could see his handsome face going taut as he looked her up and down, taking in her jeans that were gaping open. Even through the darkness, she could see the fire flashing in Finn’s eyes. Lanie, feeling humiliation wash over her, quickly buttoned and zipped them, trying not to remember what Chase’s harsh hand had been doing to her just a few moments before.
“Dude, seriously!” Finn growled out, turning his flaming eyes back to Chase Wylie.
Chase stiffened as the other two members of the football team dusted themselves off and came to stand by Finn. There was a moment of
silence during which the only sound to be heard was the low hum of the generator.
“I’ve heard things about you, but I didn’t want to believe it,” Finn said, his voice drawn as a tight as a bow string. “None of us did.”
“Finn, it’s nothing!” Chase snarled, annoyed now. “She changed her mind and freaked out! You know how they are!”
Finn ignored the boy’s words. “Why did you do this to Lanie! Lanie isn’t just some girl!”
Lanie felt a surge of tears stinging the backs of her eyelids. At least Finn understood the meaning of loyalty.
“Are you stupid, Chase!” Bryan Watts asked, sounding disgusted. “She’s Sheriff Bancroft’s daughter!”
“So!” Chase spat. “I don’t care! This is nothing! She overreac—“
Finn’s fist smashed into Chase’s face, cutting off his words and sending an arc of blood spraying outward through the dim light. Chase went stumbling sideways into the building and Finn turned back to Lanie. “Lanie, did he…what did he do?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Kyle stopped him,” she answered.
Finn let out a hard breath and turned back around to face Chase Wylie. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lanie.”
Without another word, Finn and the other two boys all grabbed Chase up by the arms and bodily hauled him away from the building and off into the shadows of the woods, with Chase kicking and swearing the entire way. Once they were lost in the darkness, the night was filled with the sounds of Chase Wylie’s teammates doling out a little justice.
Horrified, Lanie turned to Kyle. “I want to go home.” she said to him, sickness overwhelming her. ”But…I-I drove here with…Chase.”
“I’ll take you back,” Kyle said and scooped her up into his arms. “You’ll be home in a minute.” Kyle settled her more comfortably against his chest and Lanie let her arms slide around his neck. “Close your eyes and remember to breathe.”
With a suddenness that was mind boggling, Kyle bolted forward, whisking Lanie away from the terrible sounds of Chase Wylie answering for his wrongdoings.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lanie was being raced through the night so fast that it was unbelievable. Kyle’s feet were pounding the ground and the icy wind was screeching by, pushing at her, roaring in hear ears and biting at her flesh through her clothes so that she felt numb within a matter of seconds. The bite and push of the wind drove her to turn her face into Kyle’s neck just so she could breathe, which was difficult when it felt like her body was being compressed by the sheer force of their forward momentum.
Her house was a good fifteen minutes away from the Drive-In, and after just a few moments of suffering through the freezing wind clawing at her and the force compressing her lungs, she thought she was going to have to ask Kyle to stop. She’d rather walk the entire way than endure the frigid, crushing air overwhelming her.
Without warning, Kyle screeched to a halt with such abruptness that Lanie’s organs all sloshed against her ribcage, making her stomach lurch in protest and eliciting a groan from her. Opening her eyes, Lanie realized that she was standing on the front porch of her house, beneath the porch light, looking out at her dad’s cruiser parked in the driveway and the fancily dressed scarecrow still standing guard by the steps.
“Are you alright, Lanie? Was that too much for you?” Kyle asked her, setting her onto her feet, his handsome face lined with worry.
Lanie pulled in a breath, noticing the little pool of blood at the edge of his mouth. “Did they hurt you?” she asked him, her words sounding slightly thick because her insides were still moving around.
“No. I was trying not to hurt them,” he told her. “Can you forgive me, Lanie? I had no idea that would happen to you or I wouldn’t have left you there, not even for a second.”
So, those eyes on her had been Kyle’s. He was staying close by, just like he promised. “This wasn’t your fault. It was Chase’s. He…I-I had no idea he was-was…” Capable of behaving like a depraved animal.
Kyle’s expression went hard and his sparkling green eyes went dark. “It is my fault,” he repeated with feeling. “I thought you’d be safe with your friends, so I went off to make sure Frederik wasn’t around. But, I never should have left you.”
Lanie started to speak, but Kyle shot a look at the door, spun on his heel, and with a flare of his leather coat, was gone. A few seconds later the front door opened and her dad stepped out, his brows shooting up as he found her there.
“Lanie? I-I thought you were with your friends,” he said, looking taken aback.
“I-I…I was,” she said weakly, trying to gather herself together enough to focus her thoughts.
