AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Actually, you’ve been more helpful than you know.” Sam turned and rushed toward the Tahoe. Lucy was already in front of him, as if she knew what to do next.
“Weird,” he heard Lily say as he rushed out. “That’s exactly what Jo said.”
As they drove, Lucy whined and shifted restlessly, her behavior mirroring Sam’s growing unease. The dog seemed to sense the urgency, her ears perking up, eyes focusing ahead as if she, too, was on a mission to find Jo.
Sam’s thoughts raced as he pieced together the fragments. The necklace must have been physical evidence that connected Jo’s sister to the Websters. Sam wasn’t sure exactly what or how, but that had to be why Jo raced off. And if that was the case, then Jo had been at the Websters’s house for hours. His grip tightened on the steering wheel, the fear for Jo’s safety fueling his haste.
As the car sped through the darkening streets, Sam felt a growing sense of dread. He needed to find Jo—and fast.
CHAPTERFORTY-ONE
Kevin’s hand rested on the latch to the screen door, his movements deliberate and cautious. The front door stood open, and he just needed to make it past the screen door without alerting anyone to his presence. He eased the door open, inch by painstaking inch, ensuring it remained silent. The hinge gave a faint protest, a whisper in the stillness that seemed magnified to his tense ears.
As the gap widened just enough to allow his entry, the dim interior of the house revealed itself. Shadows clung to the corners, stretching across the floor and up the walls, transforming mundane objects into sinister silhouettes. Every shape seemed to hold a threat, every darkened corner a potential danger.
Kevin paused, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom, his senses alert for any sound or movement, his heart pounding in his chest. Each step he took was calculated, his mind whirring with the training he thought he’d forgotten.
He could hear muffled voices from deeper within the house. Jo’s tone was steady, but there was an underlying strain that sent a chill down Kevin’s spine. Hazel’s voice, on the other hand, was eerily calm, almost singsong.
Moving with deliberate slowness, Kevin assessed his surroundings. The hallway stretched before him, lined with framed pictures that gazed down like silent sentinels. He needed to get a sense of the layout, figure out where they were. The old wooden floorboards felt like treacherous terrain under his cautious steps.
A sudden creak from beneath his foot shattered the quiet. Hazel’s voice sharpened. “What was that?”
Kevin froze. His mind raced.
The sound of a chair scraping against the wood floor came from the dining room, the noise oddly amplified in the stillness of the house.
Was that Jo? Did she know someone was here to help her so she was covering the noise? Or was it just a coincidence? Kevin couldn’t afford to assume that Jo might be aware of his presence. He couldn’t rely on her being in a position to assist him. In this moment, it was all on him.
Despite the gaps in his memory since the gunshot that had sent him to the hospital, Kevin felt a surge of confidence. His police training, deeply embedded in his psyche, hadn’t failed him. For the first time since waking from his coma, Kevin felt a sense of capability and readiness. He was up to the task, relying solely on his own instincts and skills honed from years on the force. His memory, though fractured, served him well now.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he crept forward. The realization that Jo was incapacitated gnawed at him. She wouldn’t have let herself be overpowered and tied up if she’d been at full capacity.
Through a sliver of an open door, Kevin caught a glimpse of the dining room. He pulled back quickly, the bizarre scenario etched in his brain.
The table had been set for a tea party, but the guests were not what he expected. Large stuffed animals, adorned in an array of outlandish outfits, sat around the table. Each had a teacup placed meticulously in front of them, as if they were frozen in a moment of a genteel gathering.
Hazel’s actions were more than just odd. They were the doings of someone deeply unhinged. Someone unpredictable.
At the center of this surreal assembly sat Jo, tied to a chair. Her head was drooping, but he could see her expression—a mixture of disbelief and resolve. Hazel held Jo’s gun, her finger worryingly close to the trigger.
Kevin’s mind raced. How could he overpower Hazel without getting shot? He had no weapon except maybe the element of surprise, but Hazel was bound to be unpredictable. He’d seen a doorway at the other end of the room. Hazel had her back to that door. If he could get around to that door, maybe he could signal Jo without Hazel noticing. They might have a chance if Jo’s capacity to act hadn’t been severely hindered.
He backtracked, his breath held tight in his chest. As he edged toward the other door, his mind played out the scenario. If Jo saw him, she’d know what to do. They had practiced this sort of silent communication in training sessions. One problem, though. Jo was tied to a chair and looked to be on the verge of falling unconscious.
Another problem. Hazel had a gun, and he didn’t.
Surveying the interior, he saw a room at the end of the hallway. That room might offer both cover and a strategic view into the dining room. If Hazel remained oblivious to his presence, this could be his chance to signal Jo.
As he edged down the hall, Kevin paused to glance into the kitchen. The stillness assured him they were alone in this part of the house. He couldn’t shake the urgency gripping him. At least Bridget was safe. Hopefully she’d called Sam and he was already on his way.
Every second mattered.
* * *
Bridget should have calledSam before following Kevin inside, but it was too late now. She kept to the shadowy area of the foyer, her footsteps light and controlled so no one would hear her. Her time on the streets had honed her ability to move unnoticed, a skill that now felt both familiar and unsettling. The dimly lit hallway stretched before her, each shadow a potential hiding spot, each creak a warning of her presence.
She glanced at Kevin’s back, shrinking into the shadows as she watched him navigate the hallway with a focus that spoke of his own training. He was past the doorway to the room that Jo was held in and heading toward a room at the end of the hall. Bridget hesitated for a moment, torn between the urge to rush in and the knowledge that a single misstep could be disastrous.
