Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Liquid fear shot through her veins. Raven dove into the shadows between her dresser and the bed. Hunkering down beneath the window, she made herself as small as possible.
It was a pathetic hiding spot. But without light to illuminate her tiny, shadowy form, she might have the barest chance. As long as she didn’t give herself away, didn’t move or breathe.
Silently, she reached into her pocket for the knife.
She had to shift her thighs for access, leaning into the wooden side of the dresser, her body squished.
She pulled it out but didn’t dare flick it open.
It would make a small snicking sound that might give her away.
She grasped the handle with both hands and held it to her chest, her knuckles white, and every muscle taut.
The intruder strode into her bedroom. He was a murky shape among murkier shadows. He shut the door behind him. A click sounded as the lock turned. There was a soft thumping sound. Then, silence.
Her lungs burned for oxygen. Her body screamed at her to suck in deep, ragged breaths. But she couldn’t. She breathed shallowly through her nose, fighting against the panic slithering up her throat, squeezing her windpipe.
The intruder was completely silent, except for the sound of breathing. It wasn’t normal steady breaths, but ragged and uneven, like a runner gulping for air. Raucous laughter from the kitchen filtered through the shut door, dim and far away.
What was the intruder doing? Had he spotted her? Did he know she was there? Was it a trap? Perhaps he was waiting for her to make the first move before he pounced. Maybe a gun was pointed at her location right now, just waiting for her to peek her head around the corner.
The anxiety of not knowing wound tighter and tighter inside her ribcage. Her heart felt like it was about to crack wide open.
Seconds that felt like hours stretched longer and longer. From the sound of his rasping breaths, he remained near the door of her bedroom. He hadn’t moved closer to her position.
Anxiety thrummed through her entire body. If death was coming for her, she wasn’t going to die cowering. She wasn’t a coward. Not like her mother.
Gathering every ounce of her courage, she leaned forward a few precious inches and peered past the edge of the dresser.
She blinked, adjusting her eyes. In the dimness of the room, she could just make out a tall, lanky shape on the opposite side of the room.
It was Damien. He slumped against the door, head back, his chest heaving.
His arms hung loose at his sides, his hands clenched into fists.
She couldn’t make out his expression. It looked like his eyes were closed. It was hard to tell.
At any rate, he hadn’t appeared to have spotted her. He wasn’t hunting her. He didn’t have a weapon. A sliver of relief pricked her.
Outside the window, the fog thinned for a moment. The pale shine of moonlight poured through the window, bathing the room in a silvery glow.
Maybe she should have ducked back behind the dresser, stayed hidden. She didn’t.
Damien was just standing there. His chest rose and fell rapidly.
There was something haggard and grim in his face.
His piercings glinted. As he breathed, his fists gradually unclenched.
His tense expression relaxed, and he suddenly looked younger.
Young and unburdened, like a caged animal newly released.
Like he’d just escaped something terrible.
He was as handsome as she remembered. He didn’t seem dangerous at this moment.
She knew better. The rattlesnake lay coiled in the sun, appearing harmless until it struck.
The hippopotamus looked fat and lazy but was responsible for more human deaths than crocodiles.
The furry slow loris was adorable, but it released toxins from its elbow, one of the only venomous mammals.
She tightened her grip on the knife handle. Her palms were damp. Her pulse thudded in her throat.
She’d never attacked anyone before, animal or human. She didn’t want to start now. What did she know about fighting? She wanted to live, she knew that much.
She wished he would turn around and leave. He’d never know she had been crouched just feet away. Just go, just go.
Damien opened his eyes and looked straight at her.
For an infinite second, she stared back at him, frozen.
He looked at her blankly, as if she were a ghost he didn’t quite believe was real. His gaze lowered and fixed on the small knife in her hands.
Raven exploded into motion. She leaped to her feet and lunged at him. She flicked the blade open as she ran. Panic clawed at her throat. Her only thought was to stop him from warning the others, the hardened criminals less than twenty feet away.
