She spun around and canvased the room again. It was all so familiar but suddenly felt so confusing and different. She couldn’t explain the feeling. Nothing she laid eyes on seemed useful anymore. Not a single item seemed to be a suitable instrument to give her a chance against the monster about to break through her door.
Then her eyes locked on the partially open window as the light drapes floated in a small gust of cool fall wind. The same one that Nathan had slipped in through just hours ago. Her heartbeat slowed as the thought of Nathan entered her head. It was stupid to think about him right now, but she couldn't help herself. It had really been just hours ago that he had been in her room, with her. It seemed so distant now. A tear escaped her eye.
A renewed effort at the door brought her back to reality. Her mind began to process a plan. Just outside the window was a large red maple, its branches networked up around the rear of the house, close enough to her window for Nathan to have climbed in the window on numerous occasions. That was her hope.
Mara spun around and raced to the vanity where her car keys sat on the edge of the table next to a variety of eyeliners. The door jerked again as another fist rammed home. It creaked, ready to let loose at the hinges. Mara about faced and made for the window. She pulled back the drapes and peered outside toward the shadow-covered ground at least twelve feet below and then up the tree branches. The lake sat calm in the background. The cold autumn air bit her exposed skin lightly.
She took in a deep breath and extended her leg out the window. She hung there for a moment, swaying her leg gently, working to find the branch without turning to look out the window. Her shoe hit something solid, she applied some pressure and found purchase on a large branch. Mara took in another breath and then carefully slid the rest of the way out, placing her full weight and trust in the old maple.
She closed her eyes and clung tightly to the branch. The task of moving seemed Herculean, impossible. She tried to slip further down the tree but the fear of falling overwhelmed her. Then a massive bang and the shattering of wood echoed out from the window. She dared a look back into the house and saw the outline of light behind the drapes where the door now stood open.
“Where’d you go?” Joe called. “You can't hide forever.”
Mara held her breath and stilled herself. Her gaze remained steady on the window. Maybe if she didn’t speak, if she kept quiet, he’d just go back downstairs, consider her gone.
“Hello there, Mara,” Joe burst between the drapes, hanging half way out the window.
She screamed and let go of her grip on the branch. Her body began to slip. Her heart jumped up her throat as she flung her arms out for the branch. She was falling. Then her arm caught the branch and wove tightly around it. She breathed heavily as she hugged the branch and then glared up at Joe.
“Come on back in now,” Joe said. “Come on back and let’s get this over with. Or would you prefer I knock your ass off that tree?”
Mara refused to go back inside the house. She would not willingly give herself to Joe, not after what he did to her, how he used her. Her insides churned. She frowned, but then redirected the disgust and useless guilt into anger toward the beast, toward escaping. Mara took hold of the anger and used it to move. She slid one foot first, then another, slowly moving down the large branch. Rough bark scraped against her bare legs and threatened to cut through her thin blouse as she moved down inch by inch.
The boy stared on in confusion, somehow unsure why Mara would choose to go down the tree rather back into his “caring” arms. Mara kept moving, she increased her climb down the branch.
Suddenly the branch shook. Mara came close to losing her grip again. She looked up to find Joe climbing over the window sill. He was getting his grip on the branch, he was coming after her. Mara took a deep breath and quickened her descent. Only eight more feet. Seven. Six. Five. She squinted and let her body drop the remaining distance. Her feet hit the ground hard, sending her down onto her side. She grunted, but the adrenaline running through her veins pushed her to get up.
Mara shoved her hands into the grass and lifted herself back up to her feet. She took a quick glance back up the tree. Joe was still at least ten feet above. Jump. I dare you, Mara thought before she bolted off and around the corner of the house.
As she made the bend, Mara heard a quiet grunt and then the sound of quick footsteps in the grass behind her. Joe had made it down. She pushed her legs to work harder, pumping with everything she had, begging all that volleyball practice to pay off now, when it counted most.
