Page 84 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

Could I watch while she punched him? Because I really wanted to see her get some well-deserved revenge.

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This motherfucker! First it was walls, then it was bouncy house balloon walls, now he was just chucking things at me. Bats, chairs he picked up from the hallway, sand—anything and everything he could think of on the fly, apparently. Some of it nearly hit me, one of them I had to deflect with my arm—which fucking smarted—and I was all out of patience with this bastard.

Gonzalez had joined in on the chase about five minutes ago and was sprinting as madly as I was. He’d said something about Marc having Jon, so I wasn’t worried about where my fiancé had gotten off to, but I was determined to bring this to an end.

We left the building through an open doorway, Chad running into the woods. This place had been abandoned for so long, the place was ringed with trees and dense underbrush. It would slow him down, sure, but it would also be harder to chase after him. I didnotneed to be running through Georgia woods, where ticks abounded, thank you very much.

Gonzalez abruptly stopped, pulled his gun up, and fired off two shots. They landed right next to the perp’s head, hitting bark, and I had to admire the shot. Damn, he was good.

Chad abruptly stopped as well, catching himself on a slender sapling, panting hard. He was dripping sweat, his black hoodie sticking to him, and he was clearly out of juice. Both psychically and physically. Otherwise, he’d still be chucking things at me.

“Listen, I’m really tired of chasing you,” Gonzalez informed him flatly. “You make me chase you any more than this, I aim for your leg next.”

Chad straightened, taking off his hat and throwing it forcefully to the ground. Then he turned, glaring at us. He did not look great. Kinda like a druggie who was in need of rehab, six months of decent meals, and a long shower.

“You have no right to do this!” He threw his hands out wide. “Fine, I’m trespassing, but you don’t have to do this!”

“Dude.” I couldn’t believe my ears. “You really think we’re chasing you this hard because oftrespassing?”

He faltered at my question. Then all color drained from his face. I could tell he’d put the pieces together.

“We’re here because you’ve kidnapped and held captive Tylesia Evans.” Gonzalez was still in the no-fucks-to-give mode.“Put your hands on your head and walk toward me slowly. You’re under arrest.”

Idiot tried to bluff his way out of this. “What? Who’s Tylesia—”

“Don’t start with me, asshole. We know damn well she’s here. The best Tracer in the country told us you have her here.”

“You shoot me, I don’t tell you where she is!”

Wow, he sure changed tunes in a heartbeat there. I just rolled my eyes. Like we couldn’t find her. It wasn’t going to be hard.

“Gonzalez, cuffs?”

He took them out of his handcuff case with his free hand and passed them over to me.

Seeing the action, Chad protested louder. “I mean it! You cuff me, I don’t tell you where she is!”

“Dude, don’t be more stupid than you already have been.” I approached steadily, making sure I wasn’t in Gonzalez’s sights. “There’s not even roofs and doors on most of this place. You’ve put her in a place with a door on it. It’s not rocket science.”

His face fell. Like, I seriously think before I pointed it out, Chad hadn’t thought about that. Not the brightest crayon in the box, was he?

I slapped cuffs on him, and even though he tugged a little on my grip, he wasn’t really fighting me. More like a silent protest. Tough shit, dude. I do not care if you don’t like cuffs. Not after what you did to two innocent people.

“Havili, secure?”

“Secure,” I assured Gonzalez.

“Good. I’m calling Marc, then.” He fished out his phone from his pocket.

I heard sirens in the distance, and for a second, I almost dismissed them. But the longer I listened, the more I realized they were heading this direction. Did we have backup coming?I mean, we’d need a forensics team anyway, just to provide evidence in the trial.

“Hey,mi amor. How’s— Oh, so that is our backup? No, we’ve got him. Havili’s got a firm grip on him, too.”

You’re damn right I did. I wasn’t chasing this guy anymore tonight.

Gonzalez’s expression lit up. “You found her? All right! How is she? Well, yeah, I’d be mad as hell too. Sure, sure, let’s walk toward the front. I’ll meet you there.”

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