Page 94 of Fatal Betrayal

"Who do we follow?" he asked. But it was a moot question, because Andi was already chasing after Kristine. He quickly followed, passing Andi at the next corner. Everyone had said Kristine was a runner, and they weren't kidding. She moved in and out of crowds of people, staying in front of him, but he was gaining on her. And Andi was holding her own, only a few feet behind him.

And then a woman came around the corner of a building with a dog on a leash. He was able to dodge to the left to avoid them, but Andi collided with the dog and tumbled to the ground. He looked back at her.

"Go," she said, as she untangled herself. "Don't let her get away."

He ran harder, relieved as he began to close in on Kristine. She suddenly looked back, the hoodie falling off her head, her blond hair flying out behind her.

"Stop, Kristine," he yelled. "There's nowhere to go."

"I can't," she said, her voice choking on what sounded like a sob. As she turned back around, she ran straight into an oncoming car. He watched in horror as the car hit her, throwing her body into the air. The duffel bag went flying. People on the street screamed. And then Kristine landed hard on the pavement.

The car came to a halt. A man jumped out of the vehicle, "She ran right in front of me. It wasn't my fault. You saw," he said to Cooper. "You were right behind her."

"Call 911," Cooper told him as he squatted down next to Kristine. Her eyelids were fluttering as she struggled to stay conscious. One leg and arm were bent in a horrific way, and there was blood coming from the back of her head. "Hang in there," he told her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Where is Elisa?"

She tried to answer, but she couldn't get the words out. She was gasping for breath.

"Tell me where she is," he said desperately. "Please, Kristine. Elisa needs her parents."

His words fell on deaf ears as Kristine's eyes closed.

"Is she alive?" Andi asked breathlessly.

"Barely," he said, as sirens rang through the air. He got to his feet as the police, fire, and paramedics arrived. While Andi spoke to the officers, he fell back into the crowd, his gaze moving to the duffel bag laying against the curb, the one that had been in Kristine's hand.

He crossed the street, grabbed the bag, and unzipped it. Inside were baby clothes, diapers, bottles, and cans of baby food.

His gut twisted. He had a feeling all this was going to Elisa, but he still had no idea where she was. And they'd lost their best chance to find her. He'd messed up. He should have caught Kristine, before she ran into the street.

"Cooper?" Andi said. "Is that the bag she was carrying?"

"Yes." He got up and showed her the bag. "Everything to keep a baby going for a while."

"Did Kristine say anything?"

"She said she was sorry. She never wanted to hurt anyone. I asked her where Elisa was, but she slipped away."

"She's still alive. Hopefully, she'll stay that way until we can get more information."

"I'm sorry, Andi."

"What for?" she asked in surprise.

"I should have caught her."

"You tried."

"My effort wasn't good enough," he said tersely. Then his gaze moved to the man and woman approaching them. "You called your team? What about staying in the shadows? Not knowing who we can trust?"

"The man who was driving the car said you chased Kristine into the street. I need Flynn to take over this scene, so that you don't get taken down to the precinct and interrogated."

He hadn't thought about that. The last thing he wanted was to get put on ice with everything else going on. He wouldn't be able to help if he was in jail.

Savannah went to talk to the police while Flynn joined them, a grim expression on his face.

---