by Amber Malloy
“Levi?”
“Just do it!” he demanded.
It didn’t take long for Bud to gain consciousness. The love taps Levi gave him with his fist shouldn’t have knocked him out, but Bud had always been a lightweight growing up.
His old friend blinked a few times to get the blood out of his eyes then chuckled. “I guess this means you’ve figured it out. Doesn’t matter, your bitch of a partner is still going to die.”
“Why you little shit—” Dad hissed.
Levi held up his hand to stop him as he came back into the room with Belle.
“What”—Bud stared at him with a self-satisfied grin—“you’re not going to ask how we did it? Damn, Levi.” He tried to shake his head but the noose wouldn’t let him. “You continue to be a huge disappointment.”
“The writing was always on the wall when were kids,” he muttered, already tired of the back and forth.
“I’m the fire chief, who’s going to believe you?” the idiot bragged.
Levi chuckled. “Who says you’re going to make it that far?”
Bud’s murky brown eyes grew bigger. Apparently, the thought of his own mortality never crossed the degenerate’s mind. “Remember when you guys accused me of having PTSD? Well, guess what?” He got down on his hunches, close but not too close to the crazed psycho. “What’s it been … about five years now, Pops?”
“Give or take a few months.” Dad grunted.
“Who cares?” Bud sneered, obviously upset the focus veered away from him.
“Off-the-reservation bad is what we’re talking,” Levi continued. “I built a bunker in the woods. Some real mountain-men type shit. Also, I did this … Bereit machen.” He commanded Belle in German to get ready. Her tail went down and her ears came up. “I trained my baby to kill.”
“Hold on there!” Bud pulled against the rope around his neck.
“Come on, man, you gotta stop that … I don’t want you choking yourself out before we’re done talking.”
“Then you won’t see that bitch ever again!” he hissed.
Levi waited for him to settle down. It took a while, but Bud finally gave up and went stock still. “The thing is PTSD makes you uber paranoid and robs you of all trust. So with that said, I love all dogs, except yours … Attacke eins!”
Belle leaped across the room in a blue blur and pounced on top of Bud’s dog.
“No,” Bud choked. Belle’s teeth were buried deep into the Labrador retriever’s neck.
“Petal, that’s the dumb dog’s name, right?”
She whined under the weight of Belle’s mouth.
“You use that shitty retriever to hunt girls in the woods.”
A blush of crimson attacked the part of Bud’s face that didn’t already have his blood on it. He waited a beat, but figured the fire chief would never confess. “After you give Petal a sniff of their clothes, the stupid mutt would hunt them down.”
“Holy shit!” Dad said behind him.
“Shana’s anchor charm is around Petal’s collar, along with other souvenirs you’ve acquired over the years.” As the dog continued to whine, Bud’s bravado dissolved into a mess of sobs.
Disgusted that the sick son of a bitch had more feelings for his furry hunting partner than the teenage girls he murdered, Levi fought against the urge to bash his brains in.
“If you tell me where Cayden is, I won’t let Belle rip her throat out…”
The pit’s guttural growl turned downright frightening.
“Now talk.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The fire did nothing to warm her. Cayden tried to move her arms but couldn’t feel anything other than freezing cold. The girl silently cried beside her while Cayden tried to remember how they got there.
“Britney?” Still hazy from whatever he drugged her with, she attempted to focus. “How long was he gone from the time he dropped you off and came back with me?”
“An hour, maybe two.”
“Ballpark it.”
“One hour and forty minutes, I guess.” She sniffed. “Why?”
“I’m going to need you to listen. Thankfully, you have tiny wrists, so you can slip your binds. Work your arms up and down until you loosen the rope enough to slip out.”
“But he’ll see.”
“Don’t move your body, just your wrist.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding a bit more hopeful. “Should I run once they’re undone?”
“No.” Glancing over, she saw that the girl still had her thin jacket on. Nothing that could stand up to the snow. “The temperature is dropping, and it’s too cold. Just loosen my rope then find someplace to hide.”
