by Alex Gates
“And you fucked him more than Todd ever did the girls.” David glanced at me. “Detective, maybe you can explain it. How am I the bad one here when I’ve never even touched one of the kids? Jason’s been molesting his girl since Michelle squirted her out. Tim couldn’t keep his hands out of Jeremy’s pants. Todd screwed anything that moved.” He took a breath. “And yet, they’re all pointing guns at me.”
“Yeah. Strange how that worked out.” My voice echoed in my head, but I adjusted my weight, shifting so I could launch to my feet if I didn’t get shot first. “You’re the real victim here.”
“I am!” David pointed to Amy. “I had a cheating whore for a wife. A child rapist for a best friend. And I’m the one sacrificing everything to make sure we’re not caught. I kept the cops off our asses, made sure the kids had medicine when they got sick and clothes when they started to grow and lube so we didn’t blow them out. Jesus Christ, am I the only one who cared?”
Jason scowled. “You made your point. Let’s just get this over with. I don’t care what the hell you do with Amy, but you’re gonna give me my daughter right fucking now.”
David’s gun rotated, the barrel pointing to the little girl. “Careful, Jason. This bullshit is your fault. You couldn’t keep the cop off your ass for twenty goddamned minutes in that interview room. I’d be very careful about what demands I make right now. I’ve worked hard for seven years to keep us out of jail. You’re not going to fuck this up now.”
“I can expose you,” Jason said. “I have the photos. The recordings. The records. I’ve uploaded everything with a dead man’s switch. One little computer code that will put you in jail for life if you dare to kill me. If I don’t make it out of here alive, every single video we made automatically goes to the police.” The gun shook in his hand. “But it doesn’t have to be like this. We can walk away.”
Naïve. He still thought we were going to survive.
Tim’s gun pressed against my head. His voice steadied.
“Fine. I’ll kill the cop and bury her out near the lake. Jason gets the kid. David, you do what you want with your wife and the fifty grand. Everyone wins.”
My heart thudded harder. It didn’t matter what the agreement was—David wasn’t letting anyone go without blood.
And Tim had the clearest shot of all.
I tensed. I had no time or balance. The injury to my head practically blinded me in the bright light. I’d have one opportunity to get Tim. After that?
God only knew.
David contemplated the exchange.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s about time we end this. Give me the money.”
Jason tossed the flash drive into the snow. He was a poor shot, and it gave me a bit of hope for the gun he carried. David sighed and retrieved the drive.
“Now get away from my daughter,” Jason said. “Sophia, it’s okay. Daddy’s here. We’re gonna…” He forced warmth into his words. “We’re gonna take a little trip, okay?”
The words didn’t console the girl. She cried harder, her words muffled against the gag.
I might have screamed too. A warning. A profanity. In terror.
Jason rushed to his daughter, and David’s gun rose automatically. Amy screamed. It was my only chance to escape, and I couldn’t prevent the bloodshed.
David aimed for Sophia’s heart, but Jason sprinted. He dove the last few feet separating him from his daughter.
“Sophia!”
I launched to my feet, swinging my arms over my head only to bring them down, folding my elbows at my side and rolling my wrists. The duct tape ripped cleanly in half. I spun, slamming heel of my hand to Tim’s nose. He staggered, and I wrenched the gun from his grip.
No thoughts. No hesitations.
I palmed the gun and squeezed the trigger.
The blast mirrored the roar of David’s shotgun.
The bullet gnawed through Tim’s chest. He didn’t stumble backwards. The impact threw him from his feet.
His body struck the ground with a sickening thump.
I spun to face David, but Jason’s blood had already spread. His lifeless, shell ridden body covered Sophia. The girl screamed in terror, not pain.
Dead. Tim and Jason were both dead.
And we were next.
31
Even if you escape…
I will always find you.
-Him
I shot first.
I missed, but I wasn’t aiming for David. I shot near his feet, forcing him to dive, roll, and crash his bulk to the ground. A second shot, and he took cover behind his truck.
