by Cynthia Eden
Another step brought her even closer to the SUV.
“But Tucker fucking Frost was standing there judging me. Saying I was off with my response. Like he can talk! The whole world knows what a screwup his brother was. But the guy...he started asking about my family. Saying I’d just stood there, waiting to watch Peter Carter kill himself, the same way I stood there and watched my family die.”
“He was wrong,” Macey said, forcing those words past lips that felt numb. It was cold out there, and she was still bleeding from so many cuts. Her body ached. Her temple throbbed. Nausea rolled in her stomach and she knew that she was staring at another monster.
“Yes.” Jonah seemed pleased. “He was wrong. He didn’t get me at all, did he? I loved my father. Was I supposed to hurt him?”
As he killed everyone else?
Maybe that was when Jonah had stopped being able to feel. Maybe he hadn’t been born without emotions. Maybe they’d just died when his family had.
“He loved me, too. Said he loved me the most. That was why he smiled right before he shot himself. Because he’d saved me.”
No, he hadn’t saved you. He just hadn’t killed you.
“Tucker was asking about my program, saying that seemed like the perfect way for our perp to find the serials.” He laughed. “On that, he was right.”
“You told me the program didn’t work,” she rasped out even as she inched closer to the SUV. As long as she kept him talking, he didn’t seem to even notice her movements.
“I lied.”
The light was still on her.
“It worked. I found Daniel. Gale Collins wasn’t the first to die in that little North Carolina town. She was just the bait I sent in for him. I found him, a doctor practicing off the grid, giving pain pills out like candy, using a new name and still slicing and dicing. I sent Gale to him. I told her it was an undercover FBI operation, but it wasn’t. She was just some hick girl who thought she was doing something big—when she was the one who was the pawn to get our game in motion.”
Another tremble rolled through her body. This one was only half faked. “She had my eyes.”
“Yes! Yes—and I knew that he would have to grab her. So I waited in town, I watched, and the instant he had her...I had him. I let him have his fun, seemed only fair, and when he was getting ready to finish her up, I snuck up behind him with my hammer. One hit. Bang. And he was down.”
She licked her busted lips. “And Gale?” Because he’d said getting ready to finish her up.
“I slit her throat. I mean, I couldn’t very well have her admitting to anyone that she knew me, could I? That would just screw everything up.”
She was close enough to the SUV. Macey spun and ran for the driver’s-side door. She yanked on it as hard as she could and it popped open.
“Macey, fuck, get away from him! The SUV will roll! Stop it!”
She fumbled inside, shoving against what was left of the air bag, grabbing for Bowen as she hung half in the vehicle.
But Jonah’s arms closed around her waist and with a loud growl, he yanked her back against him. “I’m trying to save you! It’s all been for fucking you!”
She kicked out at him, slamming back with her heels to hit his legs and throwing her head back to ram the bastard in the nose. He howled in pain, but didn’t let her go.
If anything, his hold tightened.
“I killed Haddox...for you! I knew you’d never do it on your own, and I wasn’t going to let him stay out there after what he’d done to you!”
She stilled.
“My program worked! I could find those bastards! I found Remus!”
She didn’t struggle at all. When she struggled, he just tightened his hold. When she stilled...
His hold is loosening.
“He killed his girlfriend’s stepmother,” he whispered, his breath blowing over her ear. He seemed to be hugging her now, not restraining her. “I knew it was him. And the dumbass just trotted right up here to me like a lamb to a slaughter.”
“How did you know about Curtis Zale? Your program?”
He laughed, the rumble shaking her. “I knew there was a killer here. Had to be, but I didn’t know where he was hiding his victims. Not until I got a little help.”
Had she just seen movement in the SUV? The door was open. Yes, yes, she thought Bowen was moving on the inside.
“Help,” Macey repeated. “You mean help...from Wesley Kaiser?” Because she knew he had to be part of this mess.
“No, actually, I don’t mean him at all. My help came from someone else entirely.” He laughed. “But I’ll never tell.”
Fuck him. He’d made the mistake of easing his hold and the dumbass hadn’t even realized...
Macey spun toward him and the chunk of sharp metal that she’d palmed right before he’d yanked her out of the SUV? She swiped that makeshift weapon at him, and it sliced across his hands.
“Blood on my fucking hands!” Jonah yelled.
“Yeah, there’s plenty of that.” Then she hit him again. Only this time, she drove that metal at his stomach. She twisted it, jerked it up and—
His fist slammed into her face.
Macey didn’t let that stop her. She stabbed him again, and he was screaming and yelling and—
“You’ll want—” Bowen’s voice growled “—to get the fuck away from her now.”
Jonah stilled.
Macey didn’t. She kept a grip on her makeshift weapon and rushed back toward Bowen’s voice, thinking she needed to protect him—
But there was enough starlight for her to see the gun he gripped in his hand. Metal was still in his chest, and that terrified her, but Bowen was on his feet. And his weapon was aimed at the wolf who’d been among them all along.