Finally up ahead, she saw her silver Z4 in the driveway. She started to grin when a deafening boom blasted out behind her and a plum of grass and dirt jettisoned from the ground just a yard ahead of her. Mara's hands flung into the air as she screamed. She dared a look back to find Joe running with the pistol at the ready.
It only pushed her harder. Mara put every ounce of her being into her legs and pushed forward, trying to move in a quick zig-zag pattern to throw of the boy's aim. At last the car was in reach. She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. Taking one last look behind her, she saw Joe’s dark outline a good ten yards behind, struggling to keep up. He raised the pistol again. Mara ducked down and slid into the sports car’s bucket seat and pressed the Start button. The engine roared to life as a bullet ricocheted off the door.
Mara screamed and slammed the shifter into reverse, not bothering to check behind her. She spun the car out into the grass and then rammed the shifter all the way back into drive and sent the accelerator to the floor. Grass and dirt flew everywhere and the car burst forward.
“Dammit!” Joe yelled after the escaping BMW. He couldn’t let her get away. Chase would cut his throat.
Suddenly he remembered the gorgeous BMW M4 in the Summers’ garage. A mischievous smile broke his face and he jolted back for the house. Weaving between the car he and his friends had arrived in and another that had arrived later, he stomped up onto the porch, past the tall columns and wrenched the front door open. The force of the door knocked the dying candle off its perch and onto the porch. Joe didn't see the flame blaze as it found the kerosene he had poured earlier.
Joe flew past the foyer, catching the house's only two occupants off guard. He thought he heard Chase say something but he couldn't make it out as he bound around into the kitchen. He found Dalton’s keys right where the man had left them on the kitchen counter. Joe snatched them up and darted out into the garage without a word to Chase.
Not wasting time, he bolted over to the M4 and swung the door open. It slammed against the van sitting next to it with a crack. Joe grimaced but jumped into the sporty bucket seat and searched for the ignition. He raised a brow, there wasn’t one. Then it hit him when he saw the Start button. He smiled in aggravation and pressed the button. The throaty roar of the car’s engine blossomed and his grin only grew. He shifted the car into reverse. Too bad it’s not a manual.
Mara had too much of a head start for him to wait any longer. He let go of the brake and floored the accelerator. The Beemer’s front end lowered as the tires catapulted the car backwards. He torqued the wheel to the right as the car cleared the garage door and the car spun to the side and jerked to an abrupt stop. Metal crunched against metal, the tail of the BMW caving in the driver’s door of a black Camaro.
“Ouch,” Joe quipped as he shoved the shifter into drive and pinned the accelerator the floor. The car lurched forward, pinning him to the back of his seat. He swerved to miss the cars sitting in the driveway and then floored it again. This bitch isn’t getting away tonight.
The sports car sailed down the concrete path and swerved out onto the road. There was only one way she would have went, the other direction was a dead end at the end of this small inland peninsula. Joe kept the pedal to the floor as he guided the machine down the road faster and faster.
Mara had a good half-minute start on him but a limited number of routes. More importantly to Joe was that her car’s speed and handling could not hope
to match the horsepower and turbochargers under the M4’s hood. It was a machine meant for speed and he was catching up.
Up ahead and around a sharp curve, as his tires cried out, he caught sight of taillights. Mara’s taillights. He was lucky, she had just pulled onto the adjoining road, right. Joe let go of the accelerator as he came to the intersection and spun the car’s tail end out onto the small two-lane road. His tires protested loudly before catching traction again and pushing him forward.
He locked his eyes on the Z4’s taillights as they got closer. Joe looked down at the instrument panel to the circular speed gauge, 70 and climbing. Mara’s taillights brightened as she braked for an upcoming curve. Joe refused to brake. He closed the distance between them, hovering only feet from her bumper.
You’re not getting away tonight, Mara.
Light glared off the side mirrors threatening to blind Mara. She squinted. He was close. Too close.
