Authors: Leslie Parrish
Olivia’s head throbbed. Every time her heart beat it felt as though someone
had stuck a spike through her temple. She tried not to move, thinking before
she opened her eyes, trying to understand what was wrong, what felt so
different.
She realized immediately that she wasn’t in her bed. The ground was hard
beneath her, rough, shaley dirt scratching at her bare skin. And it was hot, so
very hot, like being inside the trunk of a car.
“No, oh, no,” she whispered, suddenly remembering waking up, feeling that
hand on her face, seeing him above her.
History repeating
.
Almost. It hadn’t been dark this time, and he hadn’t bothered to cover her
eyes. So she’d recognized him immediately. The man who’d terrorized her
and haunted her for years had worked right outside her back door, right under
her nose, al this time. He’d been cutting the lawns of al her neighbors, circling
her house, again and again, like a great white on the prowl.
She breathed deeply, not al owing fear to rise inside her. She wasn’t the
same girl she’d been, wasn’t helpless and weak. In pain, yes, but not helpless.
Final y opening her eyes, she remained stil , studying her surroundings. The
smal building in which she was imprisoned looked like a shed of some kind.
Wood wal s, dirt floors, corrugated metal roof. Only a hint of light shone
through the seams, and she figured it had to be close to dusk, several hours
since she’d fal en, exhausted, into her bed, needing to sleep away the horror
of Ty’s death.
Gabe will be looking for me
.
She’d given him the clues, Ty’s clues. He’d use them. He’d track this man
down, and he’d find her.
In the meantime, though, she needed to prepare herself for her kidnapper’s
return. She didn’t think of him as Lenny, the name he’d used in recent years. If
her suspicions were correct, his name was John. Ty hadn’t been able to finish
tel ing her whether the name John had belonged to father or to son, but she
suspected she knew the answer: both.
Jack was a common nickname for John. A father named John might want to
cal his boy Jack rather than Junior.
Jackie-boy
.
What a monster. She didn’t think she could feel any worse about what had
happened to the boy who’d saved her life, but the thought that he’d died at the
hands of his own father—because he’d helped her escape—was enough to
hands of his own father—because he’d helped her escape—was enough to
drive her mad with regret.
Not now. You don’t have time for this. Besides, maybe he’s finally happy.
He’s with his mother, away from the man who’d abused him.
Maybe. It was cold comfort, but maybe.
Suddenly hearing a noise outside, she slid closer to the wal , trying to see
out the sliver of a crack at the base. She couldn’t make out a thing, but she
could hear something that was getting louder.
A vehicle. But whose—John’s or someone else’s, her attacker’s or her
rescuer’s?
There were no sirens. Nor did she imagine any rescuer was just going to
come driving up.
It was probably him.
Glad he hadn’t tied her up, Olivia reached down into the pocket of her
pants, hoping he hadn’t searched her while she was out. “Yes!” she whispered
when she felt her key ring. She’d pocketed it this morning when she and Julia
had left the office to head to Ty’s house.
Digging it out, she felt everything on it, fingering a round tube—a mini
flashlight. And then a thin, flat metal object—a tiny folding knife.
Her father had bought her the key ring years ago, after the kidnapping,
tel ing her she should always have something to use in case of an emergency.
She didn’t imagine he’d ever thought she might try to defend her life with a
two-inch knife, dul ed to near uselessness. But it was better than nothing. If the
kil er got close enough to her—maybe thinking she was stil unconscious—she
might be able to stab him in the eye. Not kil him, probably, but hurt him enough
to run.
You’re not running.
No. She wasn’t running this time. Not if there was a chance there was a boy
here who needed her.
So she probably ought to try real y hard to kil the bastard.
The car drew closer, until it passed right by, making the tiny shed rattle. A
little farther, then it stopped. Olivia stayed very stil . She wanted him to think
she was stil out cold—defenseless. Or else scared out of her wits.
Suddenly, to her shock, she heard a woman’s voice cal , “Johnny? Where
are you? Damn it, get out here!”
Olivia gasped. Did he have an accomplice? Was some demented woman
helping him with his crimes?
A door creaked open nearby. “Wel , fancy you coming al the way out here
for a visit,” a man’s voice said, sounding like he was no more than twenty feet
away. Heavy footsteps landed on what sounded like metal, then on crunching
gravel.
He’d walked down a few steps onto the road.
She knew this scenario, had been through it before. He was living in a
trailer or motor home, probably out in the woods somewhere. But was he
living alone, or was there a boy inside, staying quiet as a mouse, ordered to
by the man who’d gone outside to see who’d come to cal ?
“Did you kil that man?” The woman’s voice rose with every word, and she
was almost screaming as she repeated, “Did you kil that man?!”
Ty. Was she talking about Ty?
“Answer me, damn you!”
Olivia’s stomach clenched, her heart tripping a little in her chest. There was
something about that voice . . . something . . .
“Now what the hel didja expect me ta do?”
“You said you’d leave,” the woman said, sounding on the verge of tears.
“You swore you’d just go and never come back.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’tcha, little cousin?”
A cousin? The monster had a female cousin? Did she know what he was,
what he’d done?
“I never would have told you he’d cal ed if I knew you were going to do that.
Damn it, Johnny, why couldn’t you just leave?”
He laughed, a low, evil chuckle. “Aww, I’d miss ya too much. I like our talks.”
“You like tormenting me,” the woman cried. “There’s something wrong with
you.”
“And you like that when it suits your purpose, don’t you? Fuckin’ whore, usin’
me to get what you want, then throwin’ me aside once ya got it.”
“I never wanted you to kil anyone. Not ever.”
