Deadly Bonds (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

“Hey!” Theo looked up as Neil put a hand on his controller. “I almost had an extra life.”

“Be quiet and listen,” Neil hissed. Apparently Jeremy noticed the tension in his brother’s whisper. They both went still. “Mr. White isn’t who you think he is.”

“He’s much cooler,” Theo said. He would never have expected all of this stuff, right here in the school.

“Who has all this stuff and then shows his students? Who seeks them out after school hours to play games online? It’s creepy. Like he’s trying to set us up. And the scorpion...what does that remind you of?”

Recognition dawned. Theo tasted acid in the back of his mouth. “Toxin? The guy my dad’s been hunting?”

“Yeah. Miss Sara thinks so.”

Jeremy jumped up but Neil restrained him with an arm around his waist. “He killed Dad!”

“I know,” Neil said. “Keep your voice down. I want to get him, too, but not until we get the police. Miss Sara needs us to get help.”

Theo couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. “I’m not leaving without her.”

“We have to. She got Mr. White out of here so we can get away and get help. We’re not strong enough to overpower him. Not without one of us, or maybe all of us, getting hurt. He could have a weapon. If this is going to work, we have to move
now.
”

As quietly as possible, they followed Neil down the stairs to Miss Sara’s office. Neil went straight to the desk drawer and got the keys to her car. Theo paused on the threshold of the Academy, torn between finding a weapon to attack Mr. White and doing what Miss Sara had told them to do. He’d vowed to protect her, but Dad had told him before that she could take care of herself. “I promised to be her hero.”

Neil turned back to him. He looked exasperated but tried to speak calmly. “You will be. By getting her help from adults.”

“We’ll get out the gate and call the police as soon as we get a signal, right?”

“Absolutely,” Neil said. “Or I’ll drive straight to the police station. It’s our best chance, and hers.”

* * *

Holt leaned forward over the dashboard, peering through the haze of snow.

“Almost there,” Max assured him, keeping the car as close to the snowplow as possible.

“Not soon enough for me,” Holt said. They’d made good time, but even with the snowplow Damian had arranged, it had taken them ten minutes to cover the last couple miles. To protect Theo, he would have trekked through the snow on foot, or stolen a snowmobile if one had been nearby.

They’d lost cell signal a mile ago, and there would be no reaching out for other help. The sense of urgency that filled him, coiling in his gut, had him thinking expletives the entire way. He’d been so focused on the road, so tense at the conditions and the need to go faster, that pain radiated from his wrists up his stiff arms and down his shoulders and back.

One fist still gripped his phone—his much-too-quiet phone. He willed it to ring, for someone from SSAM to call him with updated information. Or better yet, to hear his son’s voice, or Sara’s sexy way of putting him in his place, chastising him for his
laissez-faire
parenting style or his ridiculous notion that he couldn’t have her without betraying Elizabeth. He wouldn’t ignore her call this time, or ever again.

When he saw them again, he’d wrap them up in his arms and squeeze until Theo couldn’t doubt his love and Sara couldn’t utter another frustrated word. He’d hold her until she forgave him. She had to be angry, and had every right to be, but she loved him. She’d shown him as much in so many ways he hadn’t wanted to recognize before today. But the truth was smacking him in the face today as he realized how afraid he was of losing her.

She loved him. He loved her. And love could overcome anything.

“Finally.” Max relaxed his grip on the steering wheel.

The wrought-iron spikes of the fence that lined the perimeter of the Academy came into view outside Holt’s window. He couldn’t see the school through the swirling snow. Only dark night waited beyond the twin spears of their headlights.

“Still no signal,” Holt said, glancing at his cell phone. “Einstein must have been right about a local signal jammer.”

Max flashed his high beams at the city’s snowplow in gratitude and took a slow turn into the long drive that led to the Academy. The snow was about six inches deep and untouched. There was no sign anyone had driven here tonight, which meant Sara and Theo should be near. The car skidded around a tight turn. In the dark, pristine wonderland, they couldn’t even make out the path of the road.

“We’ll have to park and hike in.” Holt reached under his seat for his gun and checked that it was loaded before tucking it into a holster beneath his coat and pulling on gloves.

They’d only taken a few steps when the crunch of snow and slash of headlights across the terrain alerted them that another vehicle had pulled up behind theirs. A police cruiser. An officer got out and frowned at the ankle-deep snow. “You two Max and Holt?” he asked them.

“We are,” Holt said.

