Chapter 25
The doorbell rang at exactly five-fifty p.m. Addie’s stomach grumbled. Pizza. Thank God. Although, she hadn’t heard the best things about Burt’s Pizza.
Ha. That was an understatement. She’d been flat-out warned against the place.
But there’d been nothing else that delivered around here on a Sunday night.
She’d called half a dozen places and every one of them told her it was pickup only, and she was already comfy and warm with the heater on and wearing her best sweats.
The last thing she wanted to do was change and tackle the wind and cold outside.
She grabbed some money from her purse and opened the door to a kid with shaggy bleach-blond hair who wore a name tag.
She smiled warmly. “Hi, Pete. You have one pepperoni and one cheese pizza for me?”
“Yeah. Here you go.” He didn’t smile. Not even a hint of a smile.
Okay, not the warmest delivery. Odd, considering he was the nephew of the infamous Burt, apparently both the friendliest and worst pizza maker in Amber Ridge.
“Thank you.” She took the pizzas and handed him payment with a tip. He didn’t even say thank you. Just turned and left.
Bad pizza and poor service? How was this place still in business?
She closed the door and moved to the kitchen, where she set the cheese pizza on the counter before heading back toward the door.
The pepperoni was for Ellis. He finished his shift in less than ten minutes.
Although, she might need to warn him about the quality before he took a bite.
The pizza in Bozeman was good, so this might be a shock to his system.
The second she stepped outside, wind hit her in the face. Argh. Cold. She hated the cold.
She jogged across the lawn…only to frown when she got closer to the patrol car.
It was empty.
Where was he? Was he doing a perimeter check? He’d told her he did them hourly, so maybe.
She turned and scanned the street, then her house, but she saw no one.
Her pulse picked up speed, and suddenly the need to be back in her house with the door locked almost suffocated her. She was halfway up the drive when she spotted something.
An arm. It was poking out from the side of the house, not visible from the street because her car was parked in the drive.
Oh, God…had Ellis fallen?
Quickly, she ran to the side of the house—only to freeze, every inch of her skin turning to ice.
At first it didn’t seem real. His stillness. The red soaking the back of his shirt.
But it was real. Someone had stabbed him.
No.
She shot forward, closing the distance between them before tumbling to her knees, the pizza dropping to the side. “Ellis?”
Nothing. Not even a flicker of movement.
Oh, Jesus. Her fingers shook violently as she checked for a pulse.
Dull thumps hit her fingertips.
He was alive! Thank God.
Help. She needed to get him help! An ambulance. Medical care. Something. But her cell was inside.
Her knees shook as she pushed to her feet, almost giving out on her.
She didn’t let them. She forced her feet to move, ignoring the buzzing between her ears that competed with the sounds of her ragged breaths as she sprinted into the house.
She was about to leave the door open, then stopped.
Someone had stabbed Ellis. That someone could still be out there. She turned and flicked the lock.
Her chest heaved in panic.
Phone. Where had she left her phone?
After her shower, she’d texted Jules. It was in the bedroom.
She sprinted to the bedroom. The second she stepped inside, someone grabbed her arm from behind and threw her to the floor.
She cried out but didn’t have time to push up before a heavy body dropped onto her back, preventing her from moving.
Fear locked her muscles. She opened her mouth to scream, but a sharp blade suddenly touched her throat.
Air stalled in her lungs, fear catapulting her into stillness.
A mouth touched her ear, warm breath skittering over her skin, making nausea crawl up her throat. She wasn’t sure if they were about to say something—but a knock on the front door suddenly banged through the house.
A hand quickly covered her mouth, the knife pressing so hard to her skin she felt a slice of pain.
“Addison?”
Noah! He was at her door!
Her breathing quickened, the need to get free, to scream his name, consuming all the terrified parts of her.
“Addie, are you okay? I came to talk to you but saw the patrol car’s empty.” There was a small pause. “Can you let me in?”
The hand on her mouth tightened, fingers cutting into her cheek.
A few seconds of silence passed. Then the asshole loosened their hold. Not just the hand at her mouth, but the knife too.
