Page 170 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear, and now that you’ve had your fun, I’m ready to have mine,” Michael seethed, drawing Taylor's terrified face toward his. “We’re going to play a little game, Taylor. I know how much you love them.”
“Move, Jamison.” Liam’s hand latched onto hers as they shot off in the direction of the road, the two of them running blindly through the fog. “We have seven minutes.”
The sounds of Taylor’s anguished cries cut through the air, joining Michael Sinclair’s manic shouts as he found his revenge. “Come on, Taylor! Open wide for me!”
Jamison turned back in time to see Michael shoving something into Taylor’s mouth. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but the bulky thing protruded past Taylor’s lips as she flailed about, struggling to get free of Michael’s hold without the use of her hands.
“Holy fuck.” Liam was watching with her, his speed increasing when Michael sealed Taylor’s mouth with a long strand of duct tape. Holding her by the throat, he wrapped it all the way around her entire head. “Don’t look back, Jamison.”
She faced forward again. “What’s he doing?”
A single gunshot rang out, followed by Michael’s laughter cutting across the landscape. “Oh, come on, Taylor. You can do better than that. Go!Run, run, run as fast as you can.”
Jamison risked another glance but could only make out Michael’s silhouette.
And the silhouette of a woman standing next to him.
A woman who was not Taylor and was as transparent as the fog itself. She had her hand on Michael’s shoulder, and when she turned to meet Jamison’s stare, her smile was one Jamison had only ever seen in her dreams.
“CeCe?”
CeCe wiggled her fingers at them, the fog swallowing her and Michael in the next second.
“I said don’t look.” Liam yanked her forward, forcing Jamison to run faster. “You don’t need to see what’s about to happen.”
They reached the split-rail fence, the only stretch not enclosed in twelve feet of wire. Liam lifted her easily and tossed her over before leaping effortlessly to the other side.
The fog was starting to thin, a good indication that they were moving farther away from the lake. Turning left, they sprinted down the road until they caught up with Claudia, Emily, and Damon. More alert now, Damon was trying to run on his own but was moving too slowly, and Liam rushed over, throwing an arm around his waist to support him.
Another crack split the air.
“What was that?” Damon pushed to the front as if he could shield the group with his body, even as he stumbled. “Do you guys hear it?”
Madison whimpered and buried her face in Claudia’s neck.
“It’s one sicko killing the other sicko,” Emily snarled, covering Madi’s head with her hand. “All down on the psycho farm.”
“No, not the gunshot.” Damon glanced over at Liam, who was also listening. “You hear it?”
Everyone stopped talking, and a second round of alarms began to wail, but as Jamison listened, she could hear something else.
An engine.
“Car.” Liam turned to Damon, half dragging him to the side of the road. “A big one. Let’s go. Everyone, take cover in the forest. Claudia, get on the ground with Madi and cover her with your body.”
Headlights broke through the fog just when they reached the trees, the twin beams of light bouncing as they headed in their direction. Liam dropped Damon on the edge of the brush and crouched low.
“We don’t know who this is and if it’s a Zanmi,” Liam began, but catching sight of the big red truck’s driver, he rushed from the safety of the woods, waving his arms in the air.
The double-cab truck skidded to a stop, and Holden shot out of the driver’s side. Not asking any questions, he bolted over to help Liam haul Damon into the front cab while Jamison led the rest of them out from hiding.
They all worked together, everyone hustling as fast as they could. Emily crawled across the driver’s side to assist Holden and Liam in maneuvering her brother’s heavy body further into the passenger seat. At the same time, Jamison secured Claudia and Madison in the rear cab before getting in herself. They positioned Madi on both their laps, holding her tight as the little girl sobbed.
Yet another bang went off, sounding more powerful than a gunshot, and a plume of smoke and fire lifted into the air.
“Daddy?!” Madison screamed over the alarms that seemed to be growing louder. “Is Daddy coming?”
Claudia pressed her face into her daughter’s hair and shook her head. “No, Daddy’s busy right now.”