“I just received a message for you from someone named Einstein. Guess your cell phones are out. Dispatcher told me to pass it along if I saw you.”

“And?” Max asked impatiently. Holt looked toward the dark form of the school. A few lights were on in the upper floors and in the vicinity of Sara’s office. A slight orange glow reflected what light there was from the city off the clouds, and bounced back off the snow. That, plus the cruiser’s headlights, were the only illumination.

“He said he’s tracked you here with your car’s Lo-Jack. He figures, since he couldn’t get through to you, he was right about the signal jammer. He also wanted you to know there’s still no sign of Becca Haney or Brady Flaherty. Detective Crandall put Henry in jail and is en route to investigate further.” The officer squinted through the falling snow. “I suppose all of that means something to you two.”

* * *

“Have a seat.” Sara gestured to her couch. Though she tried to sound friendly, she worried that Chad—
Toxin
—could detect the tremor in her voice. The longer she could keep him here, in her apartment, and delay watching the video he seemed so excited to show her, the more time the boys had to get to safety and to send help for her. In the back of her mind, she was also worried about Roscoe. He hadn’t woken when they entered, and come trotting out with his usual greeting. “Do you want something to drink?”

“No, thanks.” Chad sat down.

“Mind if I have something?” She moved toward the kitchen before he could object.

“Not at all.” But his mouth had tightened slightly. Was he annoyed she wasn’t as eager to view the video as he was?

She pulled a glass from the cabinet and opened her refrigerator. The path of her hand deviated from the soda she’d been reaching for to a bottle of beer. “I don’t know about you, but storms give me the heebie-jeebies. I could use a little something to take the edge off, you know? Sure you don’t want anything?”

“No, thank you.” His gaze moved toward the door as if thinking about the boys across the hall.

To pacify him, she led him closer to his objective, though she really didn’t want to see his video. What could be on there? Footage of his last kill, maybe. A snuff film. “My laptop is stashed under the couch. Why don’t you get it set up?”

He located the computer and set it on the coffee table in front of him. Turning it on and letting it start up would take a couple minutes, giving the boys a little more time. With a shaky hand, she set the beer bottle next to her glass and pretended to fumble in a drawer. “Damn. I thought the bottle opener was here. Must have left it in the other room.” She began walking toward her bedroom.

“I can get it.” Toxin began to stand, but she held out a hand.

“No, I’ll get it.” Out of his sight in her room, she rushed to the phone and lifted the receiver. Still no dial tone. She hurried to Roscoe and ran a hand over the sleeping dog. He didn’t stir, but he was warm and his ribcage rose and fell in a normal rhythm. Drugged? Chad must have given him something when she’d turned her back on him earlier. It was just as well that Roscoe slept through this. She was sure the Toxin she’d heard about would kill anything that got in his way.

“I know why you growled at him, boy,” she whispered. The dog must have remembered Chad from Mrs. Mendelson’s murder. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“Sara?” Toxin called.

Ignoring her shaky legs, Sara returned to the living room. “Not sure where that bottle opener went. Guess I’ll switch to soda.” She felt his eyes on her as she crossed to the fridge and took a few more seconds replacing the bottle and selecting a can of soda.

She passed the window in the kitchen and thought she saw the flash of headlights against snow four stories below, right about where she’d parked her car. She prayed it was the kids and that Neil was driving them to safety. Another flicker of light, this time red. Brake lights? Through the thick snow, it was impossible to tell for sure what she was seeing.

She had done what she could. She had kept Theo safe, just as she’d promised Elizabeth. Just as she’d promised Holt.

The thought of Holt had hot moisture pricking her eyes. So tender was his touch and so selfless his attention to her the night they’d made love, he had to care about her on some level. But those telling moments had been fleeting. Perhaps she’d read too much into them. The boys would be safe. That was all that mattered. She blinked back the fear and regret and focused on the relief coursing through her like a tidal wave. Everything else would be gravy...including getting herself out of this mess.

“I’ve got the video cued up.” Excitement glittered in Chad’s dark eyes. “You ready?”

“Can’t wait.” She sat near him, as he would have expected in order to watch the video, but was careful not to touch him. Still, his arm brushed hers as he reached forward to press Play. She hid her sudden jumpiness by opening the soda and taking a sip.

“This is a gift for you,” Chad said. An image of the school appeared. His voice narrated as he did a walking tour of the halls, speaking highly of the school and even interviewing students about Sara. The five minutes of praise for her from staff and students made her uncomfortable, but she hid it.

