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Amanda’s heart squeezed. She couldn’t just stand here doing nothing. She quickly peeked into the room.
Katherine was tied to a chair, bound by her wrists and ankles. Vibrant bruises marred her face. Cuts and burn marks scarred her arms. Rodney had a lit cigarette in hand.
“I just want you to die!” Rodney lunged forward and pressed the burning tip to Katherine’s cheek.
Katherine cried out, but the sound was strangled in her throat. Her eyes widened. For a fraction of a second, her gaze locked with Amanda’s.
Rodney turned. It was like time stopped as he stared at Amanda. The coldness of his gaze leached into her veins and had her frozen in place.
He raised his gun and fired.
Amanda drew back, barely escaping a date with a bullet. The round impacted a locker across from the doorway.
Heaving for breath, she called out, “Prince William County Police?—”
He fired off another round, and it zinged into the hall and struck near the first one. “Stay back! Leave me alone!”
“You know we can’t do that. Let Katherine go. We can talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. She deserves to die. To suffer.”
Katherine screamed. He must have burned her again, but it opened a window to act. He would be distracted, and Amanda was going to take full advantage of it.
She rounded the corner, gun raised. “Put your gun down.”
Rodney was about five feet from Katherine, and a shadow crossed his face. He lifted his gun on Amanda.
Time suspended. Again, she froze.
All she had to do was pull the trigger. Instead, her life flashed before her eyes bringing in thoughts of Zoe, Logan, her parents, sisters, her brother… Trent. Would she be reunited with Kevin and Lindsey? A warmth overcame her at the prospect.
The loud report of a gun being fired was followed by chaos and yelling all around her.
SIXTY-EIGHT
Amanda’s head cleared. She looked down at her chest, but she wasn’t the one hit. The bullet had come from Trent’s gun and hit Rodney in his right shoulder. His Glock clattered to the floor with the cigarette.
Rodney was staggering, a hand over his wound and his eyes round and wide like someone who was stark-raving mad.
“No!” He lunged for his gun. It had skittered to the opposite side of the room, away from Katherine.
Trent took off toward Rodney while Amanda stomped out the cigarette and went to free Katherine. She was crying and repeating over and over, “He’s my stepbrother.”
“We know,” Amanda said softly, “and you’re safe now.”
But she spoke too soon. Trent and Rodney had been scuffling but broke apart.
Rodney had ahold of his gun again and ran into the hall.
Trent followed him.
Amanda was torn whether to stay with Katherine until SWAT caught up or aid her partner against a lunatic.
“Go.” Katherine was groggy, her head lolling to the side.
Amanda left, stepping cautiously into the hall. She spoke into her comms. “Graves is in room twelve. Detective Stenson and Steele in pursuit of suspect through rear doors of the school.”
Outside, small snowflakes were falling, but the sky was dark with cloud cover. There was more coming.