Did they think Noah had left?
It didn’t matter.
Quickly, she tucked her chin hard to her chest, which both protected her neck and caused his hand to slip from her mouth—then she screamed.
Noah pulled up in front of Addie’s house. The need to see her consumed him. Everything Indie and his therapist had said was true. Addie hadn’t wanted to be separated from him, so he shouldn’t have made that choice for her. But he’d panicked.
He wasn’t sure what had changed. Maybe his therapy sessions. Maybe just the time apart from her. But now he knew he wouldn’t hurt her. And with each day, after every session with his therapist, he trusted himself more.
He parked in front of her house and climbed out of his truck, only to narrow his eyes at the empty patrol car across the road. Where was the deputy who was supposed to be watching her place? Was he inside with her? Was he checking the exterior?
He scanned the front of the house and the yard. He wasn’t within sight.
When he reached her front door, he knocked. “Addison?”
A second of silence passed. Nothing.
“Addie, are you okay? I came to talk to you but saw the patrol car’s empty.” More silence. “Can you let me in?”
There wasn’t even the sound of movement on the other side of the door.
His gaze shot back to the empty patrol car, a bad feeling crawling through his gut.
What the hell was going on?
He was about to check the back of the house when a scream pierced the air.
His heart slammed into his fucking ribs, fear blackening the world around him.
Addie!
Without thought, he pulled off his jacket, wrapped it around his elbow and smashed the glass beside the door. Then he reached inside and flipped the lock.
It took him less than five seconds to gain entry. Despite his speed, when he stepped inside, there was the crash of the back door slamming against a wall and a small, feminine groan from the master bedroom.
He had to choose—chase the asshole or go to Addie.
He chose Addie.
He sprinted into the bedroom, and his heart stopped at what he saw.
Addie lay on her side, hand on her neck, a hint of blood between her fingers.
“Addie!” He dropped down beside her.
Her gaze shot up, the terror in her eyes shifting to relief. “Noah.”
“How bad?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. Just a nick from his knife touching my neck.” She removed her hand and, sure enough, the cut was small.
Relief had the world graying around him.
“Go,” she pushed. “See if you can still catch him.”
He didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to stay here. Hold her. Protect her. But she was right. He had to find the asshole.
He sprinted through the house and crashed out the back door.
There was no sign of anyone, and the neighboring fences were so low, the person could have easily jumped any one of them.
The asshole could be anywhere. Fuck!
He stepped back inside and pulled his phone from his pocket to call Jesse.
“Noah.”
“Addie was attacked. I need you at her house now.” Footsteps sounded from the other room, and he raced into the hall just as Addie went out the front door, towels in her hands. He cursed. “I need to go.” He raced outside after her. “Addie!”
She didn’t stop at his call, just continued to run around the house.
What the hell was she doing?
He reached her, and that’s when he saw it—the deputy.
He dropped beside Addie and placed his hands over hers as they pressed towels against the wound.
“I’ve called an ambulance,” Addie said quickly, her voice shaking.
He glanced at her, hating how pale she was. “I’ve got this,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. “No. I need to help him. He was protecting me. And he…he…”
“Hey.” He waited for her to look up at him, and he saw pools of tears in her eyes. “This isn’t your fault.”
“I don’t want him to die. I don’t want another person to die because of me!”
“The paramedics will be here soon. They’ll take care of him.” He couldn’t promise the deputy would live, but fuck, he wished he could.
She nodded slowly, a tear slipping down her cheek.
The sudden high-pitched wail of an ambulance pierced the air. The second the paramedics got there, Noah lifted his hands and stepped back, but Addie remained where she was, hands on the man’s wound.
“Addie, you can let them take care of him now.”
She shook her head, tears still in her eyes. “He can’t die.”
“Addie.” Gently, he gripped her wrists and tugged her back.
As soon as she was on her feet and away from the deputy, he pulled her into his arms. She fell against him, holding him as tightly as he held her.
But the entire time, the same thing ran through his mind.
What if he hadn’t come? What if he’d been too late?