by Marci Bolden
Holly took a moment to process his words, certain he’d left out more information than he’d given. “What part of that makes you think he had help?”
“Look, I know those woods aren’t well travelled, but they are within a public park. People come and go all the time. Hikers, dog walkers… Anyone could have stumbled upon him not only digging the graves but carrying an unconscious woman from his truck to the woods. That’s something someone would notice, right?”
“So you think he had a lookout?” Jack asked.
“I think he had to have. I just don’t think he did all this on his own. Did you have any inclination that he was working with someone?”
Holly shook her head. So did Jack. They had been pretty certain Pearson was their man. They had never really considered that there were two of them.
“I can review my files, though,” Holly offered. “I may have missed something.”
“Would you mind?” Meyer asked.
“Not at all.” Leaning down, she kissed Jack softly. “Be good.”
He smirked. “Or what?”
She simply cocked a brow and stood upright. “Would you like me to bring you back some dinner?”
“I never turn down food.”
“I’ll call you when I’m headed back.” She headed for the door, promising to call Meyer if she found anything in her files.
Jack drew a breath when the cop who’d gone after his badge simply stood there. “Need anything else?”
“I talked to Captain. As soon as you’re out of here, he’s going to reinstate you.”
Jack nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Sorry I was such a prick, but really, Tarek. Stay out of my cases going forward. Got it?”
Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Got it.”
Holly tossed a file aside and shook her head, frustrated at the lack of evidence pointing to anyone other than Vance Pearson. The police had questioned his uncle, John Middleton, but from what Meyer had told her, he was as shocked as anyone by the charges.
“I thought you’d be at the hospital with Jack,” came a voice from the door.
She exhaled slowly so she didn’t seem as startled as she was by Alexa’s sudden appearance. Damn, she was more on edge than she’d realized. “I was. The police think Pearson had an accomplice. I was going through our files to see if I had anything that might assist in finding him.”
“No luck, huh?”
She shook her head. After taking a deep breath, she dug up the strength to say, “He raped them, Lex. He raped all of them.”
“I’m sorry, Hol.”
She nodded slightly, knowing Lex was consoling her for the pain of Holly’s childhood more than the horrors these women had faced.
“You stepped in and did your best to stop this from happening to Susan.”
“I think telling her to walk out is what got her hurt in the first place. I think I pushed his final button.”
“No. You saw the danger and tried to protect her.”
Lifting her hand, she scowled. “I don’t want to debate this right now.”
Alexa didn’t push. “How is Jack?”
Holly’s mood instantly brightened. “He’s good. Soaking up the attention.”
Alexa moved into the room as a smirk spread across her face. “Look at that smile. You look happy.”
Holly tried to force her mouth back to a neutral line but ended up chuckling. “He’s a good guy. I like him.”
“And he’s adorable.”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, he is.”
“And he thinks you are the shit.”
“Well, I didn’t say he was smart.”
“He’s obviously brilliant.” Alexa sat across from her. “It’s about time you found someone.”
“You know we’ve known each other for just a few weeks, right? Hardly qualifies as finding someone.”
“Disagree. You two fit.”
“I keep hearing that.”
“Because it’s true.”
Holly pressed her lips together and drew a long breath.
“And there it is,” Alexa said softly. “The self-loathing we’ve come to know so well.”
“Don’t start on me.”
“Don’t start on yourself. You deserve happiness. You’ve punished yourself long enough for things you couldn’t control.”
“I know. I know I can’t protect everyone. I just don’t know how to stop trying.”
Eva leaned in the door and cupped her ear. “I was just passing by, but…I’m sorry. What was that? Did Holly Austin just acknowledge that she can’t save the world all on her own?”
Holly met her gaze with a frown. “Not you too. Okay. One of you is enough.”
Eva dropped into the seat next to Alexa. “I’ll stop when we finally break through that thick skull of yours.”
“It’s not that thick,” Holly said, causing her co-workers to look at each other with sarcastically raised brows.
They all laughed, and Holly took a deep breath. For a few moments, her heart and soul had stopped aching. She had these women—and Jack—to thank for that. But again, that was starting to feel like such a weight on her shoulders. She cared about them. She did. All of them. Why was that so damned hard to swallow?
Alexa leaned forward and tapped on her desk. “Hey. Stop. Stop thinking.” She looked into Holly’s eyes as if she were seeing her innermost thoughts. Hell, maybe she was. “Let it go. Let go of the past so you can move forward, hopefully with Jack…because his mom’s cooking is amazing.”
“Hell, yes,” Eva agreed. “If you dump him, he’s mine. Just for the food.”
Holly smiled. “I might wrestle you for him.”
“From what Sam says, he likes when you wrestle.”
She shook her head. “What is going on with you two? You are being really hard on me tonight.”
“You’re finally in a good enough mood to put up with it,” Eva said.
Silence lingered for a few moments before Holly narrowed her eyes at her. “Since we’re picking at each other… We’ve been talking about Joshua quite a bit lately. He had a pretty heavy hand in this case after the bodies were found.”
