hour. Maybe more,” Dan replied. There was an odd tremble in his voice.
“Maybe she took a walk?” Blue said. Brady noticed how her shoulders had tensed. She was suddenly worried as much as they were.
“Or maybe whoever was lurking around came back?” Blue said, echoing what the three of them had been afraid to say aloud.
Dan swore.
“I will kill whoever took her, if it is the last thing I do,” Rafe growled.
Brady nodded. At the moment he was so scared and angry for JJ that he could rip apart anyone who would try to hurt her.
“I did see a spiral of smoke when I was circling. About two miles southeast.”
A fissure of relief snapped through Brady. It had to be the stalker’s camp.
“Can you be more specific, Blue?” Dan asked.
“Well, yeah. Right on the southeast shoreline of this lake. But I didn’t see anyone.”
Brady nodded to Dan and Rafe.
“It’s the best lead we have. Let’s go.”
* * * * *
Branches whipped against JJ’s face and arms and mosquitoes stung her bound hands. Ross kept pushing her forward and the instant she stumbled or tried to slow down so she could step over a fallen log, the son of a bitch cursed her.
Her fear of him was turning to red-hot anger and she welcomed the terrifying feeling.
“Quit pushing!” JJ snapped. In retaliation, he shoved her again. A branch slapped her cheek, leaving a sting of pain.
“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch! You’re mine and you do as I demand!”
“Go fuck yourself, you slimy piece of shit!”
He chuckled. “Feisty one, aren’t you? Unlike your saintly mother.”
At the mention of her mom, JJ came to an abrupt halt. She swung around and faced him.
Moonlight shone through the trees and she spied surprise wash across his face at her sudden defiance. But in a flash, his lips twisted into an angry snarl and his eyes glowed with pure evil hatred.
“My mother didn’t deserve your lowlife father,” JJ said in a cool voice. “She was too good.
You and your sadistic father took full advantage of her gentle nature.”
A nasty rage was building inside of JJ.
“Get me out of these cuffs, and I will kill you just like I did your dad.”
Suddenly, he laughed and jumped around with glee.
“Oh! You’re trying to scare me ?”
“You should be scared, because I will willingly do another ten to twenty to get rid of you.”
JJ wasn’t kidding either.
Ross’s smile dropped and he went quiet.
Toward her right, she could hear the croak of frogs. Frogs was an indication of water. It could be a pond or it could be the lake. If she could get to the lake…
JJ cried out in surprise as pain burst against her right cheek as he slapped her.
Bastard !
If he thought violence was going to subdue her he had another thing coming. She would die before she let this trashy nut job near her. It was time to make her move.
In a split second she was screaming and running into the darkness.
Behind her, he cursed her and then shouted at her to stop. She ran faster.
With her hands bound, JJ couldn’t protect herself. Branches snapped like whips against her face and body. It was hard to keep her balance, but she kept running.
JJ stopped screaming, realizing it would only give away her location.
Panic grabbed her as his chuckles drifted along the dark air. He was keeping pace with her.
Following her. Teasing her with his creepy laughs.
As she continued to run, she forced the panic aside and tried to concentrate on her
surroundings. The scent in the air had changed to a mild smell of fish.
The lake. It had to be. She had to be close to the lake.
Suddenly, she burst out of the trees and stumbled onto the rocky shoreline. Moonlight shone upon the water, making it look like a mirror.
Because her hands and arms were useless she couldn’t dive into the water and escape that way.
Even if she had been able to swim. The ice had gone out only a couple of weeks ago. The water would still be too cold for her to last long before hypothermia set
“Maybe she took a walk?” Blue said. Brady noticed how her shoulders had tensed. She was suddenly worried as much as they were.
“Or maybe whoever was lurking around came back?” Blue said, echoing what the three of them had been afraid to say aloud.
Dan swore.
“I will kill whoever took her, if it is the last thing I do,” Rafe growled.
Brady nodded. At the moment he was so scared and angry for JJ that he could rip apart anyone who would try to hurt her.
“I did see a spiral of smoke when I was circling. About two miles southeast.”
A fissure of relief snapped through Brady. It had to be the stalker’s camp.
“Can you be more specific, Blue?” Dan asked.
“Well, yeah. Right on the southeast shoreline of this lake. But I didn’t see anyone.”
Brady nodded to Dan and Rafe.
“It’s the best lead we have. Let’s go.”
* * * * *
Branches whipped against JJ’s face and arms and mosquitoes stung her bound hands. Ross kept pushing her forward and the instant she stumbled or tried to slow down so she could step over a fallen log, the son of a bitch cursed her.
Her fear of him was turning to red-hot anger and she welcomed the terrifying feeling.
“Quit pushing!” JJ snapped. In retaliation, he shoved her again. A branch slapped her cheek, leaving a sting of pain.
“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch! You’re mine and you do as I demand!”
“Go fuck yourself, you slimy piece of shit!”
He chuckled. “Feisty one, aren’t you? Unlike your saintly mother.”
At the mention of her mom, JJ came to an abrupt halt. She swung around and faced him.
Moonlight shone through the trees and she spied surprise wash across his face at her sudden defiance. But in a flash, his lips twisted into an angry snarl and his eyes glowed with pure evil hatred.
“My mother didn’t deserve your lowlife father,” JJ said in a cool voice. “She was too good.
You and your sadistic father took full advantage of her gentle nature.”
A nasty rage was building inside of JJ.
“Get me out of these cuffs, and I will kill you just like I did your dad.”
Suddenly, he laughed and jumped around with glee.
“Oh! You’re trying to scare me ?”
“You should be scared, because I will willingly do another ten to twenty to get rid of you.”
JJ wasn’t kidding either.
Ross’s smile dropped and he went quiet.
Toward her right, she could hear the croak of frogs. Frogs was an indication of water. It could be a pond or it could be the lake. If she could get to the lake…
JJ cried out in surprise as pain burst against her right cheek as he slapped her.
Bastard !
If he thought violence was going to subdue her he had another thing coming. She would die before she let this trashy nut job near her. It was time to make her move.
In a split second she was screaming and running into the darkness.
Behind her, he cursed her and then shouted at her to stop. She ran faster.
With her hands bound, JJ couldn’t protect herself. Branches snapped like whips against her face and body. It was hard to keep her balance, but she kept running.
JJ stopped screaming, realizing it would only give away her location.
Panic grabbed her as his chuckles drifted along the dark air. He was keeping pace with her.
Following her. Teasing her with his creepy laughs.
As she continued to run, she forced the panic aside and tried to concentrate on her
surroundings. The scent in the air had changed to a mild smell of fish.
The lake. It had to be. She had to be close to the lake.
Suddenly, she burst out of the trees and stumbled onto the rocky shoreline. Moonlight shone upon the water, making it look like a mirror.
Because her hands and arms were useless she couldn’t dive into the water and escape that way.
Even if she had been able to swim. The ice had gone out only a couple of weeks ago. The water would still be too cold for her to last long before hypothermia set
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