by Nikkie Locke
Carl passed the phone he was using off to Burke without delay. “Tell me,” he ordered.
“Talbot has a small piece of property across the river,” she informed him.
“It’s tucked way back there,” Smith told him. “It doesn’t even look like it has road access.”
“Show me.” As he considered the place Smith showed him on the map, he realized Burke had crossed the small room to do the same.
“Looks like I am going to have to call the sheriff back,” he muttered. “That’s going to be their jurisdiction.”
“Forget about that,” Carl said. “How do we get there?”
“There’s a private access road,” Dean replied. “We used to use it to get to that place Jonah’s dad owned.”
“When we’d go camping,” Burke finished. “That’s right. Those lots are all privately owned for camping near the river. There was an access road that went right through the middle of this place. I’ll bet that’s how he went in.”
“We’re going,” Carl announced. “Burke, grab two rifles. Smith, Chase, can either of you handle a rifle?”
Smith smirked. “Better than he can.”
Carl looked at Chase. She nodded.
“Chase, you’re with me and Dean. Burke, you and Smith lead the way,” Carl ordered.
“The cars won’t cut it, sir,” Burke said as he relocked the gun cabinet at the back of the room. “The access road is rough. It’s basically a dirt path.”
“We’ll take Dean’s truck,” Carl said. “You take Rykers’. He leaves the keys in it. I’ll radio Jeff and have him send backup.”
“Who’s Jeff?” Dean asked as Chase shoved him through the door.
“The county sheriff,” she replied. “I think.”
Dean fished his keys out of his pocket. “Who’s driving?”
“I am,” his father answered from behind him. He passed Chase one of the rifles Burke had retrieved from the gun cabinet in the back of the station. “Dean, you’ll have to ride in the back seat.”
“Let’s just get there,” he said, handing over his keys and crawling in the back.
He sat in the back seat as his father drove at a breakneck speed out of town. He listened to the cackle of the police radios as his father radioed in his request for additional county units and as those additional units responded. He watched as Chase used the short trip to familiarize herself with the new rifle.
In the back seat, he waited. There was nothing else for him to do. He knew even at the pace Burke set it would take at least another ten minutes to reach the access road. He waited, and he prayed.
• • •
Inside the bathroom, Payten began to sweat. She never thought she’d make it this far. Convincing Talbot to untie her to go pee had been a long shot. At least, she’d thought it would be. It turned out to be surprisingly easy, though. Now that she was in the bathroom, she realized why.
There was no window. She stared at the wall where there should have been a window. She’d bet her very life on the fact that whatever idiot had built the one-room shack had put a window in the bathroom.
And there’s no fucking window! Just great, she thought. Now what?
“I don’t hear you peeing,” Talbot said from the other side of the door.
“I’m getting there,” she snarled.
She didn’t want to go to the bathroom despite the fact she really did have to go. After all, she had been on her way to the bathroom when she’d been taken. The flimsy door didn’t have a lock. Talbot seemed pretty focused on killing her, but she wouldn’t put it past him to change his mind and decide to rape her while he was at it.
I’d really like to skip that.
“If you don’t go to the bathroom in the next ten seconds, I’m coming in to get you,” he warned.
“I’m going!”
She stared at the bathroom door. No window, she thought. The only way out is through that door. And, since it opens out, it’s not like I can even lean on it to keep him out.
The idea hit her. It was a long shot, but — Hey! Anything beats dead.
She needed to be sure he was in front of the door. If he tried to come in and get her, he would definitely be in front of the door. She moved herself to the far side of the bathroom.
“That’s it!”
She heard him stomping toward the bathroom and watched the door closely. When the doorknob began to turn, she ran the short distance across the bathroom and flung herself into the door. The door slammed open and into Talbot, knocking him backward.
Using her momentum, she kept running across the shack, slowing only long enough to open the door to the outside. She heard it when Talbot hit the floor of the shack, but she didn’t look back. She also heard his thudding footsteps as he got up and chased her.
She ran into woods surrounding the shack and kept moving. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t take time to figure out where she was going. She just ran as fast and as far as she could.
She couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore. That was a very good thing because her speed was decreasing. The throbbing in her head became even more persistent than before. It ached, and the cut on her shin was worse. Every time her foot slammed onto the ground, a shooting pain rang through her leg, radiating out from the cut on her shin. She could feel something wet near it. It could have been sweat. She thought her cut had broken open and was bleeding, though.
She risked a glance over her shoulder. Nothing. There was no movement behind her. She slowed her pace, but kept moving at a brisk walk. Still, she couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of her blood in her brain. She tried to slow her breathing while she looked around her.
Nearly full, the moon gave her a clear view of what was around her, but it also meant Talbot would be able to see her if he got close enough. As soon as she caught her breath, she bumped her pace back up to a run. The idea of Talbot catching up pushed her to ignore the pain in her head and thigh.
She kept looking around, but she didn’t recognize anything. The moonlight cast shadows through the trees. With every step she took, the wet leaves covering the ground shifted, making it a challenge to stay upright. She had absolutely no idea where she was running. She kept moving though.
