23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Z ara tried to catch her breath, but Brett's hand squeezed her throat. Don't panic, Zara. Breathe.

Brett ranted. "I told you to leave us alone. If you had listened, kept your nose to yourself—"

Zara tried to tune him out and looked over to Miley. Her bruised face radiated terror.

She signed something. —gonna kill us.

Brett slammed Zara against the post in the kitchen counter. "Are you listening to me?"

Zara's insides shook. The feel of his hand around her throat felt familiar. Had it been Brett, not Ernie, who had broken into her apartment?

Brett's eyes glinted with an evil gleam.

She didn't doubt Miley's words at all. He was bent on killing them. But she'd do whatever she could to save them. But what?

Brett swore. Letting go of her throat, he slapped Zara.

Her lip stung. She licked it. Blood.

This man was so strong. She would never be able to overpower him. She hadn't been able to fight him at all a few days ago. She wouldn't be able to now either.

As Brett resumed his monologue, Miley signed again. This time letters. E-n-z-w-e-i-l-e-r. She signed it again. Then added a sign of her hand, thumb and finger wiggling. Flesh?

That didn't make any sense. Had she spelled what she intended? Miley had confused e 's and a 's at times. But a 's didn't make sense in the word.

Brett's voice drew her mind away. "I really thought I was done killing. There is a rush to knowing you have that much power over someone's life, but I didn't want to kill them. I didn't want to kill Miley. Or even you. No, I want to kill you. I'm sad to kill Miley. I really loved her, but she'd know if something happened to you. And I can't have any suspicions. So it's time for you two to die."

He grabbed Zara's shoulder and shoved her toward Miley. Zara landed on the couch beside the young woman. "Miley, come."

Miley stood and went to Brett.

God, give us an out. Or send some help. Please.

Brett held the gun to Miley's side and threw a sweatshirt over it to hide it. "To the door."

Zara stood and went to the door. She reached for the handle and spotted movement down the hall.

Corbin.

With her hands in front of her, she hooked one index finger over the other and slid it off. She mouthed, closet. It was only a partial sign, but hopefully he caught the important part.

He vanished, and she opened the door. Lord, protect that little boy, and help someone find him quickly.

At least Zara knew that Corbin hid in there for comfort. He wouldn't be locked in like she had been.

But she was trapped even more now than she had been in that closet as a child or the bathroom over the weekend.

She walked out the door. If only she had a way to leave a clue that they were in trouble in case someone noticed her car was there. She pulled her signature teal hair tie off her wrist and set it on the railing before walking down the steps and to Brett's truck.

"In the passenger's side."

She got in. Even though she wanted to slide right out the other side, she couldn't risk Miley's life.

Brett made Miley slide in next, then got in himself. He grabbed a package of zip ties off the dashboard.

"Miley, zip-tie her hands to the steering wheel. Zara. Hands at nine and three. You will drive exactly the way I tell you to. Follow every rule of the road. Act like nothing is wrong. I bet you know enough about guns to know that if I shoot this into Miley, there's a good chance it will go all the way through her and into you. Two broads with one shot, if you will. Understand?"

Zara nodded.

Miley attached her hands, then Brett reached across, inserted the key, and started the engine. He told Miley to put it in gear.

He directed Zara where to go and yelled at her when she got a little too fast. They turned into an older neighborhood where it looked like a quarter of the houses were abandoned or at least were owned by people who didn't care about curb appeal.

He made her turn into a driveway toward the end of a street at the back of the neighborhood. "Pull around back."

She obeyed and parked the car behind the house. The fence and trees were tall, and the neighboring houses were short. No one would see them.

"Miley, put the truck in park." Brett took the keys from the ignition and shoved them in the pocket of his jeans. He took a knife from the glove compartment, flipped it open, and handed it to Miley.

"Cut her hands free."

Miley did it. Brett then had them switch places.

As soon as Zara was beside him, he shoved the gun into her side. She zip-tied Miley's hands to the wheel but not too tight. Maybe Miley could slip her hands free while Brett took care of Zara.

She whispered to Miley, "Stay alive. I'll find you."

Miley blinked, moisture pooling in her eyes.

"Let's go!" Brett grabbed Zara's ponytail and pulled her back toward the door.

Pain coursed through her scalp. "I'm coming." She caught up with his pulling and managed to get her feet to the ground.

Once again, Brett pressed the gun against her ribs. "Walk."

He pushed her toward the house, around a bush, and to a small window well. Not a window well. It was the entrance to a crawlspace.

Oh no. Please God, don't let him put me down there.

"Don't move." Brett let go of her hair but kept the gun pointed at her. She'd never be able to move fast enough or find cover in this empty backyard before he put a bullet in her head or back. Survival had to be her goal at this point. Don't do anything stupid . Or he'd kill them both outright.

