Karen Kirst - Explosive Reunion

“Do you have any idea who’s behind this?”

Her stomach spasmed. Woozy, she pressed her forehead to the cool glass.

“Tori?”

“There’s no one.”

“No creepy men stalking you at the shop?”

“We have our share of unique patrons, but they’re harmless.”

“What about in your neighborhood?”

“The neighbors are nice, regular people.”

“Some of the most infamous psychopaths appeared to be nice, regular people.”

Confusion welling up, frustration on its heels, she tried to recall if there’d been anyone acting strangely. This area was an eclectic mix of restored homes, thriving businesses and pockets of sketchy behavior.

“My mom hasn’t ever indicated she felt unsafe. I wouldn’t have taken the apartment if either of us had reservations.”

“I’m simply trying to consider all the angles.”

“You sound like Cade.”

“I’m worried for you.”

“Pray for me,” she murmured. “Pray this guy is caught before the day is out.”

“You got it.”

She ended the conversation with a promise to keep her friend updated.

She was debating whether or not to get a snack now or wait until lunch when the cruiser door swung open and the deputy got out. He was speaking into his radio and surveying the area between her house and Kenneth’s. With a glance at her front door, he left his vehicle and rushed out of sight.

Tori’s skin flushed hot. Had someone been lurking where they shouldn’t be and a neighbor reported it? Her unknown enemy about to strike?

At the creak of a floorboard directly behind her, she whirled around and came face-to-face with the alarm company employee.

“Brandon,” she gasped, reaching for the nearest chair to steady herself. The room swung crazily. Her heart strained in her chest. What was wrong with her? “I—I didn’t hear you. Do you need something?”

“As a matter of fact, I do need something.” He stalked closer, his eyes hard and flat. The veins in his neck bulged. “You.”

Horror pulsed through her. This couldn’t be her enemy. He looked like a regular guy, not a killer. She didn’t know him. Why would he want to hurt her?

Her fingers dug into the cushions as nausea attacked. “Y-you work for the alarm company. How—”

He kept coming. The fact that he was letting her see his face registered, making her limbs quake. He didn’t plan on leaving her alive.

“Technology is a valuable tool if you know how to use it,” he said calmly. “You let me in your home, Tori. Your worst and last mistake.”

She sucked in a breath. Brandon lunged for her. Covered her mouth with his hand. Trying to get free took immense effort. Her limbs felt weighted in cement.

Remembering what she’d learned during a self-defense class in college, she kneed him in the groin. Or tried to.

His satisfied laugh sent a riot of goose bumps over her flesh. “You’re not feeling quite yourself, are you, Tori?”

The nausea intensified. Had he drugged her?

Then she remembered. The coffee. Unattended while she got Felicia’s check.

His arm came around her waist, locking her against him in a terrible embrace. She clawed at his hand, but to no avail. Black dots danced before her eyes.

“No use fighting it,” he murmured, his cheek pressed to her temple. “Just let the darkness swallow you.”

Tori moaned deep in her throat, angry at her helplessness. Her thoughts were like helium balloons, slipping away one by one.

Cade. She hadn’t gotten a chance to apologize to Cade.

That, more than anything, made her want to weep.

Against her will, her internal urge to fight was snuffed out, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Cade parked his Jeep in Tori’s driveway, confused as to why there was only one deputy on guard and why that deputy’s vehicle was empty.

Scoping out the area around the garage and Kenneth’s side yard, he entered the gated area and pounded on the front door. Nothing stirred inside. He tried the knob. Locked.

He punched in her cell number and paced the length of the porch. When it went to voice mail, he jogged around the side of the house, intent on using the outside stairs. Surely she would’ve texted him if she’d decided to go somewhere. He’d promised to come back as soon as he’d showered and changed. Even while off duty, a Marine was required to be clean-shaven.

He mounted the wooden stairs and rapped on the door. There were no signs of movement through the windows.

He tried her cell again. A muted ring came from somewhere inside the apartment. If she was able to, she would’ve picked up.

A heavy sense of dread invaded him. Why had the deputy abandoned his post? And where was Tori?

Pivoting, he crossed to the deck railing. Green lawn stretched to trees and knee-high grass. A brook dissected her property with that of her neighbor’s behind her. To the right was a vacant, thickly wooded lot. Barbara had said that vagrants sometimes used the lot as a spot to camp. They didn’t get away with it for long, since the residents on that street kept a sharp eye out.

He scanned the entire lot and didn’t at first notice anything out of place. Then a flash of color in the midst of the monotonous greens and browns. Holding back a shout, he leaned over the railing as far as he dared. It looked like a man with a woman tossed over his shoulder. The flash of color he’d glimpsed was pale blond hair.

Tori.

He flew down the stairs and raced across the lawn, toward the trees. Please, God. Please let her be okay. Please don’t let him take her.

The stranger must’ve heard his boots splashing in the brook, because he whipped around to track the sounds. Beneath the bill of his baseball hat, his eyes widened and then narrowed.

The sight of Tori’s limp body filled Cade with desperate rage.

“Let her go,” he growled, pushing his legs faster.

“Stop! Police!”

Coming from the direction of Kenneth’s, Deputy Clark joined the chase, his weapon drawn.

The man ignored the deputy’s order and continued his bid for escape. When he emerged onto the street, yards from what had to be the getaway car, fear seized Cade. The perp had a solid head start and didn’t seem to be letting the extra weight slow him down.

In the next heartbeat, he had the side door open.

They weren’t going to reach her in time.

Sliding to a stop, Cade removed his weapon and, releasing the safety, shot out the taillight. Far enough away from Tori that she wouldn’t be in danger of being hit by a ricochet bullet, but close enough to serve as a warning to the perp.

Clark was catching up. “Hold your fire, Staff Sergeant.”

The stranger hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then he dumped Tori in the grass and dashed around the front, hopped inside and peeled out.

Cade ran to her side and fell to his knees, gently turned her onto her back and smoothed the hair from her face. The paleness of her lips and skin frightened him, but she was warm and breathing.

She was alive.

Thank You, Jesus.

“Tori? Wake up, sweetheart. Talk to me.”

There was zero indication she’d heard him. Whatever that man had done to her had knocked her out cold.

“We need an ambulance,” he ground out. “Now.”

The deputy joined them. “On their way. In the meantime, I’ll need your weapon.”

“Yes, sir.”

He handed the small Jetfire over, not taking his eyes from Tori.

“I don’t condone what you did,” he said, “but your actions saved her life.”

“Where were you?” he demanded, giving voice to the question nagging him. Why hadn’t Clark stayed at his post?

“Someone called in a tip about an intruder a few doors down, drawing me away from my vehicle.”