Chapter 29
T he trees swirled around Polly, the hard shoulder in her belly making her stomach roll.
She was going to be sick. Either that or pass out. She wasn’t sure which would be worse.
“I know you don’t understand why I’m doing this,” Cox said, his words competing with the buzzing in her ears. “But you not understanding is exactly why it needs to happen.”
“You’re making a mistake,” she gasped, words so quiet she wasn’t even sure they reached him.
“No. I’m not. This is what God needs from me. It’s my purpose.”
She scoffed, trying to push up from his body, but her elbows gave out and she fell back down. “This isn’t your purpose. It isn’t faith or anything else you’re lying to yourself about.”
“What would you know about faith, Polly?”
The rush of the river grew louder, making panic swell in her chest. “I know it doesn’t hurt people.
I also know that you killing women doesn’t make you holy.
It makes you small . Evil. It makes you a murderer.
” Another shove against his back. “At least admit the truth of your actions—you don’t do this for God, you do it for control.
You can dress it up in scripture, but in the end, it’s just you taking people and hurting them.
It’s you committing crimes against women, and those crimes are far greater than anything those women ever did. ”
He dropped her, and pain shot through her side as she hit the ground. “Do not presume to know anything about scripture or God or faith.”
She pushed up, refusing to let her elbows give way this time.
“How about I presume to know something about you, then? A woman cheated on you, didn’t she?
Or she just hurt you. Bruised your ego. And instead of accepting it and walking away, you turned it into a crusade against every woman who reminded you that you’re not the one in control. ”
The hit came hard and fast, shooting into her cheek and sending her back to the ground.
“You do not speak to me like that!” he yelled. “You are not in control here. I am.”
“You can kill me. But first you need to hear me when I say this.” She forced her head up so she could look him dead in the eye.
“This isn’t some divine purpose. It’s you being a toxic male who can’t stand women thinking for themselves.
The moment a woman lives beyond the box you try to shove her in, you call her dangerous.
That says everything about you , and nothing about her . ”
Red flushed his cheeks, his chest rising on a deep inhale before he fisted a handful of her hair and dragged her over the rocks bordering the fast-moving river. “I don’t have Jenna anymore, so no drugs. Sorry.”
“Let go of me,” she screamed, reaching up and clawing at his hand.
He plunged her head beneath the surface.
Her lips snapped shut and she held her breath while digging her nails into his forearm above the water.
It did nothing. His grip was too strong.
Suddenly, he tugged her head up, and she gasped for air.
“Lord, I am your instrument. I will correct what has fallen out of your control.” He slammed her head beneath the water again.
Cold water crashed over her face, flooded her mouth. She reached up and attacked his hand, pulling at his fingers, scratching at his skin.
Come on!
Her lungs started to scream, her head feeling so lightheaded she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d remain conscious.
She didn’t want to die. She had too much to live for.
She forced herself to concentrate. To stay awake.
His stance changed, and she quickly rolled her body to the side, tucked up her leg and kicked out. There was little aim involved, but she hit a hard surface.
Cox’s grip on her hair didn’t loosen, but as he fell, she was tugged sideways, up and out of the water.
She gasped in a lungful of air, black dots dancing in her vision.
“Stop fighting this,” he growled, as he pushed back up to his knees.
She threw an elbow into his gut, but he didn’t so much as grunt.
Her head was halfway to the water and she was preparing to hold her breath when the loud report of a bullet cut through the evening air.
Cox grunted, his fingers finally releasing her hair as he fell sideways.
Polly dropped to all fours, her chest heaving as she tried to make sense of what was happening. She shot a glance at Cox.
He grabbed his shoulder. “What the hell?”
She followed his gaze to the figure moving toward them. At first, the woman was a blur.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
“Put your hands up!” the woman shouted. Her voice shook, but it was also firm.
“Raven?” Was she dreaming? How was Raven here?
Blood seeped through Cox’s fingers where he still held his shoulder. “Where did you come from?”
“I said, put your hands up,” she yelled.
“Fine.” He started to lift his hands. But at the last second, he reached into his holster.
The click of Raven pulling the trigger sounded—but the pistol jammed.
“Shit!” she whispered.
Cox pulled out his own gun.
Polly lunged, slamming into his body with her own. His bullet fired into the air.
He hit the ground, and she reared back and threw a palm into his nose. He growled, the gun dropping as blood ran down his face before he rolled them. But they were too close to the edge.
They dropped into the water.
Cold blasted her body. She popped through the surface to see Raven reaching out a hand. “Polly! Grab on!”
She reached for the woman, but a big body suddenly lunged on top of her and pushed her down.
Water once again closed over her head. She hit and clawed at Cox, the river pulling them downstream, but it was only when she dug her fingers into his bullet wound that he released her.
She had to grab on to something. She had to stop herself from drifting.
A broken tree came into view just ahead. Still rooted to the bank, the trunk stretching almost to the middle of the river.
