“You asshole!” a woman screamed. “How could you do this to me?”
A man spoke, his voice a low rumble.
Laurel took a deep breath and then pivoted, kicking in the door and dodging inside.
Jason Abbott immediately grabbed Haylee Johnson and yanked her against his chest, shoving a gun to her neck.
Laurel paused, gun aimed at his head. She glanced down to where Abigail was sitting up on a wooden dolly, her lip bleeding and her eye rapidly swelling. “Are you okay?”
“Not really.” Abigail wiped off her lip. “I made a move too quickly. Just give me about five minutes for my strength and mobility to fully return, and I want another shot at him. Deal?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Laurel kept her gun pointed at Jason and moved cautiously to shield Abigail. “How badly hurt are you?”
“Just drugged and waiting for full feeling to return to my limbs.” Abigail groaned, a board creaked, and then she stood next to Laurel. “Good timing, though.”
“Get behind me.”
Abigail partly obliged.
Haylee’s eyes were wide as Jason held her tight against him with the gun shoved into her neck. “I don’t understand. Jason? What’s happening?”
“Shut up. You’re not a part of any of this.” He ducked enough to keep Haylee’s body partially covering his head. “Agent Snow? I doubt you want to take this shot with your bad hand. Sorry about the wrist, by the way.”
Haylee pushed back with her elbow into Jason’s ribs. “Jason, what’s going on? I don’t understand.” Tears filled her eyes.
Abigail stepped up beside Laurel. “Your boyfriend is the Witch Creek Killer. He wants an educated woman, a smart one, but he just can’t keep it up for one. Can you, Jason?”
Laurel elbowed her. “Shut up. Get back behind me.”
“No,” Abigail drawled. “Jason doesn’t have the balls to kill me. Or you. While the doctors he took on might’ve been smart, they had nowhere near our intelligence. We’re probably smarter than his mama ever was.”
Jason’s face turned beet red, and he shoved the gun even harder against Haylee’s neck. She cried out, her hands lifting in the air.
“What are you doing?” Laurel hissed.
“I’m just explaining to the scared little boy with the gun that his only out is to shoot himself,” Abigail said evenly. “You and I each have more doctorates on our own than all the women he’s killed combined.”
Jason blinked. “You’re a doctor, too? Agent Snow?”
Abigail’s chuckle lacked amusement. “Several times over, Jason. Are you too dumb to know even that?”
“Stop it.” Laurel stepped in front of her sister and hip checked her so she landed back a foot. “Stay behind me and be quiet.”
“I can still see over your head,” Abigail drawled. “Mostly.”
Haylee whimpered. “I told you Dr. Caine’s study was bad for you. That she was bad for you.” A tear leaked down her face. “This isn’t your fault, Jason. None of it. She did this to you, and I’ll stand by you. Please let me go.”
Jason was staring at Laurel as if he’d never seen her before. His eyes darkened. “Maybe you’re the one.”
Abigail’s cackle stirred Laurel’s hair. “There is no one.”
“You said there was,” he spat. “You told me. You said the darkness is okay and I can let it out. Here in town where I’m safe. Where nobody will know who I am.”
Laurel’s ears heated. “What else did she tell you?”
“To deal with his anger in a healthy way.” Abigail elbowed her in the back. “He’s just a loser with mommy issues. I was only trying to help.”
