Chapter 15
Natalie’s heart pounded as she sat in the tree, praying someone would find her.
Leith’s stepbrother was somewhere below her, prowling through the trees, tormenting her with a blow-by-blow description of how he’d killed two women.
She placed her hands over her ears, trying to keep her imagination from seeing the cruel and sadistic ritual he’d gone through. She didn’t know what his life had been like to make him such a monster, but it must have been horrific.
She frowned as another sound drifted across the lake.Sirens.
The police were here, and maybe Gabe and Caleb. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out, yelling for them to help her. It would take a while for them to work out what had happened, to search the cottage, then head into the forest.
Closing her eyes, she thought about her granddad, about the hours he spent in the forest, exploring the shore of Flathead Lake. He called it his little slice of paradise. When he wasn’t in the forest, he was pottering in the garage, inventing gadgets that would change the world.
Grandma had smiled at her husband, patiently listening to him explain how his latest gadget would make her life easier. None of the designs had ever been produced commercially, but they’d both enjoyed the excitement of creating and using something that no one had ever seen.
A branch snapped.
Natalie’s eyes flew open. He was close. She could almost smell his adrenaline, the excitement pounding through his veins.
“It won’t be long now,” his voice taunted. “You can’t outrun a predator, Natalie. We have a sixth sense when it comes to our victims. You all make the same mistakes, the same…”
She didn’t want to know what had made him stop talking, but whatever it was, wouldn’t be good.
“What do we have here? Oh, dear. It looks as though someone hurt themselves.”
Her leg throbbed. Blood oozed through the thin cotton bandage, scenting the forest as if it were feeding time at the zoo. He would find her, dissect her like the lab rats she’d studied in high school.
If Leith’s stepbrother was standing where she’d fallen, he wasn’t far away. She was too scared to breathe, too scared to move in case he saw her through the canopy of trees.
Where were the police? Gabe and Caleb must be here by now. And Sherlock, he would know what to do.
She had no idea how long she sat there, praying someone would find her before Leith’s stepbrother did.
“Well, well. You really are imaginative, but not terribly clever.”
Natalie’s blood ran cold. He stood below the tree, staring at her through the canopy of branches. His dark eyes were piercing, slicing through her fear and leaving a toxic residue in her veins.
“I had such high hopes for you. Our little chase should have lasted much longer.”
She slid sideways, trying to put as much space between them as she could. But it didn’t help. The platform was too small, too—something brushed against her neck. Her hand flew to her throat. If it was a big, hairy spider, she swore she’d scream until there was no air left in her lungs. Her fingers swept across her skin. It wasn’t a spider.
Her heart pounded. It was Gabe’s whistle. She’d made a necklace, threading it through a piece of string so she wouldn’t lose it.
“You know, I used to wonder what it felt like to be on the receiving end of my attention. But then I decided it didn’t matter.” Leith’s stepbrother circled the tree. “Some things are better left to the imagination.”
Natalie blew the whistle. Then she blew again, desperately hoping that Sherlock was close.
A series of short, sharp, barks filled her with hope.
The manic laughter coming from below the tree turned that hope to dread. Leith’s stepbrother should be running away. If Gabe and Sherlock were here, the police wouldn’t be far behind. She kept the whistle against her lips, blowing it hard every few seconds.
“Do you really think I’m that naïve? My mother used to say there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I like to apply the same principle to the human form, don’t you?” He pulled out a gun, pointing it straight at Natalie. “It’s time you and I had a different type of discussion.”
Natalie stared at the determined sneer on his face. With a certainty that made her sick, she knew she wouldn’t be leaving the forest alive. But by God, if she were about to die, she wasn’t doing it silently.
The whistle dropped out of her mouth. She filled her lungs with air and screamed like it was her last breath on earth.
She screamed again, and again, letting go of every fear, every hurt, every pain she’d ever felt. She wanted to live, damn it. She wanted to love Gabe. She wanted children, a safe place to call home. She wanted—