Enough for me.
“Run!”
Amy wept, shaking in the snow. I rushed to Sophia, but they both surprised me. Amy was on her feet in moments, rolling Jason off of the little girl. We pushed his body, and I swept Sophia into my arms.
“Go!”
Sophia curled up tight against my body, hiding her eyes in my chest. She was soaked to the bone and shivering, but alive.
Jesus—she was alive!
More than I could say for me.
David shouted. I shoved Amy to the ground before he shot. Too late. She gave a pained screech, but it was mostly the shock of the bird shot. The pellets bounced off her leg, but we’d placed enough distance between us and the gun that she’d only suffer some bruising. At least she’d survive.
As long as we kept moving.
And David knew it.
He didn’t chase. Didn’t have to. My steps were already labored, unstable from the vertigo of my concussion. My bad leg got worse in the cold. I clutched Sophia tighter as David searched Jason for the .45 in his belt.
“Run! The trees!”
Amy limped faster than I could manage. Sophia was heavy, and my head was a shattered mash of shock and terror. We rushed the tree line, but we wouldn’t get far.
Six inches of pristine snow lay on the ground, now completely disturbed by our trampling steps.
We’d lead him right to us.
“Where?” Amy’s breathless words echoed too loud in the trees. “Detective!”
The only place we could go. Deeper into the woods. Hidden within the trees. I needed to find cover. David wouldn’t surrender. I’d have to take him out.
We rushed into an exposed forest of maple and beech trees. The thin trunks offered no shelter. A few evergreens grew tall, but it wouldn’t be enough, not with our prints leading a trail directly to us.
I’d have to work fast. I set Sophia down in the shadow of a twenty-foot evergreen, diving deep enough into the tree to scratch my cheek on a bough. I kept the gun but tossed the multi-tool to Amy.
“Untie her,” I said. “You’ll have to run with her. Get her away from here.”
Amy struggled with the tool, her hands as frozen as mine. I stared into the distance, searching for any sort of movement or sound. David was coming, and I had no way to protect them.
“What happened to my daddy?”
Sophia’s sweet voice sounded so soft off the camera. The musical quality nearly dropped me to my knees.
Had she known Jason was responsible for her capture? Had he stayed with her? Been with her during the torment?
Did it matter?
How long had she been abused?
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Amy desperately sawed through the rope binding her hands. “Don’t think about that now. We’re gonna have to do what London says, okay? She’s here to help you.”
“I want my daddy.”
No, she didn’t.
And thank God he’d never have her again.
The ropes fell away, but Sophia wore nothing more than a little pink dress and Mary Janes with no socks. She’d freeze in an instant if her crying didn’t give away our position.
This was too dangerous. I had to get them out of here. Rush from the scene, then have them circle back.
But where?
The camp site was in the middle of a forest, separated from the closest town by miles of snow and ice. It didn’t matter.
Anywhere was safer than here. Until I could subdue David, we were all in danger.
James had been right—David wouldn’t stop until he had his vengeance. He’d murder Amy and take me and Sophia with her.
We had to run. I pushed Sophia to Amy.
“Stay close,” I whispered. “You have to be very quiet now. Can you do that?”
Sophia nodded. Amy gave no such promise. But we wouldn’t need it for long. I heard our salvation from the grove of pine trees. I gestured for them to follow, carefully scanning our surroundings for David.
Where was he?
He had Jason’s gun. He wouldn’t let us get far.
What was he planning?
One hundred yards of trees finally opened, revealing a gully leading down to a trickling creek. It wouldn’t be comfortable, and we’d be in danger every second we waded through the ice. But it’d hide our tracks long enough to get them to a defensible position.
“Down,” I ordered. “In the water.”
Amy stared at me, wide-eyed. “It’s freezing!”
“Then you better move quick.”
I funneled them into the stream, but the shock of the water against my own already frigid toes agonized my legs. My calves tightened and cramped, but we couldn’t stop. I pushed Amy forward and carefully kept Sophia between us both.