That was it. That was her out.
She waited, working hard to keep her head above water, even though exhaustion pulled at her limbs. Before she could fly past the tree, she grabbed a thick branch. Her fingers almost slipped, but she refused to let them.
She was just pulling herself onto the trunk when Cox grabbed her around the middle.
Joel sprinted through the trees, the sound of his boots hitting the dirt loud in the quiet evening air. Zac wasn’t far behind, but dammit, it felt like they were moving too slow.
He’d run through so many forests in his life. Dodged bullets and sprinted into fucking warzones. Fear had never come into the equation. Not once. But right now, fear consumed him.
He rounded a tree and leapt over a root. It felt like a million miles sat between him and Polly, and he felt every one of them.
When he reached the river, he raced along the edge. The water moved quickly, rocks bordering the shore slick and snatching his balance.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been moving. It felt like hours when he finally saw a woman up ahead. Not Polly. She was blond. Shorter. Dressed in workout gear.
She spun and raised a pistol, eyes wide with fear.
Raven Price from the community center.
It was Zac who spoke. “Whoa! We’re here to help.”
Slowly, Raven lowered the weapon. “Thank God you’re here!”
“Where is she?” Joel scanned the area, but no one else was around.
“He was holding her head under water,” Raven said frantically. “He was trying to kill her!”
Zac took a slow step forward. “What happened next?”
“I…I shot him. But the gun jammed and he pulled out his own.” Her words started to run into each other. “He was going to shoot me, but Polly lunged at him and they fell.”
“Fell? Fell where?” Joel growled, panic speeding up his words.
Raven’s eyes went to the river.
No…
Joel didn’t wait for any more explanation, he just started running again, his eyes on the water.
Come on, Polly, where are you?
His heart was hammering in his chest when he spotted her. But not just her—Cox. The asshole had an arm around her waist, and even from where he stood, Joel could see her grip on the tree branch was tenuous with the deputy’s added weight.
He leapt onto the trunk and raced toward the end.
Cox met his gaze. The asshole’s eyes narrowed. He gave one big tug on Polly’s body.
She screamed.
Her fingers slipped.
Joel grabbed her forearm just before she sank out of his reach.
Cox snarled and attempted to tug her away again. Joel lifted a boot and kicked straight at the asshole’s nose. Cox cried out and released her. Joel pulled her up in one tug.
The second she was on her feet, he lifted her so she was cradled against his chest before racing back to the bank.
He sat her on the ground and cupped her cheeks. “Where are you hurt?”
“I’m just cold.” She rested her head against his chest. “You’re here.”
He wrapped an arm around her. “I’m here.”
“H-how?”
“I’ll tell you everything soon. But first we need to get you out of your wet clothes and back to the truck.”
Zac ran toward them. “Where’s Cox?”
“In the water.”
He nodded and continued down the river.
Quickly, Joel helped Polly out of her clothes and replaced them with his sweatshirt, which went down to her knees.
He was gathering her wet clothes when a flash of movement had his head shooting up—the gleam of a gun in the moonlight.
Joel grabbed Polly around the waist and rolled them behind a tree just as a bullet hit the dirt.
Polly gasped.
“It’s Cox. Stay down for me, Sunshine.” He unholstered his weapon and stood, then shouted, “I’m surprised you got past Zac, Cox.”
“I was already out of the water and hiding. I knew someone would be after me. Not so smart of him to let me pass though, huh?”
“Put the gun down. You don’t want to die tonight.”
Leaves crunched beneath feet. “You say that like I haven’t already given my life to my calling. I can’t walk away from this any more than you could from your calling.”
The fuck was he talking about? Killing women was his calling? “Last chance. Put down the gun or I will shoot you—and I always shoot to kill.”
“Who’s to say it’s me who’ll die here, Joel?” More crunching of leaves. “I have faith on my side.”
“Yeah? And I have over a decade as a SEAL and four teammates who have access to my location.”
Zac’s voice suddenly sounded. “Put the gun down, Cox. Now .”
“You have no other option.” That was Connor.
Joel stepped out from behind the tree, pistol aimed.
Cox stood in his wet uniform, nose crooked and bleeding, aim shifting from Joel to Zac to Connor. Real fear flashed in his eyes.
Good. After everything this asshole had done, he deserved to be scared.
The deputy’s chest heaved, his gaze flickering…before finally, he dropped to his knees, the gun hitting the dirt.
It was a good choice to surrender. But then, Joel had really wanted a reason to shoot the guy.
Connor and Zac closed in on Cox while Joel turned back to Polly. She was pushing up to her feet, and he slipped an arm around her waist to take most of her weight.
“Is he?—”
“The guys have him,” Joel finished for her. “You’re safe now.”
Her eyes closed, air rushing from her chest. “Thank God.” Then she leaned into his chest, and he took a moment to just hold her. To let the reality that she was alive and safe really sink in.