She thrust the knife to his throat before his face had even registered surprise.
He grunted and let out a curse. “What—”
“Shut up!” she hissed. “Do or say anything to alert your friends, and I swear to you, I’ll slit your throat.”
He raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “And if you do that, they’ll come looking for me, find me dead, and then they’ll know you’re here.” He kept his voice low. It was the only thing that kept him alive.
Adrenaline spiked through her veins. Her hands shook as she pressed the blade against his Adam’s Apple. Despite her fear, she kept her tone firm. “They already know I’m here.”
He gave the faintest shake of his head. She pressed the blade deeper. “I said, don’t move!”
He winced. “Sorry, sorry. I won’t scream. I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just—just don’t stab me, okay? I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I’m the one with the knife. I’ll decide who gets hurt.”
“Fair enough.”
“And I’m the one asking the questions. Tell me the truth, or you’ll regret it.”
“Okay, okay. I got it.” The whites of his eyes shone in the dim shadows. He looked as terrified as she was. “Whatever—whatever you want.”
She let up on the pressure, just slightly. “How did you follow me here?”
His words ran together in a breathless rush. “At the pharmacy, Dekker saw the Haven bumper stickers on your car. He found a pamphlet for the wildlife refuge in one of the gas stations, you know, the touristy ones for visitors.”
Raven’s heart sank. She knew exactly what he meant. Of course, the pamphlets had Haven’s address on them, as well as cute photos of Vlad and Electra and the bonobos, the entry fees, and hours of operation.
“He was pissed. He wanted you real bad. He doesn’t take an insult easily, and you got the best of him.
He doesn’t let things like that go. Plus, you looked like you might have some loot we would want.
So, he insisted we come here. Dekker wants you, and he recognized the car you drove in the parking lot, so he knows you’re here.
I think Vaughn could be convinced to leave without finding you.
But if you kill me, what do you think is going to happen when they find out what you did? They’ll hunt you down in earnest.”
“You’re insane if you think I’m just gonna let you go.”
Moonlight limned the hard planes of his face.
He attempted a smile, but it came out like a grimace.
“You can let me go. I won’t say anything, I swear.
I told them I was going for a piss. But really, I just needed…
I wanted a minute to myself, you know? Look, I’ll just go back and say nothing. None of them’ll be the wiser.”
“Yeah, right. I have no reason to trust you.”
“You don’t know us, but we’re not bad people. We look tough, but—”
“Liar.”
“I’m not a bad person, I swear it—”
She shot him a scathing look. “I know what you did. I saw what happened to Carl. I saw you point your gun at Phil’s face.”
His eyes widened. “You were inside the pharmacy, then? Dekker didn’t tell us.”
“That’s right. I was there. Your pretty face and your pretty lies won’t work on me. I know what you are.”
He swallowed. “You don’t know what things are like out there, how bad it’s gotten.”
“I’ve watched the news. I saw the state of the town. I—” She almost mentioned Zachariah and her father, but this traitor didn’t deserve to see her grief. Her mouth shut hard.
Damian shook his head. He stiffened as the blade sliced through a layer of his skin. A droplet of dark red blood dribbled down his neck. “The country is in chaos. Everything is… everything is gone. It’s over. The world has ended.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. That doesn’t give you the right to steal from others. That doesn’t give you the right to kill people.”
“There’s no more law. No police. No rules. It’s kill or be killed, eat or be eaten.”
“Carl was unarmed.”
He blinked. “I—I didn’t want to kill him. I wouldn’t have.”
“I call B.S. You people didn’t have to kill them. You did it because you wanted to.”
“I didn’t! I swear it! It wasn’t me. I didn’t want any of that to happen.”
“Whether you pulled the trigger or not doesn’t matter. You’re with those monsters. That makes you just as bad. Worse, maybe.”