Daddy, Chase Wylie attacked me! she wanted to scream out the words, but they stuck in her throat when she noticed the set of her dad’s jaw and the hard expression on his face.
Something was wrong.
“Daddy? What is it?” she croaked out, her stomach tightening into a painful knot.
Sam Bancroft let out a sharp breath. “I’ve called Gretchen to come over and help you pack a bag,” he said.
“Wh-why?” she asked hesitantly, afraid to hear the answer.
“I just got a call. Someone else was found,” Sam stated in his official voice.
Lanie felt her heart drop. “Wh-where?” she whispered.
“At the park near Stoney’s Bar. One of the passersby going for a drink saw them lying there next to the road,” came the answer.
Oh no. He’d killed again. And he’d left the body in the park she’d been in only the day before. Was that some sort of message?
There suddenly wasn’t a single fiber of her entire being that didn’t ache to tell her father the truth about what was happening and who was doing the killing. But, she clenched her teeth and said nothing. She would not tell him. She would not risk him getting in Frederik’s way and then winding up in the cemetery next to her mother. She couldn’t!
“You’re going to stay with Gretchen for a bit. I can’t do my job if I’m worried about you,” Sam told her.
“Okay,” she breathed nervously. “How long do I have to stay?”
“This is the third person, Lanie. This classifies him as a serial killer. You’re going to stay where you’ll be safe, no matter how long it takes for me to find this monster.”
Yes. It was a monster who was killing the residents of Fells Pointe. A monster that could kill Sam Bancroft without any effort at all.
“What’s going to happen now? Everyone’s already afraid,” she wondered as her dad took her by the shoulders and ushered her into the light and warmth of the house.
What Chase Wylie had tried to do to her would have to wait for a bit. Her dad had other business to see to.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I doubt it will be anything good. But, I don’t want you to worry about it. We’ll get through this,” Sam assured her. “Now, I have to go, so stay inside until Gretchen gets here and I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
Lanie nodded, feeling the urge to cry. “You’ll be careful, right?”
“I will,” he answered, but then paused for a minute. “Lanie, if you knew anything, if you saw something in the park that night that would help with this mess, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”
Lanie was swept with something so strong it almost caused her knees to buckle. She could tell him. She could open her mouth and tell him what she knew and…and what? Sam Bancroft and his two deputies would not be able to stop what was happening. Gretchen was right. She just wasn’t willing to risk it. Who would she be risking him for, really? People like Chase Wylie?
“I don’t know who it was,” she said, the lie slipping off her tongue with more ease than she thought it would.
Sam let out a breath. “Alright. Just wait for you aunt and I’ll call you later. Love you, squirt.”
“Love you, Dad,” she answered unevenly.
With that, Sam was gone, leaving Lanie standing alone in the foyer, staring at the closed door, her heart hammering hard
and her ragged breathing sounding like shotgun blasts in the silence.
Another person was dead. Frederik had killed another innocent person. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.
A sudden knock at the door exploded through the house and Lanie’s heart leaped into her throat, forcing a shriek out of her.
“Lanie? It’s me!” the familiar voice called to her.
With a surge of relief, Lanie rushed forward and opened the door, throwing herself into Kyle’s arms with a sob. “Kyle, he’s killed someone else!”
Kyle said nothing for a long minute, he just held his arms tight around Lanie and rested his chin on her hair. “I’m sorry. Maybe if I hadn’t decided to follow you I might have been able to stop him,” he finally said, his tone thick with remorse.
“You wouldn’t have,” Lanie told him. He hadn’t been able to stop Frederik so far, had he?
“But, I might have,” Kyle told her stiffly. “I-I just didn’t want to leave you. And now he’s taken another person.”
“Kyle, don’t,” Lanie beseeched. “This can’t be all on your shoulders. You’d stop him if you could, but he’s too…too…”
“Evil,” Kyle finished for her. “He’s pure evil. Sometimes, I don’t think anything will ever stop him.”
Lanie couldn’t speak on that. Maybe nothing ever would stop him. Maybe he was a way for the Universe to thin the herd a little. Who knew. But, Kyle Vincent didn’t need to carry the weight of all Frederik’s victim’s on his shoulders. He wasn’t the one doing the killing.
“He’s been stalking you, Lanie,” Kyle said to her, tightening his hold on her and moving them both back inside the house, using his foot to shut the door behind them.
“What?” Lanie asked, her nerve endings tingling with fear as she looked up into Kyle’s concerned face.
“I can get his scent, it’s always where you are, but I can’t ever find him. But, he has been stalking you. And I-I don’t know what I’ll do if he takes you,” Kyle said, shaking his head in a gesture of helplessness.
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