“If I were running for election, you’d have made a terrific campaign manager,” Sara said. She let her confusion show. “But what is this for?”

“The real question is
who
is this for? The school board. I emailed a copy to each of those idiots a few hours ago. They should be viewing it soon, if they haven’t already. And then they’ll see what I’ve seen all along...what a terrific woman you are.” His lips pressed into a flat line. “John Rochard was a snake, and he wouldn’t know perfection if it walked up and gave him a lap dance.” Chad’s hand moved to Sara’s knee. “But I would.”

Sara felt panic well up in her throat but clamped down on it. “Wow.” The word came out on a whoosh of breath. She hoped he perceived it as appropriate gratitude. “You did all of this, for me?”

Were the boys far enough away yet? She didn’t know how much longer she could keep up this charade. Acid churned in her stomach as she sat there with Toxin’s hand on her body. She had to fight the urge to jump up and run.

“You like it?” Toxin’s look was hopeful. “All I want is to be your hero. Yours and Theo’s.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Darkness surrounded Holt as they moved away from the car and began the hike toward the school. The slight incline and deep snow had his legs burning in no time, but he barely acknowledged it. Snowflakes bombarded them at a steady rate. Their sharp sting against his face was welcome, keeping him alert. Awareness was key. If he made a mistake or got hurt, he couldn’t help Theo and Sara.

The crunch of snowfall from up ahead, indicating they weren’t alone, was loud in his ears. Max held out a hand to stop Holt, but he’d already halted. Max jerked his head toward a nearby stand of trees and Holt, Max and the police officer moved behind it for cover. There was nothing they could do to hide their footprints, though, which scarred the otherwise smooth sheet of snow.

“How far do we have to walk, do you think?” a boy’s voice asked.

“Shhh,” another person hissed.

Light reflected off the snow, giving the night an eerie orange glow, but they couldn’t see the owners of the voices. Holt’s gaze found Max’s.
Boys?
Holt mouthed. Max nodded. They hadn’t expected any students other than Theo. Was his son among them?

Holt put his lips together and did the special whistle he’d worked with Theo to learn for a Boy Scout project. It had become a fun way of calling to each other, but they hadn’t used it in over a year. Would he remember?

“Dad?” The whispered word was Theo’s.

Relief was a roar in Holt’s ears as blood pounded in his head. He stepped out from behind the tree. “Theo?”

“Dad!” Theo forgot to be quiet and careful and took off running toward them. He stumbled and righted himself. Trusting Max to look out for danger, Holt met Theo halfway and scooped him up into his arms.

“Are you okay?” His words were muffled by his son’s cold, damp shirt, but Holt couldn’t let go.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Snow continued to swirl around them and he felt his son shiver. Theo wasn’t wearing a jacket, and his shirt was nearly soaked through by the wet snow. Holt set him down and pulled off his own jacket, wrapping it snugly around Theo. His son’s eyes went wide at the sight of the gun strapped to his shoulder.

“Who do you have with you?” Holt asked. Two boys, one about Theo’s size and the other much taller, stepped forward from the deeper shadows.

“Neil and Jeremy Rochard, sir,” the older boy said. They didn’t have jackets either.

Rochard’s boys.
“You two okay? We need to get you somewhere warm.”

“We’re okay,” Neil said, “But we’re supposed to be well away from here by now. Miss Sara told me to get them to safety.” He sounded upset that he hadn’t succeeded.

Holt swallowed a resurgence of fear. Sara wasn’t with them. But neither was Chad White. She’d gotten the boys away from danger. “You did a good job, son. You’re safe with us.”

“We tried to drive. The car skidded off the road up there.” Neil jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Almost hit a tree. Snow was too deep.”

“We’ve got cars down by the road, where the snow has been plowed. If you can hike a little farther, you’ll be home-free.”

“But Miss Sara...” Neil looked back toward the school.

“Is she hurt?” Holt thought his heart might leap out of his chest, it was pounding so hard.

“No, but she’s alone with
him.
Any minute now, he’s going to discover what we did when he wasn’t looking.”

Holt looked from the school to Theo.

“It’s okay,” Theo told him. “I’ll go with the police officer. Help her, please. I don’t want her to die too.”

* * *

“So, you liked it?” Chad asked Sara.

She pursed her lips, striving for the most positive truth she could find. “It was extremely thoughtful of you.”

