Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  35

  Christy

  “Wakey, wakey.”

  A hand slapped my face, rousing me from the dead. What the hell happened? I blinked rapidly, gasping when I saw the evil eyes in front of me. I’d never forget those eyes, the way they looked at me that night.

  A dizzying feeling washed over me as my heart leapt out of control. I was tied up, that much I could tell. Even as panic took over, things around me became clearer. I forced myself to focus on the things around me, knowing that if I didn’t, I would end up dead.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, hoping to distract him long enough to figure out a plan.

  “You recognize me,” he grinned. “I was afraid that after all this time, you’d have forgotten me.”

  I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat. “I could never forget a monster like you.”

  I spotted something on the ground, the card that was inside the envelope. It was my DCFS card, but it had a bloody fingerprint on it. I blinked back tears, remembering the card under the mother’s body. That one was soaked in blood, which meant this was the one I’d given Caleb. I almost laughed at how ironic it was. I had given this card to Caleb in the hopes it would save his life, but it was going to cost me mine.

  I needed to find a way out of here. Tied up like this wouldn’t make that easy. The corkscrew was laying on the counter, but that wouldn’t help me much at the moment. However, if I could get free and grab my phone, I could call for help. At least then Jack would know I was in trouble.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, looking around for my phone. I couldn’t remember where I set it. Had I left it upstairs? I didn’t see it on the counter.

  “Looking for this?” he asked, holding up my phone.

  I wanted to yell out for help, but I was afraid if I did that someone else would get hurt. But how long would it be before Jack knew something was wrong if I didn’t yell?

  “Before you think of doing anything stupid, you may want to look at this.”

  He slid a second phone over to me. It was a video of Jack walking Brody up the stairs to Josh’s townhouse. I took a deep breath, remembering that Josh was no amateur. If Brody was with Josh, then he was safe. This man was using Brody to try and play on my emotions. I wouldn’t let it work.

  “He’s such a cute kid, don’t you think?”

  “You should leave. I have an alarm on the house.”

  “Ah,” he nodded. “One you forgot to set when you walked in the door.”

  The rumbling in my ears turned into thunder. I could hardly hear anything. All I could do was stare at the evil man in front of me. His eyes still haunted my dreams, and made me terrified to close my eyes.

  “I bet you’re wondering why I’m here,” he said conversationally.

  “Jack will be home soon. You should leave now while you still can.”

  “Yes, the boyfriend. I figured he might be a problem. That’s why I called in a disturbance. Of course, being nighttime, he would take his deputy with him. And the closest town is a good fifteen minutes away, which means that even if you called the police, no one would be here to rescue you until I was long gone with you. And we both know you don’t want your neighbors hurt.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because it’s your fault my family is gone.”

  I stared at him, completely baffled. “My fault? I’m not the one that murdered them.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “That was me, but you showed up at my house and tried to get them to turn on me. See, I found that card in my son’s room a week after the incident.”

  I could have laughed at the way he called it an incident. It was pure murder.

  “It fell behind his bed at some point that night, and the police didn’t notice it. And then I realized that I saw a card under my wife’s body, but it was covered in blood, and I didn’t have a chance to look at it before the police took it as evidence. So, when I saw this, I finally knew who was responsible for getting my wife to turn against me.”

  “She…she didn’t do that,” I stuttered, trying to find a way to stall him before he decided to slit my throat the way he had done to his wife and son. “That was the first time I had been there.”

  “And how long do you think it would have taken for you to convince them to say something? My son was on the phone with you that night.” He huffed out a laugh. “I didn’t even know he had a phone until that night. I traced it to my brother-in-law. Did you hear? He recently died.” He shook his head, making a tsking noise. “It was so sad. Apparently, he couldn’t deal with the pain of losing his sister and nephew, and he took off to the Badlands. They found his body out there just a few days ago. When the police told me about it, they said he drove right off the road into a ravine. They said his skull was crushed on impact. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.”

  My chin quivered as I stared at him. “You’re evil,” I whispered.

  “Yes,” he nodded. “And you’re about to find out just how evil I really am.”

  He walked out of the room and out to the garage, giving me just moments to come up with a plan. I wiggled my hands taped behind the chair and started wiggling them around. The tape started rolling, giving me a little more leeway in my binds. I was sweating hard as I rubbed my wrists back and forth, moving them from side to side in any way I could to get free. Finally, it felt loose enough on one side to slip one hand out. It would hurt, but better to have some burns than to be dead.

  In a panic, I looked up again, wondering just how long I had. I could hear his footsteps as he walked in from the garage, and started twisting faster. I only had seconds now. I finally tore my hand free and glanced around for a knife, but the corkscrew was closest. I grabbed it just as he came around the corner.

  Clutching the corkscrew tight in my hand, I waited with bated breath for my chance to strike. His eyes twinkled in an evil way that told me getting away from him would not be an easy feat.

  “I was really hoping you wouldn’t make this easy on me. I appreciate you not letting me down.”

