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  “I told you. You’ll see.”

  As they reached the city limits, he took an exit, and they drove for a little while on smaller roads. Roy knew this area. It was a nature sanctuary. The Kentucky River went right through it. Soon, they were going down a gravel road, and Roy was beginning to worry as it felt like the wildlife was encompassing them. As they reached the river, he finally stopped the car suddenly, hitting the brakes hard.

  “What are we doing here?” Roy asked, looking out the window nervously. He spotted another car, a pick-up truck parked by a tree further down.

  “Whose truck is that?”

  His dad turned to look at him.

  “It’s mine.”

  “Yours, but…?”

  “I came here earlier in the week with a friend to fish. When it was time to go home, I pretended like it wouldn’t start so that he’d take me home, and we left it here. See, I needed it. For today. For when I am done with you. The thing is, through all of my life, you’ve been nothing but a menace, a chain around my leg,” he said. He sounded so composed like he had made a big decision, and nothing would change his mind. “You’re constantly in the way of my happiness. You killed my one chance at a good life, viciously murdered the child in my wife’s stomach, your own brother. And you crippled the woman I love. Every day, I am reminded of what you did to her and me. I recently realized that if I am to move on…if I am to be truly happy again, then I need to get rid of what is holding me back. And as long as you’re out there, you are a threat to me and my loved ones.”

  “What are you saying…Dad?”

  He smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile. It was one of pure malevolence. He didn’t say another word. Instead, he leaned toward Roy, grabbed his head with both hands, and slammed it into the dashboard in front of him. Roy blacked out instantly, and his father got out of the car, then grabbed Roy in his arms, and carried him to the driver’s seat. He strapped him down, put the car in drive, closed the front door, then pushed the car toward the shore of the river and slowly slid it into the water. He watched it sink in and didn’t leave till it was completely gone—gulped down by the massive body of water.

  Satisfied at this, and finally at peace, he turned on his heel and walked to the pickup truck, then drove home to be with his family.

  Chapter 59

  “What do you think you’re doing? Let go of the boy. Let him go!”

  Roy turned his head and spotted the man walking in, gun drawn. The expression on his face was one of surprise and confusion.

  “Let him go! Hands up where I can see them now!”

  Roy did as he was told and let go of the boy. The boy sank into the water, and Roy stared at him as he was about to disappear. Seeing this, the man holding the gun rushed to the water, reached in, and pulled the boy out. Still pointing his gun at Roy, he dragged the boy out of the water. Cole landed back on the poolside while Roy pulled back. He took one step back, then another, while the man desperately attended to the boy, realizing he wasn’t moving.

  “Come on, dang it. Breathe,” he grunted.

  But the boy didn’t. He just laid there, completely lifeless. The man searched frantically for a pulse and seemed to forget everything about Roy. He leaned forward, placed two fingers on Cole’s nose, and blew air into his lungs. Then he started pumping on his chest, still with the gun in one hand but no longer pointing it at Roy.

  “Come on, Cole! Come on! Breathe!”

  Realizing this would be his only chance since the man was entirely devoted to resuscitating the boy, Roy took another step back. He could now almost touch his suitcase that was still on the lounge chair. While the man pushed on Cole’s chest, Roy reached inside the suitcase and pulled out his gun.

  Then he smiled.

  Cole suddenly coughed and sputtered. Water came out of him, and the man drew a sigh of relief. He lifted his hand holding the gun again, but as he did, Roy pulled the trigger on his.

  The bullet hit the man in the back, and he froze mid-air, then fell forward on top of the boy, blood gushing out through his white shirt. Cole was still coughing and moaning. Roy jumped forward, grabbed the man, and pulled his dead-weight body away from Cole. Then he grabbed the boy, lifted him onto his shoulder, and took off running on the slippery wet floors, while Cole started to cry for his mom.

  Roy made it back out to the garage, where the reporter was still lying on the cement floor, blood running from where his fist had hit her. He pointed his gun at her and did what he should have done in the first place. The sound of the shot echoed in the garage, but he didn’t care if anyone heard him anymore. It was only a matter of seconds before they would find the man in the pool area, and then they’d come for him.

  But he’d be gone by then.

  He placed the boy in the trunk that was still open from earlier, slammed it shut, then got in the car and roared the engine to life. As he did, the doors at the other end of the garage slammed open, and a handful of FBI agents entered the basement. They shouted and yelled for him to stop, but he backed out of his spot, then floored the accelerator. The tires screeched on the cement, and the car leaped forward. He couldn’t hear what they were yelling behind him; he could only see them in the rearview mirror as they ran toward him. But they were too far behind to reach him now. A shot was fired and hit the back window. The sound of glass shattering filled the car, but it didn’t stop Roy. He made it to the ramp, then ran through the boom barrier and into the front of the resort where some of the reporters were smoking cigarettes while waiting for news. He ran through a crowd of about eight to ten people, who jumped for their lives, then rushed toward the entrance and the police blockage. Four guards turned as he drove toward them, but he didn’t stop. Roy stepped on the accelerator, and the car flew toward them. Shots were fired, several of them stopped by the windshield, one shattering it completely, and Roy ducked. He continued, even with glass raining down on him. The car leaped through the blockage and into the road, where he took a quick turn so he wouldn’t hit an oncoming vehicle. Roy’s car skidded sideways and slid across the asphalt, but he got it back on track.

