Page 90 of Wild Justice

Now Lulu knew what she’d been talking about.

This man. This man right here…he could kill someone. He’d gone from becoming a suspect to being a murderer within minutes of her arrival here.

Her gut was screaming at her.Screamingthat this man was Dana’s killer.

Her dad had told her to trust her gut. Her brain was saying that she didn’t have enough evidence yet. That she didn’t know for sure that Ray Ramsey was Dana’s killer.

But shedid.She knew. She didn’t know how she knew, but something deep inside of her was yelling in her ear that Ramsey was the guy. She could see it in his eyes, his demeanor, his entire body language. She’d been sure of many things in her life, and she was sure of this, too.

No doubts.

Lulu didn’t have time to ponder her discovery, however. Like a predator stalking its prey, Ray was watching her closely, clearly studying every facial expression or slight body movement. She could physically feel the deadly tension that had built around the two of them. Her heart raced, beating against her ribs like a drum in a marching band. Blood roared in her ears as she faced Ramsey down, determined not to cower or appear weak in any way.

People like him only understand power.

Should she initiate a confrontation? Grab the nearest heavy object and swing it at him? Should she continue to try and talk him out of her house? Pretend that everything was normal?

The thing was…she was pretty damn sure that the talking portion of the evening was over. Ramsey was staring at her with those empty eyes, his expression icy cold and calculating. She might not have any choices if he suspected that she’d figured it out.

“I need to call Kai and let him know that I’m running late,” she finally said, breaking the long silence. She moved toward the kitchen counter where she’d left her phone. “I’ll tell him that you’re going to join us.”

She wasn’t, however, reaching for her cell. Instead, she planned to grab the heavy glass bowl that was meant to hold fresh fruit, but she hadn’t had a chance to go to the grocery store and fill it yet.

Just as her fingers touched the cool glass edge, Ray’s hand clamped down painfully on her wrist. She’d made a rookie mistake…she’d turned away from him, if only for a moment.

“Dana never saw it coming,” Lulu heard Ray say into her ear. He was far too close, and she could smell his sweat mixing with some revolting cologne. It turned her stomach and made her physically ill. “But you will. This time, I want to watch your face.”

It all happened fast. She tried to push away from him and run, knowing that she was at a disadvantage in a fight, but he blocked her in with his larger frame. His hands had wound around her neck, and he was bearing down with all his strength, bending her back over the granite countertop. His face contorted, his teeth bared like an animal.

The world was beginning to get dark as black spots appeared in front of her eyes as she struggled for oxygen. She clawed frantically at his fingers, but they were clamped tightly. In the distance, she could hear ringing, but she wasn’t sure if it was her phone or her ears playing tricks on her.

The world had gone fuzzy, and her life began to play in her head, shaky images of her childhood almost in fast forward. Her parents were there, and Bennett and Chase, too. Their family and friends. At one point, her dad was teaching her to fish, and Ben was being a pest. The usual sibling stuff. She’d hauled off and kicked him in the shin to make him stop his teasing. He’d howled in protest but then laughed and said that she fought dirty. He’d been strangely proud of her that day.

I fight dirty.

The room was already spinning, and her vision was narrowing dangerously. She didn’t have any time or oxygen to make any sort of plan. She simply trusted her gut to tell her what to do.

Lulu reared back her leg, and then with the scraps of energy that she had left, she drove her knee directly into his groin, his most vulnerable spot. She heard his howl of pain, and then his grip around her neck immediately loosened.

Ramsey cursed and stumbled back, falling into a heap on the floor. His face was twisted and ugly in anger, his cheeks bright red as four-lettered word after four-lettered word spilled from his lips.

She fell to her knees, gulping in air as quickly as she could to her starved lungs. At some point, tears had leaked down her cheeks, and she could taste the tang of salt on her tongue.

The entire episode from his grabbing her until now could have taken five minutes or five seconds. Lulu had no idea. Time had ceased to have any meaning. She only heard the one word that was screaming inside of her head, over and over.

Run.

25

Kai and Henry had ordered their first beer, and were waiting for Lulu when Chase ran into the sports bar and straight to their table, out of breath and his face red.

“Where’s Lulu?”

“At the ranch,” Kai replied, puzzled by Chase’s demeanor. The man was normally as calm and laid back as hell. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Allie Baker just got out on bail, apparently,” Chase explained. “One of my regular customers stopped by and told me that Allie’s been down at the hair salon raising hell. She says she’s going to get revenge on Lulu for arresting her. They said she seemed serious about it, and then she marched out still furious, vowing to make Lulu pay for what she did. I tried to call Lulu, but she’s not answering. I came here to warn her.”

“She might still be at the ranch,” Henry said, checking his watch. “Or on her way. Let me check the app and see where she is.”

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