Chapter 19
Nothing.
No one had found even one scrap of evidence that Jasna had been anywhere in the surrounding woods. It was as if she’d literally disappeared out of thin air. But every single one of the searchers knew that was impossible.
Tonka was back at the main camp with the rest of his friends.
Everyone was standing around, waiting for more directions.
Everyone but him. He was pacing furiously.
Impatience swam in his veins. It would be dark soon, and the thought of Jasna being somewhere out there, scared to death, in the dark, made him want to scream.
They’d been in the woods for a couple of hours, and every time Tonka had to answer a text from Henley, telling her they hadn’t had any luck yet, a piece of him died inside.
She had to be completely undone—and he wasn’t there for her.
And yet, he wasn’t there for Jasna either.
Was he doing the right thing, being away from Henley right now?
Maybe he should go back to The Refuge and let his friends take the lead on finding Jas.
Just when he was about to go over and tell Brick to take him back to Henley, the radios on all of the officers’ belts began squawking. Everyone could hear the report that was being broadcast.
“Message received on the Crime Stoppers tip line…person of interest, Christian Dekker, was last seen pulling out of Sonic and heading west. Address of where he may be headed is as follows…”
An address was rattled off, and Tonka didn’t recognize it, but as the officers all headed to their cars, so did Tonka, Brick, Tiny, and Spike. They all piled into Brick’s Jeep and held on as he did his best to keep up with the line of cars leaving the overnight camp.
“How did anyone know he was even a person of interest?” Tiny asked as Brick drove through town.
“And how would the person who called in the tip know where he was going? Also, his house is north of town, right?” Spike added.
Tonka didn’t give a shit how someone had the info on Dekker, he was simply relieved they were finally doing something other than searching blindly. If Henley was right, and Dekker had taken Jasna, they might just be on the verge of getting her back.
The road the line of cars eventually pulled down was nothing more than a rutted, hole-filled dirt path that led into the woods. It was obvious it had been years since any maintenance was done on the road, and there was no telling what was at the end of it.
The cars stopped before reaching any kind of dwelling and officers spilled out, some fanning to the left and right, all of them silently making their way forward, following the dirt path with their weapons drawn.
Tonka and his friends had no guns, but they weren’t about to be left behind.
No fucking way. If Jasna was being held captive somewhere at the end of this road, Tonka had to be there when she was found.
He was glad for the police presence, but a hostage situation would not be good.
And it would scare Jasna half to death. She was a tough kid, but that would be too much for almost anyone.
Finally, he could see a small, dilapidated cabin at the end of the road. What had probably once been someone’s pride and joy was one strong storm from being blown over. The shutters were hanging off their hinges, there was no glass in any of the windows, and moss grew over the wooden walls.
A few officers prevented Tonka and the others from getting any closer.
“Christian Dekker!” one of the police officers said loudly and firmly through a bullhorn, once the cabin had been surrounded and there was no chance of anyone being able to slip out unseen. “You are surrounded. You need to come outside with your hands up!”
Silence met the officer’s order.
Tonka shifted uneasily.
“Fuck. They should’ve just gone in,” Tiny muttered.
“Right?” Spike agreed. “Now they’ve given him notice that we’re here. He could retaliate. Or create a hostage situation.”
Exactly what Tonka had already been thinking. He stepped away from his friends, itching to race up to the door and burst inside himself. But he knew he wouldn’t get halfway there before one of the officers stopped him.
This was just as bad as being on that boat, watching Garcia hurt Steel and Dagger. Dekker could be inside right this second, plunging a knife into Jasna, just as Garcia—
He cut off that line of thinking abruptly. He couldn’t go there. Not now.
There was no evidence that Jasna was in that cabin. Hell, did they even know for sure that Dekker was inside? He couldn’t see a vehicle of any kind.
The more seconds that ticked by, the more tense the atmosphere became. Something big was about to happen. Tonka could feel it. And all they could do was brace.
Christian paced anxiously. He’d gone to Sonic and eaten his hamburger and fries.
He’d sat there at the restaurant, fantasizing about killing the woman and little boy in the car parked next to his.
He thought about grabbing the asshole who’d brought him his food, yanking him into the car and slitting his throat.
