Chapter Twenty-Six
“Hey brat. Get outta here,” Tommy groaned as his little sister, Melody, hovered in the doorway to his room. Cartoons played on the TV on his dresser, distracting the little girl. “Mom said you’re not allowed to watch South Park anyway.”
“But I wanna hang out with you guys!” Melody whined.
“Aw, let her stay,” Dani said. “We won’t tell.”
In her dreams, Dani laid on her dead boyfriend’s unmade bed, twirling her scrunchie around her finger as the little girl stared at them.
His bedroom looked just like she remembered from the Rage Against the Machine poster to the blue plaid bedspread and curtains and the forgotten drum set in the corner.
A stack of books was laid out open and unread on his bed as they tried in vain to study for finals.
It was never easy for them to focus on anything serious when they were together, especially when his parents weren’t home.
Tommy snatched Dani’s scrunchie from her finger and gave her a wink. “Watch this.”
Tommy positioned the fabric hair band on his forefinger and thumb and shot it back at his little sister. Melody giggled, picked up the fabric hair band, and wrapped it up in her hair.
“Look, I’m Dani,” she said, her voice sing-songy and mocking as she pulled a sour face.
“Seriously, Melody. Get outta here,” Tommy said. “We’re busy.”
“It’s okay,” Dani said. “She just wants to be around you.”
Tommy stood up from the bed and held out his hand.
Melody took the scrunchie out of her hair and handed it back to him. “It’s probably full of lice anyway.”
“Ew.” Tommy ruffled her hair. “Give us a few more minutes, okay? I’ll play Tomb Raider with you when Dani goes home. We just need to finish studying.”
“I wish she would go home now.” Melody let out a dramatic huff and disappeared down the hall.
Tommy closed the door, hunched down and launched his body onto the bed. Before Dani could react, he wrapped her up in a side hug and proceeded to poke and prod her most sensitive, ticklish spots.
“Stop!” Dani giggled, instantly breathless. “You’re awful!”
“Oh yeah?” Tommy said, tugging at the drawstring on her hoodie. His hoodie. “At least I don’t go around stealing other people’s stuff.”
“You let me borrow it at assembly!” Dani scoffed. “I’m just taking out an extended loan. Besides, it smells like you. I like it.”
“It’s yours then,” he said, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “You have to give me something that belongs to you though.”
Dani snatched the scrunchie away from him. “How about this?”
“I was thinking of something a little more intimate.” Tommy smirked.
“Gross.” She pushed him away, smiling. “Come on, we’ve gotta study.”
“For what?” He asked, his eyes melting from their sockets.
Dani screamed and glanced around the room, her heart beating fast. The walls were sprayed in wide arcs of red as a low whine pierced her ears.
His braided rug was gone, and in its place was a dark, gaping hole in the middle of the bedroom floor.
She tried to move, but her arms and legs only tingled as she turned her attention back to Tommy.
“Come on, Dani,” he said, his voice slowed and garbled as if from the audio on a ruined VHS tape. His entire body was on fire. “Let’s mess around.”
Dani gasped and sat up, her head and heart pounding.
She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest, breathing in and out as she waited for her pulse to return to normal.
She glanced down at Tommy’s faded hoodie and ran her fingers along the soft, well-worn fabric.
The bloody, battered article of clothing was still doing its job of protecting her and keeping her safe.
Even after all these years, Dani knew that as long as she was wearing it, she would be okay.
She leaned back in the driver's seat and glanced at the time on her burner phone. It was late in the afternoon and soon she would need to get back on the road. She had hauled ass out of town and drove until she made it over the state line. She didn’t mean to fall asleep, but her body gave in when she reached a rest stop just outside of Valdosta.
Now that she was awake and delirious, Dani needed to go pee, to eat and to refuel.
But first, she needed to call Detective Owens.
Dani pulled up her contacts list on the phone, dialed Janet Owens’ number and waited.
It occurred to her as she listened to the phone ring that her old friend Detective Owens might be in danger too.
What if Matt Vickers had gone after the detective for ratting him out?
Even though she was in California, maybe he had sent another one of his goons to enact revenge.
Panic flooded her chest as the phone continued to ring.
“C’mon, Janet,” Dani said. “Pick up.”
Finally, after five rings, the Detective’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Dani. You’re alive.”
“Thank god,” Dani said. “So are you.”
“Are you alright?”
