Page 52 of Let Her Live

"Fiona, grab my handcuffs from my belt," he called out, his voice hoarse from exertion.

Fiona hurried over and handed him the cuffs. Jake wasted no time in securing the man's hands and feet, making sure he couldn't escape.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Jake growled, his eyes dark with anger as he looked at the man beneath him. But it was then he realized that the man had become unresponsive—apparently, Jake's punch had knocked him out. Either way, Jake secured him.

With the killer finally secured, Jake's eyes darted over to Fiona, his heart still racing with adrenaline. Mud and sweat coated her face as he stumbled toward her, desperate to make sure she was okay. The dim moonlight cast eerie shadows across the clearing, making it difficult to see clearly.

"Red, are you okay?" he gasped, scanning her for any signs of injury.

"I'm fine," she replied shakily, brushing wet hair out of her eyes. "Just a few scratches, nothing serious."

"Thank God," Jake breathed, relief washing over him like a tidal wave.

"What about Chris?" Fiona asked, her voice laced with concern. As if on cue, the young man emerged from the forest, fear etched onto his face even in the darkness.

"Chris?" Jake called out.

"Is... is it really over?" Chris stammered, his eyes flicking nervously between the handcuffed man and his rescuers.

Jake looked down at the pathetic, wriggling man handcuffed on the ground.

"He’s never gonna hurt anyone again,” he said.

"Let's get out of here," Fiona urged, and Jake couldn't be happier to oblige. He took out his radio and called in backup, grateful to say they had caught another madman and saved another life. He looked at Fiona, smiling.

They were both safe.

***

Jake stood outside of the forest, watching as the killer rolled into the back of an ambulance. Jake was never happy when a case ended with a serious injury, and he hadn't meant to concuss the guy when he'd punched him, only stop him. But he'd had to do what was done, and he had no regrets.

Still, this case had taken him across the country and pushed him in ways he didn't see coming—not only with the environment but with his mental state. They had such a vague motive to work with, and through trial and error, they'd still figured it out.

He was proud of himself and Fiona for seeing it through. He hoped that bastard would wake up soon and face what he'd done.

Fiona walked away from the officers and the witnesses. Jake watched as she said something to Chris, who nodded. She then came over to him, and he smiled at her. They were both sweaty and streaked with mud and, as far as Jake was concerned, had earned a break.

"What'd you say to Chris?" Jake asked as Fiona approached.

She smiled slightly. "I reminded him to be kinder to living things, and that no animal or creature is beneath him. I think this whole thing has really woken him up. He's very grateful we went out of our way to save his life."

Jake nodded. "That's good. Maybe he'll pay it forward and be a little more mindful of his actions from now on. I'm just glad we were there to stop the bastard."

Fiona nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was tough, but we did it."

The two of them stood there in silence for a moment, taking in the humid night air. Their eyes met, and there was an unspoken understanding between them. They had been through something together, and it had brought them closer. Jake felt that with every case they worked. No matter what happened between them, personally, he was connected to Fiona. And sometimes, he felt like maybe she was connected to him too.

Of course, he didn’t know what was going on in her mind, and she was dating someone else. For now, he was just happy to have her friendship and her mind with him on these cases.

"Think he'll be okay?" Jake asked, nodding at the ambulance as it drove away.

"They think he's just knocked out," Fiona said. "You did what you had to do, Jake. He was very close to stabbing me.”

“Yeah, but you were fighting him off well,” Jake said, impressed, recalling the way Fiona had held the man’s arms away from her.“You’ve got more strength than you realize, Red. I think you’re getting a lot stronger too.”

Her cheeks tinged red, and she turned away.“Thank you. Although, I would like to follow them to the hospital. We don't even know his identity yet. We found him, and yet he wasn’t any of the people we looked into… he seems to be, by all accounts, a very random person.”

Jake nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Maybe we can finally put a name to this madness. I’ve gotta say, I don’t think I’ll be coming on a vacation to Florida anytime soon.”

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