CHAPTER Thirty Seven
Camille was too worked up to heed Agent Brawn’s advice to stay put. She was extremely worried about her parents’ safety, given the ominous nature of Shane’s call.
“Let’s head up to the main building to be with my parents,” Camille said, more like a command than a suggestion.
Ross understood her concern, but his priority was keeping them all safe, including Camille, and he knew that leaving the boathouse was not a good idea.
“Let’s call them and warn them instead. We need to stay put.”
“Ross, my parents know NOTHING about this situation. There’s no way I can tell them everything over the phone.”
Camille’s words were forceful and commanding, and Ross had to admit she had a point. He knew that leaving the protection of the boathouse was dangerous, but feared there was no way Camille would listen to reason when her parents’ safety was at stake. Still, he had to try.
“The feds will be here soon. Please, just stay put!”
Camille turned to look at him as if that was the most ludicrous request.
“Ross, I can take care of myself. You saw what I can do when I kicked Ike’s ass,” she said with a confident smile that may have convinced her, but Ross was still worried.
There was no doubt Camille had a mind of her own, and staying put was not an option. Ross watched with a heavy heart as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door. He had no choice. Despite his better judgment, he knew he had to go with her.
The trek up to the main building was not more than a hundred yards, but to Ross, it was the most treacherous one hundred yards he had ever known as long as he believed Shane Simpson had eyes on them.
He was barely out the door, following her, and he thought to go back in and get his S&W .
45. In that moment, he felt retrieving the weapon was well worth the time, but when he got back outside, Camille was long gone.
Surrounded by silence, Ross had a sinking feeling in his gut.
It was dark, and snowy clouds shrouded the moon’s light, making that sinking feeling dip even lower.
Ross looked at the freshly fallen snow, found Camille’s tracks, and hastily followed them.
When he could see the lights of the main building more clearly, the gripping feeling in his gut eased a bit, especially when he could still see Camille’s tracks making their way to safety.
When a forceful pressure connected with the back of his skull, Ross had a moment of confusion. And then thick, red blood dripped down his forehead. Before he could formulate another thought, the second mighty THUD hit, and there was nothing but darkness.
Shane dragged Ross’s body off the path and into the thick brush.
He wasted no time getting back to the trail where he spied Camille’s tracks and followed them.
He knew she was heading to the main building, and now he was certain she was already safely inside.
After his ominous phone call, he’d watched and waited for some movement from the two lovers.
Shane was unprepared for such a hasty reaction.
Camille was on the move, and he had no time to plan.
She was gone and out of sight in seconds.
Even though Shane had subdued Ross, he still had his main target at large.
He wanted Camille out in the open, in the darkness, helpless and alone.
Shane knew that it was only a matter of time before Camille’s curiosity would get the best of her.
She would be expecting Ross to come into the brewery right behind her, and when he didn’t, Shane knew Camille would leave the security of the building and fall right into his trap.
For this scenario, he would have to wait, so he settled into the seclusion of the snow- covered lilac bushes and watched and waited.
It wasn’t until after Camille relayed a brief version of their story and warned her parents about Shane that she noticed Ross was not behind her.
She then questioned whether he’d followed her or not.
He seemed adamant about staying put, but she figured he would not let her go alone.
Worried now, Camille pulled out her phone and called him.
Coming to but disoriented and woozy, Ross struggled to understand his surroundings. He could hear a faint ringing and finally determined that it was his phone, but he didn’t have the strength to reach for it, let alone answer it.
When Shane heard Ross’s phone ringing, with no reply, a sinister smile formed on his face. He knew that was Camille calling, and when Ross didn’t answer, she would be hell-bent on finding him.
“That’s weird,” Camille said. Her face wore that puzzled look that alerted her father.
“What’s wrong?” her dad asked as he slapped a mag into his automatic handgun.
“Ross didn’t make it up here, and he’s not answering his phone either.” “Here,” Dan Hargrove said gruffly as he handed Camille the gun. “I noticed you didn’t have yours.”
Camille grabbed the gun as Dan prepared another one, which he handed to his wife.
“Marla, go into the brew room, lock the steel door, and call the police.
You’ll be safe there.”
Marla Hargrove’s eyes were wide, but she did as she was told after her husband gave her a quick kiss and grabbed a weapon of his own.
“Against my better judgment, I think we need to find Ross. Something might be terribly wrong,” Dan said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop Camille from going out that door anyway.
“You stick close to the building and look for him. I’ll check the path to the boathouse,” Dan said, grabbing a flashlight for each of them before heading out into the darkness.
“Dad, I’m not afraid for myself, but I’m terrified something horrible has happened to Ross.” Camille’s eyes were glassy and tear-filled.
“Stay strong, Milly. This is no time to let your emotions run wild,” Dan Hargrove preached, putting a strong hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find him.”
