44. Kali

CHAPTER 44

Kali

With my back to the cruiser, I sit in the shaded part on the driver’s side and wait. The keys to the car were nowhere to be seen, and I wasn’t about to go inside and see if they were in Chip’s pocket. I stare at the open front door and mourn the man that I would memorize a dad joke for every morning to make him smile. To the man, that would bring me yellow roses for my birthday every year.

Say goodbye to the man who buried me alive.

Still, a half hour later, I’m praying he’ll walk out. But he’s not and never will. My hatred for Pearl grows tenfold. Her game has spiraled out of control, now leaving two people dead and another one missing, if not dead already, and a madman on the loose.

I muffle my sobs with my hand, not sure why. There isn’t anyone around. Maybe it’s because I’m mad at myself for feeling sympathy for Chip. He doesn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve to be driven to death, either.

He was desperate.

Desperate for Pearl’s love.

At the sound of tires on gravel, I stand, dusting off my jeans, relieved that Paxton found me. I stare at an old beat-up blue Chevy pulling up the long driveway. Not Paxton. Or the police. Shit.

The truck comes to a stop, and I have to squint my eyes to see who it is, the sun bright overhead. I stare at the older man as he slinks out of his truck. There’s a moment of vague familiarity before I’m thrown back to the plane. To seat 55B. The haunted eyes bore into me, his expression still as flat as a deflated balloon.

It’s him.

Carl.

I grab the gun in the front seat and point it at him. He laughs, a bitter sound that echoes around the trees as he shakes his head and opens the back door. Come on, Paxton, where are you? I don’t want to shoot someone. My heart sinks when he yanks Ari from the back seat, holding a gun to her hip. Duct tape covers her mouth, and her red eyes widen when they see me. Her hands are taped together in front of her. Thank God she’s alive.

“Let her go!” I scream, keeping the gun pointed at him.

“Put your gun down, Kali,” he says, almost put out. I shake my head. Ari’s muffled cries get louder when he puts the gun to her head. “I’ll kill her before you ever pull the trigger.”

Countless scenarios run through my head like a quick film reel. She dies. I die. We both die. The cops get here. He dies. Paxton dies. My hands tremble, and my mind races with fear and desperation.

What am I supposed to do?

Ari’s eyes plead with mine, begging me to find a solution. I’m trying! Carl smirks, the twisted satisfaction clear in his eyes, knowing he has us trapped and I don’t have any options. I jerk my head around to the house, the front door at least twenty feet away.

“You can run. But your friend here dies if you do.”

“Chip is inside,” I say, trying to deter him.

He leans to the left, looking at the wide-open door past me, and then glances at the windows. “You sure? Is he alive?” His eyes drop to the gun in my hand.

“I didn’t kill him,” I scream in defense, but then bite my tongue. That was dumb. I might have scared him if he knew I could use this thing.

“But he’s dead.” He tilts his head when I don’t reply. “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s always let his feelings get under his skin. He couldn’t handle the guilt.” Unlike the madman in front of me. Carl has zero remorse for killing that woman.

Just like he won’t for us.

I lower the gun in painful realization; I’m no match for him. I’m not going to choose to live so Ari can die. Time would never erase that pain. “I have money. Lots of it. If you let us go, you’ll be set for life.” He contemplates it for a moment, but then narrows his eyes.

“If you had money, you wouldn’t be working. Especially as a glorified airline waitress. Put the gun on the ground.” It’d be pointless to explain everything. He won’t believe it.

What would Zander do? Evaluate the threat. Can you use anything for self-defense? Memorize your surroundings. Is there a place to hide?

I squat down, placing the gun on the ground. In my other hand, I grab a fist full of dirt and gravel. I could throw it in his eyes when I get close.

When I stand, Carl gives me a knowing glare, as if looking at a petulant child. “Drop the dirt, Kali.” I groan, releasing my fist. “That’s it. Now, walk over here.”

I do as he says but keep my steps as slow as possible. I’m not sure what his plans are, but the longer I can keep him here, the better our odds are. Paxton and the police are on their way. They have to be close.

“Faster, you little bitch.” The rushed emotion in his voice surprises me, but when he looks over his shoulder toward the street, I wonder if he already knows that the cavalry is on their way.

When I make it to them, I rush to wrap my arms around Ari. “It’ll be okay,” I whisper into her ear. Her body shakes against me.

“Enough,” he barks, pulling us apart. “Grab the shovels in the back.” He pushes me forward with the head of the gun shoved in between my shoulder blades.

For a moment, I close my eyes, horrified at what he plans on doing. He hasn’t said yet, but I can guess we’re digging our own graves. I round the back of the truck and lower the tailgate. Tears prickle the inside of my eyes, and I blink them back, needing to stay strong. I am not going to dig my hole and lay in it, giving up.

