Page 29 of Scorched (Killer #2)

“I can’t. He’s tall and blond and he went back into that building to save a woman’s son. When he comes out, give him this.” She shoved the note into the man’s hand, refusing to let him give it back. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

With one last glance toward the building, Elise ran toward her little gray car that had been delivered with a new windshield early that afternoon.

Thank goodness she had rescued her purse from her classroom.

She dialed Paul’s number. The connection went directly to his voicemail.

Damn . With no other recourse, she left a message and climbed into her car.

Rain dripped off the end of her nose and down inside her jacket.

The cold penetrated her clothing, sinking all the way to her heart.

If someone had taken Luke, she wouldn’t begin to know where to look.

Tears filled her eyes, making it impossible to drive.

She blinked them back, fiercely determined to be strong for her sons, strong for Paul and most of all strong for herself. She couldn’t fail Luke.

Elise inched her way out of the parking lot, careful to avoid emergency vehicles and gawkers.

“Move, please,” she said aloud, though no one could hear her with the driving rain and emergency sirens.

She slammed her palm against her steering wheel, fear for her son making her want to slam her foot down on the accelerator and fly home.

The longer Luke was missing, the farther away the killer could get with him.

As soon as the roadway cleared ahead of her, Elise dropped her foot to the floor, urging her little car beyond the posted speed limits, only slowing for stop signs to avoid wrecking and further delaying her arrival at her house.

Several times, she hydroplaned on the slick roads, her heart in her throat as she slid close to mailboxes only to right herself and press forward.

Melissa’s red pickup stood in the driveway outside Elise’s house. Skidding in next to it, she slammed on her brakes, shoved the shift into Park and leaped out.

Agent Bradley met her at the door. “Where’s Paul?” She stared closer at Elise. “What happened?”

“There was an explosion at the school. I left. Paul was still helping people out of the building.” Elise pushed past Melissa. “Where’s Brandon?”

“I’m here.” Brandon stood in the middle of the living room, his backpack on, fully clothed in jeans, jacket and shoes.

“How long has Luke been gone?” Elise asked.

“Around fifteen minutes, twenty tops. I tried to call you as soon as I discovered he was missing.”

Elise dropped to her haunches next to her oldest son. “Are you all right?”

He nodded, solemnly. “We have to find Luke. It’s raining outside.” Brandon waved a hand toward the door, his brow furrowed into a frown that was too heavy for a boy his age. “Luke gets scared when there’s thunder.”

“I know, I know, honey. We’ll find him.” She hugged Brandon, straightened and turned back to Melissa. “How did he get out of the house? ”

“I went to answer my phone, and the next thing I knew, he’d gone out the back door.”

“He went to find George. He wanted to show him a picture of the puppy he wants to get.” Brandon’s eyes filled. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t shown him the picture, he’d still be here.”

“It’s not your fault, Brandon. You can’t keep an eye on Luke all the time. He’s fast and determined to do what he wants to do.” Elise recognized the same guilt in Brandon as she felt herself. She should have been here—she should have guarded her sons.

“But I’m supposed to be the man of the house.” The tears spilled out of the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t save him. Now he’s going to die.”

Elise’s heart burned in her chest. “Listen to me, Brandon. Luke is not going to die. And this is not your fault. Luke shouldn’t have left the house.

He knows better.” If anyone was at fault, it was her.

She shouldn’t have left her children, knowing a killer was loose, threatening her and her family.

“I’m sorry, Elise. I turned my back for a moment. I never thought he’d leave the house.”

Elise wanted to yell at Melissa, wanted to scream and cry, but she couldn’t.

All of this was her fault. She should have moved farther away, maybe to Mexico or South America.

Some place where no one could find out about her past and no one could trace her or her children.

Was there such a place? She shook her head.

“The important thing right now is to find Luke. ”

“Right. Now that you’re here, I can get out and start canvassing the neighborhood. The sooner we find him the better. Problem is that I can’t wait for Paul to get back to protect you two.”

“We’ll be fine, just go.”

“Lock the door. Don’t let anyone inside.”

“But I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I have to look for Luke, too. I can’t stay locked in my house while my son is in danger.”

“You have two sons, Elise. You need to take care of this one.” She shot a pointed look at Brandon who scrubbed at his eyes, trying to act brave when he was probably falling apart inside.

Elise ached for her oldest son. He shouldn’t have been through so much in his short life. She was lucky he wasn’t more screwed up than he was. “Okay. We’ll wait until Paul gets here. But then we have to find him.”

Melissa ran for the door, shrugging into a waterproof jacket, her cowboy boots, tapping against the entrance tiles. “I’ll have my cell phone. Call if you hear or see anything.”

The screen door slammed behind Melissa.

Elise stood at the door for a moment, staring out into the cool, wet night, her heart squeezing in her chest. She strained to hear over the water dripping off the eaves. Elise listened hard, hoping to hear her young son’s voice calling out to her from the shadows.

A small hand tugged the back of her wet jacket. “Mom, we have to go out and look for Luke. ”

She turned to stare down into her son’s face. “Oh, darling, we have to wait here in case he comes home. What if he found his way home and no one was here to let him in?”

“He would already be home if he could get here. Luke needs us.” Brandon pulled her hand, urging her toward the door. “I know his hiding places. I can find him.”

“It’s dark and wet out there, baby. I can’t risk losing you, too.” And she couldn’t risk exposing Brandon to the killer.

“But Luke is part of our family. We won’t be a family without him.”

Elise dropped to her knees and hugged her son. “I know, honey, I know.”

The cell phone in her pocket rang, the vibration startling her. She jumped to her feet and fumbled in her jacket to locate the device. It could be Melissa, she could have found Luke.

Unknown Caller displayed on the screen. Cold fingers of dread clutched her chest and squeezed. She pressed the talk button and held the phone to her ear, her hand shaking. “Hello?”

“Mama, I’m scared.” Luke’s plaintive cry echoed in her ear. He sniffed and called out in a little above a whisper, “I want to come home.”

“Luke?” Elise clutched the phone, wishing she could reach through and hold onto her son. “Luke?” She could hear him crying in the distance, but she could do nothing to comfort him.

“He’s fine as long as you do exactly as you’re told.” That familiar mechanical voice sounded in her ear.

“Who is this? Where have you taken my son?”

“Shut up and listen or the kid dies.”

Elise took a breath and forced a calm she didn’t feel. The killer had her son. If she stood any chance of seeing him again, she had to do as he said. “What do you want?”

“I want you.” The three words echoed in her head as though bouncing off the walls of a long tunnel. Silence followed when all she could hear was the blood pounding in her eardrums.

“Don’t hurt Luke. I’ll do whatever you say.” Cold determination settled over her. She avoided looking down at Brandon, knowing he understood more than any eight-year-old should and would get the gist of her conversation.

“Good girl. Drive out to the Guadalupe River Bridge on Highway 474 north of town. Luke and I will be waiting for you there. If you tell anyone, if anyone follows you, I’ll kill him. Do you understand? I’ll kill your son.”

The nightmare had returned. Her husband’s legacy had followed her to Texas and turned on her sons.

She couldn’t run from it, she couldn’t hide.

She had to stand and fight to win her freedom from the terror, to save her sons from their father’s horrifying past. She’d been a doormat to Stan Klaus, someone he could walk all over and abuse mentally, if not physically.

She wouldn’t let anyone do that to her again.

And she wouldn’t let anyone threaten her sons and get away with it.

Her shoulders thrown back, her head held high, she knew what she had to do. “I understand. I’ll be there. Alone.”