Page 76 of Last Resort

Maci struggled to keep her surprised gasp silent. He was trying to get a reaction from her—any indication of her location.

“But listen, Maci, before you think bad of me... I did it for a purpose. Do you understand? With every woman I killed I became better at personal security. I learned more about how killers thought and what could be done to protect someone from a killer. Those women’s deaths hadmeaning.”

He was a complete psychopath. Could see no wrong in what he’d done.

The flashlight switched back on, aimed for where she’d been just a few moments ago. Damn it, he was expecting her to stay low to the ground. She needed to get higher, climb on some of the machinery all over this place. Dorian hadn’t shone any light up there at all.

You’re smart. A quick thinker. Use that to your advantage.

She found some debris on the ground—a piece of metal that had broken off something—and grabbed it. She threw it with all her might in the opposite direction of where she planned to go.

Then she scurried up onto what seemed to be some sort of bottling equipment piece, careful not to make any noise. That allowed her to move onto a conveyer belt a few feet higher that held her weight easily.

Dorian’s light switched off once again when he heard the noise. When it came back on, it wasn’t pointed in the direction she’d hoped. It was right where she’d been five seconds ago.

If he pointed his light up now, she would be caught.

She swallowed her whimper.

The light switched off again. “Your death will have meaning too, Maci. So will the Patterson brothers’. I can’t leave them alive. Leaving your enemy alive means you always have to be looking over your shoulder.”

She held still. He was waiting for her to make a mistake. The slightest one and she’d be dead.

“Your mother too, probably, if she doesn’t take care of that herself. She’s got a pretty severe drug habit, you know. Was more than happy to take the money I gave her, although was probably less happy when I knocked her unconscious. I traced her phone. That’s how I found you.”

Maci had to push thoughts of her mother aside. She had to push everything aside but this moment.

Survival is always the most important thing.

She was going to survive. She had too much to live for not to.

The light came back on, once again looking in hidden corners and in low places to hide. It wouldn’t take much longer for him to figure out she wasn’t down there.

But in the silence, she heard the most beautiful sound: sirens.

The light switched off again. “Looks like the game has changed, Maci, and we won’t be able to finish today. What a shame. But don’t worry, I’ll be back for you. For all of you. I’m the best, so you can count on that.”

In that moment Maci knew she couldn’t let Dorian leave. He was telling the truth: he would be back. And one by one the people she loved would fall to his madness. Including her daughter. Maci had no doubt Dorian would hunt her too, even if it took years.

Maci could stop this right now. Shehadto stop it right now. Even if it cost her everything.

She stretched out her hand and found a small metal pipe. It wouldn’t be much against that knife he’d taunted her with earlier, but she just needed to stop him long enough for the police to get here. The sirens were getting louder.

She shut everything out and listened for Dorian. As he passed under her she grit her teeth and let herself fall off the side of the conveyor belt on top of him.

Light flashed inside the warehouse from the far door as she fell, but she ignored it. She would only get one chance at this.

She landed hard on Dorian, swinging her pipe and yelling as loud as she could to let the police know where they were. She got two hits in before a blow to her face threw her backward.

She tried to get back to her feet but he was already over her, knife in hand. He grabbed the pipe out of her hand and threw it to the side, then pulled her up by her shirt.

“I am the best,” he said simply.

He slashed the knife toward her chest, and she knew this was the end. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain, distraught that she’d failed. Devastated she’d never told Chance she loved him.

But the pain never came.

She heard multiple cracks of thunder over the roaring around her but didn’t open her eyes.

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