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“I’m not jealous.”

“Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Real mature,” she deadpanned, pushing a bundle of branches away from her face.

“I'm just saying you had a few people to compare it to and I still won.” Vera’s light neared hers, but she didn’t dare look away from what was ahead. Neither of them did.

The distraction was welcome in the dark that devoured them. The sensation of walking around a minefield kept her arms up even as her shoulders began to fatigue.

“Most people have someone to compare against because they weren't sexually suppressed, good catholic girls like you.” She slipped around a large tree, careful of the thick roots that extended out like tentacles on the hunt.

“Right, you try telling that to my extremely religious Mexican parents. Let me know how it goes.”

Teddi rolled her lips between her teeth, holding back her laughter. She had the perfect reply ready when the thudding of footsteps sounded.

Whipping around, the edge of her flashlight beam caught movement before something slammed into the back of her head. The only thing she could hear as her face hit the cold ground was Vera screaming her name.

Everything went black.

Chapter 31

Vera

Something was moving.

Moaning, she rubbed her nose, the scratch of the worn motel sheets worse than usual. Tucking her chin, she curled her face into her shoulder as she lay on her belly, trying to get comfortable. It wasn’t until something poked her cheek that she swatted it away, cracking her eyes open.

The long brown body of a centipede skittered past her face.

Leaves. Piles of leaves made up her bed. Vera sat up, looking around. “What the hell?” Moaning, she pushed up to her knees. The world blurred sideways, the spinning sensation nauseating. Brushing her hair off her face, she hissed when her hand touched a tender spot in her hairline. Her fingertips came back covered in blood. Some wet, some dry.

The moments before she went unconscious slid back to her, thick and murky like oil in mud. They went to Deputy Gunson’s and heard something in the woods. Teddi was arguing with her and then… someone came up behind them and then nothing.

The spinning slowed enough for her to find the body of her gun in the leaves. She clenched down against the nausea as adrenaline pumped back into her system like gasoline. The killer had been there. Close enough to touch. They had been within reach.

“Teddi!” She yelled as she stood with wobbly knees. The forest was lighter now in the dawn, the dense thicket like angry clouds settled on the ground. “Teddi, where are you?” She yelled, leaning on a tree trunk as a wave of dizziness rose.

She panted, mouth dry. Her heart pounded like a hammer into her skull as thoughts piled atop one another. She screamed her name again, pushing off the tree. Turning in a circle, olive green fabric caught her eye. Stepping closer, she could just make out the curve of a leg, mostly hidden by the fluffy leaves of a bush. Hurrying as fast as she could, her legs tried to give out like a newborn fawn.

Teddi lay face-down and half-buried. The back of her wheat-colored hair stained crimson.

“Teddi?” Her hands trembled as she kneeled over her, gripping the back of her jacket. “Teddi, come on.” She didn’t respond. Brushing her hair away, she found the source of the large amount of blood. A gash about three inches long on her crown. It’d stopped but the sight brought on a new wave of nausea. Rolling her onto her back with fear roiling in her gut, she pushed the muddied blonde hair off her face.

She was unconscious.

“Teddi?” She shouted, her voice cracking. “Don’t you dare fucking die out here. Come on, baby. Wake up.” Looking around for help, she found nothing. No one. Whoever ambushed them fled long ago, confident they would be out long enough to get away unseen, if not dead. They were right.

Pushing her cowl away, she checked for a pulse. It was faint. “Come on, wake up. Wake up!” Frantic terror spiked as Teddi’s eyes remained closed. “Don’t you dare leave me here, we’ve got work to do.” She sobbed. “Come back to me.” Her body didn’t respond, her mouth closed, her skin drained white.

Ripping down the zipper of her jacket, Vera made a fist and began rubbing her knuckles against her sternum. It would hurt like hell, but if Teddi was hurting then she was alright, she would be alright. She had to be alright. Vera paused for a response.

Nothing.

She could have a concussion, internal bleeding, or a traumatic brain injury. The realities forced themselves onto her mind like wave after battering wave. Not Teddi. Anyone, anyone in the entire fucking world except her. She would give anyone, including herself, to see her open those grey eyes once more. To hear her make a stupid joke or piss her off just because she could.

“Please. Wake up.” Tears flowed freely, splashing across her torso as she lay perfectly still. “I can’t take it, I can’t fucking take it.” She shook her shoulders in desperation. “I don’t know what to do.” All of her years of emergency medical training failed to prepare her for this.