But what could she do? No one would find her down here. No one even knew she was missing. If she'd come while still on duty, then dispatch would have at least known she was at Miley's home.

While Brett stepped slightly ahead of her, she searched her pockets and found a receipt. Without looking she knew it was from her favorite smoothie place and had today's date and listed her favorite drink. She flattened it out and let go. The wind caught and carried it down the driveway a bit. Shoot! That wouldn't tell anyone exactly where she was.

Brett squatted down by the house and removed a cover to a crawlspace. She reached back into her pocket and pulled out the ring Will had given her. The orange and white twisty-tie was so small, and with the ground wet, it would probably never be seen again, but she prayed that somehow Will would find it and then her.

She dropped it to the ground just before Brett turned and shoved her into the crawlspace.

Her body involuntarily shivered at the creepy coldness of the space. Cobwebs littered the wooden beams and extended to the dirt floor. It was cool, damp, and dark. So dark.

The gun poked her in the rear end. "Crawl faster."

"I don't know where you want me to go." The rough gravel floor bit at her already cut-up legs.

"Straight ahead. There. Stop."

Brett reached around her and grabbed something. A chain.

"Give me your hands." He slapped a pair of cuffs that was attached to the chain onto her wrists.

"Now it's time for you to die. Down here. All alone. No one will find you here. When the house is torn down next month, you'll be good and dead, and I'll be long gone."

With that he turned around and left.

Zara shook. Was this really happening?

The floor and ceiling seemed to close in on her. She was going to die down here, alone and abandoned. They might find her corpse in a few weeks, but she'd be long gone.

No. Don't panic. Pray. God?

Will parked at the police station and went in. It was already an hour after his shift was supposed to be done. He'd no doubt missed Zara. He wanted to see her. It would be easier to confront the situation in person than have her ignore his phone calls. But he'd call even if she ignored him. He'd throw pebbles at her bedroom window if he had to. He needed her to understand that he had no intention of abandoning her.

He turned the corner and found Logan sitting in a chair, reading on his phone. "There you are."

"Yeah, got caught up in a stupid traffic stop that turned into a drug bust. Have you seen Zara?"

"I did but she jetted out of here at the end of shift like she was going to miss an important meeting."

"She was probably just trying to avoid me."

"True. Sorry, man. It's my fault. I didn't mean to screw things up for the two of you."

"We'll work through it."

"If she'll let you."

"I'm praying." Will rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you wait around for me on purpose?"

"Making sure you're okay and are going to call her this evening."

"Of course. Dinner first?" It wasn't like Zara was going to let him talk yet, so he might as well eat something before groveling. He might have to camp out in front of her window and toss pebbles all night.

"Absolutely."

"Let me get out of uniform first." Will turned toward the locker room.

"Cooper. Jackson." Detective Doug Ramirez ran down the hallway toward them.

Will turned back. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Grant?"

Will shook his head, and Logan said, "She left an hour ago."

Doug said, "I've been trying to get ahold of her. But nothing. Do you know where she headed?"

"Why? What's going on?" Will asked.

"She's not safe. We were all pretty convinced it was Ernie who attacked her on Saturday night, right? Well, it couldn't have been him. I've got video that's timestamped, showing him in an altercation at a bowling alley. The owner broke it up, and the police weren't called, but they tried to finish their fight in lockup this afternoon."

Doug's revelation hit Will like a tidal wave. "If it wasn't Ernie, then who could it have been?"

Doug shrugged. "I haven't been able to identify another legitimate suspect. Wyatt is in the squad room combing through all of her arrest records since she started at HHPD. No one is off the suspect list at this point."

Will nodded. Was Zara in danger right now? No peace came with the question. In fact, his gut twisted in on itself. He pulled out his cell phone and tried her number. Nothing. But he hadn't expected her to answer. "Logan, you try her. She was at least less mad at you."

Logan tried. Nothing.

Doug asked, "Who might know where she is?"

Logan snorted. "AJ. They're roommates now."

Doug's head crooked to the side. "Really? Don't suppose you'd call AJ?"

Will said, "I will." He dialed AJ's cell.

"Will? Is Zara okay?"

"That's what I'm calling to ask. Have you talked to her?"

"Not since she left the party last night. I'm at work."

"Can you try calling her and let me know where she is? Doug's concerned that the guy that attacked her might try again."

"I thought he was in lockup."

"Wrong guy."

"Oh no. All right. I'll call you back."

AJ hung up, and Will reported what she said to Doug and Logan.

Doug called dispatch and had a squad car drive by Zara's old and new apartments, but she wasn't at either location.

Will asked, "Do we have enough cause to track her cell phone?"

Doug nodded. "I believe so. Let's go to my desk."

Logan said, "I'm going to put my uniform back on and check in with the sergeant on duty." He grasped Will's shoulder. "We'll find her."

Will nodded. The sick feeling in his stomach was growing more unsettled by the moment. Where was Zara?