“I am for now,” she said. “I saw him. It was Vickers. He went after my friends again. He killed a woman named Missy and attacked my colleague, Ethan Baker. I need you to get some extra security down at the hospital!”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Detective Owens said. “What hospital is your friend at?”
“West Coast Regional,” Dani said.
“I’m on it.”
“Thank you.” Dani held a hand to her chest, her throat tight. “I can’t believe he killed Missy. I froze up. I let him take her body and I ran away.”
“You were right to run,” Detective Owens said. “Dani, the feds think you might be in on it.”
“What?”
“The coroner's reports are coming back from the prisoner transport bus crash. The bus driver, the guard,s and the other inmates on the bus had been shot.”
“I don’t understand,” Dani said.
“Someone must have helped Vickers and another inmate escape. Everyone was accounted for except him and another man named Greg Santino. Big guy, about the same age and height as Vickers.”
“There were two men in the car that hit me earlier today,” Dani said. “I killed one of them.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but keep away from the police,” Detective Owens said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone from the inside that helped Vickers get out. And right now, things don’t look so good for you.”
“What about you?” Dani asked. “If he has people helping him, what if he comes after you too?”
“Why would he come after me?”
“Because.” Dani’s throat tightened. “He tries to hurt everyone I care about.”
Janet made a soft, sniffling sound. “You’re sweet, Dani. But you worry about yourself. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Dani swallowed and wiped her eyes. “I’ll check in with you again in a few days. I’ll lay low until then.”
“You’re a tough kid,” Detective Owens said. “I’ll be rooting for you.”
Click.
Dani placed the phone back in the truck console and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.
She looked and felt like hell. Pins and needles shot through her arms and legs and her bladder was screaming for relief.
The parking lot was empty, but she double checked to make sure it was all clear before disappearing into the woods to pee.
When she was done, Dani hiked her sweat pants up and moved toward the back of the truck to assess the damage from the wreck.
Thankfully, her truck was built like a tank, and aside from a dented bumper and black paint scratches, her ride was no worse for wear.
Refueling at a gas station wasn’t an option, but thankfully, Dani had already planned for that.
She reached into the truck flatbed, pulled out a red gas container, and stuck the nozzle in the tank.
Between preparing for hurricanes every year and needing to be ready to flee at a moment's notice, she always made sure to keep gas, water, and clothes at the ready. The four containers she had in her truck bed contained almost enough gas to fill up the tank. She would be coasting into her aunt’s cabin on fumes, but the less she had to stop, the better.
When she was finished refueling, she rummaged through her bag for a couple of granola bars, bottled waters, and a loaded gun.
She tossed the items in her passenger seat and hit the road.
Miles flew by under her tires as she took the backroads of Georgia northbound through the middle of the state.
She had made this trip many times before, always making certain to take a different route each time.
As she drove, Dani tried to block out her thoughts and focus on the road, but clearing her mind was nearly impossible.
She kept trying to fit the pieces together of how Vickers had managed to find her again.
Who could have helped him escape? Was it one of his fans from the incel forums?
She thought that moving all the way across the country and changing her name would have been enough to keep her from getting doxxed, but apparently, she hadn’t been careful enough.
Dani kept her speed five miles over the limit all the way through the night with the windows down, breathing in deep lungfuls of heady Georgia air.
The landscape smelled different than the sub-tropical climate she was used to back home, rich in minerals and red clay.
The atmosphere wasn’t as soothing as the briny sea air she remembered from her youth in Santana Beach, but it was peaceful and clean in its own sort of way.
New. Just the change of pace Dani needed.
Too bad her respite in the mountainous countryside would likely be short-lived.
The cabin she and Lisa had purchased was intended to be a place for them to semi-retire and relax.
Now it was going to be a stakeout spot while she waited for Matt Vickers or the cops to catch up with her.
Thanks to her need for vengeance, Dani was now a fugitive on the run.
She hadn’t technically done anything wrong, but she hadn’t exactly followed the rules either.
Obstruction of justice. Leaving the scene of the crime.
There were likely a few other charges that she wasn’t thinking of.
Arson, maybe, but they couldn’t prove it.
She would never intentionally endanger her neighbors, and even though she didn’t start the fire, the guilt of leaving the scene weighed on her.
Dani couldn’t see a future where she could just continue living her life as it was and also get the justice she wanted and deserved.
She didn't want to drag her aunt into the line of fire either.
The only solution to her problem now was to start another life with a new name in a new town all over again.
But before she disappeared off the map, Dani would finally have her revenge.