You're Not Safe (Texas Rangers 3)

He released Mitch’s hand and latched onto his own fears with an iron grip. Mitch winced as the paramedics raised the gurney. “I threw my cell phone in the bed of his truck.”

The first flicker of hope cut through the mire. “And if I know you, it’s fully charged.”

“They left here an hour ago. There’s plenty of battery life so you can ping right in on that asshole.”

“Good job.”

Mitch winced. “I had the chance to save Greer and I blew it.”

“She’d have been completely lost without you, and at the end of this day when I find her alive it will be because of you.”

Mitch swallowed back emotions and nodded.

Bragg leaned close, his gaze pinning the boy. “And your buddies, you didn’t let them down. They know that. Greer knows it. I know that. Now you need to believe it.”

Mitch nodded.

Bragg patted Mitch on the shoulder. “Mitch, can you describe the man that took Greer?”

Mitch’s eyes darkened. “I can do better. I can give you the motherfucker’s name.”

Greer awoke in stages, her mind a muddy, waterlogged mess. She was vaguely aware of cool grass and a warm breeze blowing over her. She was outside and for a half second wondered if she were camping.

And then her senses cleared enough and she immediately remembered the sting of her attacker’s stun gun and of her legs crumbling. He’d pressed a rag to her face when she’d started to rouse and the foul chemical had knocked her out cold.

Now, she sat up, ready to fight. Her head spun. Her stomach churned, and she thought she’d throw up. She turned to her side, prepared to wretch. But after a few deep breaths, her stomach held steady. A small victory in a war she suspected was long from over.

She glanced up expecting to find someone looming over her. To her surprise she was alone under a sky filled with too many stars to count. She moved to stand but found her legs wobbly and unsure. Drawing in a breath, she tried again but her body would not cooperate.

What was wrong with her?

She studied the stand of woods in front of her and realized they were familiar. The woods at Pinewood Cemetery. She glanced back around her and found herself nose to nose with a headstone.

JEFFREY ROBERT TEMPLETON.

Jeff’s headstone.

Panic rose up in her, choking her throat and she scrambled away from the slab of granite, now afraid to be close to it. Her legs and arms would not function, and she found herself crawling away from the marker, more desperate with each inch. This had once been a place of comfort, solace, and guilt, and now it terrified her because she remembered the dying wish she’d confessed to the group all those years ago . . . to be with her brother.

Her heart thundered in her throat as she struggled to crawl. Panic clawed and sliced at her. She’d loved Jeff. In life she’d followed him like a silly puppy. And she’d carry her brother’s death with her for the rest of her life.

But she did not want to join him in death. She wanted to live.

“Where are you going?”

She glanced up. To her shock she recognized the face. Only instead of kindness simmering behind the eyes, she found crazed longing. “Dr. Stewart?”

“Greer.” A smile tipped the edge of his lips. “I guess you figured out by now why you’re here.”

“I don’t understand, Dr. Stewart. Why are you doing this?”

“I’m hurt you haven’t figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” She’d beg if she had to. “Please, I don’t want to die.” She tried to sit up but her head spun.

He knelt just a couple of feet from her and studied her face. “We’ve known each other a long time, Greer. You just don’t remember.”

Her mind blurred, she searched his face. Eye color, hair color, weight, and the way he held himself didn’t produce any matches. But there was an intensity emanating she’d not seen in him before. That intensity triggered memories. The first conclusion to spring to mind didn’t make sense but despite logic she couldn’t help but whisper, “Jack?”

A grin tugged at the edge of his lips. “I knew you wouldn’t forget me.”

But she had forgotten him until just a day ago. If not for the deaths of the others she’d likely have never thought about him again. At the camp they’d barely spoken. He’d been a passing acquaintance. Clearly, his attachment to her was much stronger. “No. I didn’t forget.”

“I’ve thought about this moment a lot over the years. Dreamed about it. I know life has been a struggle for you. I know it’s been hard.”

“Dr. Stewart, I don’t want to die. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“But you must. I just killed Mitch, a boy who reminds you of Jeff. You must be feeling the sharp knife of loss.”

“Mitch.” She could barely speak his name. “He can’t be dead.”

“He is,” Dr. Stewart whispered. “Dead like Jeff.”

Tears clogged her throat and spilled over her cheeks. Oh, God. What would Bragg do?

“Our core selves do not change, Greer, or should I say Elizabeth. You confessed your deepest desires that night at camp. And when you spoke I knew we were connected.”

Dear God, he’d held on to an image for over a dozen years of a girl who no longer existed. “I’ve changed. My life has changed. I don’t want to die.”

“I’ve seen you come here often. I’ve listened as you talked to your brother.”

Her mouth felt dry and her breathing grew labored. Whatever was in her system was burrowing in and pulling her closer to unconsciousness. “I don’t want to join Jeff.”

“That’s not true.” His voice was soft and soothing. “That was your dying wish.”

Before she could respond, he straightened for a moment and glanced behind him. Eyes narrowing, he shook his head. “Shut up, Meg. Shut up.”

She searched the darkness but saw no one. “Who is Meg?”

“No one.”

He grimaced and turned again. This time he seemed to wave someone away. “Shut up.”

She searched the darkness but saw no one. “I don’t see anyone.”

“How could you not see her laughing face? She’s mocking us both right now.”

Dr. Stewart was hallucinating. If only her brain wasn’t cripplingly drugged she could argue. “Dr. Stewart, let me go.”

Hands fisted at his side, he turned from his invisible tormentor. “Not until I give you your dying wish.”

“What are you talking about?”

He smiled, dragged a shaking hand through his hair, and calmed. “You don’t remember what you said that night?”

She moistened her lips. “My mind is getting foggy, Dr. Stewart.”

He smoothed his hand over her hair. Gentle. “I know. I know. I won’t make you work for this.” He hesitated and then said in a low voice, “You said you could die happy if you knew for certain there’d been a second driver on that lonely road. You wanted to know the accident that killed Jeff and Sydney wasn’t your fault.”

A jolt of energy shot through her system, cutting through the haze. “What are you talking about?”

“My dear Elizabeth, you were right all those years ago. There had been a second driver on the road. A drunk driver who had caused you to drive off the road.”

“I don’t understand. The police said there was no other driver.”

“They found no skid marks. The driver intended to crash into you. That driver wanted to crash head on into your car and to die. But you veered. You saved yourself and you saved her. Unfortunately, Jeff and Sydney paid the price for her selfishness.”

She studied his face, blinked to clear her fading vision. “Who?”

A satisfied smile eased from him. “Jennifer.”

“What?”

“Jennifer Bell.”

“She never said a word.”

“Not to you, but she caused your accident. She killed Jeff and Sydney. She kept the secret close but all these years that secret has eaten into her soul far deep

er than the demons that had originally sent her out on that road long, long ago.”

“I don’t believe it. She had a brother. He dove into a lake.”

“A lie.” He pulled a tape recorder from his pocket. “Listen.”

Jennifer’s slurred drugged voice said, “I wanted to die. The fight with my boyfriend had been awful. So I got behind the wheel of the car . . . and when I saw the headlights I thought if I could crash into that car my life would end, and I wouldn’t have to be perfect anymore.”

A heavy silence and then Dr. Stewart’s gentle voice: “And what happened, Jennifer? It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“I don’t want to die.”

“Tell me. Tell me.”

“The other car swerved. It missed me and I drove past. I drove for at least a mile before I decided to turn around and go back.” She sighed. “I saw what I had done. Two people were dead. And the other girl, I recognized her. I’d seen her at the club. She was in so much pain.”