“Bu-bu-but wouldn’t it make more sense if you came w-with—” She sounded on the verge of breaking down again.
“Trust me.” Cayden didn’t want to scare the girl, but to track her in these unfamiliar woods would be a breeze. “Do you think you can do that for me?”
“They’re already getting looser.”
Cayden heard the crunch of tires across gravel. “He’s coming back. Remember, don’t move your body, just your hands, and only when he’s not looking at you.”
Fear burned in her stomach and trickled down her spine. She managed to space out her breathing before the front door swung open.
“Cayden?” Dale asked, confused. Unsteady on his feet, he lurched forward. Britney screamed before he face-planted on the floor.
The storm from the outside rushed through the room, threatening to put out the fire. “Ah, you’re finally awake,” Greg said, sporting that boyish smile. He carried a Taser in one hand and a gun in the other. “I thought I killed you there for a second.”
****
In the eye of the storm, Levi geared up to drive up to Gleason Pond. Sixty miles away from the resort, the hunting shed sat near the Rockford border. He loaded his shotgun, two automatics, and a hunting knife in the truck.
“Are you going to call Shawn?” Dad asked. He passed him the high beam hunting light to put in his tackle box. The old man must have fooled himself into believing he would be back from this suicide mission.
Levi shook his head. “His brother-in-law called the cops on the barn hands when they went snooping around. Somehow, he’s involved. If he comes by the house, tell him I took Bud into the woods, just pick a direction.”
After Bud gave up their meeting place, he shut down and didn’t offer them anything else. If his dad hadn’t been there, he would have killed the idiot.
Cayden’s visit to the trail helped him figure out what he’d missed. He saw the dumb dog’s collar when they went hunting. Not to mention, Bud got sloppy. The second time he broke into his barn, the video caught the mutt’s shadow. It told Levi everything he needed to know about his childhood friend.
“Don’t you think you should wait…” Dad seemed to search for the words as Levi noted the weather. Snow hit his face at a downward angle—in the eye of the storm, it raged. “For some kind of back up?”
A few guys he served with in the Marines worked for the FBI. Through his contacts, he got the Chicago field office to meet him at Gleason’s Pond. Tying in the Amber Alert seemed to work. They promised to meet him at the fishing cabin first thing.
Hedging on a bet, he pushed the theory of the girl. With an adult, they wouldn’t start the search until after a twenty-four-hour window.
“Do you want me to come?”
Levi whistled for Belle. “No, stay here with Mom.” The blue beast ran to the truck and jumped in the open driver’s side door.
“What should we do with Bud?”
“Leave his stupid ass. If somebody doesn’t pick him up in an hour then blow his brains out.”
Never the sentimental type growing up, his dad hugged him.
“Be careful, son.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The girl’s soft weeping stabbed at the back of her brain. Between the chloroform and crying, she couldn’t focus on anything the freak said.
“Wow, you st
irred up some shit.” Greg dragged Dale to the other side of the room. Smaller by six inches, he struggled with the sheer bulk of her prom date’s body. “Taylor sure does have a hard-on for you,” he huffed.
“Don’t know what you mean.” Her head spun from the drugs, but once she saw his face, everything rushed back. After her fight with Levi, she tried to call Gil. Certain she heard the back door creak open, she went into the kitchen, and Greg attacked her.
She’d tried to fight him off, but he shoved the cloth of chloroform over her face before she could grab the syringe hidden in her boot. With the plunger at her fingertip, she couldn’t reach it.
He must have waited outside until Levi left. “There’s no way I would have figured out you were the infamous crime writer E.G. Leighton, but Taylor did. She had plans to release the information to the press and discredit you. Don’t worry, she’s not involved in this mess, but her pyscho bitch mentality sure did help.”
“Sounds a bit farfetched,” she mumbled.