Only Jonah started to laugh. Again. “You used the Haddox trick!” He sounded...impressed? “The Doctor stayed alive because he didn’t take Macey’s knife out of him. He would have bled to death if he had. Haddox waited and got a friend to stitch him up. Did you know that, Mace? Another doc at the hospital stitched him up that night and never said a word to anyone. But don’t worry, that fellow is on my list, too.”
“Stop,” she ordered.
He didn’t. “You used the Haddox trick,” Jonah said again. “Keep the metal in...and you can live longer. Take it out...you’re dead. You bleed, bleed, bleed. And that metal—it’s in you far deeper than that knife was in Haddox. I can tell. It’s so deep I bet...I bet you’re a dead man walking. You don’t even know...”
“Where is Zack Douglas?” Macey demanded.
“At the ranger station. Just like I said. He really did find me.”
Goose bumps were all over her arms. “What did you do to him?”
“He should have noticed all those hikers were making a pattern. If he’d noticed sooner, lives would have been saved.” Jonah’s bloody hands were at his sides. “I figured he deserved what he got.”
“You staged your abduction from the museum,” Bowen snarled.
“No!” A roar from Jonah. “That fucking twit Wesley did that! He came to me for help! No one else at the FBI would give him the time of day. He came to me—we worked on that fucking program together! And then...then he didn’t like the results. He was trying to stop me. Hit me with the hammer...tied me up... His mistake. I got away. And he’ll be next.”
“No,” Bowen rasped. “You will be.”
Jonah laughed at those words. “Are you gonna do it? Right in front of her? Kill me in cold blood? I gave you the chance, over and over, to prove you were the better agent. You failed every single time. Now you won’t even be the better man. You’ll shoot in cold blood, hitting an unarmed man. The same way you hit an unarmed man when you killed Arnold Shaw, right? I mean, hey, I read the file, I could see the bullshit. You planted that knife on him, didn’t you? And that poor desperate victim on the
scene, she was so grateful she lied for you.”
“Get on your knees...and put your hands up,” Bowen barked but his voice was sounding weak.
Macey moved closer to him, her shoulder brushing against his arm. “Let me take the gun,” she whispered to Bowen.
“See!” Jonah yelled. “She wants the gun because she knows you’ll shoot to kill! Macey won’t! Macey isn’t like you!”
Bowen’s body trembled harder. He staggered and she thought he was going to fall. Her left arm flew around his waist as she tried to steady him.
“It’s true, Mace!” Jonah called out. “That night in the dark alley, Bowen shot an unarmed man. He covered up the crime, and he’s been doing it for years.”
“Give me the gun, Bowen,” Macey said, voice stronger.
His head turned. His eyes gleamed in the darkness. “Want to...protect you...”
She could feel his blood soaking the side of her body. He was hurt so badly. Too badly. Macey swallowed. “You’ve always protected me.” It’s my turn to protect you. “Give me the gun.”
“It’s because she knows what you are now. You’re done, Bowen! Done! Dead man walking...”
Bowen still gripped the gun.
Jonah had bent to his knees, but his hands...his hands were inching toward the coat he wore. Was that a park ranger’s coat?
And what’s under his damn coat?
“Mace...” Bowen gasped her name. “Love...you.”
Her lips shook. “Give me the gun.”
Bowen’s hand slid toward hers.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Jonah lunge to his feet.
Bowen began to fall. His hand was still on the gun. Hers was around his. Her head turned, snapping toward Jonah. He was pulling out a weapon from beneath his coat.
Macey’s hands jerked around Bowen’s, but he was already firing. They shot together. He pulled the trigger. She aimed the gun.
The bullet blasted right into Jonah’s head. He fell back, his body twitching.
And then Bowen fell, sinking to his knees.
“Bowen!”
“Make sure...” Each word seemed like a struggle. “He’s...done...”
She rushed toward Jonah. His body was still jerking and a gun was just inches from his outstretched hand. Macey grabbed the gun and tucked it into her waistband. She could tell by the wound...
He’s done.
She ran back to Bowen. His hands were wrapped around the chunk of metal in his chest and he was trying to pull it out. “No!” Once more, her hands closed around his. “Don’t! He was right. Don’t pull it out now.”
“I’m...cold, Mace.”
And she was terrified. She wanted the metal to stay where it was because she feared it had hit his heart. But, oh, God, he was covered in so much blood. So many wounds.
“Meant it...” Bowen mumbled. “Love you...”
“And I love you and you’re going to be all right, do you hear me? You just—you have to stay calm. You lie still and I’m going to get help.” She ran to the battered SUV, looking for a phone. Please be there, please be...
The SUV groaned around her. Metal screeched and she snatched up the phone as fast as she could. The screen was broken, a rough crack like a spider’s web across the surface, but it still worked. It was glowing, giving her light, and she stumbled back, swiping her finger across that broken screen, and then—
No service. No fucking service. Because she was halfway down a mountain in the woods. In the middle of nowhere.
Macey rushed back to Bowen and she sank to her knees beside him. “It’s going to be okay,” she told him again as her hand curled around his.
“You...lie...like hell...”
Tears were sliding down her cheeks. “No, everything is fine. I’m a doctor, remember?” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’ll take care of you.”