If only you’d paid more attention when the guys had taken you girls camping in high school, maybe you would have some idea where you were.
The guys had attempted to teach them all sorts of tricks. There was one about the North Star. The bare branches of the trees allowed her to see the stars, but they all looked the same to her. There was another about which side of a tree moss grew on. She didn’t remember it all. On top of that, she didn’t think that one really worked.
Think, Payten! Think!
She saw a narrow clearing ahead of her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she ran toward it. She realized it was a path. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be on the path. She knew Talbot would be looking for her, and it would make her so much easier to find. She definitely didn’t want to be wandering in the woods lost, though.
She decided it was worth the risk. She changed course to run along the path, but from a distance, staying in the shelter of the woods. It would give her time to duck if she saw Talbot on the path, but she’d be close enough to not get lost.
She had to slow her pace again. The pain was worse, she was definitely bleeding from the cut on her shin, and her lungs burned from the run.
If you make it out of this alive, you’re joining a gym, she told herself. And you’re running a lot.
She walked for what felt like forever. Her breathing leveled out. She couldn’t manage a run for very long again. She could feel the muscles of her legs quiver with every step, and her vision kept going dark for several seconds at a time. Sweat from her earlier running cooled on her skin. In the frigid winter temperature, her lightweight pants and Dean’s borrowed shirt weren’t enough to keep her warm.
You can do this. You just have to stay away from Talbot long enough for the police to find you. And they wi
ll find you. Talbot hurt Rykers. They’ll be super pissed. It’s going to be okay.
Dean will find you. He can’t help himself. He’s going to come upstairs, realize you’re not there, and race into danger. He’ll find you. He loves you.
She couldn’t help but smile. It made her feel insane, but at least, if she died, she had gotten to be madly in love for a little while. She regretted it hadn’t been longer.
You are not dying, Payten. Not happening. Move your ass. We are getting out of this, and we’re getting out of it alive. If you die out here, this maniac and Peterson win. Dean will torture himself over this. He’ll blame himself the rest of his life. Isn’t it enough he already has nightmares? You will not die.
It was enough to push her into a jog again even if she did wonder about the sanity of giving herself pep talks while being chased by a psycho.
That was when she saw the lights. They were headlights, and they were moving the opposite direction down the path. She debated whether to hide and wait for the vehicle to go past or to keep running in the opposite direction. She didn’t want to go running up to a truck to find Talbot waiting for her inside.
In the end, she was tackled before she could decide either way.
She knew her attacker was Talbot. Pushing and scratching at him, she did her best to get away from him. He grabbed her leg and squeezed slightly above where he had cut her. She instinctively jerked to get away from the pain. When she did, she slammed her knee into his groin. He rolled off her, cursing. She used the opportunity to run.
She jumped to her feet and ran toward the path. Talbot obviously wasn’t in the car, and she didn’t care who was as long as it wasn’t him. The muscles in her injured leg shook. She could hear Talbot getting up behind her. She knew she wasn’t going to make it.
• • •
“What was that?” Smith demanded.
Burke glanced at her. She pointed out his window. He slowed the truck and looked out. They had made the turn off the gravel road and onto the access road. The rugged lane was truly nothing more than a narrow path, no wider than a pickup truck, that had been cleared of major foliage. In the years since it had last been cleared, saplings and thick grass had grown up, making the lane hard to travel.
“I don’t see anything,” he said.
“Stop!”
He stopped the truck. “I don’t see anything.”
“There’s someone running in those trees,” she told him.
“Are you positive?”
“Yes.”
“Which way?” he asked.
“The opposite way as us. I’ll call back and have Devin keep her eyes open.”
He slammed the truck in park and leapt out. Smith followed him while talking on her radio. Burke pulled his gun and moved slowly in the direction she had pointed.
“Flashlight?” she asked when she had finished on the radio.
“The moon’s bright enough. Right?”
She shrugged. “Good enough for me.”
“You really good with that?” he asked, motioning toward the rifle she carried.
“Very.”
She watched him nodded in the light of the moon. He moved off the lane into the brush. She followed two steps behind him and two steps to the side. She’d hate to accidently shoot him if he wound up in her line of fire.
• • •
“Where is she?” Dean asked. “They aren’t that far ahead of us. We should have seen her by now.”
“It’s possible she stopped,” Carl warned. “Keep your eyes open. We’ll find her.”
He watched out the window of the back seat. Afraid he might miss her, he was terrified to blink. They had to find her. There was no other option, because if she was running through the woods Talbot was chasing her. No one was saying it, but he knew it.
“There!” It was only the slightest glimpse of her in the moonlight, but he knew it was Payten.
“Where?” Chase asked.
The truck rolled over another dip in the lane. Between the dips and the trees, he lost sight of her. It was several long seconds before he spotted her again. The moonlight showed Payten moving through the trees.
He was already reaching for his door handle when he saw Talbot dive to tackle her. He was out of the truck and running for them before his father or Chase could protest. He raced toward where she had gone down. He couldn’t see her on the ground, but kept running.
