Page 73 of Deadly Attraction
She reached out, caught his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I sure hope I don’t regret this.”
As he left her standing there with Will and the dogs, she reached for her drawer of M&Ms and let out a sigh.
I hope I don’t either.
The state van was a simple white Chevy with no passenger windows and a dented front bumper.Juvenile Correctionswas printed on both of the front doors.
Officer Moses wasn’t in the driver’s seat. She was probably unlocking Danika’s cuffs.
Mitch waited outside the van, his eyes scanning the area as rain drenched him. The sky overhead was dark with clouds, but these clouds were welcome, relieving the drought for a few minutes and helping quench the wildfires.
Merry fucking Christmas.
People all over the world were celebrating a day of family, friends, and gift giving. Plenty of people weren’t as well. But regardless of religious affiliation or personal circumstances, no one could deny that the rain was a miracle.
If there was a God, then He had a pretty shitty personality if He got off on holding out on the rain until today.
Christmas and the rain aside, the day had already set Mitch’s teeth on edge. Goodsman and Brown were still loose. No one had any idea where they were.
What if the two of them had put those people up to calling in and reporting they’d seen them in that house? A lark to get the local police, SWAT team, and FBI gathered there, instead of out looking for them. Meanwhile, they’d fled down to Mexico like Emma believed.
Or maybe the people who’d reported seeing them were legit and honestly believed they’d seen the famous actor and his number one fan in that house. Either way, Goodsman and Brown had had plenty of time to get to wherever they were headed.
He just hoped it was miles away from the ranch and Emma.
No one had emerged from the van, so Mitch stepped forward and knocked on the darkly tinted passenger window. “Officer Moses, it’s me, Mitch Holden. Dr. Collins asked me to escort you and Danika to the horse barn. She’ll join us shortly.”
There was no response.
Mitch’s gut tightened. He stepped back, looked over his shoulder. Had Carla already taken Danika to the barn?
Walking partway across the yard, he scanned the barn. The front doors were still closed, no one idling around.
Jogging back to the van, he pulled up short when his eyes landed on the side door. Seeping from the bottom edge of the door, bright, red liquid dripped onto the running board.
Blood.
Shit.
Drawing his gun, Mitch closed the distance to the van and put his back against the side, gaze sweeping the drive, the yard, the pasture. He saw nothing moving, only rain drops hitting a few tiny puddles. He heard nothing either, except the same rain.
Danika.
He slid up to the driver side window, cupped his hands around his eyes and peered in.
No Carla, but he saw what looked like blood smeared across the headrest.
“Officer Moses,” he called, wiping water from his face. “Are you alright?”
No answer.
Mitch looked back at the house.God Almighty, don’t let Danika have gone off the deep end and killed a police officer. Emma will never forgive herself.
“Danika? Remember me? I was here the other day when you came to ride Harry. I mean, Twinkie. I know this is a rough day for you—it’s a rough one for me, too.” Like the girl would believe that if he didn’t back it up with the reason. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to continue. “I lost my twin brother five years ago on this day, Danika. I know how bad the holidays can suck. How about you open up the door and we can talk?”
Silence came from the van. Not even a hint of movement. The blood continued to drip, pooling enough to run off onto the wet ground beneath it.