Eva scoffed. “It’s not like I didn’t know we’d cross paths sometimes.”
“Are things still amicable between you?”
“Joshua wouldn’t have it any other way. Peace and love and harmony and all that.”
“Wanna tell us the real reason you pushed him away?”
“No.”
Alexa snorted a half laugh. “I still think he broke up with her because she put a can in the plastics recycling bin.”
“He got over that,” Eva muttered.
Holly smiled, feeling her stress ease even more as she bantered—actually bantered—with her friends. “I love how you ladies keep pushing me to be more open, but none of you want to do the same.”
“Baby steps, fearless leader,” Eva said. “Go back to the hospital. We’ll look through the files. If we see anything, I’ll call you. Go,” she said when Holly didn’t move.
“You two planned this, didn’t you?”
Alexa simply smiled. “Go.”
Holly grabbed her keys and her phone and then pushed herself up and walked around her desk. She wasn’t overly affectionate with her teammates—Tika was the hugger of the group—but she did put her hand on Lex’s shoulder as she passed. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As she headed out of the building, she called Jack. “What do you want for dinner?”
“You,” he deadpanned.
She smiled. She couldn’t help it. “That’s dessert, silly. What food do you want for dinner?”
“I stand by my previous answer. But considering I just got a pizza and some burgers from some guys at work, I’d say we’re both covered on the food side of things. Get back here. I miss you.”
“I’m headed your way.” She pressed the button on her fob as she ended the call. She was almost to her car when a figure stepped from the shadows. Her defenses kicked in,
and she was immediately aware of everything all at once. The parking lot, though well lit, was too dark to make out his face clearly, but he smelled of alcohol seeping from his pores. Beer, to be exact. She knew that smell. She’d grown up with that smell.
“Holly Austin?”
“Who’s asking?”
She put her hand on her gun and was unsnapping the holster with her thumb, but he was faster. By the time she realized he was lifting a Taser instead of a gun, she was already feeling the jolts shoot through her.
18
Jack tried to be discreet as he looked at his phone, but his mother caught him anyway.
“It hasn’t been that long,” she said.
“Almost half an hour. HEARTS is just a few blocks away, Mama. She should be here by now.”
His mom shrugged. “Go ahead. Call her. You know you want to.”
Not that he needed permission to call Holly, but he accepted his mother’s and dialed the phone. He wasn’t expecting his call to go to voice mail, but it did. So he texted: Where are you?
He set his phone aside to impatiently wait for her reply. “Why don’t you eat while we’re waiting for her?”
“Why don’t you eat?” his mother asked.
“Because you raised me to be a gentleman, and a gentleman would wait for his lady to join him before eating.”
She smiled. “I like her, Jakeem. She has umph.”
“Umph?”
“Umph,” she said with a decisive nod. “She’s a strong woman. She will be a protective wife and mother. Like a lioness.”
“Whoa. Mama, I told you before—”
She lifted her hand. “I know what you said. But I also know what I see. And I see love beginning to blossom. She was so scared for you, and when she found you”—she lifted her hands and rolled her head back—“the sun couldn’t compare to the smile on her face. Or on yours.”
“Well. She had just saved me from certain death. That tends to bring a smile to a guy’s face.”
“So does falling in love.”
“Mama,” he said with a shake of his head as he looked at his phone in case he hadn’t heard Holly respond. She hadn’t. So he called her again. And she still didn’t answer.
“She probably went home to freshen up.”
“She would have told me.”
His mother watched him for a moment before pulling a card from her purse. “This has the office number on it. Call. Maybe she got caught up.”
Jack lifted his hand. “I have that number in here.” He dialed and waited.
“Thank you for calling HEARTS. This is Eva.”
“Eva. It’s Jack. Is Hol around?”
“No. She left a bit ago. She was going to grab some dinner and head your way.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I told her to forget the dinner and head on over. Someone sent pizza.”
Eva was quiet for a moment. “She’s not there yet?”
“No.”
“Hang on.”
Sounds in the background indicated Eva was walking across the lobby. The door opened and, within moments, closed.
“Holly?” she yelled, her voice echoing through the lobby. “Hey, Hol! You here?”
Several more moments passed with muffled voices in the background and then the distinct sound of Eva picking up the phone. “Her car is here, but she’s not.” She didn’t hide the stress in her voice well at all. “I’m checking the surveillance camera. Just one second.”
Jack swallowed. Something was off. He felt it in his gut.
“Shit,” Eva whispered. “Jack. Someone took her.”
As Holly came to, she took a moment to assess the damage to her body. The Taser hadn’t knocked her out, but she sure as shit felt the aftereffects rolling through her chest as she breathed. No, that son of a bitch had hit her over the head when she was defenseless from his first attack.
Coward.
Damn, her head hurt.
Taking a deep breath despite the pain it caused, she let the cool air awaken her senses a bit more. Something tickled her nose, and she smelled the earth beneath her.
