Chapter 12 #2
“Copy,” Wolf’s voice. “We’re already in position. Hawk has overwatch. You’re not alone.”
“I know.” But it felt like she was. Felt like she was fourteen again, walking into a nightmare. She opened the car door and stepped out. The mountain air was cold, pine-scented. Peaceful.
She purposefully did the breathing exercise again, thinking about Wolf out here. It was peaceful, but…lonely, too.
Her chest had a mind of its own. She couldn’t draw a deep breath. She’d confronted killers before. Walked into dangerous situations. This time was different. This time, it was personal.
The cabin door opened before she reached it. Derek Sullivan stood in the doorway. The monster. “Claire.” His voice was warm, friendly, just like it had been all those times at work. “Right on time. I knew you’d come. We’ve both been waiting for this, haven’t we?”
A lump formed in her throat. Her legs turned to jelly. “Where’s Dr. Montgomery?”
“Inside. Alive for now.” He gestured. “Come in. We have so much to talk about.”
Claire didn’t move. “Let me see her first.”
Derek smiled. “You’re not in a position to make demands. But...” He stepped aside.
Through the doorway, Claire could see Vivi bound to a chair and gagged. Her eyes were alert. She jerked her chin toward something on the other side of the open door. Blinked twice.
“Satisfied?” Derek asked. “Now, get inside, or I’ll slash her throat.” He flashed a hunting knife.
All the air whooshed out of her lungs. But Claire walked forward past Derek and into the cabin. The door closed behind her with a sound like a tomb sealing.
The cabin was small. One room, mostly. A kitchenette in one corner. A jacket hung on a hook near the door. Wood was stacked in the small fireplace. The chair where Vivi sat was in the center. Nearby was a table with rope and zip ties.
Vivi’s eyes darted to the right again. Claire turned and froze. Photographs—dozens of them—were taped to the walls.
All of Claire.
Claire at her apartment. At the Bureau. At the grocery store. At a restaurant with colleagues. Photos spanning months. Maybe years. Her entire life, documented. Watched. Stalked.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Derek said behind her. He locked the door. “Five years of work. Five years of getting close and earning your trust. Watching you live your life, completely oblivious.”
Claire forced herself to look at him. “Why?”
“Why?” He laughed, sounding amused. “You really don’t know? You’re the one who saw too much and lived when she shouldn’t have. He was obsessed with you, Claire. And when the police killed him...”
“You decided to finish what he started,” Claire said.
“I decided to make you pay.” Derek circled her slowly. “You took my cousin from me. The only family I had. He was brilliant, powerful. And you—a scared little girl—got him killed.”
She stepped closer to Vivi. “He got himself killed. He murdered Lily.”
“Lily was collateral damage.” Derek’s voice was cold. “She wasn’t the target. You were, Claire. You were always the point.”
Claire’s blood ran cold. “What?”
“Collin was hunting you that night,” Derek said. “Lily was just there, in the way. If she hadn’t been with you...” He shrugged. “But she was. She didn’t fight, so she died, and you lived. And that wasn’t right. Collin couldn’t fix it, so I will.”
Vivi made a sound behind the gag, struggling against the restraints.
“Oh, Dr. Montgomery wants to contribute.” Derek walked to Vivi, yanked the gag down. “Go ahead. Tell Claire how this is going to end.”
Vivi’s eyes met Claire’s. “It’s a trap. He knows the team is here. He—”
Derek backhanded her. Vivi’s head snapped to the side.
“That’s enough.” He replaced the gag. Turned back to Claire. “She’s right, of course. I knew you wouldn’t come alone. I’m not stupid. Your precious Shadow Point Security is out there somewhere, thinking they’re going to save you.”
He pulled a device from his pocket. Small. Digital. A trigger. “But I’ve been planning this for a long time,” Derek continued. “And I always have a backup plan.”
Claire’s heart stopped. “What did you do?”
“The police station. Such a nice building. Shame about the gas leak.” Derek smiled. “Or what will look like a gas leak. Really, it’s C-4. Not much. Just enough to level the building and kill everyone inside.”
“You’re blowing up the police station?” Claire couldn’t breathe.