I’m going to fight. Save both of us.

I grab the shovels and wait for his next instruction. It’s no surprise when he tells me to walk into the heavy lined trees surrounding the property. Maybe he doesn’t know that the police are on their way. Maybe he doesn’t care.

I’m ahead of Ari and Carl, my eyes constantly scanning the area, looking for anything that might help us. I glance back to make sure Ari is okay, but Carl motions with his gun to keep going. The sound of sticks breaking and crunching dead leaves is the only sound around as we navigate through the trees. I swat away patches of gnats and spiderwebs as I try to memorize the path we’re taking while listening for sirens or cars. At first, I was dragging the shovels to leave a trail, but Carl’s not a stupid man and caught on quick and shot his gun once in the air. My knees buckled, and I tripped on a rock as I looked back to make sure he hadn’t shot Ari. I yelp as my left palm catches the corner of a sharp stick.

“Get up!” he yells. “And pick up those damn shovels.” Tears run down Ari’s face, but she nods to tell me she’s okay. “Next time, your friend here will have a hole inside her.”

I shake out the pain and stand back up, making sure that the shovels don’t touch the ground as we continue our trek into the woods.

The crunching behind me stops, and I turn around. Carl has stopped and is staring at the trail we came from. He turns in a slow circle, staring through the trees. Did he hear something? Is this the moment I’ve been waiting for? It’s time to fight. My grip tightens around the shovel in my right hand as I drop the other one. With every ounce of adrenaline I can muster, I swing the shovel like a bat, hitting Carl square in the head.

He moans and falls to the ground, and I hit him one more time in the head. Zander’s words echo in my mind: “ Immobilize the threat and run like hell .” I grab the gun he dropped, and Ari and I take off running. I didn’t account for the fact that through the panic, we didn’t care which way we were going. Away was most important. I pull her behind a large oak tree and pull off the tape over her mouth. She draws in a bunch of shallow breaths as I fumble with the tape around her wrists.

“Do you think he’s dead?” she whispers.

Both our faces jerk up when we hear footsteps rustle over the brush off in the distance. I put my finger over my mouth and hold the gun out, ready to shoot.

“You’re a lot tougher than I gave you credit for.” Carl’s voice grates out in anger. He’s not close, but close enough that if we run, he’ll hear us and catch us. I pull Ari down so we’re squatting. “But you can’t hide from me. I’ve hunted animals my entire life, and when I catch you, I’m not going to bury you. I’m going to make you suffer, stuff you, and stick you on my mantle as my most prized possession.”

I grip the gun tighter. His voice grows closer, and the crunch of leaves becomes more defining. He can throw out disgusting threats all he wants, but I have the gun, asshole. My heart pounds against my ribcage as I focus on his steps, each one getting closer. Ari squeezes my arm, and I nod. I know. I’m going to shoot him.

“Gotcha!”

We both scream in surprise as Carl jumps out from behind a tree in front of us. I gather my wits, point the gun, and squeeze the trigger.

Click.

I tighten my finger around the trigger again.

Click.

Nothing happens. No. No. No! This can’t be happening.

Carl’s laughter bounces off the trees surrounding us as he pulls out another gun from under his shirt. He waves his gun back and forth in the air, taunting me.

“Just in case I underestimated you.”

“Please, let her go,” I plead as the fight drains from me. “Please. You can do whatever you want with me.”

“What? No. I’m not leaving you,” Ari mutters.

He laughs again, flashing his yellow teeth.

“See. She wants to die too.” He walks toward us, and I stand in front of Ari. She needs a chance to run. This is all my fault. She would’ve never been in this position if I had died in that box.

Out of nowhere, a brown streak of fur darts past us, tackling Carl to the ground. Growls and screams fill the air.

Ari and I both gasp at the horrible sounds. She screams, “Run!” grabbing my hand. We both take off as fast as our legs will go, hurdling fallen trees and trying to keep our footing so we don’t fall. My legs burn as the sounds of Carl’s yells get further and further away from us.

Bang.

The sound of a dog’s loud whimper stops me in my tracks. “Nooo!” I scream, bending over, not able to catch my breath.

“We have to keep running,” Ari begs, trying to pull me, but I shake my head, my legs paralyzed, my heart breaking in half.

Paxton appears with a half-dozen other officers, all with their guns out, through the clearing ahead. “Get them out of here.” He barks out the order, still running full speed ahead. I watch him until he’s disappeared into the trees.

Another shot rings out, and my stomach twists in fear.

Two officers run over. “Are you okay to keep going?” an officer asks.

Ari nods. Me, I’m not okay. I glance back to the thick brush, not seeing or hearing anything before they usher us back to the house.

This is not how it ends.

My hero can’t die.