“Wel , aren’t your hands lily white, then? Go on, get back in your fancy car
and get outta here.”
No. Please. Don’t leave.
Olivia didn’t know what to do. If she screamed for
help, would she just be putting the woman’s life in danger, too? The man had
kil ed his son; what on earth would prevent him from kil ing another relative?
“Fine,” the woman snapped, walking away, “but I’m through lying for you. The
next time my phone rings and a police officer asks me if I know where you are,
I’m giving him directions.”
“Wel , then, won’t we have fun sharin’ a jail cel ?”
Her footsteps stopped. “You wouldn’t.”
“O’course I would.”
“Al this time, al the help I’ve given you, the money . . .”
“You paid me to do your filthy work. Don’t go actin’ like it was charity.”
“You’re a bastard.”
His heavier footsteps pounded across the gravel, and the woman shrieked.
“Don’t touch me! I left a note sayin’ where I was going. If I’m not home in an
hour, somebody wil come out here lookin’ for me.”
Olivia listened for the sound of fists or a slap, but didn’t hear it. The
woman’s threat had worked. That meant he might be forced to let his cousin
go, even if she saw or heard something she wasn’t supposed to.
Olivia weighed her options, knowing they were few. She could lie here and
wait, hoping to surprise him with her tiny knife, or she could try to grab at the
one lifeline that had been thrown to her.
Praying she was doing the right thing, she slowly rose to her feet, moving to
the wal of the shed. Then she drew in a deep breath and screamed as loud
as she could.
As soon as she stopped she heard the woman’s horrified voice. “No, tel me
you didn’t. Tel me it’s not . . .”
“Wel , sure it is, darlin’.” His tone vicious, he added, “Why don’t we say hel o.
”
Olivia hadn’t been sure what to expect. That the other woman would get in
the car and drive away in a hurry, going for help? That she’d question her
cousin? But not this. Not that he’d bring her here and open the door. God,
what would she do if he threw the woman in here with her?
Stab him before
he can slam the door
.
She tightened her grip around the knife. Standing by the door, she waited,
every fiber in her body on alert, knowing she had one chance at this.
She heard the clink of chains, then the sound of rattling keys.
“Don’t. Please, don’t. No, stop,” the woman was saying, sounding on the
verge of hysterics. “You can’t, you mustn’t let her see . . .”
The words stabbed at her, their meaning both cloudy and terrifyingly clear.
Olivia focused, listening to the voice, not to the words, realizing it was familiar
somehow.
The door began to swing open. Olivia forced al other thoughts out of her
mind, knowing she had to leap and stab first, then deal with whoever this
mystery woman was.
But she didn’t get the chance. Because the woman was suddenly pushed
into the open doorway, blocking Olivia’s path out, preventing her from getting
at the man.
It took a second for her eyes to adjust; the lights from the motor home shone
brightly in her face, blinding her. She blinked, trying to make out the figure in
front of her, seeing a slim body and an arm, which was clenched in a beefy
male hand.
She lifted her eyes until she was final y able to see the face.
Recognition exploded through her like a cannon shot.
“Sunni?” she whispered, not understanding. “What are you doing here?
What . . . how . . .”
“She came to visit her family,” the man said.
It was impossible. Olivia’s father’s live-in girlfriend was related to the man
who’d kidnapped and tried to kil her? There was no way it could be a
coincidence. No way at al .
“Ya got it, don’tcha, sweetie? She took that job baby-sitting you precious
little angels so’s she could get close and help me plan the kidnapping. We
was supposed to get rich.”
Olivia gripped a beam on the wal , shocked, betrayed. Utterly enraged. This
woman, this awful woman, had worked her way into Olivia’s childhood home,
destroyed her entire life and her family, for ransom money? And then, to add
insult to injury, Sunni had stolen her way into her mother’s place in her dad’s
life?
“I didn’t want him to hurt you. He wasn’t supposed to hurt you,” Sunni said.
Olivia reacted from the gut. “You traitorous bitch,” she snapped, then, unable
to stop herself, spat right in the woman’s face.
“Liv, I . . .”
Whatever Sunni had been about to say was cut off when the man yanked
her away.
“I’l be back for you later,” Johnny said.
Then he slammed the door shut before she even had a chance to raise the
tiny knife, much less use it.
Gabe was like a man possessed.
When Julia told him what Morgan had seen, his first impulse had been to go
straight to Olivia’s house to find out for himself.
But he didn’t. Because, as he’d already acknowledged, Gabe was a
believer. He had no doubt Julia had interacted with a ghost, nor did he doubt
that the ghost had seen Olivia get spirited away by some guy driving a lawn
care van.
What a perfect way to stay close, to keep an eye on her. Just another
anonymous worker in the neighborhood. Her gaze had probably skimmed
over him hundreds of times, never seeing the danger he presented.
One thing was sure: His name wasn’t Lenny. It was John Traynor.
“Damn it, Mick, have you got anything yet?” he asked, urging the other man
to go further into a secure county property database. “There has to be
something.”
Al of them were working as hard and fast as they could, trying everything
they could think of to find Traynor. They’d searched records under his real
name as wel as his false one and had found out just about everything there
was to know about the man. And every one of them sure down to his or her
bones that he’d kil ed his ex-wife and kidnapped his son back when Zachary
had been eight.
They’d found his last known address—he was long gone. Had tried
reaching his only known living relative, a female cousin—al but one of the
contact numbers had been disconnected, and there had been no answer at
that one.
Aidan, feeling useless, had insisted on going over to Olivia’s house to see if
he could get any kind of psychic vibe about where she might be. And it was
Aidan, whom Gabe didn’t even know, who put them on the track that might
actual y help them find her.