He had his rifle at the ready now. He knelt down and appeared to be investigating the ground.
Was he looking for footprints?
Would he find any?
Did it matter if he did?
Only if those footprints allowed him to track her to her current hiding place . . .
Bree had no intention of moving. She was going to stay exactly where she was and hope that he couldn’t spot her, although there was certainly a part of her that worried that he would have no trouble locating her.
Clyde got back to his feet and started walking again, which wouldn’t have concerned Bree if not for the fact that he was walking directly towards her.
Had he already pinpointed her exact location?
There was definitely a temptation to shoot to her feet and run away, but that would reveal her location for sure. Despite concerns that he might already know where she was, she felt like she had to stay put and hope that her fears turned out to be unfounded.
Clyde closed in until he was only a couple of strides from where she lay on the forest floor. He came to a stop and looked around. His eyes scanned the trees around him, but he wasn’t looking down, and Bree took that to mean that he didn’t know where she was.
At least not yet.
That could change in a hurry if he just looked down.
Clyde didn’t remain in one place for long. He soon started to push his way through the brush again. Bree held her breath as the man stepped right over her. She was suddenly very pleased that she took the time to coat her body in a layer of mud. If she hadn’t, he almost certainly would have seen her.
While Clyde moved deeper into the woods, Bree’s plan to simply remain still suddenly didn’t feel like the best course of action when she spotted a branch lying on the ground nearby. If she was going to save Melissa and get out of here, she would have to do more than just hide. At some point, she would have to go on the offensive. Maybe now was as good of time as any.
Slowly rising to her feet, Bree tiptoed after Clyde, pausing only to stoop down and pick up the branch. She made sure to measure each of her steps, not wanting to repeat her earlier mistake by stepping on a twig or anything else that would give her away.
Just then, Clyde stopped. He cursed under his breath and turned around. His eyes went wide when he saw Bree.
But she didn’t give him an opportunity to react.
She swung the branch at his skull with all of her strength. It smashed into the side of his head and he collapsed to the ground.
Dropping the branch, Bree couldn’t help but feel sick to her stomach after hitting another human being like that. Even though he was obviously a horrible person, she still didn’t get any satisfaction from causing him pain. She liked to believe that was what separated her from people like Clyde and Mac.
Getting down on her knees, Bree took the rifle away from Clyde. She tried to keep her eyes from fixating on the blood that was oozing from the wound on the side of his head. She didn’t want to believe that she hit him hard enough to kill him, but she also knew that she wouldn’t be able to set her mind at ease until she checked if he was still alive or not.
She pressed her fingers to his neck.
Searching for a pulse.
Relief washed over her when she found one.
Finding comfort in the knowledge that she didn’t kill anyone, Bree got to her feet with the stolen rifle clutched tightly in her hands. She was willing to bet that Clyde was going to be out for a while, and as long as the dogs were still tied to the tree over by the cabin, there was only one obstacle left to overcome in order for Bree to rescue Melissa.
14
BREE WAS CREEPING ALONGSIDE THE cabin once again. And this time, she heard a struggle coming from inside. Concerned that she might be almost out of time to save Melissa, Bree picked up the pace.
When she reached the door, she hesitated as she stared at the rifle in her hands. She took a moment to really think about what she was about to do. She had never even touched a gun before in her entire life until just moments ago, and here she was on the verge of being forced to prove to someone that she was willing to pull the trigger in order to save a life.
Was she actually willing to pull the trigger?
She wasn’t sure.
But at the very least, she had to convince Mac that she was, even if it wasn’t the truth.
Finally, Bree took a peek inside the cabin. What she saw sent her heart straight to her throat.
Melissa’s hands were tied behind her back, and her ankles were bound together. There was a wadded up cloth shoved into her mouth to gag her and keep her from making any more than muffled groans and whimpers as she sat curled up in the corner of the cabin. Tears streaming from her eyes mixed with the mud already spattered on her face.
Mac chuckled to himself, undoubtedly loving every second of this, as he crawled towards Melissa on all fours. He wasn’t armed with his rifle. It was lying atop of the table. Not within his reach. He did have a long knife on his belt, though, so he wasn’t entirely unarmed.
But Bree could tell that he wasn’t interested in killing Melissa. At least not right away. He obviously had something else in mind for her . . .
He removed his belt and tossed it aside before unzipping his pants.
Not about to let him satisfy his sick desires, Bree stepped fully into the doorway. Raising the rifle, and taking aim at the back of Mac’s head, Bree announced her presence.
“Get away from her.”
Mac looked over his shoulder. He was no longer wearing his mask, allowing Bree to get her first look at his face.
He was older than she expected him to be. His weathered face was etched with wrinkles, at least the parts of his face that weren’t hidden by a scruffy beard. His long hair—thin on the top—was gathered into a ponytail behind his head.
Mac only stared at Bree for a handful of seconds, and then started to laugh. “What do you think you’re doing with that thing, girl? Are you going to shoot me?”
