Page 56 of Maverick Detective Dad
The killer.
She couldn’t see his face because he had on a ski mask beneath the hood, but Everly did get a glimpse of the hypodermic needle that he pulled from his pocket. She put up her hand to stop him.
But she failed.
Everly managed to push him away, some, but not before he managed to get some of the drug into her. When she knocked away the needle, he started dragging her out of the house.
She called out for Noah so that he’d hear where she was. So that he might be able to help her stop what was happening, but in case he couldn’t get to her in time, she started fighting.
Everly kicked out at the man, the heel of her shoe connecting with his shin. He made a sharp sound of pain and snarled something she didn’t catch. His voice wasn’t loud enough for her to make out who he was. He seemed to shake off the pain and kept dragging her onto the porch.
Everly tried to punch him, but she could already feel the effect of whatever drug he’d given her. Another of those tranquilizers that would soon make her unconscious. That couldn’t happen because if she didn’t stay awake, if she didn’t fight him, he would kill her.
“Stop,” she heard Noah shout, and she caught just a glimpse of him as he rose from the piles of debris. His head was bleeding, and there were cuts on his face, but he’d managed to hold on to his gun.
He pointed it at her attacker.
That didn’t stop the man. He merely shifted her so that she was in front of him, and he made his way down the steps to the open door of the SUV. She continued to fight, trying to punch him or knee him in the groin, but he latched on to her hair.
The pain shot through her, causing her breath to go thin. The dizziness had already started, and that only made it worse. He shoved her into the front seat of the SUV, and she spotted the person on the backseat.
Helen.
The woman was lying on her side, and there was a swatch of duct tape over her mouth. Her hands and feet were tied, and even in the dim light, Everly could see her glassy eyes. He’d obviously drugged Helen, too.
Everly turned in the seat to try to punch the man again, but he whipped out a gun, and he pointed it. Not at her though.
But at Noah.
The killer didn’t spell out the threat. Didn’t have to. If she fought him, he’d shoot Noah. It was possible Noah would be able to duck down in time and get out of the way of the bullet, but he looked dazed from that head injury, and that might cut down on his response time.
Noah could die.
She could lose him right here, right now.
Everly stopped fighting, but she wasn’t giving up. Obviously, this monster was going to try to take her elsewhere so he could kill her. So he could kill Helen, too. And somehow she’d have to stop him.
The engine of the SUV was already running, and the man threw it into Reverse and sped down her driveway. Noah came barreling off the porch and took aim. But he didn’t have a clean shot. And the killer knew that because she heard him laugh.
The anger tore through her, and she wanted to claw out the man’s eyes. She wanted to make him pay for all the lives he’d taken, but she had to wait until Noah was no longer an easy target.
Helen moaned, obviously trying to say something, but her eyes were more than just hazy now. She was already losing consciousness, and Everly knew the same might happen to her. The killer hadn’t managed to get the full contents of the syringe into her, but it might have been enough to knock her out.
The killer sped past Helen’s car and the cruiser that Noah and she had used, and Everly caught a glimpse of the man facedown on the ground. Her heart sank because this was probably Deputy Molina. She prayed he wasn’t dead, but they were dealing with a man who’d already killed and probably wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
“If you try anything stupid, the woman dies,” the man growled in a low whisper. He still had the gun even though he was now griping the steering wheel with both hands.
Everly tried to pick through that warning and figure out who was behind the wheel, but she still couldn’t tell. If it was Jared though, this was proof that he had no mobility issues because the man was having no trouble driving the SUV.
For once the storm was working in her favor though, because the rain sheeted over the windshield, making it impossible to see much of the road. The killer slowed, some, but not nearly enough, and the tires of the SUV shimmied when he plowed through one of the deep puddles on the asphalt. If he kept this up, he’d kill them all.
“I need to buckle her in,” Everly insisted.
It surprised her more than a little when the killer didn’t stop her. Everly located the seat belt and fastened it around Helen. She put on hers as well and hoped it would be enough if they crashed.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, wanting to hear his voice again. Not that it would necessarily help if she knew who she was fighting. But if it was Bobby, she might be able to use Helen to try to reason with him.
“Shut up,” he snarled, again using that low growl.
