Page 135 of Sinner

Killing me.

The why didn’t matter.

I’d seen the look in his eyes, the horrible murderous glint. I had to keep running.

“You can run, Jessica, but you will never get away from me.”

With one toss of my head over my shoulder, I noticed he’d returned the mask to the original position, the knife held high. The man had lost it, becoming completely deranged.

I rushed through another clump of trees, turning out the light and crowding against a tree. I had to get the upper hand on this. The silence was more disturbing than hearing the monsters. After gasping for air, a sound caught my attention. Was that water?

Maybe. If so, I could follow it to the backside of the park. There was another road there. I could seek help. I crouched down, flicking on the light and lunging toward the sound.

As soon as I reached the riverbank, I felt a slight bit of relief.

It was short lived the moment I felt his presence behind me.

“Now, it’s time for your punishment.”

I let out another shriek just before a hand was placed over my mouth.

At that moment, I knew I was going to die.

Xander

Her shriek caught my immediate attention. I didn’t bother saying a goddamn thing to Christopher, taking off running in the direction of the sound. I had both my weapon and a flashlight in my hands as I ran, constantly swinging both from one side to the other.

Within seconds, some asshole dressed like a ghoul appeared, instantly throwing up his hands when he noticed the weapon pointed directly at his face. “Get out of here,” I barked.

Christopher remained right behind me. There were more creatures, but none of them were stupid enough to fuck with us. They’d been hired to scare a young woman in the middle of the woods and nothing more.

My anger was high, the taste of blood in my mouth stronger than it had been in a long time.

“Look,” Christopher said a few seconds later.

I spun around, uncertain what to expect. As I walked closer, I realized what he was holding. The GPS she’d been sent for the earlier game. She’d bought the idea that the invitation had been real. Why shouldn’t she? Great lengths had been gone to in order to make everything appear legitimate.

At least I knew we were on the right track. I continued powering through the forest, fortified with another sharp cry.

Then a roar.

I ran faster, ignoring the pain as limbs slapped me in the face. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to her.

“Fuck you!” Jessica yelled and while I wanted nothing more than to issue a primal roar, I maintained silence. We had maybe a hundred yards to go.

Only when I was close did I don the mask, Christopher doing the same. We continued on the path, doing what we could to remain silent. There was no need for the light and I shoved the flashlight in my back pocket. My eyes were accustomed to the shadows. Plus, a bright glow was only a few feet away.

“Get the fuck away from her,” I snarled.

The bastard had the nerve to laugh. He was quick in his actions, able to grab Jessica around the throat.

She had no intention of backing down, doing everything in her power to fight him. When he thrust a blade against her neck, only then did she suck in her breath and stop moving.

I walked closer, holding the weapon out with both hands, the barrel aimed right between his eyes.

Christopher broke off from where he was flanking my side, his posture exactly like mine. I hadn’t comprehended the man knew how to handle a weapon as well as he did. We were both pissed. The fucker had done everything in his power to make us believe Christopher had been the one providing trade secrets.

Even worse, I’d bought it, not believing a woman could be behind the betrayal. Although for a few hours, I’d mused about the possibility Jessica had been working with someone, including her own father to bring us down. I laughed softly,mostly at myself. Women were the most cunning creatures on this earth.

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