She couldn't see the car hidden behind the headlamps, but who else would be in hot pursuit? Only Freddie, only Joe. She floored the accelerator as the car made it around the curve, trying to lose him. She groaned, he stuck close, only a second or two delay and he matched her speed.
Mara swerved into the opposite lane and then back again. Joe mimicked her move. Then his engine roared harder. Joe began to overtake her, eking closer to the rear passenger quarter panel. Mara yanked the wheel back to the right to cut him off. Brakes screeched and his headlights dipped as the distance between them increased.
How am I going to lose him out here?
The road was curvy and empty. It was too late for much traffic, maybe none, and the dark made it more difficult to navigate at such high speeds. She could only see as far her headlights could cast their glow and the faster she accelerated, the shorter that distance felt.
The light blanket of colored leaves shuffled at the edge of the road and then was tossed into the air in whirling patterns as she pushed the car down a small straight stretch. Joe was gaining on her again, the gap growing smaller and smaller. She pressed the accelerator harder, willing the speedometer past 80. Still he gained, then abruptly the entire car shook. Her head jerked forward and then backward, landing uncomfortably against the stiff leather headrest.
You’ve got to be kidding me!
She swerved again. She had to lose him, but how? A thought hit her. Mara assumed outrunning him was not an option, but she could potentially stall just long enough to get into a higher traffic area. She buried the brake pedal to the floor. Her tires screamed and the front end bowed to the pavement.
Another set of squeals joined hers. Immediately she released the brake and slammed the gas. The car jolted forward. She could not outrun him, but maybe the split second it took for him to react would be enough to gain some ground.
Or not. In a matter of seconds Joe rebounded fully from the ruse. His headlights grew in the rearview mirror and then began to disappear, covered by the rear end of her own vehicle. Her attention torn between the road and the mirror, she spotted something up ahead.
Headlights. Another car was coming. Mara stopped swerving from lane to lane and kept the car steady in the right lane. She earned a not-so-gentle nudge from Joe that threatened to push her back into the opposite lane.
The headlights up ahead grew rapidly, forming finally into a car. As if brought on by the new vehicle, tiny drops of rain began to splatter on her windshield. The car zoomed by in the opposite direction just as Joe’s bumper rammed her again. Her hands were wrenched from the steering wheel and the car began to turn on its own accord. Mara screamed as she fought to regain control of the steering wheel. She gripped tight and jerked the wheel back to the right, earning a screech from her overworked tires. The car shimmied before Mara got it steady again and then jammed the brake down again. Her head jerked forward as Joe slammed into her car. She shook away the pain in her neck and shoved the accelerator to the floor again. The car lurched forward, gaining a few yards between her and Joe. She switched on the wiper blades to clear the water pellets from her view.
In the distance she heard screeching, waning into oblivion, then the headlights of the car that had just passed by reappeared. They were in pursuit. Mara squinted in confusion until the familiar blue and yellow lights began to flash atop the car and along the front grill. Mara grinned for the first time that night and a well of hope swelled up inside her.
The police!
Her joy was cut short as her body was driven back into her seat. The sound of metal against metal screeched in her ears as the car was pushed to the left. She worked to compensate. Her tires screeched and screamed as she tried to maintain control. She swerved into the opposite lane, hoping to catch him off guard. Instead, he took advantage of the move and throttled forward. When Mara turned the wheel to move back into the right lane, Joe wrenched the wheel hard to the left, clipping her rear bumper just behind the wheel well.
“Ah!” Mara screamed as her Z4 spun sideways. The car continued to spin, tires burning against the pavement, squealing in protest. The smell of burnt rubber stung her nostrils as the world turned around her. For a second she could see Joe sitting behind the wheel of her dad's BMW.
He stole Dad's car! It was a stupid thought with the car spinning wildly out of control, but it was the first thing to enter her mind.
The car dropped and hit the dirt shoulder and then slammed into the small roadside ditch. Mara lost her breath as the passenger side of the car lifted from the ground. It had to be going fast but it all felt so slow at first. Joe’s headlights disappeared under the door replaced by dark storm clouds and the bare limbs of trees. Then time spun forward.