“I will if I have to.” Bree tried to sound convincing despite the fact that her hands were trembling.
Getting back on his feet, Mac shook his head while laughing again. “You just made a huge mistake. You were supposed to survive the night, but now that you’ve seen my face . . . I’m afraid there’s going to have to be a change of plans.”
“Don’t come any closer.” Bree retreated a step. “I will shoot you.”
“Don’t lie to me, Bree. I know you’re not going to shoot anyone.”
“H-how do you know my name?”
“I know a lot more about you than just your name, Bree. I know you really shouldn’t have broken up with that rich boyfriend of yours. You and the blonde bimbo back there pissed off his daddy big time.”
“What does any of that have to do with you?”
“You’re a clever girl. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
It didn’t take long for Bree to come to the realization that she knew what Mac was implying. Her stomach tightened with dread. “Oh my God . . . Did Roland hire you to kidnap us?”
“That’s right, sweetheart. He did.”
“W-why?”
“Well, I can’t really speak for him. I just do my job. All I know is that we were supposed to kidnap you both, and take you out here for a little game of cat and mouse, and once we were done having our fun with you, we were only supposed to bring one of you back to Trenton. As you already know, you’re the one who was supposed to survive.”
Bree could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had always gotten a weird vibe from Roland Emmerson. She never got the impression that he was the flawless hero that everyone made him out to be, but she certainly never would have guessed that he could be capable of something like this.
“Now give me that rifle.” Mac took a couple of steps towards her. “Little girls like you shouldn’t play around with guns. Someone could get hurt.”
“I know.” Bree tightened her grip on the gun. “That’s kind of the idea.
”
“I’m being serious, Bree. Give me that rifle.”
“I’m being serious too. Stay back or I’ll shoot.”
“You stupid bitch.” Mac lunged at her with arms outstretched, no doubt with the intention of taking the weapon away from her by force.
Bree wasn’t sure if it was merely reflex or her survival instincts taking over, but she pulled the trigger.
The recoil from the rifle’s discharge left her stumbling backwards. As her ears rang, she watched as Mac clutched at his stomach. Blood soaked his shirt and leaked through the gaps between his fingers.
He held his hand up to look at the blood, and then looked at Bree again. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but all that came out was a hoarse gasp before he collapsed forward on to the cabin floor in a lifeless heap.
Bree felt sick to her stomach as she stared at the rifle in her trembling hands. She just took someone’s life, and that was not an easy pill for her to swallow.
But she had no choice but to come to grips with the fact that it was done and over with. It was the only way to save both herself and Melissa after all.
Setting the rifle down, she hurried over to Melissa and dropped down to her knees beside her. She pulled the rag out of her mouth.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Melissa’s eyes were glued to the body of her aggressor lying nearby. “Is he . . . dead?”
“Yeah. You don’t have to worry about him anymore. You don’t have to worry about either of those assholes anymore.”
“You killed them both?”
Bree shook her head as she got started on getting Melissa’s hands untied. “Just the one. I knocked the other out.”
Once Melissa was freed, Bree returned to Mac’s body. She did something that she wasn’t keen on doing, but it had to be done. She searched his pockets. It didn’t take long for her to find exactly what she was hoping to find.
“What is that?” Melissa asked.
Bree turned around and held up what she had to assume were the keys to the truck parked outside. “Our ticket out of this nightmare.”
15
THE MOMENT THAT BREE PARKED the truck in front of the sheriff’s office, she turned to Melissa in the passenger seat. “Alright, are you ready to go in there? Just like we talked about, tell the sheriff everything, including who hired the men that abducted us.”
Melissa frowned. “Do you really believe what that guy said? Why would Mr. Emmerson hire them to abduct us? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t understand it either, but that doesn’t mean he was lying. Why lie about something like that? Besides, he knew too much about us. I’m sure he was telling the truth.”
Shaking her head, Melissa brought her hand to her mouth and began to nibble on her fingernails. “I can’t believe this. Mr. Emmerson did so much for everyone in this town, including my parents. Why would he do something so awful?”
“I don’t know, Melissa, but you need to get in there and tell the sheriff what happened. Don’t leave out any details. Can you do that?”
“I think so . . . but what about you? Why aren’t you coming with me?”
“There’s something I need to do.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on what you need to do. Oh, and don’t forget to tell the sheriff about the man we left tied up back at that cabin.”
Melissa held her gaze for several seconds before she spoke again. “Oh my God . . . you’re going over there, aren’t you? You’re going to the Emmerson house to confront Mr. Emmerson.”
With a sigh, Bree turned away and stared at the sheriff’s office again, just to avoid looking at Melissa as she answered her question. “I have to. I’m not going to let him get away with what he did to me.” She turned to face Melissa again. “What he did to us.”
“Don’t you think you should let the sheriff handle this?”
