Page 86 of Unhinged

Andrew shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand. No one does. I saw her and I just knew. I felt this sense of… finality, like destiny calling me. Besides, it’s not like she was the angel everyone wanted to believe.”

He threw a look her way before continuing. “After her death, they painted a picture of her being this good little Christian girl. But we knew better, didn’t we? She flaunted herself, treated others as if she expected them to bow to her, and I hated her on sight. It was like something deep inside me let loose, clawing its way to the surface, desperately needing to lash out. It was so overwhelming, and I just couldn’t hold it back anymore.”

Bile rose in her throat, and she forced it down with a hard swallow. “But why me? What did I ever do to you?”

“You never did anything.” He sighed and lifted a shoulder in a very un-Andrew-like shrug. “By that point, I was high on adrenaline—I couldn’t turn it off. And you were a loose end. I knew you’d survived, of course, but I left the next day and headed back to college in West Virginia. I’d been gone for years by that point, and no one remembered me. I knew they’d never find me.

“But I couldn’t let you go. It took me years to finally find you. Except…” He smiled ruefully. “It wasn’t at all the way I imagined it would be.”

“You look… different.” His face haunted her dreams, but over time his features had dissolved away, leaving only the macabre mouth twisted into a sneer.

He stiffened in the driver’s seat. “I’d already had the surgery scheduled. I mostly kept to myself, so no one thought twice about it.”

Of course no one noticed. As far as anyone knew, he’d been miles away with no connection to the small town. His voice cut through her thoughts.

“Do you remember how we met?”

The question threw her for a loop, and she hesitated for a moment before turning to look at him. “Yes. It was the conference in Austin, I believe.”

“That’s right.” His head bobbed in acknowledgment. “I knew where you lived, what you did for a living. I’d planned for years to find you and finish what I’d started all those years ago. But then we started talking, and I got to know you, got you to open up about your past. And all I could think about while you told me your story was how much you’d changed yet stayed the same. You’d matured into this beautiful, intelligent woman, but inside you were still the same scared little girl you were ten years ago.

“Then I realized something—you’d been saving yourself… for me. Don’t you see, Hannah? We’re meant to be together. From now on, we’ll never be apart.”

Ice sluiced through her veins, and fear clutched at her throat, making it almost impossible to swallow. She fought down the urge to cry, to scream. She wanted—needed—Luke. He told her he’d come for her… But what if it wasn’t enough?

She pushed the thought away and steeled her spine. She needed to get her emotions under control and think. Leaning her head against the cool glass, she watched the trees rush past in a dark blur as they drove deeper into the unknown.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

Four sets of eyes swiveled toward Luke as he shoved open the door to the bullpen. “We have a problem.”

He had just left the health center after investigating a false alarm when Aiden had called with the information they’d been looking for. Since Steve Iverson’s alibi had checked out, Aiden and Luke had spent the past day and a half reviewing the recordings from the camera in Hannah’s allotment.

A nondescript silver sedan had appeared at relevant times, and the license plate had come back on Andrew Thomas Chandler. A far cry from the flashy red Porsche he typically drove, Luke was furious that the man had managed to slip by them the first time they’d reviewed the footage. Aiden had checked the Toyota against DMV records and confirmed it was linked to Dr. Andrew Chandler.

Digging deeper into the man’s past, Aiden had discovered an unsettling history. Chandler came from a broken home in West Virginia, and his father had died under suspicious circumstances, as had the aunt who’d gained custody of the young man for several months before he’d turned eighteen and moved out.

When the police had investigated the father’s death, the seventeen-year-old had pled self-defense, claiming he’d stabbed the older man when he attacked Andrew in a drunken rage. The boy had been sent to live with his aunt, his father’s sister, who, according to friends of hers, had been happy to send the boy on his way. Several years later, the very weekend of Selah’s death, the woman had died of a broken neck from an apparent fall down the stairs.

Luke was furious for not looking more deeply into the man sooner. It all made perfect sense now—he’d introduced himself to Hannah and Selah using his middle name, then escaped back to college one state over with no one the wiser. Even Monique’s murder was linked to the man—Andrew routinely made rounds at the hospital where she worked.

He thought of Hannah’s terrified voice and prayed it wouldn’t be the last time he had the chance to speak with her.

He palmed the phone still in his hand and thrust it toward Aiden. The mute function kept their side of the conversation silent so Chandler wouldn’t overhear. “He’s got Hannah. I think this is his end game.”

Aiden turned back to his computer as Knox and the newest addition, Mason Kane, looked on. “Any idea where they’re headed?”

“No, she just said that they turned right out of her allotment and headed away from town. What’s out that way?” Fury threatened to erupt, and Luke ruthlessly tamped it down, fighting to stay calm.

“What’s her address?” He rattled it off, and Aiden’s fingers flew over the keyboard, pulling up a map of the surrounding area. “What should we be looking for?”

“Someplace secluded, quiet. He’ll need privacy.” Luke pointed to the screen. “Is this a river cutting through right here?”

Aiden enlarged the screen and nodded. Luke ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s it. He’s recreating the past. Find me a crossing point with a bridge—either on the road or the railroad tracks. I’m going after her.”

“Hold up, I’m coming with you.”