And still, no sound. No one followed.
What the hell was David doing?
The water sloshed over our legs. Ice laced the rocks, and the uneven shore captured floating branches and debris covered in snow. I dunked water over anything that looked like a trail. Our steps couldn’t be hidden that well, but it’d be damn hard to track in the moving creek, even for an experienced hunter like David.
“It’s cold!” Sophia’s lips were blue. “I just want my daddy!”
“A little farther…” My teeth chattered. “Just a little farther…”
Until where?
When?
The water sapped our strength, and most times it only reached our knees. They couldn’t make it much further, not with Amy’s bare feet and the sockless dress shoes covering Sophia’s toes.
I searched the creek bank. A mass of pine trees forged a path fifty yards ahead. I pushed Amy towards the rocky bank and pointed.
“There. Cross over the rocks and hide in the boughs. Don’t make any tracks in the snow.”
“Where are we?” Amy asked. “I don’t know…”
Neither did I. I surveyed the rushing creek. It deepened further up, rounding an embankment. The trees naturally cleared in the distance. A lake? Nothing that would help me identify our position, but I’d find my way back to them.
“Hide there. I have to go to the clearing.”
“What? Why?”
To find David before he murdered them both. “Jason and Tim had cellphones. I need to call for help.”
“You can’t leave us.”
“Just stay here.” I pointed to the trees. “Don’t step in the snow. Hide. I’ll be back. I promise.”
It wasn’t a time to make promises, not with frozen toes and only a single magazine to protect us. I’d already taken three shots. I checked what remained. One in the chamber, four in wait. Damn it. Tim hadn’t even fully loaded his gun. Fantastic.
Amy pulled Sophia from the water and huddled in the trees. They limped. We’d have to do something about their feet. At this point, it wasn’t only frostbite I worried about but hypothermia.
I circled back, keeping low in the icy water. My heart tried to freeze with my feet. I considered dunking my head. Maybe the cold would have stopped the endless throbbing.
How the hell was I going to win this fight? I couldn’t just incapacitate him. No hoping he’d drop his weapon and surrender when I ordered it. David was beyond reason.
Beyond justice.
A grave awaited us both, but I’d make sure he struck the bottom of his long before I touched dirt.
I crept near the ground, but I heard nothing. No footsteps or branches breaking. No gunshots. A new fear paralyzed me with the same chill as the water. If we didn’t make it out, would the truth die with us?
David, Tim, Jason, and Todd—rapists and murderers.
Alyssa—spared. Kaitlyn—sacrificed as a trap. Sophia…
Sweet Sophia.
Safe for now.
Safe until I took my last breath.
The cold seized me, but paranoia choked the breath from me. I hopped a rock and left the water where our trampled snow marked the entry point. No sense leaving a second trail. My numb feet tripped over loose rocks and roots, but I needed to crawl anyway. I approached the clearing and traveled hand over hand to the closest cover. The fallen tree offered little protection, but I didn’t need much. Just a peek over the deadened branches into the clearing.
The field had turned crimson under the two bodies. Jason’s car and David’s pick-up truck remained parked and still. I searched for movement. Saw nothing.
Where was David?
Lurking in his car? No. Behind the bodies?
I moved closer. His shotgun lay discarded in the snow. He had a better weapon now. I picked it up anyway. No sense letting it stay. Who knew what David planned. His footsteps led off into the woods. I couldn’t see how far. Too close for comfort.
Jason’s torso was a mess of gore and sinew. I avoided him. Not that Tim had fared much better. He stared at the sky with wide-eyes. Lifeless.
That was a guilt that still trembled my hands.
I reached into his pocket. His cell had one bar on extended coverage, but it’d do the job. I crept to the car and used it for cover, gun drawn over my legs.
My thumb stilled over the numbers. I stared, but the screen was a dizzying mess.
The only number I could remember belonged to James.
