Page 63 of In Her Fears
When there was no response, she tried again, with the same result.The knot in her stomach tightened as a terrible possibility dawned on her.
“Where’s my deputy?”she demanded, turning to Eric.
He looked, a strange smile twisting his lips.“Your watchdog?He was getting too close.”
“What did you do to him?”
Eric’s smile widened, revealing teeth stained with his own blood.“Time isn’t on his side, Sheriff.”
“Where is he?”
“I could take you to him,” Eric offered, his voice dripping with false helpfulness.“But why would I do that?”
“Because if he dies,” Jenna’s voice was steel, “I’ll personally make sure you never leave here either.”
The smirk faded from Eric’s face, replaced by a calculating look.
“I can show you” he said finally.
Jenna turned to Elias, who had sunk to a sitting position on a fallen log, his thin frame seeming to collapse in on itself now that the immediate danger had passed.
“I need to find my deputy,” she said.“You’re coming with me.”
She pulled Elias to his feet, her anxiety rising with each passing second that Jake might be bleeding out somewhere in these woods.With Eric secured in front of her and Elias at her side, Jenna began moving through the forest in the direction Eric indicated.She kept her weapon on Eric, and Elias was still holding his branch.
Jenna’s heart pounded against her ribs.
“Jake,” she murmured under her breath.“Please be alive.”
They crested a small rise, and there, propped against the trunk of an oak tree, was Jake.
Her heart stuttered at the sight of him.His shirt was dark with blood, his face ashen, one hand pressed weakly against his abdomen.But his eyes were open, finding hers as she scrambled down the slope toward him.
“Took you long enough,” he managed, his attempt at a smile more of a grimace.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
The antiseptic smell of the hospital corridor made Jenna’s stomach clench as she walked toward Jake’s room.She paused, gathering herself before entering, willing her face to show relief rather than the fears that had gripped her for the past twenty-four hours.
Jake looked up as she entered, his eyes brightening despite the pallor of his face.He was hooked to an IV, and the thin hospital gown made him seem smaller somehow, vulnerable.
“There she is,” he said, his voice stronger than she’d expected.
Jenna pulled a chair closer to his bed, the metal legs scraping against the floor.“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been stabbed,” Jake replied with a weak smile.“But the doctor says I’m lucky.The blade missed everything important.I’ll be back to annoying you in no time.”
As he reached for her hand, he asked, “How’s your wound?”
“It’s just a scratch, hardly worth the bandage they put on it.”
They were both quiet for a long moment.Then Jake broke the silence by asking, “And Elias?”
“He’s okay.Physically, at least.”Jenna replied quickly.“Eric confessed to everything, Jake.Not just the recent murders, but Lina’s too.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose.“Lina?But I thought—”
“We all thought she committed suicide.That’s what Eric wanted everyone to believe.But that night, after Elias confronted them about the affair and stormed off, Eric went to the house through that underground tunnel to convince Lina to run away with him.”