He grinned. “I knew you’d understand.”

She didn’t understand at all, but she’d play his game if it meant giving help a few more minutes to arrive. But when Chad closed her computer and stood, she knew her time was up.

“We should check on the boys.” He moved toward the door.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Sara said, catching up to him at her door. “We can have a little more quiet time together first.”

He turned and stroked his fingers down her cheek. By sheer force of will, she controlled a shudder of revulsion. “We’ll have plenty of time for that soon enough. I want some time to bond with Theo too. We’re going to be a family.”

“A family?”

“With you happy, and Theo happy, we’ll be a happy family.” The conviction in Chad’s voice chilled her to the bone. He truly believed his delusion.

“A video plus some game time don’t equal lasting happiness.”

He frowned. “Of course not. It’ll take more than that. But we’ll be there for each other, no matter what. Besides, Theo will need a new father figure.”

Her heart stopped. It had to have. The whole world had gone silent. “What do you mean?”

“Holt Patterson died in a drive-by shooting tonight.”

No.
It couldn’t be true. “How do you know that? Was it on the news or something?” She thought her legs might buckle, and found herself gripping Chad’s arm. She forced herself to straighten and let go of him.
He
was responsible for this. He had to be. Who else would want Holt dead?

He examined her face. “It’s okay, Sara. I’ll take care of you both. Forever.” He turned to go into the attic and she knew she had to get herself together. If Holt—
oh
,
God
,
please don’t let him be dead
—wasn’t coming, and if help wasn’t here yet, she would have to escape on her own.

And if Holt
were
dead...Theo would need her all the more, so she’d better damn well get herself out of this mess.

Chad turned his back on her to enter his lair and she spun the opposite direction, toward the stairs. Taking them two at a time, she raced down as fast as she could, clutching the railing for support. She was on the third-story landing when she heard Chad’s bellow. He’d discovered the boys were gone, and that she was no longer behind him. Angry footsteps pounded above her. She rounded the second-floor landing. Chad was gaining ground, but he was still half a flight of stairs above her.

“Sara, stop!” Chad’s shout was angry. Hurt. “You’re ruining everything. We’re going to be a family. Stop! We’ll find Theo.”

He sounded like he was only a few steps behind her, but she didn’t dare waste precious time turning to check. She was four stair-steps from the front hall when she felt his hand on her shoulder. He shoved her, knocking her off balance. Her socks slipped on the wood step and she slid the last few steps to the bottom, landing on her right knee and ankle, and twisting her wrist as she lost her grip on the railing.

Despite the aches and shooting pain, she scrambled backwards like a crab to the wall near the school’s front door. “Stop right there.” It was a pathetic plea, and holding her hand out in front of her to stop Chad was as ineffective as waving a flyswatter at an alligator.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Chad said, now at the bottom of the steps and walking toward her. “I just wanted to stop you and make you listen. You’re behaving irrationally.”

She continued backing away, pushing with her legs as she scooted on her butt toward the door. Her ankle throbbed, but she would run on it if she could get to her feet. The snow would numb the pain, anyway, for a little while. But Chad could move faster than she could. He maneuvered himself between her and the door to the outside world.

“You don’t have to hurt me,” she said, trying to appeal to reason. “That would be your choice. Just because you killed those other people, doesn’t mean you have to kill me.”

He shook his head. “Kill? I never wanted to kill you. You’re not one of them. Not one of the people who killed my son through greed, ineptitude and negligence.”
His son?
“You’re my future. You and Theo. You’re going to replace what I lost.” He looked toward the front door and frowned. “Where did the boys go?”

“I don’t know.”

He took another step forward. “Don’t lie to me. Did you hide them?”

When he reached for her, she scrambled the other direction, backing around the base of the stairs and into a corner by the janitor’s closet, where she’d discovered Theo and Jeremy playing video games weeks ago. She hoped the boys were far away, because if Chad killed her, he’d be hunting them next. Outside the window, the snow continued to fall, forming a thick white blanket. The longer she could keep Chad busy, the more chance snow would cover their tracks.

“How could I have hidden them? I was with you.”

“You must have some idea where they went. You’re ruining everything. You’re just like the others.” Anger flashed in his eyes a second before he roared and lunged for her. His body came down on top of her, pinning her to the floor before he straddled her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She waited for the pain of a needle piercing her neck, but it never came. His weapons must be in the toolbox...the same one he’d brought from fixing the power. The toolbox he’d had on hand when he’d helped soothe Roscoe. The toolbox that was currently upstairs in her apartment.

