TWENTY-SIX

WADE tore recklessly down the bumpy dirt road leading to the residence belonging to the wife of the cop who’d been responsible for Harrington’s release, his heart pounding with fear and praying the entire way that he would get there in time. That he wouldn’t be too late. God, please don’t let him be too late. He’d sworn to protect Eliza, that nothing would happen to her and he’d fallen neatly into Harrington’s trap.

As he rounded the bend, he was blinded by oncoming headlights and then yanked the steering wheel to the right to avoid a head-on collision. The other vehicle veered to the left, losing control and spinning in a complete three hundred and sixty-degree circle before skidding to a stop, hitting a large tree that lined the road.

Fuck! He didn’t have time for this shit!

He slammed on the brakes and bolted from the SUV, running to check on the driver, hoping no serious injury had been incurred. All he could do was call 911 because he couldn’t stick around when Eliza was in the hands of a madman and every minute counted. Every second he was delayed could mean the difference in Eliza living or dying.

He yanked open the driver’s side door and blinked in confusion. A woman was sitting stock-still, her gaze fixed through the windshield as if she had no awareness of the situation. Even more alarming was the fact that she was dressed only in a nightgown and her feet were bare.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked sharply.

Slowly she turned her head and an eerie sensation slithered over Wade’s skin, raising chill bumps as he stared into vacant, lifeless eyes.

“I have to leave,” she murmured. “He told me to leave and not to return to my house until tomorrow. But where will I go?”

Oh sweet Jesus. In a flash, he knew this was the cop’s wife. And that it was Harrington who had compelled her to leave. She was the victim he had used to lure Eliza to come to him. A bargain. Her for the victim. Harrington got to Eliza in the one way she would never refuse. He would have known all too well the guilt and grief that had crippled her. He’d used her compassion and inherent goodness against her, knowing she would never refuse to save the life of another woman.

Wade grasped her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake, desperate to break through the fog. “Was anyone else there? A woman? Did he tell you to leave after she arrived?”

Confusion clouded her eyes and her brow puckered as if she were trying to recall what exactly had happened.

“Think!” Wade said forcefully. “I need you to focus. Fight him. I need your help. She needs your help.”

The woman’s hand fluttered to her forehead, pressing in as she closed her eyes in concentration. Then her expression crumpled and she brought both hands to cover her face as a sound of utter despair seemed ripped from the deepest part of her soul.

“He said he loved me. That we would be together. But then she came and he told me to leave.”

Assured that she had sustained no physical injuries, he guided her back into her vehicle and issued a harsh command for her to stay there until help arrived. Then he ran to his SUV and roared down the road, every muscle in his body tense and coiled, preparing to fight the most important battle of his life. To save the woman he loved.

As soon as the house came into view, Wade doused the headlights and pulled as close as he dared before shutting down the engine. He grabbed the Glock laying in the passenger seat and quickly popped in a thirteen-round clip as he jumped out and ran the remaining distance to the house.

Two vehicles were parked in front and the house was illuminated with light, nearly every window reflecting lights on in the residence. He skirted around the front, pressing himself against the brick exterior of the side, peering into each window before he ducked and moved on.

When he reached a window toward the back of the home, he saw that it was the kitchen and he halted in his tracks, his relief so profound that his knees buckled and he nearly went down.

Eliza was seated at the table and Thomas stood a few feet away. Wade gripped the pistol resting in his palm tighter, quickly assessing his entry options. Eliza handed him a piece of paper and after Thomas snatched it from her fingers, Eliza rose from her seat. Then Wade’s heart stuttered and nearly stopped when Thomas suddenly pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket and aimed it directly at her head.

Eliza stood frozen as she stared down the barrel of the pistol Thomas pointed at her. It was akin to an out of body experience. She stepped outside of herself, a passive observer to the goings on. Where before there had been a multitude of emotions reflected in Thomas’s eyes, now only one stared malevolently back at her. Hatred. His features were twisted in a sinister expression. His aim was steady. He appeared completely calm as if killing her was just an item to check off on his to-do list. But then she supposed it was.

“You won’t get away with this,” Eliza said softly.

“People are easily manipulated and controlled. You should know,” he said mockingly. “I can command people’s will. No one can stop me.”

“Is that why you went to prison?” she mocked back.

His hand dipped the slightest of inches before steadying, the pistol leveling at her head once more. He opened his mouth to speak but a crash sounded and Wade barged into the room, gun in hand, pointing it straight at Thomas.

Oh God. No. This wasn’t happening. She’d prayed for Wade to find her, but not now, not when Thomas was armed. She couldn’t lose him—wouldn’t lose him. She’d never survive knowing he died for her. It had to be her that Thomas chose to kill. Choking fear paralyzed her, freezing her blood in her veins as her heart plummeted, her stomach bottoming out. Her mouth went dry and tears burned the edges of her eyelids.

“Drop it now,” Wade said in a savage tone.

Oddly, Thomas showed no fear at all. There was a sense of triumph in his eyes as he stared thoughtfully at Eliza. Then he smiled, and that frightened her more than the fact he had a gun pointed at her head. Wade moved closer to her, moving to shield her, to form a barrier between her and Thomas.

Thomas’s smile became sinister. “You’re much stronger now. I hadn’t been able to read you at all, couldn’t forge a pathway into your mind. Until now. But love is stronger than you are and now I know. I would have never hurt you back then. Never killed you. But you betrayed me and so you became my target, not the people you care about as you assumed. Now I know how to hurt you the most, how to make you suffer far more than ending your miserable existence. Yes, my darling Melissa. You’re much stronger now, but not as strong as love, and now you will suffer for an eternity for betraying me.”