“Just trust me. I have to do this.”
With a meek nod, Melissa popped her door open. Then she got out of the truck and shut the door again. She started to walk towards the sheriff’s office, but she stopped after a few steps and turned around to meet Bree’s gaze again. The window on the passenger side door was rolled down.
“I know it doesn’t mean much now, but I’m sorry, Bree. I’m sorry for being such a bitch to you. I was wrong about you. I mean, what kind of a person saves the girl who slept with her boyfriend? The answer is you. You’re a much better person than I am.”
“It means a lot more than you might think.” Bree smiled warmly. “And I don’t think you’re a bad person, Melissa. I think you made a mistake . . . but I don’t think you deserve to be punished for that mistake. I forgive you.”
Melissa smiled warmly. “Are you absolutely sure you won’t reconsider what you’re about to do?”
Bree shook her head. “Like I said, I have to do this.”
“Alright. Just promise me that you’ll be careful. I’ll make sure that the sheriff gets off his butt and gets over to the Emerson house as soon as possible.”
“Thanks. And I will be careful. I promise.” Bree put the truck in drive and then drove out of the parking lot and back on to the road.
It was only a short drive to Travis’s house. She had been there plenty of times in the past, but her reason for going there was very different this time.
***
Bree left the truck parked on the street just outside the Emmerson’s estate and then climbed over the wall that surrounded the property.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to break into the house. She knew that Vivien left the door to the conservatory open most nights so the gardener could let himself in without needing a key. With any luck, the door would be open and Bree could simply let herself in.
Making her way around to the back of the enormous house, Bree located the door to the conservatory. She reached out and tried the handle. Was pleased to discover that it was unlocked.
She closed the door behind her as quietly as she could and then began to creep her way through the house. Her bare feet made very little noise, although they almost certainly left a trail of muddy prints in their wake.
Fortunately, Bree had been here enough times to know exactly where she was going. Straight up the stairs and three doors down the hall, she came to a stop just outside of the master bedroom. She gripped the rifle that she stole from her abductors in both hands.
Of course she was nervous about what she was about to do, but that didn’t mean that she had any doubts about her decision to come here. She wasn’t about to allow Roland Emmerson to get away with what he did to her and Melissa.
He had to pay.
It was that simple.
She stepped inside the luxurious bedroom. Found Roland and Vivien both fast asleep in the king-sized bed. They both looked so peaceful. But they were in for a rude awakening.
Bree moved to the end of the bed—with the business end of the rifle pointed in Roland’s direction—and then kicked the bedframe a couple of times until Roland’s eyes opened. For a moment, there was a flash of what appeared to be genuine fear in his eyes, but that faded away quickly. He furrowed his brow, staring daggers at Bree.
“What the hell are you doing in my home?” he demanded.
“What’s the matter? Are you surprised to see me?”
Roland didn’t say a word. He just carried on staring at her with obvious contempt in his eyes.
“I know what you did,” Bree went on, “and you’re not going to get away with it.”
“Not going to get away with what? I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve broken into my home, waving a gun in my face. I should call the sheriff and have you arrested.”
“Don’t bother. Melissa is with the sheriff right now, explaining everything that happened. You remember Melissa, don’t you? You know, the girl that you tried to have killed tonight.”
Roland smirked. “What is it that you hope to accomplish by being here, Bree? Do yo
u honestly expect me to admit to anything? Why would I do that? What proof do you have?”
“I have your friends, Mac and Clyde.” Bree matched his smug smirk with one of her own. “Aren’t you wondering what happened to them?”
“I’m not familiar with those names.”
“Cut the bullshit. You know exactly who I’m talking about. You might have this whole town fooled into thinking that you’re some kind of saint, but I’m not fooled. I know what you really are.”
“And what am I?” Roland pushed the covers off and threw his legs over the side of the bed before he got to his feet. “What right do you think you have to come to my house and pass judgement on me? Whatever I have or have not done to become the man that I am today is no concern of yours. You are nothing, and you will continue to be nothing. That is why I did what I did tonight. Both you and that whore Melissa have toyed with my son’s emotions enough.”
“I never toyed with him. We were dating for years. I thought that I loved him.”
“Until you decided that you didn’t love him, and then you just tossed him and everything that he did for you aside. Isn’t that right?”
“He cheated on me. He made his choice.”
“Cheated on you? He is only a young man driven by hormones. How could he resist a slut like Melissa throwing herself at him? Perhaps if you had done a better job satisfying him, it never would have happened.”
“Don’t you dare try to make this my fault. I did nothing wrong.”
“Of course you did” Roland took a step towards her. “You had the golden ticket, Bree. My son chose you—a simple girl from a broken home with no money and no prospects of a bright future—out of all the girls at his school. You have no idea how lucky you were, and yet you still demanded more of him.”
“Wanting him to be faithful was not too much to ask for.”
Hide and Seek: A Suspense Thriller Page 9