  As he regained control of the car, he floored it, and soon he could only see the resort in the rearview mirror.

  Chapter 60

  Jessica felt so devastated. How could this have happened? How could she have been so close to her goal, and then been pulled away? How would she ever find the red-haired lady again?

  She might still be at the resort, the one they mentioned on TV.

  But how would she get there? How would she get there in time to save the boy? She wondered this hopelessly as she lay in her hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to take a look at her. So far, she had only met with a nurse who had given her water to drink and checked her blood pressure. She had also cleaned some of her wounds and bandaged them. Now, she was waiting to have x-rays taken.

  “Gotta know if anything is broken; you took a terrible beating there, sweetie pie,” the nurse had said.

  But right now, Jessica didn’t care anything about broken bones or internal bleeding, or whatever they talked about. She had somewhere to be, someone to see. She had to repent for what she hadn’t done ten years ago—what she hadn’t told.

  “Are you Jessica?”

  A gorgeous woman walked inside the room, her beauty so striking it almost made Jessica blush. She was certain she had seen her before, but as she approached her, she couldn’t believe it to be true.

  What would the famous actress Kelly Stone be doing in her hospital room?

  “Y-yes,” she said and tried to sit up straight, but the pain made her sink back. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Sydney,” she said.

  Jessica frowned. “You’re not…?”

  Sydney smiled gently. “Yes, I am also Kelly Stone. That’s the name the world knows me by. But to the people who know me, I am just Sydney. You can call me that.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I run a place for girls like you, a shelter for girls who
have been trafficked, and they called me when you and the other girls were taken in. I am here to offer you to come to stay with me at the shelter once you’re done here. We will, of course, contact your parents too, but you haven’t told us their names yet, nor have you told anyone your full name. Sometimes it can be hard for girls who have been through what you’re going through to get back to what they came from. Sometimes they have run away for a reason; others just find it too embarrassing to go back with what they’re now carrying. It can be a tough process, and that’s why I’m here—to help you get back.”

  Jessica licked her cracked lip. It was so sore.

  “You took quite a beating there,” Sydney said and removed a lock of hair from her face. “None of the other girls seems to be in as bad of shape as you. But don’t you worry. We’ll take good care of you. And as soon as you’re ready, we can get you back to your family. But first, you must rest. I believe this is yours?”

  Sydney lifted something and held it so she could see her blue backpack. Jessica grabbed it from her and opened it.

  “The other girls there told the police it was yours, so they handed it to me,” Sydney said. “Thought you might want it back.”

  Jessica searched through it, then found the picture she had been carrying around. She pulled it out, unfolded it, and looked at the red-haired lady. Yes, it was her she had seen in the apartment. It was the same person.

  “What’s that?” Sydney said and looked at the picture. A deep furrow grew between her eyes. “Why are you carrying this picture?”

  Jessica looked up at her, her heart dropping. “I printed it from an article online.”

  “But…why?”

  Realizing she needed to tell someone, she told her everything. Sydney listened, sitting on the edge of the bed as Jessica told her the entire story, tears spilling onto her sheets and pillow below.

  “Now you understand why I need to talk to this woman,” she said. “As soon as possible.”

  Sydney nodded pensively and looked at the picture, then she smiled.

  “I sure do. And guess what? You’re in luck. As it happens, that woman is my sister. And I have a feeling she’ll want to hear your story. I’ll call her right away.”

  Chapter 61

  I could see the resort entrance in the distance as I drove back, caught up in my own thoughts. A pattern was shaping in my mind, one that gave me the full picture of a murderer and what made him who he became. What set the fire inside of him, what wrecked his heart.

  I slowed down to get ready to talk to the deputies guarding the blockage we had put up so Roy couldn’t leave the hotel. I feared he had managed to do so anyway, somehow. I had tried to call Brad, again and again, to update him and also hear if they had any news from the hotel. But his phone kept going to voicemail.

  I approached the blockage and got ready to roll my window down and show my badge when turmoil broke out behind the blockage. I barely saw what happened, except that suddenly a car roared toward us, toward the blockage. I first saw its headlights, then heard the screams. Three officers sprang for their lives while one pulled out his gun and shot at the oncoming car. Then he jumped to the side as well, and the car roared through the blockage and almost hit me. I hit the brakes, hard, then stared at the strange vehicle skidding sideways down the asphalt, my heart throbbing violently in my chest.

  The car took a sharp turn, and the driver got it back on track, then sped right past me. I turned to try and see if I could see the driver’s face, but it was too dark.

  “Roy Hudson,” I mumbled to myself. It had to be him. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  I turned the wheel sharply, then stepped on the accelerator myself and set after him. I grabbed my phone and called Sheriff Blair.

  “I’m gonna need backup. I’m following our suspect. He’s driving down Major Boulevard. I’m gonna need ground and air support. I think he might have the boy in the car with him. It’s a blue Chevrolet. I haven’t been able to see the license plate yet; I will when I get closer. But it’s easy to recognize since the windshield and the back window are both shattered.”

