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“Fuck, Hallie! What’s happening?” Her voice is shaking, exposing she is terrified. I am too. My heart pounds in my chest as more gunshots are fired, this time from farther away, and I wonder if Detective Wilmot and Lieutenant Phillips are returning fire.
Slowly lifting my head, I look across to where the service was being held. Both prison guards are lying motionless, blood pooling on the ground beneath them. The pastor is cowering behind a chair, his arm wrapped protectively around the shaking elderly aunt. Matt has taken cover behind a tombstone, his face once again emotionless. He doesn’t look surprised at what’s happening. I’d bet my life he knew these men would come.
I gasp and drop my head as another round of gunshots rings out.
“Shit, Hallie, if they find us, they’ll kill us!” Jess whispers, the terror in her voice is evident.
“If we stay quiet, they won’t know we’re here,” I promise her, guilt washing over me that I’ve put us in this position with my stupid need to be here. Lifting my head again, I look at the black sedan where Detective Wilmot and Lieutenant Phillips are taking cover behind their car doors. Two of the three men are still firing at them, and both front tires deflate, bullets piercing the rubber. The third shooter has moved toward Matt, his gun replaced with bolt cutters.
I look on in horror as Matt’s shackles are cut, and he stands up, running toward the black van. As he climbs into the back, another hail of bullets rings out, and I drop my head again, my eyes squeezed tightly shut.
The sound of squealing tires forces me to open my eyes, and I watch in disbelief as the black van holding the man who once threatened to kill me races out of the cemetery.
“Are they gone?” Jess asks, her face still pressed against the dirt.
“I… I think so,” I stutter, not wanting to move in case they return. “They cut his shackles, Jess. He’s free.” I let out a cry I can’t contain before clamping my hand over my mouth. “God, he’s free,” I mumble again from behind my hand. “He’s going to come for me. He said he’d find me if I escaped.” Tears track down my face, and Jess sits up, pulling me up with her.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay, Hallie. It’s going to be okay.” She wraps her arms around me as my body trembles.
“It won’t ever be okay. Why couldn’t it have been his funeral today?” There is no answer to my question, and we hold each other as we both sob, the realization of what’s happened hitting us hard. The sound of police sirens echoes in the distance, and soon there are five or six police cars along with two ambulances filling the small parking lot.
“We need to let the officers know we’re here,” Jess says, standing up. Her voice sounds calm, but her shaking body tells me she’s anything but. Wiping her eyes, she holds a hand out to me, then pulls me to my feet. I follow her out from our hiding place, my vision blurred from all the tears.
Detective Wilmot spots us and runs over. “Hallie, what are you doing here? Did you witness all of that?” His eyes pass from me to Jess before returning to me. “Are either of you hurt?” I shake my head, my eyes dropping to the ground. He sighs as he guides us past the open grave toward his car. Glancing over, the EMTs are taking care of the pastor and the elderly aunt. They don’t seem hurt, just shaken up. I know how they feel. I can tell from how much blood has pooled on the grass, that both prison guards are dead, and I avert my eyes as we walk past. I don’t want the image of them in my mind.
“Do either of you need to see an EMT?” Detective Wilmot asks. We both shake our heads. “Office Dennison, I’ve a job for you,” he shouts to one of the officers taping off the crime scene. He quickly finishes up with the cordon and makes his way over to us.
“Yes, sir?”
“Can you take Miss Anderson and her friend to the precinct, please? I’ll be along shortly.” The officer nods and gestures with his arm to his police car. “Oh, and Dennison, can you send a car over to her parents’ house and pick them up? I’ll catch a lift back with one of the other patrol cars when we’re done here.” The officer nods again and walks over to his car, opening the door for us.
“Thank you,” I mumble as we walk past the detective and climb into the back of the police car. Exhausted, I drop my head back on the seat. My mind is working overtime as I process the fact that Matt has escaped. Despite Jess trying to convince me everything will be okay, I know it won’t be. How can it? The words Matt said to me when I arrived in Cedar Falls all those years ago play in a loop over and over in my mind.
“I promise you, sweetheart, if you try to escape, Iwillfind you, and Iwillkill you.”
It might have been a promise he made ten years ago, but I have a feeling it’s a promise he has every intention of keeping.
ChapterSeven
Sawyer
As I’m stepping out of the shower, I hear my phone ringing from the nightstand in my bedroom. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I jog into the bedroom, grabbing my phone before the call cuts off.
“Hello?” I say, not having looked at who’s calling.
“Sawyer, it’s Logan. I know you’re on leave, but something’s come up, and they’re asking for the best we have. That’s you. Can you come in?”
I close my eyes and sigh. “Sure, give me an hour.” I end the call and dry off, throwing the wet towel in the laundry basket in the corner of the room. Tugging on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I head into the kitchen, picking up the sandwich I fixed before showering. I take a soda from the refrigerator and move into the living room to eat. I’ve only taken a mouthful of my sandwich when a news bulletin interrupts the program that’s on in the background.
A serial killer has escaped in Savannah.
Putting two and two together, I can only assume the job I’m being called in for has something to do with that. The prisoner’s name flashes up on the screen, along with a mugshot. It’s not a name I’m familiar with, but he looks like a sick bastard. They always do.
I finish my sandwich, pull on my boots, and head out of the apartment. The elevator takes me to the parking garage, where I jump on my motorcycle and pull my helmet on.
As I’m about to start the engine, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Sliding it out, there’s a message from Logan.
Logan: Change of plan. Can you meet me at the precinct instead of the office?