She brought her good knee up, trying to aim for sensitive tissue, but Chad was guarding against that and twisted to shift his weight. His hands squeezed her throat until she began to see spots. A rush of frigid air and the bang of the door against the wall as it was thrown open told her help had finally arrived. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.
And
,
oh God
,
don’t let it be the boys returning.

“Stop!” Holt moved swiftly toward them with a gun pointed their way.

Holt? He was
alive.
Apparently, Chad had believed Holt was dead too. The pressure on her neck lessened as he turned with surprise.

“Those idiots,” he muttered. He got to his feet, hauling Sara with him, and holding her in place like a shield. “If I want something done right, I’ll have to do it myself.”

* * *

Holt held his weapon steady despite Sara being caught in the crosshairs. The gun was the one thing that gave him the upper hand at the moment. Despite her paleness, and a pained expression as she shifted her weight onto one leg beneath Toxin’s grip, she looked relatively unharmed. Her tousled blond hair spilled out of a ponytail holder. Wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with
Hogwarts
and with only socks on her feet, she looked more vulnerable than ever. But determination blazed alongside the fear in her eyes.

Max had gone around to the back of the school, in case Toxin tried to flee from another door. In the meantime, Holt focused on increasing the distance between Toxin and Sara.

“Some hero, using a defenseless woman as a shield,” Holt said. “Since you’re so powerful, come out and face me like a man.”

Chad snorted. “She’s not defenseless. And she’s not the woman I thought she was.”

Sara was looking toward a door only a few feet away.
Good girl.
Watch for a chance to escape.
But the door was under the stairs. He doubted it led anywhere significant. Maybe a basement? Still, if she could lock herself inside until Max arrived, she’d have a better chance of survival.

“This is between you and me, Chad.” Holt refused to put the killer at a glorified level by calling him Toxin. He was plain old, delusional Chad White. “You’ve wanted my life all along. You can’t take it because I’m still living it.”

The spark in Chad’s eyes flared. “You were supposed to be dead by now. You don’t deserve your life. You don’t deserve
them.
”

“And
you
do?” Holt edged to the side, hoping he could get the other man to switch positions with him if they circled. It might give Max a better angle with which to take down Chad. But Chad only held Sara tighter, causing her to wince. “You won’t be able to win over Theo,” Holt continued. “He’s a smart kid. He wouldn’t trust you.”

“He already does. He was playing video games with me just a half hour ago, just like we’ve done online for weeks.”

The thought of this man anywhere near his son filled Holt with rage, but he kept a lid on it. “He ran into my arms outside. He and the other two boys are with the police. Looks like they caught on to you pretty fast.”

Sara smiled, her eyes filling with tears of relief.

“Only because of
her
—” Chad yanked up on Sara, his arm threatening to choke off her air supply. Holt’s grip on the gun tightened, but he was still several feet away. Chad could snap Sara’s neck in a blink if he made one false move. With his free hand, Chad reached behind him for the door. “Does this go somewhere?”

Sara tried to nod, and he loosened his grip slightly. He pulled open the door, still keeping her between Holt’s gun and his body, then pulled her inside.

* * *

Sara would have one shot at freeing herself. Holt would never risk shooting her, and Chad knew that. The closet was her salvation...or, rather, the hammer she remembered seeing hanging on a pegboard just inside was her salvation. As he dragged her inside, she used one of the moves Holt and Max had taught in the self-defense seminar, making herself dead weight as she thrust her elbows out and up to dislodge herself from his grip. Caught off guard, Chad scrambled to get a grip on her as she grabbed the hammer and came up swinging.

“Sara, move!” Holt’s shout seemed as if it came from far away. “I can’t get a clear shot. Just get away from him.”

She swung her hammer and hit soft tissue, but in the dark closet, she couldn’t see clearly. Chad yelped and a rush of air like the sudden creation of a vacuum indicated he’d dropped to the floor.

She stumbled backward out of the closet. One of Holt’s arms came around her waist, pulling her beside him, and then tucking her behind his solid strength. Her muscles felt jittery, and she gladly moved behind him and the big black gun.

“Come out with your hands up,” Holt shouted. There was a rustling of clothing in the shadows, and then...nothing. “Is there really another way out through there?” he asked her.

“No. It’s a closet.” The front door opened, but Holt kept his attention on the closet door ten feet away.