Page 55 of Just Hide

She was running through the ground floor of the building now, and still, she couldn't find anywhere to hide. The entrance to the building was in sight, and she had to get there. She had to get out of here.

She could hear Teresa behind her, screaming at her in anger and frustration. No way was she going to make it all the way across the lobby. She’d have a knife in her back long before she reached the exit door.

Then, ahead, she saw an empty office. It was the last one before the lobby, and the first one she'd seen with an open door.

Cami ducked inside it and slammed the door just as Teresa arrived there, throwing her entire weight against it, screaming. There was no lock on the inside. Cami grabbed hold of the handle, holding it up with all her strength, feeling Teresa bear down on it hard, and knowing that she couldn't hold it for long.

Teresa had the advantage here. She was stronger than Cami, and gravity was on her side as she used her full weight to try to push that handle down and the door inward. Cami, by contrast, had to keep the handle up, and then if she lost that fight, she would have to stop the door from getting pushed into her. That would be futile, because she had nothing to brace against.

She was losing the fight. She could feel the handle slipping, edging out of her grasp as Teresa wrenched at it using all her weight, kicking the door so that it shuddered.

This was it. Cami couldn't hold it any longer. She felt it wrenched out of her grip and knew that this was the end.

In a moment, Teresa would be inside, and this time, Cami knew, there'd be no more delays in using that knife.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

The handle pushed all the way down. Gritting her teeth, fighting a battle she was going to lose, Cami threw her weight against the door, but she couldn't stop it from being shoved open. Her feet were slipping. She could see the crack in the door opening wider.

And then, from behind the door, a man's voice shouted, "Freeze! Freeze! Hands in the air, or I'll shoot!"

Immediately, the pressure was taken off the door, and Cami slammed it shut again.

Holding the handle up with shaking hands once more, taking no chances just yet, Cami let out a huge breath of relief, feeling her legs go weak. It was Connor’s voice. He'd arrived. Her phone call had done its job, and she'd held off the crazed killer until help had gotten here.

She heard the shuffle of feet as Teresa turned in Connor’s direction. Then she heard the metallic clatter that could only mean she'd dropped that deadly sharp knife. Those were Connor's footsteps coming closer. Fast and urgent. And now, she heard another sound she recognized. Handcuffs.

"Cami? Where are you?" He sounded as worried as she’d ever heard him.

"I'm in here!" Finally, now that she guessed he'd grabbed Teresa, she dared to open the door. He had Teresa firmly handcuffed and was holding her tight, her hands behind her back, her shoulders up against the wall.

“Don’t take me in. I didn’t do anything. This woman provoked me. You’ve got it all wrong,” Teresa gabbled.

"You okay?" Concern was sharp in his voice as he glanced around at Cami.

"I'm okay, yes. Just—" If he'd gotten here a minute later, she'd have been dead, but Cami knew it was better not to think about that.

There were other police officers arriving now. She guessed Connor had called it in as an emergency while he was racing here. Other officers rushed in. Two of them raced up, grabbing the now screaming and sobbing Teresa, hustling her none too sympathetically in the direction of the exit door.

At last, there was time to update Connor.

"Nadia was guilty of what she was planning with her lover. I've got all the details. They were on her phone and computer."

Connor nodded. "Your message did the trick. When I told her what you’d discovered, she broke and spilled it all. She's still in custody, and I sent a team to bring in the husband also. I was on the phone organizing that when your call came in. As soon as I heard your voice, I knew you were in danger. I was in the car and on the road before you’d finished speaking. That was excellent work on your part."

"It was bothering me. The fourth woman. The disappearing face. I decided to research it in case she was the killer, and she’d found a way to change her looks. I was shocked when I read about that accident. All her own fault, and she was taking revenge on the world by killing women who looked the way she had. She joined Wave Management just to get access to that software, I think," Cami said, seeing Connor nod in understanding.

"I wish I'd figured it out earlier, but at least we got her at last."

Cami felt massively grateful that Connor had arrived so quickly on the scene. "Fraser will be glad to hear this. The pressure's been tough for us all. And the results were only thanks to you volunteering. That's something I respect and admire. Thank you for offering to come in on this one, Cami. You gave us the break we needed. You allowed us to solve this, and I’m grateful."

Looking her in the eye, Cami had a weird sensation that for a moment, they were just like equals.

"I couldn't have turned away from it, from the moment I thought IT was involved," she said. "I'm glad I was able to help. It … it means a lot to me to help out on these cases and work with you."

“Likewise,” he agreed.

As she walked with Connor to the door, feeling her adrenaline finally ebb, Cami had another strange feeling that this was where she belonged, and that this, one day when her exams were done, might be what she wanted to do.

---