Page 70 of Shattered Sanctuary

Go with him.

Erin looked around her, afraid he’d found them. Afraid she would end up the next one on his ghastly list.

Go with him.

Erin stood there for a moment, looking down at Chester, though she could barely see him. As the dog stared up at her, Erin made a decision. Not a rational one—just a decision.

She loosened her hold on Chester’s leash and turned the way he was pulling—the opposite direction she thought they should go. Chester forged ahead with confidence. Erin hoped he wasn’t chasing a rabbit or had sniffed out something else that might lead them right into the killer’s trap. But she was throwing caution to the wind—trying to listen with her heart, not her mind, and not out of past hurts. Kaely’s voice rang in her head.You’ll never be free if you don’t take a step of faith. Just one step. Don’t worry about the next ones. They’ll come.

Although she could barely see anything in front of her, she kept going, jogging behind Chester who seemed to know exactly where he was going. The moon was still playing peekaboo with the windswept clouds. It reminded Erin of a high school dance, where the lights in the gym flickered on and off with the music. It was supposed to be a cool effect, but Erin had found it disconcerting. She pushed the thoughtout of her mind. She wasn’t in high school, and there was nothing cool about what was happening.

As Chester wove in and out through the trees, Erin tried to keep herself from slipping on the snow. She glanced behind her to see if they were being followed, but when she did, she tripped and fell hard, slamming her knee into a fallen snow-covered branch lying on the ground, her gun flying off into the dark underbrush and out of sight.

She bit her lip, trying not to cry out in pain. Chester stopped and looked back at her as if he were trying to figure out if she could go on. Erin put her hands in the snow and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Chester whined softly, and she reached out and slowly pulled herself up to her feet. As soon as she put weight on her right foot, pain shot through her leg. She felt around on the ground and found another branch, small but sturdy. She used it as a walking stick and began to hobble as quickly as she could behind her impatient dog. Although her leg hurt, living was more important than some temporary discomfort.

Suddenly, Chester began to bark. Terrified the killer would hear and find them, Erin yanked on his leash.

“Chester. Hush! Be quiet!” She tried to keep her voice as low as she could but loud enough so Chester could hear her. When he continued to bark, she became desperate. “Ozzy! Ozzy!” she hissed, hoping he’d respond to his previous name. She hated to call him that because she was pretty sure his owner hadn’t shown him much love, but she didn’t know what else to do. She stumbled on something else that was covered by the snow and fell down once again. She flipped herself over on her other side before her body hit the ground.Thankfully, she was able to protect her sore leg. The snow cushioned her fall.

As she tried to get up again, Chester suddenly tugged so hard on the sash that it slipped from her hand. She tried to grab it again, but he took off running through the woods. Before she could call him back, he was out of her limited sight. Where was he? Why had he left her? So much for some voice telling her to follow him.

Once again, she struggled to get back on her feet.

“There you are,” a voice said from behind her. “Surely you didn’t think you’d get away from me.”

Erin turned over and found herself looking up at the man who stood over her. He wore a thick coat, gloves and a ski mask. But she knew who he was.

“You can’t kill me now,” she said, her mind racing. “You killed Bobbi Burke. Now everything’s out of order. It’s ruined.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared down at her. Then he cocked his head to one side as if contemplating what she’d said. Finally, he said, “But she got in the way. She doesn’t count.”

“Of course she does. It won’t work now. People will know. They’ll realize you failed. Everything is out of order.”

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

Erin could hardly believe he was serious, yet she knew he was.Try to think the way he does. What did Kaely teach you?Erin took a deep breath before saying, “I think you’ll have to just start over. There’s no other way.”

Once again, he contemplated her. She was certain that to him, she was nothing more than a specimen. Like a germ under a microscope.

“You know, I think you may be right,” he said with a sigh. “I need to start over. That stupid woman destroyed everything.”

She’d stalled him, but how could she talk him out of killing her? He’d killed Bobbi because she recognized him. Why wouldn’t he do the same to her? It was then that she saw the knife in his hand. It had blood on it. He’d taken it out of Bobbi’s back. If only she hadn’t dropped her gun.

“You... you can just leave. I don’t know who you are. But I can spread your story. Make sure everyone knows there was never any ghostly woman in the woods, but that there is someone else. Someone real. You. Your story will multiply, and people will talk about you. For... for a lot longer than they talked about her.”

This man was narcissistic. He wanted people to know how smart he was. How powerful. And he fed on their fear. She’d just appealed to all of that. Hadn’t she? Had it worked?

“You’re a liar, Miss Delaney,” he said, his voice almost like a low growl. “Not about my starting over, but when you said you don’t know who I am. Of course you do.”

“No. No, I don’t. I can’t see your face.”

“But you knew that after killing Miss Burke, I’d have to start again. You knew that because you know how important order is to me.”

“No, you’re wrong. Please. Just leave.”

Before she could say anything else, he reached up with his left hand and pulled off his mask. The moon decided that was the moment to illuminate the area around them—as well as his face. Of course, he was right. She knew exactly who he was. Her first suspicion had been correct.

“I have no choice except to kill you,” Allen said, his smilemore like a grimace. “Since there’s no more order, it doesn’t matter. You won’t stop me from starting again.”

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