As he pulled out of town onto the interstate, his phone rang. “Beck.”

“Got a call from a kid named Danni Rome.”

Beck tightened his grip on the wheel. “She’s a student of Lara’s. Lara has been worried about her.”

“Right. Danni’s been hiding out in a hotel paid for by Mike Raines.”

“What?”

“The two met up and hit it off. According to this kid, Raines helped her out of a jam with her stepfather.”

Beck pressed the accelerator and passed a truck. “Okay. Why did she call you?”

“Raines gave her a birthday present. He told her not to open it until her birthday, which is two days from now.”

He knew enough about inquisitive teens to know the kid had opened the present early. “What was in the box?”

“A picture of the stepfather, Roger Hill. The guy’s throat appears to be cut. We sent a cruiser to the Hill house. No sign of Roger, but lots of blood.”

Shit. “Where is Raines?”

“He checked out of his hotel room,” Santos said. “And the rental car agency says he turned his car in at the airport. Looks like he’s skipped.”

His stomach tightened as he wove in and out of Austin city traffic and then edged toward the I-35 exit that led to Lara’s house. He gave Santos the rundown on what he’d found out about Matthews and the first killing.

“He couldn’t have been in two places at once,” Santos said quietly.

“No. No he could not.”

A heavy silence. “We know Matthews killed the Austin victims.”

“He stalked them and took pictures of them after they were dead. But he had nothing personal about the Seattle victims.” His hands tightened on the wheel. “Because he was studying the killer.”

“The penny.”

“Somehow he figured it out.” The officers might have been sworn to secrecy, but leaks happened.

“Damn.”

“What about Pamela Davis? There was no sexual assault and no postmortem pictures in Matthews’s book. She fits the Seattle profile perfectly.”

“Two killers?”

“Raines was in Seattle when the first women were killed and here when Davis died. And now he is gone.” Beck punched the accelerator. “Put out an alert on Raines. I’m headed to Lara’s.”

He raced down the back roads, dirt kicking up as he barreled toward Lara’s house. When he pulled up into her driveway, he saw her car and a rental. Raines. Parking, he called for backup and then, drawing his gun, raced toward Lara’s truck. A dog’s whimper drew his attention to the front porch where Lincoln lay bleeding. He rushed to the dog and touched him. The dog cried and his own hand was covered in blood. Lincoln had been shot.

Beck grabbed his phone, dialed into dispatch, and asked that a vet be dispatched. He glanced up and saw Lara’s keys still dangling in the door.

Lara screams echoed out from the woods.

Raines was faster than she’d ever imagined. He raced over the ground behind her, his feet thundering fast and hot. She didn’t dare look back as she felt the glance would cost her precious time. She reached for her cell phone and dialed 911, but in her rush, she tripped over a rock and dropped the phone.

Lara stopped to pick up the phone. It was just a second or two of hesitation. But enough time to allow strong arms to wrap around her waist and tackle her to the ground. She hit hard on her side and felt the air whoosh out of her lungs. Stunned by the impact, she didn’t move for a second until she felt herself being rolled on her back and strong legs trapping her as her arms were pinned over her head.

Sweat dripped from Raines’s brow, and he huffed and struggled to catch his breath. “You’re fast.”

He was going to kill her out here in the wilderness, and no one was going to find her body for days or weeks, if ever.

Her survival rested on her shoulders now. No one was going to save her now. She tried to pull her hands free of his grip, but his fingers only bit tighter into her flesh. She flayed her legs and thrashed her body, reasoning if they were fighting at least he wasn’t strangling her. Once he got his hands on her throat and started to squeeze, she’d be dead in minutes.

A burst of energy born of desperation fueled her struggles, which she prayed were taking their toll on him. Sweat dampened his palms, making them slick and allowing her to pull her hand free. She balled up her fist and hit him squarely in the jaw.

He cursed and punched his fist into her belly, knocking the wind and the fight right out of her. She coughed and sputtered.

