51. Ridley

51

RIDLEY

Waves of emotion and sensation warred against each other as a man I both recognized and didn’t prowled toward me from the back of the RV—burning heat and shattering cold, disorienting confusion and terrifying panic.

My mind struggled to put the pieces together, to recognize the man in front of me. But none of it made sense.

Sully’s face twisted into a grin that was as far from warm and comforting as you could get. “What’s the matter, Rids? Don’t recognize me without the old-man getup?”

I wanted to look at what I’d seen on the table, the wig and the prosthetics, but I was too terrified to take my gaze off the man getting closer and closer. It wasn’t just the absence of wrinkles, graying hair, and a paunch. Sully even moved differently now, more agilely. Like he could strike at any moment.

“Who. Are. You?” I croaked, the pain in my side intensifying as I struggled to catch my breath.

The man I knew as Sully made a tsking sound. “Come on now, Rids. You know me. But you should’ve been paying closer attention. Because you saw me before I ever started editing your goddamned show.”

I stiffened, the pain spreading out in waves. “When?”

That grin spread so wide his mouth twitched at the sides like it was hard for him to hold it. “You know, you’ve always had shit taste in men.”

My hands convulsed as I tried to pull at my bindings, as if somehow I could break them with the power of my fear.

“Jared was almost as shitty a tennis player as he was a boyfriend.”

I squinted at Sully, trying to place this younger version of him. “You weren’t on the tennis team with him.”

Sully scoffed. “Thank God, no. But I did try to teach that little shit a thing or two.”

A coach? I flipped through images of the coaching staff in my mind, but I couldn’t place him there either.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Sully singsonged as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “I taught a clinic to your boyfriend’s pathetic team. You and Avery came to watch at the end. Both so beautiful. But I knew right away that she was the special one. Shy. Reserved. Perfect .”

My body shook at the way he spoke about my sister. There was an intimacy there that turned my stomach. And it was a lie. “You didn’t know her,” I wheezed.

Sully’s spine snapped straight. “I knew her better than anyone. Followed her for weeks before I took her. Learned every last detail. And I’m the only one who knows what she sounds like when she really screams.”

Bile surged up my throat. It was him. The man who’d stolen my sister from me.

“I let you in,” I croaked as tears pooled in my eyes. That made it all worse. I’d sent Christmas gifts and birthday cards to the man who’d ended Avery in the worst ways imaginable.

Sully tipped his head back and cackled like he’d heard the funniest joke of all time. “That’s the best part about it, Rids. You’re a living, breathing reminder of possibly my favorite kill. Hell, I know it is, and that’s thanks to you.”

I shuddered, pulling the rope tauter as I struggled to get free.

“It’s you reminding me of her that makes it the best one. I get to relive it all every time I hear your voice. It was worth those countless months of classes on audio editing. Worth playing the idiot fan of your show to get in on the ground floor. Because every time you speak, it’s like she’s still here. It’s really too bad I have to kill you and lose that. But maybe killing you is going to be the best of all. Because it’ll be like killing her all over again.”

Fear clogged my throat as the threat of more tears burned the backs of my eyes. “Don’t,” I whispered.

The grin was back. “Oh, Rids. I’m going to love hearing you beg. Feeling the slice of my knife through your throat when I finally end it all.”

My whole body shook. I couldn’t stop it. But I wouldn’t give him my begging or my pleas. I’d swallow them down and take whatever pain was to come. “How many?”

Sully’s head quirked to the side. “How many what?”

“How many people have you killed?” My voice sounded calmer than it had any right to, even as my body trembled.

He tapped his fingers against the countertop in a staccato rhythm. “Now you ask the right questions. This is good. It’ll prepare us.”

“Prepare us?” I croaked.

Sully inclined his head toward the desk where his computer sat, and that’s when I noticed the microphones off to the side. “We’re going to record the best podcast episode of your life. Pull all the pieces together right before I bury you in the woods and head for Mexico.”

My heart pounded against my ribs. Time. I had time. I’d draw out the episode for as long as I could and break free. “I need the backstory so I know what questions to ask.”

“Always impatient. I can’t spoil the show, but I’ll give you some clues. Thirty-four that you should’ve found. Thirty-four perfect specimens that will live forever in my memory.”

He rubbed his fingertips together as if sifting through memories. “Traveling the country for my tennis clinics really did give me the perfect cover. The perfect way to get on campuses and school grounds so I could find them.”

My stomach soured, bile churning as I struggled to keep whatever I’d last eaten down.