Camille was only mildly reassured, but she knew her dad was right. She had no time to be scared. They had to get going and start looking.
As her dad headed down the path, Camille rounded the back of the brewery’s fence and got a good look at the driveway, where she saw an unfamiliar SUV.
Curious, Camille headed toward the vehicle, initially thinking it was empty.
With gun drawn, Camille approached the driver’s side window and gingerly peered inside.
She gasped at the sight of Agent Brawn slumped down in the driver’s seat.
Her skull had been bashed in. She was dead.
Camille had completely forgotten that Agent Brawn was on her way.
Now, all doubts about Shane’s presence at the brewery were long gone.
He was there, and he was out for revenge.
Camille felt the full weight of this tragedy fall squarely on her shoulders.
She was the one Simpson was after, but she’d dragged Ross into her danger, and now Agent Brawn was dead.
Her parents were also at risk because she’d led Simpson right to them.
Camille was at a loss. She had no idea what to do next. She desperately wanted to find Ross and had a stabbing pain in her heart that he had ended up like Agent Brawn. But she had no time to think of the worst. She had to find him, fast.
Running now, Camille defied her dad’s order to stay close to the house.
She knew Ross had to be somewhere on the path between the boathouse and the brewery.
On her journey, Camille noticed the intense darkness and realized she had left her flashlight back at Agent Brawn’s SUV.
Turning momentarily to go retrieve it, Camille thought better of it and turned back toward the path to resume her quest for Ross.
In her very brief pause, unknowingly, Camille had positioned herself perfectly for Shane to stealthily slip in behind her, wrap his arm around her neck, and muffle her screams with his other hand, preventing any kind of resistance from her.
“Hello, Camille. Miss me?”
Shane’s words were menacing, and Camille could feel his hot breath piercing the frigid air and hitting her neck.
His closeness, his smell, his tone—they all sickened her.
Shane’s attack was an utter surprise, and his massive stature prevented her from repositioning and gaining the advantage.
She felt her .45 in her waistband, but there was no way she could get to it.
Camille had always believed that she could handle any kind of attack, but Shane came out of nowhere.
He was so big and so strong. Camille was helpless.
His grasp on her was too tight, and no amount of fighting did any good. She was nearly paralyzed by his grip.
Camille could tell he was dragging her to the seclusion of the thick brush off the dedicated path. She wondered where her dad was and, of course, she worried about Ross.
Ross, still immobile and going in and out of consciousness, could hear a scuffle near him, but his eyes were now swollen, and he labored to open them.
Thinking the struggle near him was Camille in distress, Ross forced his eyes open to see his worst fear—Shane Simpson dragging Camille into the brush.
When her helpless, frightened eyes found his, Ross was broken inside.
He had to find a way to help her. He knew that if he didn’t, she was just seconds from death.
Ross struggled to put his hand under his chest and push himself up.
The pain was excruciating. He was making progress, but he knew it wasn’t fast enough.
He began to panic when he saw Simpson turn Camille to face him and clench his massive hands around her neck.
Ross’s clarity was waning. This was the most crucial time, and he was losing consciousness again. This was the end. He was sure of it.
It wasn’t long after Dan Hargrove set out on the path back to the boathouse that his skull felt the same walloping blow from Shane’s crescent wrench that had left Ross immobilized.
Unlike Ross, Dan went down with one vicious strike instead of needing a second.
But also unlike Ross, Dan’s recovery was far better.
Coming to, all Dan could think about was Camille and Ross.
They were out there somewhere. He had to find them before that monster did.
Once Dan had his wits about him, he picked up his flashlight and scrambled to find his gun.
It was gone. Panic set in, and Dan knew Camille and Ross were in grave danger.
Taking off toward the giant footprints, Dan soon heard muffled words and faint crying in the distance. It was Camille. He had to get to her. From the sound of her struggle, there wasn’t much time left.
Dan moved as quickly as possible toward Camille’s helpless cries.
When he reached a spot in the snow where there seemed to have been a scuffle, he noticed a bloody crescent wrench lying on the ground.
Shane had abandoned it to restrain Camille.
With no other weapon, Dan Hargrove picked it up and continued his pursuit of the man holding his daughter’s life in his hands.
Shane was pretty proud of himself at this point. It had taken some time and effort, but he finally had Camille Hargrove by the throat, and he was enjoying every second of her terrified last minutes on this Earth.
As he squeezed tighter, Camille could feel her airway constricting.
She could feel Shane’s massive hands crushing her throat, and her struggle turned to panic.
Staring into her glazed eyes, Shane thought this kill was extra satisfying.
He had waited so long for this moment. If anyone deserved to die, it was Camille Hargrove.
Shane began tightening his grip to a deadly end, and Camille was fading in and out. Shane was so intently focused, waiting, just waiting to hear that last gasp before nothingness.
And then came darkness.