“Anyone else, I would think it was bullshit. Isn’t it funny how Levi’s crap finally caught up with him?” He chuckled while positioning Dale’s body against the wall. “Growing up, he got away with everything. He was the freaking golden boy… Oh well, this wasn’t planned, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He quickly switched subjects before he took out a gun and placed it in Dale’s hand. Pointing to a place above their heads, he fired off a round in the wall. The girl sobbed harder.
“Kidnapping us does not reassure me of that.”
“If you were looking to lay blame, I’d start with this idiot.” He shoved Dale’s head before he dropped the gun in his lap. “Back in high school, he and his dad where peddling kiddie flesh to all of his rich friends. To look the other way, they offered St. Geneva’s sheriff girls and money. Of course, Shawn’s shitty father took them up on both. If you thought grooming was just for girls, you were wrong. The sheriff would offer us beer and let us shoot off guns.”
A far-off look entered his eyes as he stood up and crossed over to the fireplace. Appearing ominous and slightly deranged, Cayden didn’t interrupt him.
“One of the girls wanted out.” He gestured toward Britney. “Shana was getting help from that teacher. Mr., Mr.…” He tapped his finger against his head. “Donahue,” he blurted out, seemingly pleased with himself that he remembered. “Thinking they were safe, they went to Sheriff Cooper, ratting out the whole sex ring. That immoral ass promised to investigate, but first he went to Dale’s dad and shook him down for more money.
“He roped me, Shawn, and Bud into the whole stupid mess. Honestly, if Levi didn’t leave us that night to go be with you, prom, I think… What?” he said, probably in response to her stunned expression. “You didn’t think we knew? Yeah, if it wasn’t for you…” He shrugged. “Sheriff Cooper hated the Scott family. I really feel that if Levi was around that night we wouldn’t be here right now.” Greg stared wistfully at the fire. “God, you screwed everything up.” When he turned toward her, his green eyes seemed darker as hate contorted his boyish features.
“Sorry, Greg, I don’t think it was me who raped and killed that girl.”
“Shawn’s dad did that shit,” he hissed. “We were forced to get rid of the teacher’s body. None of us knew he was going to do it.”
“What about all the missing girls who came after Shana?”
“Fucking Bud!” He grabbed the side of his head with a scream. “Don’t you get it? We’ve been stuck together ever since Sheriff Cooper offed that girl. There’s nothing we could have done to stop him.”
“If he gets caught, then you all get caught.”
“Exactly.” Every single one of them held city offices in St. Geneva. For years, they were forced to have each other’s backs, whether they wanted to or not.
“What about Dale?”
Greg shook his head. “Rich boy was oblivious. The sniveling snake may have done his father’s dirty work, but…” He stared at Dale’s limp body before he stepped in front of her. “Unlike the rest of us, he didn’t have blood on his hands. Life went on for the jerk. Why couldn’t you just leave well enough alone?”
“Because we found her…”
“Yeah, that sucks. Now imagine watching her being killed,” he said before he crossed the room.
Greg couldn’t be working alone, she figured.
“Oh well.” He opened the door and walked out.
“I’m untied,” Britney squeaked.
Cayden almost forgot about the girl. Her crying seemed to peter out some time ago.
“Loosen me up, then get back in your seat. He won’t be gone long.”
Britney dropped her ropes and jumped up. “Were you talking about Shana Waters?” Using her little hands, she worked fast to loosen Cayden’s ropes.
“Yeah, we went to school together.”
“There was a story about her ghost haunting the woods when I was a kid. What the hell does this even have to do with us?”
“Good question,” Greg said from the door. “I was just getting to that part.”
****
Snow made his trek much harder. The roads weren’t cleared off, but the storm had slowed up. As Levi pulled off onto the back trail, his cell phone rang. Levi hit the talk button on the truck.
“Mr. Scott, this is Agent Thornton. We just arrived at Goosebay Lake Resorts and found one Fire Chief Buddy Longwood beat to a bloody pulp.”
“Did you ask him how he got that way?” Levi asked.
“He’s not exactly in any shape to talk.”