“In...” Derek checked his watch. “Five minutes. Unless you convince your team to stand down. To let this happen. You and me, Claire. The way it’s supposed to be.”
Through her earpiece—silent since she’d entered the cabin—she heard Wolf’s voice, tight with fury. “We heard him. Lynx, can you disarm remotely?”
“Negative,” Lynx’s voice. “He’s air-gapped it. We need physical access.”
“Then someone needs to get there,” Wolf ordered. “Mills—evacuate the station. Now.”
Derek was watching her face. “They’re scrambling now, aren’t they? I assume you’re wired. So predictable.”
He moved fast. Grabbed Claire’s arm, yanked her forward. His hand ripped open her windbreaker, tore at her shirt. His hands found the tactical vest. “Really? You thought I wouldn't check?” He ripped it off and threw it across the room, leaving her in her tank top only.
Claire fought back, sending a knee to his groin and an elbow to his face. Her training and instincts made her dangerous, but Derek was trained, too. He absorbed the hits and slammed her against the wall. Her ears rang.
He caressed her cheek, then he shoved Claire into a chair next to Vivi and zip-tied her hands behind her back.
“Now,” he said, sitting on the edge of the table, the knife in his hand. “Let me tell you about the night Lily died.”
Claire’s pulse hammered. “I was there.”
“You were there, but you didn’t see everything.” Derek spun the knife. “Collin and I had been watching you for months. Young, pretty Claire Dawson. So trusting. So easy to track. We knew where you lived, where you went to school, who your friends were.”
“Lily,” Claire whispered.
“Yes, Lily Harper, your best friend. Also young and pretty. Also easy to grab when we found you two alone that night.” Derek leaned forward. “Collin wanted you. But I convinced him—take the friend first. Make Claire watch. Make her feel powerless.”
Tears burned in Claire’s eyes. “You helped him.”
“I was seventeen. Following my cousin. Learning.” Derek’s smile was cold.
“But then you fought back and he was stupid, so stupid. He should have taken you both, but he didn’t, not realizing you had his DNA under your nails.
I was long gone by the time the cops came for him, but how sad he had to die, all because of you. ”
“He deserved to die.”
“He chose death over prison. But that night when he killed Lily, he made me promise him something.” Derek moved to crouch in front of her, twirling the knife handle in his palm. “Find Claire. Make her pay. Finish what we started.”
The knife traced her cheek. Not cutting—just reminding her how easily it could.
“So I changed my name,” Derek continued.
“Got clean. Joined the Navy. Learned skills. Got a job at the FBI after I tracked you down. And I waited. Watched. Planned.” He stood, rubbed a strand of her hair between his fingers and thumb.
“Five years, Claire. Five years of being patient. And now, finally, I get to keep my promise to Collin.”
Through the window, Claire could see nothing. No sign of Wolf or the team. No sign of rescue. There was no noise on the comm, either.
There was only Derek, the knife, Vivi’s terrified eyes, and the knowledge that time was almost up. The police station was about to explode. Had everyone gotten out?
Derek checked his watch. “Sixty seconds. Are you going to order your team to stand down?”
Claire met his eyes. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”
“True. But their deaths will be on your hands. There’s no way they’ve already gotten everyone out. More people will die because of you.” He gestured to Vivi. “I’m going to kill Dr. Montgomery first, make you watch like Collin planned to make you watch Lily...”
“Don’t,” Claire said, forcing authority into her tone like Wolf always did. Rage boiled in her veins. “Let her go. This is between us. Just you and me.”
“It’s always been between us,” Derek agreed. “But killing is so much fun.”
He moved toward Vivi, knife raised, his back to Claire. She had maybe three seconds before he slit Vivi's throat.
Not again.
The memory hit like a freight train—fourteen years old, hands bound, helpless while Collin Brands hurt Lily. The guilt that had poisoned fifteen years of her life.
But she wasn't that terrified girl anymore. She was a trained, skilled FBI agent. She'd spent all of her life making sure she'd never be helpless again.
And this time, she was going to fight.
This time, she would save an innocent person.
Claire made her choice.