“Love...you...”
“And I love you.” Her hand squeezed his. “So if you think, even for a second, that I am not going to make sure that you stay alive, you’re wrong.”
He didn’t speak.
“Do you hear me, Bowen? You’re going to stay alive. You are going to stay—”
His hand was limp in her grasp.
Alive.
She pulled her hand away from his and began using the phone she’d retrieved as a flashlight so she could evaluate all of his wounds. Oh, my God.
They were bad. So bad...
Then her chin lifted.
And she got to work.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SAMANTHA AND TUCKER rushed into the dark ranger’s station. The place was pitch-black. Samantha knew that was a sign of trouble, so they went in fast and hard and silently. If Jonah was there, getting help from Ranger Douglas, she knew the lights would be shining in that place. Since it was pitch-black...
Trouble.
And why hadn’t the ranger called for help himself? That piece of the puzzle had been nagging at her. She’d tried to get the ranger station again and again during her ride up there. Sure, phone service could be damn spotty, but she’d had the PD radio in.
No response.
No one was in the dark waiting area. Empty. She had a flashlight in her hand as she swept the scene. The flashlight was right above her gun.
Tucker kicked open the door that led to the office behind the check-in desk.
“Help...” A weak, pain-filled cry.
Tucker rushed in, and Samantha was right behind him. But their flashlights didn’t fall on Jonah’s haggard face. Instead, they illuminated the blood-soaked form of Ranger Zack Douglas.
“Help...” he begged again.
* * *
“BOWEN?” MACEY HAD his blood all over her hands. “I need to get help for you.” She bit her lip and looked up at the top of the mountain. But I hate to leave you. She was putting pressure on some of his worst wounds. She’d ripped her clothes apart and bound up the terrible gash in his thigh, the one that made her worry he’d nipped an artery. No wonder his legs had given way on him before.
She hadn’t touched the metal in his chest. But her hands were shoving against the deep slice across his ribs. The slice that had cut his skin wide-open.
She needed help, needed to climb up that mountain. “You can’t move,” she whispered. “Understand? If I leave you, you can’t move at all.”
Her left hand swept over him once more, moving down to make sure that wound in his leg—
It was bleeding again. Too much.
Apply pressure, elevation, pressure points... She knew all the immediate ways to help and she was doing everything she could. But that was the problem—she had to keep working on him, almost constantly. If she left him, even for the few moments it would take to climb to the top and potentially get cell service or hail down a car—
He could die.
And if she just stayed there, doing the best she could with him—no medical gear, no tools...
Maybe I’ll buy him time this way. He’ll stay alive until others come.
Only...what if the others didn’t come?
* * *
SAMANTHA RAN BACK outside of the ranger station. “We need a medic in there!”
And the team who’d followed her and Tucker up the mountain sprang into action. They’d gone in silently, but there were cops there, EMTs, plenty of backup waiting in the wings.
But Jonah isn’t here.
They’d swept the rest of the station. It was clear.
“Where in the hell is he?” Tucker demanded as he stalked to Samantha’s side.
The assembled team had lights on in the small lot now—lights from the cruisers, from the ambulance. Her gaze swept the area. “Douglas would have kept his personal vehicle up here.” She marched around the building and there...her flashlight hit the fresh tire tracks. It
had rained lightly and the ground was still soft. Soft enough for her to see the tire tracks left behind. Big ones, probably the off-roading type that a large truck would use.
She stared at those tracks and the fear in her grew worse. “Macey and Bowen should have been here by now.”
“I still can’t get either one of them on their phones. My call just goes to voice mail.” Tucker’s voice was grim. “I don’t get it—they would have needed to drive up the same mountain road we did. There’s only one way up to this station.”
Yes, one way. And Jonah had made sure that they were all coming that way. Had he known that Macey and Bowen would be coming first?
Of course. He called Bowen directly.
The perp they were after had been calling Bowen from the very beginning. Taunting him. Challenging him. Watching him.
Because Bowen was always a target?
“Bowen was in the way,” she said as she turned sharply and rushed back for her vehicle. She could just see the faintest tendrils of light beginning to streak across the sky. The night was finally ending. “He was calling Bowen at first, challenging him, because he needed to prove he was better.” She was almost running as she ran for her rental. “Now he’s going to eliminate Bowen because he stands between Jonah and the one he really wanted all along.”
Who was closest to Bowen? Who did Bowen protect?
“Macey.” Tucker jumped into the vehicle with her. “Fuck, that’s why the Doctor was the first victim. It was about her. All along—her.”
She cranked the SUV, revved the engine and got the hell out of there even as the local cops shouted for her.
I have to find my team.
“We thought it was Bowen. That the focus was him, but Jonah was just taunting him. Macey... Macey was his end game.”
And Samantha was very, very afraid the end had come.
They rushed down that mountain, with Tucker still trying to get Macey or Bowen on the line. Faint rays of light cut through the treetops, and as she rounded a curve—
Her headlights—it was still dark enough to need them—hit the broken guardrail. Samantha slammed on her brakes. “Did you see that on the way up?”