She came up off the ground as suddenly as she had gone down. She was running toward the truck. He could see Talbot chasing her. She wasn’t running fast enough.
“Payten!” he screamed, running faster.
She didn’t scream back, but she sped up. He had to get to her before Talbot did. Dean knew he would kill her if he caught her. He didn’t know how she had gotten away the first time, but Talbot would make sure she didn’t again. He pushed himself to run faster.
He was so close when he saw Talbot dive for her. Talbot wrestled her to the ground. Her scream echoed through the trees.
He reached them and jerked Talbot away from her. Off balance, he fell to the ground with him. Talbot flailed wildly and managed to kick Dean in the chest. The blow knocked the wind out of him. He gasped for air.
He was still gasping when Talbot punched him. He returned the punch blindly, but he felt the crack of Talbot’s nose under his fist. It felt good. He rolled away from Talbot and pushed to his feet.
Payten was steps away from them. “Run!”
“Dean!”
He turned in time to see Talbot lunge for him. The knife in his hand shone in the moonlight. He flung himself out of the way. Barely keeping his balance, he avoided the knife.
He wasn’t as lucky the next time. Talbot’s wild slash cut across his arm when he threw it up to cover his face. He leapt back.
Before Talbot had time to follow, Smith — or was it Chase? — yelled, “Down!”
Dean flung himself to the ground, trusting her — whichever one it was — to know what she was doing. He rolled to face Talbot. He didn’t finish rolling before a gunshot sounded.
The scream that followed was chilling. Completing his roll, he saw Talbot lying on the ground.
With the immediate danger past, he pushed himself to his feet and raced to Payten. He scooped her off the ground and moved away from where Talbot lay.
“Are you okay? Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Let me see.”
She burst into tears in response. He kept moving away until Burke poked him in the back.
“Put her down. She’s bleeding.”
“Talbot — ”
“She’s fine here. You’re far enough he can’t get to her. Smith and I will be between you until Chief and Chase catch up.”
He couldn’t bear to set her on the ground so he sat down and cradled her in his lap. Around him, he could hear the crackle of the police radios and Talbot’s screams. Beyond that, he could hear faint sirens that grew increasingly louder. His attention was focused on Payten.
“Are you okay?”
Her arms were around his neck. She refused to let go. He gave up trying to find out if she was all right. The fact she was in his lap with her arms around his neck and her warm breath against his cheek was good enough until the ambulance crew arrived.
He stood at the back of the ambulance while the crew worked on Payten. His father came over and briefed him on what would happen next. The sheriff and his deputies had arrived and were going to take Talbot into their custody. The second ambulance crew was taking him to the hospital because of his injuries. Deputies would remain with him throughout his stay. Burke and Smith were at the residence where Payten had been held.
The only thing he heard was his father telling him Payten was safe and she was going to be fine. He hugged his father while Payten smiled at the two of them from the stretcher inside the ambulance. It was an enormous hug that relayed all his gratitude and love in a way he would never be able to express with words.
“Thank you, Dad. Thank you.”
He
patted him on the back. “You’re welcome, son.”
Dean rode in the ambulance with Payten to the hospital. They admitted her for the night. After cleaning and bandaging the cut to his arm, the staff tried to send him home. He never budged. Payten smiled every time he told the staff to forget about it, and she made room in her hospital bed for him to sleep beside her.
Somewhere deep in the night, she whispered to him. “You saved me, Dean.”
He smiled, but he knew she had saved herself. He’d heard her give her statement to his father. Her brains and her legs had saved her, not him.
“I love you,” he whispered back.
She sighed happily. “I know. That’s what saved me.”
She fell asleep before he could ask what she meant.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dean sat down across the wide table from the man of his nightmares. He had never come to visit Peterson before and never would again. Even weeks ago, the nightmares would have plagued him ruthlessly if he’d so much as thought about it.
Now, he knew what he had to do. Payten had suggested it, and she was right. He had to see Peterson. He had to see him in his prison orange jumpsuit and in cuffs.
Peterson’s jumpsuit really was orange and he was cuffed to the table in front of him. Shackles held his feet to the chair. Peterson was a much smaller man than he remembered. It could have been the years in prison. It could have just been Dean wasn’t a ten-year-old boy anymore.
“You’re not as big as I remember, Kevin.”
Peterson snarled. “You’re as mouthy as I remember.”
Dean shrugged. The man across the table inspired no fear. Dean didn’t shake. His heart didn’t race. His stomach didn’t turn.
“I just stopped in to let you know you’ll be going on trial again soon,” Dean said.
Peterson whipped to attention. “What?”
“Talbot told the police everything. He wasn’t as dedicated to you as he was afraid of prison.”
Dean had been present for the interview with Matthew Talbot. Citizens weren’t normally allowed to watch interrogations, but his father had managed to swing it. Yesterday, less than a week after Payten’s kidnapping, the sheriff’s department had taken Talbot from his room in the hospital to a cell in the county jail.