  I hung up after Blair told me he was on it. Meanwhile, I floored my minivan and tried to catch up with Roy Hudson, who had already gotten far ahead of me. I felt for the gun at my side like I wanted to make sure it was there still. I knew I had to be careful. I couldn’t take any risks if the boy was in the car. Saving Cole and bringing him back to his parents was the most important thing right now.

  Please, God. Please, help the boy. Don’t let Mary and Peter lose another child. No parents should have to go through this.

  I followed him to an intersection where he ran a red light, speeding through, the oncoming cars almost smashing into him and honking loudly. I followed him, swirling around a vehicle, zigzagging between two others, nearly smashing into a pickup truck that honked wildly at me, then making it out on the other side, where I spotted him taking a left turn, tires screeching.

  I did the same. I followed him down a dark road and sped up, trying to get closer. That’s when I heard the chopper. It was approaching from behind. I could also hear sirens. As we took another turn, me fighting to make it sharp enough so I wouldn’t lose control, my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. I picked it up.

  “Eva Rae, it’s me,” Sydney’s voice said. “I need to…”

  “Not now, Sydney, for crying out loud. I don’t have time!”

  I hung up, then threw the phone on the passenger seat.

  Roy Hudson took a left turn, and I swung the car in front of an oncoming vehicle, making it across all lanes not to lose him. The car honked at me and came so close that it seemed like my heart stopped for a few seconds before I leaped past him, coming so close, I locked eyes with the terrified driver of the other car. Then I continued, taking a corner, bumbling across some grass, taking a shortcut.

  As I flew back onto the road, I was right behind Roy Hudson. Close enough to see the license plate and take a picture of it with my phone. The chopper was now very close, and I could hear the patrol cars as they closed in on us from all sides.

  In the distance, I could see a row of other patrol cars as they came toward us. I could see two coming from each side. And then there was me, right behind him. He was surrounded now. There was nowhere for him to go.

  Roy Hudson was mine.

  Chapter 62

  There was no way out. Roy could see the patrol cars coming toward him, sirens blaring, blue lights blinking, and he could hear the chopper lingering above his head. He could also see the cars coming at him from both sides. Soon, they’d block his way, and he’d be stopped.

  Or at least that’s what they thought.

  Roy still had one last card to play.

  One they didn’t see coming.

  As the sirens approached and got louder, the blue lights illuminating the night, he pulled the wheel to his right, drove across a Walgreens parking lot, then stepped on the accelerator once again as he hit the road behind it. The patrol cars set after him, and they were faster than him, soon gaining on him, but that didn’t matter. They wouldn’t be able to make it up on his side before he reached his destination.

  Just like the cunning fox, he always had more than one exit.

  Roy smiled in the rearview mirror as he looked behind him at the patrol cars. Then he floored the car, pulling the wheel sharply. He drove down a narrow road with sparse street lighting, then took a right turn and drove into a garage. Knowing he might need this, he had left the door open, and he jumped out, then pulled it closed as soon as all the patrol cars drove up outside.

  He heard them get out and knew they’d have their guns pulled if he stepped outside. He also knew he had bought himself a few extra minutes before they got a SWAT team mobilized to go in.

  They all thought they were so clever, trapping him, but they had no idea.

  Chapter 63

  “We have the entire block surrounded. There’s no way he’ll get out.”

  Sheriff Blair was standing behind hi
s car when I walked up to him. He was a stout man, and he seemed to get even bigger as we spoke—like he was puffing himself up before the big confrontation with our suspect.

  I had fallen back and let the patrol cars take over the last part of the chase and parked further down the road. Roy Hudson had driven into an old auto shop and closed the garage doors behind him. This was a surprise move to me since he seemed to have trapped himself. If he thought he’d get away from there, he had lost his mind.

  “We’re waiting for the SWAT team to get here,” the sheriff continued. “Then we’ll go in.”

  “Please, make sure they understand that there’s a young boy’s life at stake,” I said. I looked worriedly at the building in front of us. I didn’t like that Roy Hudson was left in there alone for this long. I assumed he had the boy with him. What was he doing with him—or to him—while we were just waiting out here? If it were up to me, we’d go in right now. Heck, I’d gladly go in alone if it meant saving the boy. Giving Roy Hudson too much time wasn’t a good strategy, in my opinion. But it was the sheriff’s call. They were his men, and I respected that.

  “They’re not far,” he said. “Any minute now.”

  Even one minute in my book was too long. In my experience with this guy, he wasn’t to be left alone for even a second.

  “I don’t like this,” I said, half mumbling, half saying it out loud. “The wait is making me nervous.”

  I held a hand on the grip of my gun when the SWAT team’s van finally drove up. The men jumped out. The sheriff briefed them quickly, and soon after, they got ready to make their move.

  Please bring me Cole back alive.

  They approached the building, guns raised, and surrounded it from all sides. Then they went in. They broke open the garage door and swarmed inside. My breath became shorter and shorter until I was holding it and not breathing at all. I stayed utterly still, waiting to hear gunshots, worrying that Cole would end up in the line of fire.