Page 116 of Race to Save Her

I don’t want to keep you… I want to kill you…

Katie realized he had another card to play. Another way to maintain his power over others. Everything on the board spun through her head. Until… it suddenly made sense.

“No!” she said, running to the bunker. “Stop! Wait!”

“Katie!” said McGaven, watching helplessly as his partner ran off.

“What’s going on?” said John.

The sheriff, officers, and John watched as Katie ran to the fence line and disappeared behind the bunker.

Katie made the corner and then retraced her steps to the holding area. She dove onto the ground and squeezed back under the barbed wire. Her heart was pounding. She pushed her way back through the hole she had dug earlier. The smell of motor oil was prominent again. Her eyes had to readjust to the partial darkness.

But what she saw confirmed her worst fears. The killer was standing over Chris, pointing a gun directly at him.

“Nice of you to show up, Katie… I knew you would,” the killer said. There was a maniacal tone to his voice now; his huge smile was macabre.

Katie drew her weapon and pointed it at the killer. “Drop the gun, now!”

He laughed.

“Drop the gun!” she said, knowing he never would. “I’m telling you one last time to drop the gun.” Katie steadied herself.

Chris stayed still and didn’t intervene in any way.

I don’t want to keep you… I want to kill you…

This warning kept resonating in her head. She knew her profile was ninety-percent accurate. He wasn’t going to let anyone take away his control, his dismemberment displays, his killings. She knew what he was capable of—and that’s why he’d chosen her.

“Drop it!” she said again. “You’re surrounded by police. There’s no escaping.”

“Katie,” said McGaven. He was joined by John. They both saw what was going on and pulled their weapons.

“Stay back!” she said. “I’ve got this.” The last thing she wanted was for one of them to get shot.

I don’t want to keep you… I want to kill you…

Suddenly, the killer pulled the trigger twice—shooting Chris. There was no time to react, it happened in that instant.

The deputy screamed out in pain.

Katie instantly discharged her weapon, hitting the killer in the head, dropping him instantly. She knew he was dead by the amount of brain matter that hit the side of the tube. Her training and ability to keep an even temperament kept her focused and in control of the scene unfolding.

McGaven and John were yelling, but Katie didn’t hear them because her focus was on Chris.

“Get the door open now!” she yelled. “Now!” She dropped to her knees, trying to stop the bleeding. “You’re going to be okay. Stay focused on me, okay?”

“I couldn’t…” said Chris.

She heard a lot of yelling as the loud hammering of the door ensued. Within minutes, the entrance opened and several officers were standing by.

“Stay with me,” she said to Chris. To the others, “We need to get him to the hospital now. No waiting.”

There was no time to call an ambulance out here. The helicopter was also out of range and would be more than twenty minutes away.

A couple of police officers helped to carry Chris to a cruiser and put him in the back seat. He looked grim; he was losing blood fast.

“I’m going with him,” she said to McGaven and John, not waiting for their reply. She jumped into the back seat and the police car sped off with sirens blazing.