  When he lunged, I swung the screw at his face, slicing him deep. But that didn’t stop him. He tackled me to the ground and I hit hard, knocking the wind from my lungs. I gasped for breath as I struggled to get out from under him. With the screw still in my hand, I slammed it into his back over and over, but it never went deep enough to do any real damage. I needed something sharper.

  He caught my hand and slammed my wrist down onto the floor repeatedly. I held out for as long as I could, but the pain was nearly unbearable. He bent over and bit my wrist. I finally relented, letting go of my weapon. Blood dripped from the wound, and as he grinned down at me with my blood filling his mouth, the terror increased tenfold.

  The dog growled, running toward us and jumping on his back. His sharp teeth dug into the man’s shoulder, but it wasn’t enough. Jack was too small to fight him. Woods grabbed him and threw him hard against the wall. Whimpering, the dog went silent, and I was all alone again.

  Screaming as loud as I could, I slammed my knee into his groin. He jerked, falling to the side as he clutched his balls. I scrambled to my knees, crawling away until I could get to my feet and run. I rounded the corner into the living room. Every breath I took was laced with fear. I couldn’t look back, couldn’t stand to see if he was on my heels.

  The door was just a few feet away. I held out my hand, ready to grasp the handle when he caught me by the hair and yanked me back. My hands flailing, I reached out for anything I could. I barely caught the edge of the TV stand. Hair ripped from my scalp as I reversed the momentum. Holding tight to the stand, I slammed my foot back into his stomach, kicking him over and over, forcing him to come closer to me. When he was nearly next to me, I grabbed the TV and used all my strength to fling it at him.

  He jumped back, but it gave me just enough time to grab a picture off the wall and throw it at him. Anything that was in reach was a weapon. I kept going, keeping him at a distance until I realized I’d backed myself int
o a corner. Out of objects to throw, and nowhere to run, my heart sank. This was it. He was going to take me, and I didn’t know if I’d see anyone I loved ever again. I had my chance with Jack, and now it was gone.

  With one last ditch effort, I jumped over the couch and ran for it. He tackled me hard from behind, my head hitting the coffee table on the way. Dazed, I rolled over as his hands jerked at me. I felt something tied around my wrists tightly, but I couldn’t fight him any longer. Something dark was wrapped around my face and I could no longer see.

  His rancid breath filled my nose. “You’re going somewhere no one will ever find you.”

  I heard a whoosh of air, and then something slammed into my scalp.

  36

  Jack

  “I don’t see a disturbance,” Carter said beside me.

  We both stared around the countryside where the disturbance was reported, but nothing was going on. By the way it was described in the call, you would have thought wild teenagers were out here drinking and lighting things on fire.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Do you have someplace you need to be?” Carter laughed.

  “You know I do,” I snapped at him as we walked back to the cruiser.

  “I gotta say, a year ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d see the day you and Josh were friends again.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought it either, but I think we’re finally over the awkward phase,” I admitted.

  “You mean the one where you grovel at his feet for being the ultimate jackass?”

  “Thanks for reminding me,” I grumbled, getting inside. “Things are better with us. Especially after…”

  “After what? Your nighttime adventure that you refuse to tell me about?”

  Sighing, I shifted into reverse and headed back to the main road. The gravel road we’d taken to get here was bumpy as hell. If anyone had been out here, they had been tipped off we were coming.

  “Did you guys decide what to do with Abby’s house?”

  “You mean after we tear out all the carpet?”

  “Is it that bad?”

  “Not really. But the cats clawed by the doorways and it needs to be fixed if she’s going to sell it. And we thought we’d give it a fresh coat of paint.”

  “It sounds like things are really moving along.”

  “Yeah,” he snorted. “Now if only she would stop talking about the Muffin Man.”

  “Is she still on that?”

  “Are you kidding? She keeps talking about how great it would have been if she could have convinced him to come live in town. Then we would have had Chili Man, Plaid Man, and Muffin Man.”

  I laughed at that. “Okay, yeah…it would have been funny. Any idea where he went?”

  “No. I checked with the police, but it’s nearly impossible to find a homeless man. And unless I want to go out there and walk the streets with a sketch, I’m not going to find him.”

  “Well, it was nice of you to try.”

  “It was, wasn’t it,” he said proudly. “I have to say, I’m a pretty good boyfriend.”

  “Yes, but will you make a good husband? That’s the real question.”

  “Well, I did go all the way out there to get her back.”

  “Yeah, after breaking her heart and your own. I would not advise doing anything like that during marriage. Have you guys talked about a wedding at all?”

  He groaned. “She wants her cats to be part of it in some way.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. At least, I’m not sure if she’s kidding or not. I really hope she is.”

  We entered the town limits again and I drove to Carter’s house to drop him off. Parking, I waited for him to get out.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Not if I see you first,” I jeered.

  He flipped me off and went inside. Calling Josh, I headed home.

  “Yes?” he asked, like he knew it was me calling.

