Page 123 of Freshmeet
Mona was shaking, her hands buried deep in her hoodie pocket. “Laura came running out of the woods, pretty banged up. The guys are searching for whoever did it.”
Connor put his hand on my shoulder. “I need to find Jamie. Will you be okay here?”
“Yes, go.”
He gave me a relieved smile and dropped a kiss on my forehead, then sprinted away.
“Let’s go sit in the van,” Kat said, scanning the area.
Silently, we followed, climbing into the back of the van one by one. The heat from the day was long gone, replaced by a cool breeze.
“Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, but something is really wrong. That Laura girl looks like she got the shit beat out of her,” Mona said, glancing over her shoulder out the windshield. “She was yelling about Kimmy and Linc being killed.”
I shook my head, leaning into Olivia. “No. Rick said they caught the Kirksville Killer.”
“The sheriff still hasn’t released their name. And anyway, maybe it’s not him,” Kat offered, her grip tightening around a closed switchblade. “There could always be another psycho.”
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly very dry.
“We need help!” someone yelled from down by the trees.
We shared a look and slowly got out of the van.
“We stick together,” Kat said under her breath. “If the cops show up, don’t say shit.”
“Keep your eyes open,” Mona murmured, taking a canister of the university’s pepper spray out of her hoodie pocket.
Connor raced up the hill, blood streaked across his bare chest.
“Oh, no,” I whispered, my hand going to my mouth. Shaking my head, I ran toward him.
“Is it Jamie?”
Connor nodded, running past me to the barn. Seconds later, he rushed out carrying a first aid kit. We followed him down the hill.
Lying half in and half out of a one-person tent was Jamie. Blood gushed from a huge gash that ran across his forehead, drenching the front of his shirt.
“An ambulance is on the way,” Connor said to his unconscious brother, pressing a clean cloth to the wound. “Just hold on.” His voice came out gravelly as he roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
Tom stumbled out of the trees, glancing over his shoulder. “I need a phone. I-I”
“Tom,” Olivia called out, staying glued to my side.
He turned to us, his eyes wide before recognition set in. “They’re dead.”
“Who’s dead?” Mona asked, but he ignored her.
Pulling a phone from his pocket with a shaky hand, he shook his head. “There’s no signal. I need a signal.”
Mona reached out to him once he was close enough, and he jumped. “Hey. What happened?”
The screen of his phone cast a dim glow on his face as he dialed 9-1-1. His bloodshot eyes dropped to Jamie’s still body on the ground, and he froze.
“We need to call the police,” he said, only his lips moving as he stared at the McCormick boys.
“They’re coming.” Connor’s focus stayed on his brother.