He wiped the blood from his nose. “Fighting me is only going to make this more painful, Lara. And I don’t want to hurt you.”

She coughed and sucked in hair. “You want to kill me, you bastard.”

“Death is not the worst fate you can suffer, Lara. You know life is full of pain.”

“It’s my pain, you asshole. And I’ll take the good with the bad.”

He wrapped strong fingers around her neck. “It’s better this way.”

“It’s not.” Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her cheek over his hands. “It’s not.”

He smiled as he started to tighten his hold. “There’s no saving either of us.”

Gun drawn, Beck hustled to the top of the hill and immediately spotted the flicker of movement fifty feet ahead. He spotted the back of a man, hunched forward. There was no sign of Lara. He took a chance and called out, “Raines!”

The man glanced back for an instant, then returned his attention back to where it had been. Beck raced forward another ten yards, saw Lara’s body trapped under Raines. Beck didn’t hesitate. He stopped, steadied himself, and fired.

The bullet struck Raines in the back, knocking him to the side. Lara rolled to her side, coughing and clutching her throat. Raines, clutching his side, rose up as he reached for his gun.

“Leave it, Raines.”

Raines’s gaze sharpened and then he drew his gun.

Beck fired, this time hitting him in the chest. For an instant, Raines stood there, stunned, and then slowly lowered his gaze to the blood blossoming on his shirt. He touched the blood with his fingertips, smiled, and dropped to the ground.

Beck ran toward Raines, picked up the ex-cop’s gun, and checked for a pulse. None. Raines was dead.

Lara rose up and staggered to her feet. Beck raced toward her, catching her as she lost her footing. He stared at the dark red, angry marks on her neck and nearly broke. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

She tried to speak, but her voice sounded like a hoarse croak.

“You don’t have to speak.” In the distance, the sound of sirens grew closer and closer.

She shook her head. “Lic . . . Lincoln.”

“That’s help on the way. He was alive when I saw him.”

Tears flowed down her face.

Beck held her close. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

Epilogue

Six weeks lat

er

“Will the patient live?” Lara said as she glanced over her truck engine into Beck and Henry’s pensive expressions.

Henry, who’d been home from the hospital for over a month, shook his head. “Gonna take some work. This baby has been rode hard.”

Beck glanced up at her, his gaze softening a bit when he looked at her. “Don’t you think it’s time for a new truck, Lara?”

A fully recovered Lincoln sat in the corner of Beck’s Garage gnawing on a chew stick. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he halted his chewing to scratch a shorn patch on his hindquarters. The vet had shaved nearly his entire back leg and part of his right side. The hair was growing back, but he still looked moth-eaten.

Lara’s bruises had healed easily, and she appeared perfectly normal, but the attacks of Matthews and then Raines had left a mark on Lara. She continued to wake up in the middle of the night clutching her throat and gasping for air. Most nights Beck was at her side, holding her close until her panic eased. At Beck’s urging, Lara spent more time with Dr. Granger, who worked with her to unlock more buried memories from her past.

Lara stared at the engine. “But I love this car. It was practically my home for the last seven years.” She’d even slept in it some nights.

Beck’s smile was warm, gentle. “And it served you well, but the time has come to let it go.”

Lara glanced at Henry. “It really can’t be saved?”

“It would take a great mechanic at least a week to fix all that needs fixing.” He kept his gaze on Lara, not tossing even the slightest glance at Henry. “It would cost a fortune. You are better off, and safer for that matter, if you get a new car.”

She smoothed her hand lovingly over the car. “God, but I hate to see her go.”

“Sometimes it’s best to start fresh,” Beck said.

Henry rubbed the back of his neck. Three weeks ago he’d had open-heart surgery. He was recovering well, but without the work of the garage he had grown irritable and sometimes depressed. “Beck’s more doom and gloom than me. I might be able to fix her.”

Tags: Mary Burton Texas Rangers Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net