Hunter/Prey

Chapter 7

Ten years of research, six years of training, and three years of getting ready for this moment…and this is how it ends. Sitting on the floor of a cabin in the woods, bound and helpless. It wasn’t even close to what she had imagined during all those lonely nights lying in bed alone trying to picture every scenario in her head; all the things that could go wrong and all the twists and turns that had to be accounted for. She had it all figured out.

Or thought she did, anyway.

And the night had started off so promising, too.

“What’s your name?” the small brunette asked her.

“Allie,” she said.

“What did you do, Allie?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she said, looking back at the girl who had just patched up the man she had spent the last ten years of her life trying to find, and having found, had just failed to kill.

It’s not over yet. You can still salvage this.

She leaned slightly forward, toward the girl. “He’s lying.”

“About what?” the girl, Sabrina, asked.

Not really a girl. A young woman. Twenty? Twenty-one? Young enough to be on break from college and old enough to actually be in college. The last time Allie was on a school campus, that was when—

No! Concentrate on the present!

There’s still a chance to save this!

They had sat her in one corner of the cabin with her wrists and ankles bound with duct tape they had retrieved from the van outside. The restraints cut off most of her ability to move and drove home her dire situation.

Ten years of research…

They had wanted to cover up her mouth to keep her quiet, too, but Sabrina argued in her favor. For some reason they listened to the girl, even the two big guys. Donnie, the jackass who had tackled her from behind and then sat down on her, and Wade, the tall lanky one with the blonde girlfriend.

“Allie,” Sabrina said, directing Allie’s attention back to her small round face. “You said he was lying. What’s he lying about?”

“About everything. Don’t believe anything he says. Every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie.”

She was in the living room with Sabrina, with Donnie in the kitchen to her right pulling meat cuts from a cooler and preparing a portable skillet. Donnie seemed disinterested in their conversation, as if none of the last hour was in any way out of the ordinary for him. Wade and Rachel had gone into one of the bedrooms in the back, while Beckard was in the bathroom “cleaning up.” He had been gone for two minutes, but soon he’d be back.

She focused on Sabrina. “He’s not who he claims to be.”

“Beckard?” Sabrina said.

“Yes.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s a killer.”

“You mean because he’s killed someone in the line of duty?”

“No. Because he’s a killer.”

Sabrina looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

“He’s not a cop.” She shook her head. “At least, I don’t think he is.”

“You don’t think he is?” Again, that look of confusion. Maybe a little suspicion had even slipped in there.

No, no, I’m losing her…

She struggled for the right words, but they were elusive. “In all the research I’ve done, nothing ever pointed to him being a cop.”

“Research? On Beckard?”

“He’s a maniac. Have you ever heard of the Roadside Killer?”

“No…”

“No?”

Sabrina shook her head. “We’re not from around here. This cabin belongs to Wade’s uncle.”

“The Roadside Killer is a serial killer,” Allie said.

She tried to sound as calm as possible, even though her back still throbbed from being hit and sat on, and her legs and arms were already going numb from the restraints. The last thing she wanted was to look like a crazy woman in front of the only person who could be of any use to her. She couldn’t rely on Donnie — the kid seemed lost in his own world, arranging meat on the skillet. And Rachel and Wade had bought Beckard’s story wholesale.

So she had this little girl. This brunette, who looked so much like—

No. Concentrate!

“Seven years ago, he was all over the news,” Allie said. “He killed six people that the authorities are sure of. Even more that they don’t have a clue about.”

“The Roadside Killer?” Sabrina repeated.

“Yes. You’ve never heard of him? Never?”

She shook her head again. “Sorry. You said seven years ago?”

“Since the last time the authorities heard of him, yes.”

“I was a freshman in high school seven years ago, but I still never heard of the Roadside Killer.”

“What’s she saying?” Donnie asked from the kitchen.

Sabrina glanced over. “She says the state trooper’s a serial killer called the Roadside Killer. You ever heard of him?”

Donnie didn’t even think about it. “Nope. She crazy or what?”

Sabrina looked back. “I don’t know. Maybe…”

“I’m not crazy,” Allie said. She could feel her patience slipping and prayed it didn’t show on her face. “I’m telling you the truth.”

“That’s what makes someone crazy. They actually believe what they’re saying. It’s part of the psychosis.”

Sabrina stood up.

“Wait,” Allie said.

“I’m sorry,” the girl said. “I hope you get some help.”

