26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

W ith the AR-15 slung across her back, Zara yanked and shoved on the door, but it wouldn't budge. When it had slammed shut, large chunks of ceiling plaster had fallen and jammed the door. She needed to get to Will. Listening to the struggle on the other side of the door heightened her desperation.

Doug and Logan ran down the hallway. Logan yelled, "Zara!"

She pointed to the door and the floor.

Logan nodded.

Doug asked, "Where's Wyatt?"

"I'm in here. Help Grant get to Cooper. I'm fine."

He didn't sound fine.

Zara slammed into the door with her shoulder, but it barely budged.

Logan grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "We'll get the door. You go in, AR up."

She nodded and stepped back to let the guys break through the door. She swung the rifle around and held it at the ready.

Logan met her eyes for half a second then looked at Doug. The two of them smashed into the door, breaking it free from the plaster doorstop.

Keeping her finger off the trigger but close, Zara rushed into the room.

The men were wrestling on the ground. She didn't have a clean shot.

Brett pushed himself up and looked like he was about to punch Will.

Will spotted her, and, taking both of his legs, he kicked Brett in the center of his gut. The man stumbled backward. He reached for the butt of the gun that was sticking out of the back of his pants.

Will slid away.

Zara pulled the trigger.

One round pierced Brett's chest, and he staggered briefly before dropping to the ground.

Zara lowered the rifle and sucked in a slow breath.

Will jumped up and ran to Brett, checking for a pulse. "He's gone."

Will ran to her.

She swung the rifle to her back and embraced the man she loved. They didn't linger though. They still had to find Miley.

Without words, she and Will nodded and moved out of the room.

Will said, "Let's find Miley. She's probably not too far away."

Logan looked down the hall in the direction of Wyatt. "EMS is here for Wyatt. You two finish this floor. Doug and I can take the next. Then you guys go up to the attic."

They split in opposite directions, Logan and Doug going to the lobby to climb the stairs there.

Will yelled for Miley. But no sound was returned.

They ran into one room after another. Will called her name, but there was no response.

At the end of the hallway, they found a stairwell that they took up. They peeked down the second-floor corridor and saw Doug and Logan sweeping the rooms.

Will and Zara continued up the steps to the attic.

The door to the attic was old and wooden and half broken. Will pushed it open, and Zara went through, gun at the ready. A damp, musty smell greeted them. A corridor ran the length of the entire building with rooms on either side. What had these rooms been used for? Patient rooms?

Adding to the disconcerting feeling of the space, a damp breeze blew through. A shiver coursed through Zara's body.

Several holes in the ceiling let the rain that seemed to have picked up again pour inside.

They checked the rooms, which mostly seemed to be storage rooms that held old suitcases and a variety of unused and forgotten medical supplies.

"Miley? Are you up here?" Will called. "It's Officer Will Cooper. Zara is here with me too."

There was a faint sound that came from down the hallway.

Zara tapped Will's arm and pointed to where she'd heard the noise.

He nodded, and they skipped over some rooms, glancing quickly as they passed.

One room on the west side of the building had a closed door. None of the other rooms up here were closed.

Will stood to the side of the door and reached for the handle. He mouthed, On three. One.

Zara stood to the other side of the door.

Two.

Three. He pushed the door open.

Zara spotted Miley cuffed to a small rusty metal bed with a thin rubber mattress. Zara swung the rifle down and rushed into the room.

"Zara?" Miley's voice trembled.

Zara nodded and reached a hand out to Will. He handed her his keys, and she unlocked the cuffs.

Miley threw her arms around Zara. "I thought we were both dead for sure."

Zara squeezed her tight then let go and signed, You are safe.

"You're both safe." Will rested his hand on Zara's shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

Zara stood and extended a hand to Miley.

She took Zara's hand and winced as she moved.

Will asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. He hit me a few times when I backtalked, but nothing that won't heal." She straightened her back, as if a burden had been removed from her shoulders, which indeed it had.

Will turned to leave, but Miley stayed put.

"There are a few things you guys should know about Brett."

Will came back.

Zara asked, Like what?

"Apparently, he's killed like five women. He said he thought we would be different. He had wanted to change, supposedly."

Will asked, "What made him snap and decide to kill both of you?"

"Zara kept coming around and talking to me. He tried to scare her away, but when she wouldn't get the hint, he got desperate. He said something about a body being found."

"I think we started putting the pieces together while looking for you both. Corbin is the real hero in this too. He gave us the clue we needed to find Zara, and she's why we found you."

Zara shook her head. Miley is why I knew where to look, even if her signs made no sense to me. Zara smiled at Miley.

She shrugged. "I'm glad you figured it out."

Zara signed, But how did you know where he was going to take you?

"For a man with such dark secrets, he likes to talk. Before you arrived, he explained his whole plan." Miley looked at Will. "Is Corbin okay?"

Will nodded. "Let's get you to him."

He led the way out, and Zara walked behind Miley.

Thank You, Jesus, for sending Your help!