I clutched the phone and fought a wave of nausea. Strained. Forced myself to think.
Then I dialed Ben.
“It’s London.” My voice sounded too loud in the clearing. “We were wrong. It’s all the fathers. They’re all in it together. Tim and Jason are dead. Sophia’s alive. I need backup—I have no idea where David is, but he’s armed and probably lining up a shot.”
“Jesus Christ.” Ben was in his car. The rumble of the highway muffled his voice. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know. Near the Wickers’ cabin. Couldn’t see where we went while I was in the trunk.”
“You okay?”
Only once I knew where David was. “Fine. Are you close?”
“Not yet. About a half hour away. I’ll call the local PD. What do you need—”
The popping of gunshots echoed from the forest.
I dropped the phone.
Sophia.
“God, no…”
My feet ached with the prickling of blood through half-frozen flesh. I tripped in the snow and crawled into the forest.
David hadn’t masked his steps.
He also hadn’t slowed.
His footprints imbedded in the thick powder, huge and hulking. He’d run the entire way, racing through the trees and over brush. I sprinted, but the concussion nearly keeled me over. I knelt in the trees and vomited, but it didn’t clear the nausea or headache.
No more than two shots had fired.
One for Amy?
One for Sophia?
Or had they gotten away?
My stomach lurched. No. A man like David rarely missed. I braced myself for blood.
And I was right.
I rounded an embankment. Amy’s body bled in the snow. A scarlet trail leeched into the whiteness, partially hidden within a grove of evergreens. She didn’t move.
I spun and searched the brush.
Where was Sophia?
A cry echoed from the north. Only David’s boot prints slunk into the distance, but that meant nothing. Sophia was tiny enough for him to haul away.
And then what?
Why not just kill her there?
The answer was obvious. He wanted me to follow. Would he exchange my
life for hers?
No. This wouldn’t end without a tragedy.
His path led through the trees, into a bitter wind that cut through my wet clothes and frozen skin. I ducked my head as a plume of powdery snow kicked up from the approaching banks. The forest opened.
And David greeted me with a gun held to Sophia’s head.
“Drop the weapon,” David said. “Or the girl dies now.”
She’d die anyway. Could I take the shot? Maybe if my hands weren’t stone and numb, if my body wasn’t trembling in fear, cold, and adrenaline.
If Sophia weren’t clutched so near his heart, hoisted so her blonde hair tickled his chin.
I didn’t have a choice. I dropped the gun. David nodded.
“Come closer.”
Not a chance. David didn’t stand in a clearing. He’d wandered halfway out onto a frozen pond. I didn’t trust it to hold, especially as the haunting twang of cracking ice already sung under the water.
“Let her go, and I’ll get as close as you want,” I said.
“Don’t make me ask again.” The gun batted her across the temple. “A little closer, Detective. I want you see this.”
I’d already imagined it. I didn’t need to see the real thing.
I slowed my steps at the edge of the pond. It appeased him, but I held my arms up too, just in case.
“You don’t have any reason to kill Sophia,” I said. “You had your revenge. On Todd. On Amy. Sophia means nothing to you.”
David shifted. The ice gave an unsettling crunch. “Do you know what my only rule was for our little game?”
A game? Destroying the innocence of three little girls was a game?
“We don’t get caught.” He tugged Sophia closer. “Todd and I planned it for a year. When we’d take Alyssa. How we’d do it. Where we’d bring her. The mine was obvious, but it was dangerous. It took months to make it stable, to get the equipment, to build her room. Once we had it set up, Todd brought in Jason and Tim. Everyone agreed. Todd had her on camera. Jason and Tim had opportunities if they wanted. Everything worked because we swore—don’t get caught. Don’t be stupid. Keep the alibis straight. Never be in the same place. Always have someone watching. Confuse the police.” David shook his head. “Then the usual. Masks for the camera. No visible skin. No identifying marks, tattoos. Hell, Todd shaved his body hair.”