“Sabrina—”

But Sabrina ignored her and walked over to the kitchen and began talking to Donnie in a soft voice. The big man smiled and they kissed briefly before going back to getting the food ready.

And just like that, her opportunity was gone.

Allie sighed, leaned her head back against the wall, and tried to regroup.

Of course the girl didn’t believe her. She had burst into their cabin with a shotgun, chasing a state trooper whom she had already tried to kill and left a bloody mess. She couldn’t imagine what her face must have looked like at the time. Wild, eyes bloodshot — it probably wasn’t a very pretty sight.

I don’t blame them…

She watched Donnie putting large chunks of rib eye onto the skillet. The smell of meat cooking instantly filled the cabin. Her stomach growled despite the fact she had eaten less than four hours ago back at the diner. That was where she was sure he had spotted her and followed her onto the road—

He came out of the bathroom with his shirt untucked, the fabric still covered in patches of blood he couldn’t wash off. He was wiping his hands on a paper napkin, the shotgun tucked under one armpit. She saw his eyes checking the living room as soon as he stepped out of the hallway. They picked her up first before snapping over to the kitchen, then back to her. He was reading the scene, trying to decide if everything was the way he had left it.

When he sneaked a smile in her direction, she knew he was convinced (rightly) that he still had the upper hand. She wished she could have said he was wrong.

“That smells good,” he said to Donnie and Sabrina. “You guys came prepared.”

“We have enough for one more,” Sabrina said. “You’re welcome to join us until the other troopers show up.”

“I’ve never turned down a free steak before.”

He smiled easily and got a return smile from Sabrina.

Hook, line, and sinker.

He’s done this before. Conned his way out of a jam.

Of course he has. He’s been doing this for ten years now…

He walked past her without giving her a second look, as if he had forgotten she existed at all. He sat down gingerly on one of the stools next to Sabrina, making a show of grimacing for the couple’s benefit.

“You okay?” Sabrina asked.

He gave her a manufactured I’m-gritting-it-out attempt at a smile. “Just an hour and change before my boys get here. I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe we should take you to a hospital first. I mean, you were just shot.”

“It hurts like hell, I’m not going to lie, but it’s not life threatening. I guess she’s not the world’s best shot.”

“You’ve been shot before?” Donnie asked.

“First time.”

“Hurts?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, and they both chuckled.

“What did she do, anyway?” Sabrina asked, looking back at Allie.

Beckard did, too. “Her boyfriend went missing a few months ago. She’s a person of interest.”

“Whacked her boyfriend?” Donnie said, then whistled. “Talk about a rough breakup.”

“Donnie,” Sabrina said, rolling her eyes.

The big blond laughed. “Too soon?”

Sabrina ignored him and said to Beckard, “Have you figured out how she got out of your handcuffs yet?”

“Not a clue,” Beckard said. “I didn’t even know she was that dangerous. The captain just asked me to bring her into the station for questioning. I guess you never know what a person is capable of until they reveal their true colors.”

God, he’s good at this.

But she had to remind herself that he had ten years of practice. He had been lying his way through dozens of bodies, six that the authorities — the real authorities — knew about, and even more they wouldn’t admit was his handiwork.

“How’s Rachel doing?” Beckard asked.

“She’s still a little freaked out, but she’ll be fine,” Sabrina said. “Wade’s with her now.”

“They’re involved?”

“They’ve been dating since high school.”

“Well, it’s good she has him,” Beckard said. “It can be pretty traumatizing when guns and crazy people are involved.”

“Yeah, they’re really good together.” Then she said to Donnie, “Got an ETA on those steaks, chief?”

“Ten minutes,” Donnie said. “Well done, right?”

“Of course.”

“What about you?” he asked Beckard.

“Medium rare,” Beckard said. “I like a little blood on the plate.”

“Shit, me too,” the big twenty-something said, and they both chuckled again.

“Make sure mine’s really well done,” Sabrina said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Donnie said.

“Make sure they’re well done this time, Donnie.”

“I said okay, didn’t I?”

“That’s what you said last time.”

“Nag nag nag.”

The two young people were bickering about the steak, allowing Beckard to sneak a glance back across the cabin. Except he wasn’t looking at Allie, but all the way to the hallway in the back and the bedrooms on the other end. Wade was comforting Rachel in one of those rooms at the moment.

Rachel…

Tall. Blonde. And pretty.

How had she missed it? The girl was exactly Beckard’s type.

Just like she had made herself into, in order to draw him in.

Just like Carmen had been ten years ago…