Thick, untouched snow forced him to slow his speed down to a crawl. He would have to abandon his truck to make it up the hill.
“Bud’s always been a clumsy shit. Maybe he fell a few times.”
“Uh huh. I know you served in the military with Agent Juggerson. We worked together and he used to say the same damn thing. Look, this call was supposed to be about an Amber Alert, but I’m going to need some answers before I dispatch my men up there to Gleason Pond.”
With no road left, Levi stopped the truck. Maybe a mile farther. He would have to make it up the hill on his own. At least he wouldn’t have to do it in the dark. The sun slowly moved above the horizon.
“Do you really expect me to confess to an illegal act on a federal phone call?” Levi got out and grabbed his shotgun.
“This is my personal cell, and like I said, I used to work with Juggerson. What the hell am I dealing with here?”
“A thirteen-year-old murder at Chesterfield, four missing girls since then, and an Amber Alert.” He flipped his sniper’s rifle over his shoulder. He had two revolvers in chest holsters and one on his ankle. Not to mention a hunting knife hidden in his vest.
“What do you have to do with all of this?” the agent asked.
“They took my business partner.”
More condescending than humorous, Agent Thornton chuckled. “Yeah, your dad said you’ve been friends with the fire chief since you were kids. No one beats a friend like that over a business partner.” Refusing to get into semantics, Levi grabbed his camo baseball cap and moved out of the way for Belle to get out of the truck. “Does this partner have a name?”
“Yeah, Cayden Young.”
“Holy… Dammit. Crap! Shit!” As the agent must have realized his whole career would circle the toilet if he didn’t hurry the hell up and send his agents to save her, Levi waited. “Okay, I’ll text you once my men are near. Just do me a favor and put down your guns. I don’t want a shootout at the O.K. Corral.”
“Will do,” he said before he disconnected the phone. At least a foot of the soft stuff covered the path. It had been a while since he made the trip to the fishing cabin.
Snapping his fingers for Belle to follow, he headed up the snow-covered road.
Chapter Forty
Everything after Greg entered the room became a blur. Faster than she could imagine, he leaped across the room and tackled the girl. With her binds loosened just enough, Cayden fought to free herself.
As Britney ducked behind her chair, Greg reached around and slapped her.
“I was going to save you for Bud, but I don’t have time for this shit.”
Once Cayden finally got enough slack to move her arm, he began choking the girl. Shrugging out of the ropes, she went for the needle in her boot.
“After today, this is over,” Greg hissed.
None of her limbs wanted to cooperate. Cayden pulled off the needle cap with her mouth and stumbled over the fallen chair. Determined to stick him with the syringe, she shoved the chair out of her way.
Britney clawed at Greg’s hands that clutched her throat. As the girl’s face turned beet-red, Cayden jumped on his back. He stopped fooling with Britney long enough to throw her off. She scooted across the wood floor away from him. Hard tingles of blood began to rush back to her arms. Cayden didn’t have enough feeling back to fight.
“For the life of me, I don’t know why you chose Levi.” The smell of smoke burned her nose. “Once we became adults, I thought you would see through that charming crap. Oh well! We’re killing him when he comes to save you, then pinning the whole thing on Dale.”
“Tell me, Greg, what did you want … me or my money?” She chuckled. Men thought they wanted her, but money had always been the best perfume she could wear into any room.
“At least I would have been an asset. Now you’re fucked.” She heard the hard crack of wood against his skull. As she twisted out of the way, Greg’s eyes rolled into his head. When he fell, she held the needle upright to make sure it got him square in the chest.
“Is he dead?” Britney stood above them with the leg of the chair in her hand.
“No. Help me.” While the cabin filled up with smoke, dead weight pinned her arm to the wood floor. The girl dropped the wood and tried to push Greg off. “Grab my free arm.”
Britney came around to the other side and yanked. Using his body for leverage, Cayden kicked him off with her foot.
After she caught her breath, she pushed him on to his back. The needle full of oil stuck out of his chest. Ignoring it, she went through his pockets for his keys.