Page 114 of Tell Me (Savannah 3)

His heart nearly stopped.

She was at the cabin? With Roland Camp?

He dialed 911 from his cell phone and took off at a dead run.

Nikki knew she had to fight Camp now, while he was still not at full strength, but the blade against her throat kept her from struggling.

He was unsteady, his steps halting, but he was determined as he marched her ever forward. Over the howl of the wind, she thought she heard a car’s engine.

Reed! Her knees went weak to think that he was close by and could help her escape the madman.

Was it her imagination, or had she seen the flash of headlights in the distance? Maybe Reed had received her earlier message. Oh, please! Hurry, hurry, hurry! There isn’t much time!

Slowly Camp turned her back to the house, and all the while the blade was pressed to the underside of her chin, its sharp edge beginning to dig into her flesh. Desperately, she tried to think of a quick way to escape.

If Reed didn’t reach her in time . . .

But he was close. She was certain that a car’s engine was roaring ever nearer.

Don’t react. Let him take you inside. Do not let Camp think that help is on the way.

With the knife digging into her flesh and his hulking body pressed hard against her backside, the smell of his sweat heavy in her nostrils, he drove her slowly forward, toward the cabin.

Come on, Reed, hurry!

She was thinking of another way to escape, any way, but she could scarcely do more than breathe shallowly. She could feel his rage and decided her best ploy was to appear to comply, to act as if he’d scared all the spit right out of her, that her injuries were worse than they actually were.

“You know,” he said, urging her forward, his body pushing hers over the wet grass, his knee at the bend of hers, his shin pressed into the back of her leg. Obviously he wasn’t quite in control of his body; nonetheless, they inched ever closer to what she knew to be her doom.

“You spent all this time tryin’ to figure out what happened that night, the night your friend was killed?” he pointed out, breathing hard. “You never got it, though, did ya? So maybe it’s time you had all the facts, huh, sweetheart?” His voice was becoming steadier again, the effects of the stun gun wearing off.

Nikki didn’t have to ask why he would finally tell her; it was obvious. Not only did he want to brag, but he already knew she wouldn’t be able to spread the story because he intended to kill her.

Hurry, Reed!

“What are they? Those facts?” she asked, trying to stall him, staggering on her weak ankle. Whatever his plans were, she had to keep him talking, delay him, give Reed time to get here.

“Stand up, bitch! I’ll tell you, since you won’t be able to share the story after this place goes up in flames.”

What? No!

Fear curdled through her blood, but she didn’t admit it, wouldn’t show that she was scared as hell, her body beginning to perspire in the cold ni

ght, her mind threatening to run away with all kinds of horrid scenarios of what he would do to her.

Hurry, Reed! Hurry. If there was just a way to get the jump on him, to turn the tables, but the wicked knife shoved hard against her throat kept her from doing anything rash.

“It was all because of Blondell,” he said. Now they were close to the cabin, to that gaping door where the tunnel of light from his dropped flashlight cut through the night. She couldn’t die like this, not at some maniac’s hand.

“It was her fault. She’s the one who cheated. I found out that she was fucking that high-priced lawyer, McBaine. Your uncle.” He jabbed the blade harder against her flesh for effect. “That’s why she insisted they come here. Because he owned it. This is where they got together to fuck. But that night she had the kids, and after they were asleep, she and McBaine were having it out in her car. A big fight. I heard ’em screaming at each other. About her losing the baby.”

They were close to the porch now. Too close, but Roland kept talking, and all the while, as he spilled his guts, Nikki sought for a way to escape, to save herself.

“It pissed me off, let me tell you,” he said. “When I found out, I saw red. I could’ve killed her with my bare hands. I thought we were good together, but it turns out she had ‘something special’ with McBaine and played me for a damned fool.” He was breathing harder now, his anger evident in the muscles tensing around her. “But no one gets one over on Roland Camp, especially not some crazy nympho whore!” His anger radiated from him in waves. “I decided to teach her a lesson, you know, scare the living shit out of her. That’s why I brought the snake. She hates ’em. So while she and McBaine are yelling at each other in the car, so mad the windows are fogging up, I wait and wait, until he’s gone and she’s on the porch, and then I sneak into the cabin, plan to leave the snake in her bed. Would serve her right, y’know.

“That’s when I saw Amity, there, on the pull-out. She was a looker too. Like her mama.”

Nikki thought she might be sick as she thought of Amity. Camp, however, seemed to revel in his sexual prowess as he propelled her up the steps. She tripped a little, but Camp’s arm around her middle kept her upright, his blade slicing into the skin, blood beginning to run.

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