That scent rocked her the rest of the way awake. She hadn’t been able to stop smelling that since pulling Jack from the ground. The dirt had caked beneath her nails and ingrained itself into her senses. When her entire body jerked, she realized she was being dragged across the ground. Taking in the landscaping around her—particularly the yellow tape—she also realized she was in the park. Being pulled toward the holes where Julia and Penelope had been buried.
Oh, hell no.
She was plotting her escape when whoever had hold of her dropped her feet and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the cloth across his forehead.
She moved, intent on jumping to her feet and running, but her muscles didn’t quite agree. She pushed through it, biting back the need to grunt out in pain, and had just made it to her feet when the man turned. He reached for her, but Holly was able to lean back before he could grab her hair.
Still off balance, she had to stumble several times before regaining her balance. About the time she did, she had to lean away again to miss his next swing. This time, she recovered more quickly. Her focus moved to his face, and he smirked.
Middleton.
She and Jack had given him a pass after finding out Pearson had been sexually harassing Susan. Stupid.
He swung again, and this time, she dove in toward his waist instead of leaning away from him. The move took him by surprise, and it was his turn to stumble. Holly took advantage of his shock by sweeping her leg under his. He fell, landing with a thud, and she fell with him.
She pressed her palm into his throat as she sat back, cutting off his airflow while she reached for her gun with her other hand. Her holster was empty.
Looking at him, she was about to demand to know where her gun was when she was answered by a loud pop and a searing pain shooting through her thigh.
She cried out as Middleton pushed her off. Grasping her wound, she cursed the blood seeping through her fingers. A quick glance down confirmed it was a through-and-through, no real damage done. But it hurt like hell. The scent of her blood hit her hard, and her stomach rolled. As always, the memories came at her fast. Her mother dead. Bleeding. Lifeless.
Grinding her teeth, Holly pushed the past away and focused on Middleton, glaring as he sat up and rubbed his throat.
“Stupid bitch,” he muttered. He stared back at her, and Holly realized he probably was the more frightening of the two. His eyes weren’t just angry—they were crazy. He was crazy.
Standing, he aimed the gun at her, and Holly’s brain suddenly switched gears.
She was eight again. Peering beneath the couch. Dust tickled her nose, but she refused to sneeze. The bad man would hear her.
Her mom was screaming. And the man hit her. But not with his fist. With a gun.
When her screaming turned into crying, he set the gun down. Holly had seen that kind of gun before on the TV. A revolver. He had a revolver. But he’d stabbed her to death. What kind of sick bastard would do that?
“You sit your ass right there and don’t you move,” Middleton said, pulling her from her memory. “Or I’ll shoot your other leg, too.”
He slid the gun into his waistband and grabbed her ankles again.
As Middleton neared the open graves, Holly considered her options, noticing a box off to the side. It wasn’t the same coffin Jack had been buried in. Or the one used on Julia, Penelope, and Susan. Those coffins were at the police station.
This was a new one. And she suspected he’d made it just for her. She looked around, seeking any signs of people, but the park would be empty this late at night. If there were others around, she wouldn’t have been carried into the woods by a madman. Besides, she wouldn’t give this asshole the satisfaction of hearing her scream. He would never get her in that box—not alive, anyway.
Biting her teeth together when he dropped her wounded leg, she swallowed the pain and steadied her voice. “What
happened, big guy? Not enough hugs in your childhood?”
He didn’t answer. He was focused on moving the coffin into the hole in the ground.
She had to distract him. Buy time. Give Jack enough time to realize she was missing. It wouldn’t take them long to realize where she was. Or so she hoped. “Mommy didn’t love you. Or maybe she loved you too much and not the right way.”
He turned then, pointing at her. “Shut your mouth, whore!”
“She touched you? Or she didn’t touch you? Which was it?”
He stared at her for a moment before strolling back over and smiling as he loomed over her. “She screamed so loud. When I pushed her into the well. I listened to her scream for hours before I pushed the side in on her to shut her up.”
Holly swallowed. “You killed your mother?”
“You look just like her, you know. Golden hair and crystal-blue eyes. I bet you’re a whore, too.”
“You killed her because she was a whore?”
He stroked his hand over her hair. She tried to jerk back, but he fisted the strands and forced her to look at him. “She would drink from the liquor cabinet and screw men right in front of us when Daddy wasn’t home. I got brave once. Told her I was going to tell. She chased me. But I knew where to go.”
“And you pushed her down the well?”
His smile widened. “And she screamed so loud. Begged me to let her out. Promised she would do whatever I wanted.”
Holly’s heart pounded against her ribcage. She could barely control her breathing, but she had to stay calm. She was certain that Middleton, crazy as he was, knew to get rid of her phone, but if she was lucky, the tiny tracker Rene had forced her to wear was still safely in her pocket. Sam was probably online finding her right now. No, better than that, they were on their way to her. Right now.
“I bet Julia begged, too,” Holly said, hoping to keep this lunatic talking.
“Yup.”
“And Penelope?”
“And Susan. Susan.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “She screamed almost as loud as Mama.”
“Pearson brought them to you?”