Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
dani
I trudged through the front of the police station, fighting a yawn.
Natalie had told me we were questioning two more people tonight.
On a Sunday. Did she know something I didn’t?
It must be important to call the two clinic employees in on their day off.
Reaching the door that led to where mine and Natalie’s desks were, I slowly pushed it open.
I froze in the doorway, my eyes darting to the ceiling. The fluorescent lights were off instead of lighting up the entire room like usual. A dim emergency light was on in the very back of the room, along with an office lamp that Natalie had on her desk. Her empty desk.
“Natalie?” I called out.
The cubicle walls that separated the desks blocked my view of being able to see the entire room, and I crept forward, my stomach knotting.
“Natalie, are you here?”
A mechanical noise from the back caught my attention, and it took me a moment to realize it was the printer. Clutching my purse, I passed the desks, glancing between the cubicle walls. The back of my neck prickled, making nerves skate down my spine. Something was wrong.
The printer continued to buzz as I got closer. I rounded the last cubicle, halting in my tracks. The floor was covered with papers that the printer continued spitting out. Before I could catch sight of the black text on the papers, something else stole my attention.
My purse fell from my grip as dread slithered around my limbs, cementing me in place. My lungs constricted, making it impossible to suck in a breath. I stared at the unmoving body laying in a puddle of blood. Papers were still falling out of the small printer, scattering all over the floor.
“Natalie?” I choked out.
Her pained groan knocked me out of my shock, and I raced across the small space, nearly slipping and sliding on the papers.
I fell beside her, horror filling me at all the shallow cuts covering her bare skin.
She was on her side, curled up, and I leaned over her to see her pressing her hands to her stomach.
Blood was seeping between her fingers, proving this wound was far worse than the others I’d seen.
“Keep pressure on it,” I ordered hoarsely. “I’ll call for help.”
I climbed to my feet, staggering a couple of steps as the room spun around me.
I grabbed my own stomach as bile burned the back of my throat.
I closed my eyes, regretting my choice when I found myself trapped in my own nightmare.
The knife sliding into my stomach. The burning, unbearable anguish.
Natalie was stabbed in nearly the same exact spot that I had been all those years ago.
“No. No. No,” I chanted, forcing myself back to the present. She was still alive. I needed to help her.
I stumbled into the closest desk, grabbing the corded phone.
Reflex had me punching in the numbers 911, until I remembered where I was.
This town didn’t have an official emergency line like the rest of the country.
I recited the seven-digit emergency number for the clinic as I punched in the numbers.
I looked back at Natalie as the phone rang and rang. Knots coiled painfully in my stomach as each second seemed like an eternity. I cursed, slamming the phone back down when no one answered. So much for it being a twenty-four hour line.
“It’s okay,” I said, more to myself than to Natalie. “I’ll get help.”
I ripped open the top drawer, reaching for the paper that every person in here had. It listed all the business phone numbers. I squinted in the dim lighting, looking closer, looking for the number I needed.
I pushed the numbers and put it to my ear. It rang twice before his voice filtered through the line.
“Last Call,” Kole answered.
Relief sliced through me. “Kole—”
A quiet beep interrupted me, and then all I heard was silence. Fear clawed in my chest as I pulled the phone from my ear. I rushed to the next desk, picking up that phone, only to hear absolutely nothing.
“Shit,” I muttered, backing away.
Someone cut the phone line. Terror lit through me as I ran back to Natalie. Whoever did it was probably the one who attacked her. Meaning they were still close. That they weren’t done.
“I have to get you out of here,” I whispered as I fell to my knees beside her. “They could come back.”
I scanned her battered body. If I carried her, she might not survive. But she also could die if I left her here. Her wound was still bleeding, her chest rising and falling so slowly that I knew she didn’t have much time if I didn’t get her help.
“Dani.” Her voice was barely audible, thick with pain.
“Shh. Save your energy. Can you move at all?”
My eyes kept darting around, hoping to everything I had time to get her out of here. What if the killer was still in the building?
“Listen to me,” she croaked out, desperation coating her voice. “Please.”
I dropped lower to hear her. “I’m listening.”
She rolled onto her back, letting out a small cry. I stiffened when she rested her head on my lap, her hands still pressed to her bleeding stomach.
