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“I need to go find something to cut you loose.”
“Box cutter. Right shoe.” He pulled it off with hands that held an unfamiliar shake. “Hayes, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She heard the snick of the blade before she felt him sawing through the bonds on her ankles, then her hands. “I called 9-1-1. Doctor Feelgood zapped me. Taser. Injected me… GHB, I think.”
Horror took a different form. “We have to get you help. But Kervin…” A dark figure materialized at the mouth of the opening. A shadow that slipped from the outside darkness to duck behind a vehicle. “Hayes!”
He pressed the box cutter into one of her numbed hands and pushed her toward the side door. “Outside. Now! Run!” As she stumbled away, she heard him yell, “Step away from the vehicle!” Hayes’s words were slurred, but the command in them was evident. “Hands in the air!”
Reese fumbled with the doorknob and pulled the door open. Tossing a look over her shoulder, she saw a familiar hulk open the front passenger door of a hearse. Dive across the front seat. Fear coursed through her. She fairly flew across the grass, overthe curb, and through the parking lot. She didn’t know where she was going. A battle waged inside her. Obey Hayes or go back to help him. Gunshots sounded behind her. She slowed.
Until a hearse sped around the building like a heat-seeking missile, its headlights piercing the darkness. Reese raced the rest of the way across the lot with newfound speed, the box cutter clutched in her hand. Thorne accelerated after her.
Reese veered to the left, where a tree line pierced the umbrous sky. Even if the woods weren’t deep, they’d stop the vehicle. He’d have to follow on foot. The thought traced icy fingers of fear down her spine, giving impetus to her speed.
The sound of the vehicle’s gunning engine followed her. Its headlights spotlighted Reese’s position. She heard a loud thud and threw a look behind her to see the hearse jolt over the curb and land heavily on the grass. When it resumed speed, it weaved as if drunk but still followed. She fixed her gaze on the nearing copse of ponderosa pine. Adrenaline fueled her, but her energy was flagging.Just a little farther. Keep running. Keep…
The engine roared as it bounced over the slight hills in the lawn. The lights were beside her now. Panic surged as she realized Thorne was trying to cut her off by getting between her and the timber. He wouldn’t succeed. She came to a sudden stop, letting the vehicle sail beyond her. Then Reese swerved, running past the rear bumper to take shelter in the trees before Thorne could bring the vehicle to a halt.
A pine branch whipped her face as she ran through the woods, temporarily blinding her. The firs were mingled with oaks and shorter vegetation that wouldn’t provide much shelter.
Reese heard the sound of screeching brakes as she careened deeper into the timber. She couldn’t hope to outpace him. She’d run out of cover first. Best to find a hiding place and wait to launch an attack from there.
She gave a thought to Hayes. Prayed he hadn’t been hurt. Had Sedgewick run when Thorne had appeared? Or stayed to cheer him on? Gone, she figured. Taking the safe way out yet again. Content with secondhand accounts of the destruction she caused.
A frigid blade of fear stabbed through her. Reese could still hear the engine. Caught glimpses of the glow of headlights between the branches as she ran. But the lights weren’t moving forward. Thorne had followed on foot. But where would he enter the woods?
She stopped so suddenly, she nearly tripped. Was he behind her? Or lurking ahead, already concealed and ready to spring out when she went by? In the distance, she heard sirens. If they were headed to the crematorium, they’d be far too late to save her.
A trio of pines to her left speared skyward. Her eyes straining in the shadows, Reese veered toward them, the box cutter clutched in one sweaty palm. They’d provide protection, but the woods weren’t thick enough to expect concealment for long. Thorne would be looking for the areas that offered disguise. He’d find her sooner or later.
When Reese reached the three trees, she dropped to her knees and rolled beneath one, reaching out a hand to still the limbs that quivered in her wake. She got as close to the trunk as possible and drew up her legs.
Then waited.
A long minute stretched. Another. An owl hooted. A far-off coyote howled. It occurred to her that the pine might offer protection, but it also blocked her from seeing her surroundings. She was dependent on sound alone.
A twig snapped. Reese hauled in a breath. Held it. Slight glimmers of light danced through the branches.
One plus two is three. Three minus three is none. Done.
She froze. No. Reese shook her head mutely. She wanted to cover her ears. To dig a hole and dive into it, pulling the dirt in after her. But she couldn’t outrun the sound of his thoughts tumbling around her like stained debris in a dryer drum. Thorne was close.
Here I am, a hollow man…
Pressing her lips together, Reese reached for calm in the spiral of inner horror. But her Tai Chi training was no match against the mental torrent of guilt and glee.
Shouldn’t a done it, Cord. Never shoulda done it. Why’d you make me do it?
She tried to control her shaking, afraid it would disturb the branches and give away her hiding place. The light didn’t slice through them anymore. Maybe Thorne was moving away. Maybe…
A tree limb was yanked into the air, and a flashlight beam caught her full in the face. “Hello, three.”
Swallowing the boulder of fear lodged in her throat, Reese croaked, “Hollow man. You’ll never be filled up. Never ever. Killing won’t wipe out what you did to Severin.”
“You don’t know that!” He made a sweeping grab for her, but was too far away to do more than graze her foot. “You can’t see inside me!”
“I can. I see everything. I know everything.” She got up on her knees and tried to round the trunk to flee, but Thorne was crawling after her, the branches heaving above his hulk, flashlight beam bouncing.