Everywhere he looked, Christian saw people he could kill.
People who were oblivious to the constant danger they were in.
They only lived because he allowed them to.
He’d been in an excellent mood when he’d pulled behind the cabin and entered. He was ready to get started.
To his utter shock, the girl was gone.
The cuff was still there, as was the stake he’d pounded into the floor. But the girl was nowhere to be seen.
His mouth hanging open, Christian had searched the tiny house. There weren’t too many places to hide since it was mostly empty. But he’d checked inside all the cabinets in the kitchen and in every closet.
He couldn’t understand it. She was simply gone! How could that happen? He hadn’t been away from the house very long. Had the cops found her?
No, if they had, they would’ve been waiting for him. It was as if the bitch simply up and disappeared.
Of course, she couldn’t have. Someone had found her and stolen her from him.
Anger raged inside Christian. No one took what was his! No one! He’d find whoever it was and kill them too! Slowly and painfully.
As he paced, Christian tried to figure out where he’d gone wrong. He’d done everything almost perfectly. The girl hadn’t made any noise when he’d grabbed her. He hadn’t left any clues in the forest. As far as he knew, no one had seen him or his car as he drove away.
His phone vibrated in his back pocket—and Christian froze. He didn’t bother to take the stupid thing out.
Fuck. The phone.
He’d been traced. Someone had figured out he’d taken the girl and tracked him by his phone. That had to be it. But…he should’ve had more time! He’d watched enough crime shows to know the cops had to get a court order to track his fucking phone.
He’d planned on torching the cabin when he was done to make sure none of his DNA was left behind. He was going to take the girl and dump her body parts one by one in dumpsters along the way to Albuquerque. They’d never find her once she got to the various landfills. He’d had it all planned!
And yet, someone had stolen his prize right out from under his nose.
“Fuck!” he yelled, regretting going to town for food. If only he’d eaten before the kidnapping. If only he’d ignored his growling belly. If only, if only, if only…
Just as he turned to head out to his car and get the fuck out of town, something through a broken board covering a window caught his attention.
He froze yet again, ice filling his entire body.
No! No, no, no, no, no!
The cops were here.
He was too late.
Not only would he not get to experience the thrill of his first kill, he wasn’t going to be able to escape the number of cops he just knew were surrounding the cabin even as he stood there, dumbfounded.
Fuck going to prison.
No one told Christian Dekker what to do. Not his parents, not the fucking shrinks, not the damn cops.
Ignoring the bottles of gasoline he’d stacked against the wall, the instruments of death and torture he’d planned to use, and the empty cuff lying forlornly on the floor, Christian picked up the shotgun he’d brought along as another way to scare the shit out of his victim.
Taking a deep breath, he lifted a foot and slammed it against the front door of the cabin.
If he was going out—he’d go out on his terms.
Tonka jerked in surprise when the door to the cabin was kicked open from the inside. Because the hinges were probably rusted and weak, the entire door flew off, landing on the dirt and grass down the two steps leading up into the structure.
“Where is she?” the boy Tonka assumed was Dekker screamed as he stood in the doorway with his feet braced apart, a shotgun in his arms. He aimed it at the officers standing nearest the cabin with their weapons drawn. “Did you take her?”
“Put down the gun and let’s talk!” the officer with the bullhorn yelled.
Tonka could tell Dekker had no intention of doing any such thing.
“Fuck you!” the boy yelled back.
Studying him, Tonka never would’ve guessed he was only sixteen, solely by his size. This was a man hell-bent on dying. Not only that, but he was going to take as many people with him as he could.
His heart in his throat, Tonka grabbed Brick’s arm and pulled him backward as his friend stepped off the dirt driveway toward a large tree. But he didn’t have to warn Brick. Or Tiny and Spike. They read the same intent in Dekker’s eyes and tone.
The four of them took cover behind the trees as best they could.
Tonka held his breath. He prayed if Jasna was in the house behind the kid, that she was on the floor. Because any second now there was going to be a huge fucking shootout—and if she got caught in the crossfire, he was going to lose it.
Then Dekker’s words upon busting through the door sank in.
Tonka had just a second to wonder what the boy meant when he’d asked “where is she” and “did you take her” before the sound of gunfire rang out in the previously quiet evening.