“Don’t move.” I ordered in a shaky voice. “Stay still, Natalie.”
I cupped her cheeks as she looked up at me, terror gleaming in her eyes. Her face was ghostly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably. Guilt swallowed me for leaving her alone for an hour while I was at the bar. If I’d stayed, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
“Did you see who attacked you?”
“Mask,” she breathed out. “Brown eyes.”
I stared down at her, fear sinking into my bones. So many similarities to my attack. Too many. Panic threatened to take over as I sucked in shallow breaths.
“My computer…” she trailed off, coughing lightly. “Roxy0428. I need you to remember that.”
I frowned in confusion. “What?”
She winced in pain. “My password. Repeat it back.”
“Roxy0428,” I whispered, not wanting to argue when I could see her slipping away. “I need to try to carry you out—” She reached up, grabbing the collar of my sweater, yanking me closer. My eyes cut to her stomach where blood was still seeping out. “Don’t move anymore. You’re hurting yourself.”
“This town,” she forced out, anguish laced in her voice. “Trust no one, Dani. Not a soul… understand?”
I nodded even if I didn’t understand. This was important to her. Her hold on my sweater loosened as she fought for each breath.
“The file is Winterlake,” she choked out. “It only works on my computer.”
“You’re going to be fine,” I promised, swallowing a sob. “I’ll get help.”
I wasn’t even that close to her, but she’d always been nice to me. But it was more than that. When I looked at her, I saw myself. Hovering on the brink of death, my hope slowly diminishing as my body went cold.
I couldn’t carry her—not when she was so badly hurt.
It was impossible to know what her internal injuries were.
Defeat crawled through me as I stayed there, holding her head on my lap.
A paper floated down from the printer, landing beside me.
My eyes drifted over it and then widened in horror when I read the black text.
Danielle is next.
I jerked, barely coherent as I mumbled an apology to Natalie from my sudden move. A lump grew in my throat, my mouth turning dry. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until my chest grew tight and my head got a rush. I exhaled, carefully moving Natalie’s head off me.
“My neck,” she groaned. “It hurts.”
Once she was back on her side, I reached for her blood-soaked hair with shaking fingers.
It wasn’t fucking possible. I gently pushed her wet hair aside to look at the back of her neck.
I froze, raw terror holding me hostage. One.
Two. Three. Circular burn marks. Just like mine.
My neck burned as I wrestled to stay in control.
The printer ran out of paper, the sudden silence making my ears ring. I scrambled to my feet, reminding Natalie to keep pressure on her injury.
“I’ll be back,” I vowed hoarsely. “I’ll get help.”
She didn’t respond, and I rushed away only to stop. I whipped around, searching the floor. I kicked papers out of my way, scanning the entire area.
“Where is it?” I hissed under my breath.
My purse was gone. Where my knives were. I figured working in the police station was safe enough not to keep one strapped on my body. I was wrong. Was someone in here with us?
My head snapped up when a door clicked shut from the front of the room. I crouched behind a cubicle wall, looking for anything I could use as a weapon.
“Natalie?” an unsure voice called out. “I’m sorry I’m a bit late. I got caught up. You still here?”
Miles? It sounded like him, but there was no way I was chancing it. I stayed hidden, snatching a pair of scissors out of the top drawer of the desk I was next to.
“Natalie? Dani?” he yelled out, still sounding far away. “Okay…I guess I’ll come back tomorrow.”
I bit my lip, my gaze cutting back to Natalie.
If Miles was really here for an innocent reason, I was ruining my chance at saving her.
Before I could make the decision, Miles let out a surprised yell, and then there was a loud crash.
More yelling ensued as I raced away from my hiding spot, making sure to keep in the shadows.
A pained scream had my heart dropping. Keeping a tight grip on the scissors, I made it to the front desk just in time to see Miles thrown on top of it. He rolled off with a groan as he hit the floor hard.
My breath caught when a man reached down, grabbing Miles, only to heave him into the cement wall. Miles slumped down, his face a bloody mess. He spotted me, his eyes going wide.
The man who was fighting him straightened up, turning slowly to face me.
His black ski mask hid everything except his eyes.
It was too dark to see his eye color, but Natalie had told me they were brown.
His clothes were all black. Boots, cargo pants, and a black hoodie.
There was nothing to give away who he was.