The car flipped onto its roof. The thin cloth headliner slammed into Mara’s skull with tremendous force. Glass shattered. Metal screeched violently, splitting in her ears. She felt as if her head had been bashed open. Then her body was wrenched back as the airbag deployed. Her nose cracked. Pain surged up through her face.
The car continued to flip, end over end. Mara’s body slammed against the door panel. She felt her waist cave under the pressure. Then it all suddenly stopped with another crunch against her skull.
Mara grunted and shook her head lightly. She immediately regretted it as a sharp pain burrowed between her eyes and deep into her head. She tried to move but only succeeded in discovering a painful spark in her side. She reached up to the throbbing in her head and felt something wet. She found blood streaked across her hand, the smell of copper under the overbearing stink of burnt rubber. Mara groaned. She was pressed against the door. Earth and grass poked through the broken glass at her side, buried in the ground. She peered out of what was left of the windshield. Everything seemed like it was propped on its side, out of place. The patches of leaf-covered grass and then the forest giving way to blackness beyond her headlight's reach. Mara groaned again and forced herself to look up, out the squashed passenger window. A scattered assortment of half-naked branches and dark storm clouds painted the opening. She squinted as rain drops landed on her cheek.
Rubber crunched to a halt on dirt somewhere nearby. In the distance a siren yelled through the rain, but she didn’t see the blue lights yet. Instead she heard the sound of a car door slamming shut and quick footsteps. As the footsteps grew in volume, the faint flashing of blue among the trees grew into strong strobes and the siren screamed louder.
Suddenly, she realized it was cold. She shivered as the cool air enveloped her and the persistent rain sullied her clothes. Why did it matter? She groaned as the faint movement of her leg sent a sting up her waist and spine. More tires screeched and a door clanked open. The footsteps slowed and then Joe came into view. He was grinning. The headlights made his dark skin seem almost pale for just a moment, just before he began to move closer.
“Stop right there!” another voice commanded. It had come from behind.
The police! Please! Please stop him! she begged.
Joe stopped, confused. Then rolled his eyes before stepping forward. “You think he can help
you?” Joe chided and laughed. “Not tonight, honey.”
With that, Joe lifted his pistol. Mara watched as the barrel aligned with her eyes. She refused to look away.
“Freeze! Put the gun down now!” the voice yelled, a new authority booming forth. “I said put the gun down!”
Joe cocked his head and grinned, “Bye bye.” Then he pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang!
It felt like someone had rammed a sledgehammer into her chest at a few hundred miles an hour. “Ah!” Mara yelped. She looked down to see blood seeping from her chest. Then she let her eyes move back up to Joe. He was doubled over, his free hand covering a spot on his lower shoulder. He pulled his hand away to reveal a grisly mass of red streaming down his chest. He looked at Mara in confusion, almost shock, then he turned around just as the officer came around the front of the car.
“Freeze!” the police officer yelled again, gun drawn and ready.
Mara gasped. It suddenly felt hard to breathe. Her vision began to blur. Fear rushed in. I don’t want to die this way. No! Not like this!
With what strength she had left, she watched the scene before her. She heard the loud thunder of Joe’s gun going off as he turned toward the cop. She thought he had missed, but she couldn't see well. In the same instant, another shot rang off and Joe’s body flew back and hit the ground. Then another. Joe’s blurred body jerked and then suddenly ceased to move.
Mara sighed. Everything felt distant, even the pain, though it was excruciating, seemed to be farther away, less intrusive. Then she heard a voice, the police officer.
“Are you ok—“ he stopped abruptly. He was handsome. Young…she thought, she couldn’t tell for certain, his features were blurred.
Deputy Ashton Keating tried to smile for the girl. He would make her comfortable, but that was all he could do. EMS would never arrive in time and there was no way he could get her out of the car on his own, not without harming her more.
To Watch You Bleed Page 21