“I don’t really keep track of the others.” Sully spoke the words so casually, as if he were talking about pieces of trash rather than human beings.

“The others?” A fresh wave of nausea slid through me.

“The ones I ended just to take the edge off. They didn’t matter.” Sully ran a hand through his blond hair free of any gray. “I have to give it to you. Finding those early women, the ones before I discovered who I really was meant to be, was something.” His blue-gray eyes hardened to stone. “Maybe I’ll revisit Emerson before I leave. Show her who I really am.”

I jerked, my legs snapping the ropes and chains tight. A fresh wave of pain washed over me, but on its heels was resolve. That wasn’t going to happen. I’d get free. Get help.

Sully laughed, his eyes lighting with a perverse joy. “Like that fight. Not all my girls had fight. That’s what happens with the shy ones. Some are surprising, give you a nice battle. But others just lie there like a dead fish.”

I twisted, my teeth grinding together, and when I did, I felt something dig into my hip. The Taser I usually carried was gone, but something else was still in my pocket. I shifted again, trying to feel what it was.

Avery’s key chain—the lacrosse sticks I’d given her for her sixteenth birthday.

It wasn’t a lot, but it was something. If I clutched it between my hands, it might be enough to hurt Sully if I got him in the face.

“What? Cat got your tongue, Rids?” Sully taunted.

My gaze shot to him. “Just wondering how pathetic someone has to be that this is what they have to resort to.”

Fury contorted Sully’s expression, and he shot forward, slapping me so hard I flew to the floor.

“You little cunt. I’m going to—” His words cut off as a loud ringing sounded. Sully pulled out his phone and glared at the screen. “I need to take this. Scream all you want. The RV’s soundproofed. And we’re on the bluffs miles away from town, and there’s no one around.”

I shuddered at that knowledge as Sully opened the door and stepped outside. I tried to pull up a map in my mind of where the bluffs were. I knew they were north of town and that Em’s house was on the outskirts in that direction. If I got free, I just hoped like hell I could use landmarks to point me in the right direction.

My face throbbed as I pushed myself to sitting. Everything hurt now, and the world was going a little fuzzy, but I slid my fingers into my pocket, fumbling around for the key chain as the ropes cut into my wrists. My fingertips grazed the metal edge and I finally grabbed hold.

Tugging it free, I studied the metal piece. One of the stick’s edges was sharpest. It would do real damage if I caught Sully in the eye, but I wondered if it might be strong enough to get through the rope at my ankles.

I studied how the chain was connected to that rope and hope surged. Only one loop was threaded through the chain. If I could start to fray that one, maybe I could get free.

I got to work, sawing at the strands and straining to hear any signs of Sully. But I believed him about the soundproofing; I couldn’t hear a damn thing.

My fingers cramped as a few of the braided threads broke. I quickly switched hands, taking stock of the blood on my fingers. But I didn’t register the pain of my cuts. I was too focused.

I gripped the rope with my now-injured hand, sawing with the other. The tension helped, and two more pieces of the braided cord snapped.

Hope surged and I sawed harder. The pain started to break through, but I didn’t stop. Two more to go. I could do this.

The door rattled and tears sprang free. No, no, no. Not yet.

The rope snapped and the chain fell to the ground. I dropped the key chain, grabbing at the rope and pulling my ankles free even though my hands were still bound.

I leapt to my feet, and the world swam, but I didn’t stop. I braced myself in the doorway and waited until the door just began to open—and then I kicked with all my might.

The door slammed into Sully’s face, sending him stumbling back with a shouted curse. But I didn’t hesitate. I ran.

My side screamed in agony as Sully cursed again, scrambling to his feet.

I knew I didn’t have much time. I had to get to a place I could hide. I ran toward the thickest trees, but Sully was on my trail.

A shot sounded, cracking the air, and I ducked on instinct.

“I’ll kill you and make it hurt,” Sully bellowed.

He was already going to do that, and I’d rather die fighting. For me. For Emerson. For Avery.

I pushed my muscles harder, my vision blurring as I searched for anywhere to hide. But before long, the trees grew thinner. Then I broke into an opening—an opening that led to cliffs.

I skidded to a stop as another bullet pierced the air. I didn’t want to turn and look. All I could do was stare at the water below. A crystal-blue lake that was too far down to offer rescue. I was trapped.

My eyes stung as pain grabbed hold, but I forced myself to turn around.

Sully stood there, blood streaming down his face from what looked like a broken nose. He leveled the gun at my head. “What’s it going to be, Ridley?”