  “How’s Brody?”

  “He’s fine. Did you really think he wouldn’t be?”

  “No, I just…you know it would be nice if just once he missed me.”

  “Well, we’ve got him fully entertained, so that’s not going to happen. But hey, if it makes you feel better, he did mention you.”

  “Yeah? What’d he say?”

  “He said it was way cooler at my place than yours.”

  “Gee, thanks for telling me that.”

  “I’m just saying, maybe you want to step up your game a little. Maybe get another dog.”

  “One is enough for me. God knows what they’d name the next one.”

  “Uh…I have to go.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing— Brody, don’t light that!”

  “Light what?” I shouted, about to turn around and get my kid back.

  “Gotcha!”

  Grumbling under my breath, I pressed my hand to my chest to calm my racing heart. “You’re an asshole.”

  “I learned from the best. Anyway, we’re about to start a movie.”

  “Fine, but—”

  “Nine o’clock bedtime. I know.”

  I hung up and drove over to Christy’s house. Now that I was sure everything was done for the night, I couldn’t wait for the rest of the evening to begin. I parked and rushed to the front door, unlocking it and shoving it open.

  But nothing could have prepared me for what I walked in on. Staring at the destruction around the house, I pulled my gun immediately, ready for anyone that might be waiting. The house was eerily silent and my eyes swept the room. I stepped inside, walking carefully around the TV broken on the floor, the pictures thrown all around…the blood on the floor.

  “Christy!” I shouted, but she didn’t answer. I ran through the living room, careful not to step on anything. As I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I quickly stopped when I saw the bloody handprints all over the place. There was so much blood. I just prayed it wasn’t all hers. The dog laid in the kitchen, barely moving. I quickly checked on him, glad that he was at least breathing.

  Taking a deep breath, I cleared the rest of the house, looking for any sign of her. The upstairs was clear, as was the basement. It didn’t look like she’d even been anywhere else in the house. I headed for the garage, only to find her car missing.

  With shaky hands, I pulled out my phone and dialed Carter.

  “You just left my—”

  “Carter,” I interrupted. “I need you at Christy’s place. Someone broke in.”

  “What? Is she okay?”

  I shook my head as I looked around. “She’s gone,” I said, choking on my words.

  “What do you mean she’s gone?” he asked. I could hear him getting in his car and then I heard the siren.

  “She’s…there’s blood and it’s a fucking mess, but her car’s gone.”

  “Alright, I’ll call the hospital and see if she went there.”

  “She would have called me,” I said irritatedly.

  “Jack, we have to make the call. I’ll be over there soon. You need to call in Tyler.”

  “No, we can work the scene together.”

  “There’s only two of us. We need more people so we can find any evidence and get it processed faster. You know what to do.”

  Nodding, I took a deep breath.

  “Jack, are you fucking listening to me?”

  “Yeah, I’m on it.”

  I hung up and called Tyler, informing him of what happened and that there was a missing person. Carter was already pulling in the drive by the time I was hanging up. He rushed into the house, shaking his head at the sight.

  “Is Brody safe?”

  “I called before I got here. He was okay.”

  “You should let Josh know what’s going on.”

  I nodded and shot off a text. I should probably call, but right now I needed to find any clues that would lead me to Christy.

  Carter and I started searching the house for any clues. He’d already p
ut out a BOLO for her vehicle, and I prayed that someone spotted it soon. We didn’t have any time to waste.

  “What’s this?” Carter asked, kneeling down by the TV stand. Underneath it was a white laminated paper with a barcode. Grabbing a pair of gloves, I retrieved it, checking it over.

  “It’s some sort of badge. No name on it.”

  “She must have torn it off him as they were fighting.”

  I nodded, knowing it would take too long to send this in to be processed and get any information off it. “Call Andrew.”

  “What?” he asked, his head jerking up.

  “We can’t wait to send this in. We need to know what this goes to now.”

  “Jack, if we contaminate the crime scene, we’ll never prosecute whoever did this.”

  “Who said anything about prosecuting?” I asked him, my voice low and deadly even to my ears.

  He leaned in close, obviously wary of the security system, even though it wasn’t set for voice recording.

  “Jack, tell me what you’re thinking. If you make one wrong move, your career is shot. Do you understand that? You’re not only bringing yourself down, but me along with you.”

  “Then leave,” I ground out. “Wait outside for Tyler’s department to get here. Give me a chance to search the place. That way you can’t be accused of tampering with evidence.”

  He stared at me for a moment before pulling out his phone. “Fuck it. I can always find another job. Hell, I’ll just go work at the animal shelter. I’m already on enough allergy medicine to make me pretty much immune to pet dander.”

  I swallowed hard, watching as the man that had behaved more like family to me over the past few years put his career on the line for me.

  “Andrew, it’s Corduroy. I need your help right now…Meet me outside Christy’s house.”

  He hung up and turned to me. “How long do you think it’ll take him to get here?”