She gasped. The car was empty.
Its windows were dark, though. Delaney crept closer, praying she was wrong, searching for any sign of movement. But there was nothing. Nobody.
Where were they? Had Violet taken Charlotte deeper into the woods? Or had they been picked up by someone else? Had Violet abandoned her car here? Were they already long gone, miles away while the police set up useless roadblocks?
Delaney scanned the surrounding darkness for movement, a hint of what might have happened. She paused when a jet flew overhead, masking sounds that might guide her.
The noise faded, and she started forward again.
A twig snapped.
Delaney whirled.
Something glinted in the corner of her eye. She ducked, but not fast enough. An object whacked her temple. As pain exploded across her skull, she fell to her knees.
“How did you find me?” The voice was familiar. “Who’s with you?”
Delaney looked up, disoriented from the blow. A fuzzy figure stood over her, barely a silhouette in the darkness.
“Where are they?” Heather demanded. Not Heather. Violet.Focus.
Nausea rolled over Delaney, but she swallowed it back.
“Tell me!” Violet sounded one notch away from sheer panic. “Who’s coming?”
“Nobody.” Her voice was rough and shaky, but she was slowly regaining her equilibrium.
And her vision. The figure in front of her was getting clearer. Along with the item Violet held. A gun. Pointed at Delaney’s chest.
She scrambled up, backed instinctively, bumping into a tree. She lifted her hands. “Please don’t… Nobody’s coming. I’m alone.”
Very alone. What had she been thinking, getting out of her car? She hadn’t helped at all, only gotten herself caught and injured.
She was facing a crazy woman with a weapon, utterly, terrifyingly alone.
“You’re lying. You wouldn’t come out here by yourself.”
“I’m not lying, I swear.” Delaney wished she could make out Violet’s features. The moon was behind her, so Delaney’s face must be better lit. Another advantage for Violet, as if the gun weren’t enough.
“Where are the cops?” Violet looked around. “Are they about to move in? To shoot me?”
“Do you really think they’d send me out here by myself?” She didn’t know where the words had come from.
“I don’t…” Violet looked around again. She seemed confused.
Delaney knew how she felt as she touched her head, her fingers coming away sticky with blood. The wound throbbed with each heartbeat.
“How did you find me?”
“I’m here for Charlotte.” Delaney tried to keep her tone even, aiming for conversational. “Where is she?”
“She’s mine,” Violet snapped. “Not yours. She’s none of your business.”
Delaney needed to tread carefully. “You’re right,” she said softly. “She’s your daughter, not mine.”
Violet’s stance shifted slightly, the gun lowering a fraction of an inch.
Delaney couldn’t tear her eyes away from that weapon. She didn’t want to die here. Everything else seemed to fade until all she could see was the glint of metal not a yard away.
