Chapter 21
Ashley let out a grunt of exertion as she plunged the scissors with all her strength into his wicked heart.
The scissor blades bounced back when they met solid muscle and bone.
Hank’s eyes opened wide in a confused haze.
His gaze narrowed on Ashley, standing in front of him, scissors fisted in her hand.
He stumbled to his feet, a raging bull, hate flashing from his eyes.
She twisted away and ran for the door handle.
She got it partially open before Hank ripped it out of her hands.
“You’re a dead woman!” He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her into the wall.
Ashley screamed as her nose snapped. Her world exploded in pain. Her only chance of escape—lost. Her vision tunneled. Her ears rang. Lord. Help!
Hank’s left hand clenched the front of her shirt while the right poised for the mortal blow. Ashley closed her eyes and prayed for the end to come swiftly. The next sound she heard was a roar of rage followed by a thud.
Noah and the detectives had entered town and headed for the school when a new text appeared on his cell.
In addition to your wife’s exchange for Jason, put one million dollars in unmarked bills in a cardboard box under the bench next to the main entrance at Centerville Park by midnight tonight, or your wife is dead
Noah took a deep breath as he put his head back on the headrest and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“What is it?” Detective Gonzalez questioned.
He regained his composure enough to hand the phone over to the detective. “Read this.” His voice quavered, and his mind reeled over the last five words of the text. “Now, what do we do?”
Detective Stevens conferred with Detective Gonzalez, then turned to Noah. “We give him what he wants.”
“What? Of course, I’d do anything to get Ashley back safe and sound… but I… I don’t have that kind of money.”
Detective Stevens scratched his five o’clock shadow. His brow narrowed as his eyes flashed a cunning look. “We’ll give him what he wants—but on our terms. Marked money… and a full SWAT team on standby.”
Ashley slid to the ground. Her legs were trapped under the weight of Hank’s body. Stunned, she lay on her back. What…? How…?
She turned to see Carlo, a bloody nightstick clenched in his hand. His face was murderous as he stared down at his partner’s crushed skull.
“Just returning the favor. Leaving me for dead was a big mistake, old man. And now you’ve paid the price.”
He motioned to Ashley and snarled. “Get up.”
Grunting, she pulled her legs from under Hank’s body.
Her head spun and ears rang. Blood dripped down her broken nose as she fought not to lose consciousness.
Slowly, she got up on all fours. She tried to hoist herself but slipped on the bloody brain matter splattered on the dirt floor of the shed. Bile rose in her throat.
Carlo gave her side a kick. “Now!”
Falling back from the weight of his blow, Ashley fought the waves of dizziness and pain. She held up her hand, her index finger extended. “A minute?—”
Blood bloomed on Carlo’s shirt from the wound to his abdomen and dripped on the earthen floor, pooling in a scarlet puddle. He was staggering and obviously in pain.
He impatiently rummaged through her fanny pack and pulled out her cell. His eyes narrowed, and he scrolled through it, reading the last few messages.
He thrust the cell into her face. “Who is this?”
The screen showed the call from Sue Hendricks.
“A friend,” Ashley answered vaguely.
Carlo paced the room. “Sue Hendricks. I know that name.” He swiveled and shot Ashley a knowing look. “She and her husband are foster parents. I lived with them for a couple of months when I was a kid.”
Ashley responded with a blank look.
“Why was she calling you?”
Ashley thought frantically of something to say in response, but her head felt scrambled. “Oh, she had a medical question about one of her sons.”
“One of her foster sons? She has more than one? What are their names?” He grasped her by the chin and forced her to look up at him. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Uh, uh, one is named Felix.”
Carlo raised the bloody nightstick with a feral snarl. “The other son is Jason. Isn’t it?”
Ashley trembled at his rage. She was going to die. “Yes,” she whispered.
He swore and waved the stick under her bleeding nostrils and pushed up. Hard. “You alerted her, didn’t you?”
A cry of pain rang out, and the stars came back. “No. She alerted me. The police contacted her when you and Hank escaped.”
Carlo released his grip and shoved her to the ground. Then he grabbed her phone and shattered it against the ground with the nightstick. He went through Hank’s pockets and pulled out the money and cell phone. Finally, he picked up the gun and pointed it squarely at Ashley’s forehead.
“This is the plan. You’re going to patch me up. Then I’m going to steal a car, and we’ll pay the Hendricks a visit.” He waved his gun in her face with a furious scowl. “Enough stalling. Get up.”
Ashley sent up a quick prayer for strength.
She positioned her hand on the splintering plank wall, tucked her feet under her body, and slowly rose.
The room spun. Her vision tunneled. She clung to the last strands of consciousness.
Hands on her knees, head down, she took slow, deep breaths until her vision started to clear and the vertigo slowed.
Ashley whimpered. Her throat was so dry, she scratched out the word. “Water?”
Carlo grunted and waved her to an unopened water bottle, next to the wrapper remains of his sandwich and chips.
She stepped around Hank and the gore of his fatal injury.
Grabbing the water, she took small sips.
Though she could have drained the entire bottle in a few gulps, she felt too woozy and didn’t want to throw up the precious liquid her body so desperately needed.
Carlo stood, the gun still pointed at her, an unflinching look of fierce determination on his face. “Okay, that’s enough. Do your nurse thing.”
Under his scrutiny, she examined his injury. She had winged him in the gut. There was significant bleeding and fragments of lead surrounding the flesh wound. She utilized her basic first aid supplies as much as possible. While cleaning the wound, she found a section of his bowel had been nicked.
Carlo winced and moaned a couple of times during the process but motioned for her to continue. Once the bleeding slowed to a trickle under pressure, she packed the wound with gauze and applied a cover dressing.
When she was finished, Carlo grabbed her by the elbow and shouldered his way out of the shack through the dimming light of day.