Page 29 of The Clearing Rain

Lacey froze as she read the words.It was confirmation that he had her.Holy Fuck!

I won’t hurt her if you do what I ask,he typed, and her chest tightened at his words.

What do you want from me?

I just want to talk to you.I’m not going to hurt you.

What if I refuse?

Then the girl will die, and Nico will be next.

Her whole body shuddered as she stared at the message.Not only was Serge threatening Taylor, he was also threatening Nico.But why?She already knew she was dealing with a mentally unstable, psychopathic killer, and maybe that was reason enough to want to kill his own son.But what had Nico ever done to Serge?All he’d ever wanted was to please his aloof, discontented father.

Why would you want to kill your son?

All will be revealed, if only you’ll come and talk to me.I promise I will not hurt you.

Lacey gave out a snort of disbelief.He was prepared to kill his own son, but she was supposed to believe he wasn’t going to hurt her?What could Serge possibly hope to gain by talking to her?What answers did she have that he needed?If he wanted answers, then he should be talking to Nico.

You promise you won’t hurt me?

Yes, I promise on my fallen comrades’ lives.I will not harm you.

Lacey knew Serge had fought in the French Foreign Legion, and Nico had told her that he’d lost two good friends while fighting in the Gulf War.Serge had lived with military precision, even after he left the FFL; it was the one thing that remained important to him, and he’d tried to instill those rules and regulations on his family.But he also deeply respected the other men he’d fought alongside, and Nico surmised that his connection with his soldier mates went deeper than even his relationship with his family.The loss of his friends—if you could call them that—affected Serge profoundly.So this promise on his friends’ lives could hold merit.

“I’m sorry, Nico,” she whispered as she typed the words with shaking fingers.

All right, I’ll come.Then she quickly typed something else.But only if you release Taylor in exchange for me.

There was no immediate response, as if she’d caught him off guard.But she needed something out of this, he couldn’t be allowed to hold all the aces.The three little dots appeared as he began to type a reply.

Agreed.Come to this address, ALONE, and I will release Taylor.No one else.No cops.No Nicolas.If you bring anyone else, I’ll kill the girl.

She could understand why he didn’t want any cops, but wasn’t so sure why he would stipulate she didn’t bring Nico.She still firmly believed that Serge wanted to see his son, not kill him, but for what reason, she wasn’t so sure.Perhaps he wanted to seek retribution for some unknown misdeed, or even closure, to see his son’s face one last time.Was Serge deranged enough to kill his own son?Maybe.But Lacey knew the real question she should be asking herself; was Serge deranged enough to kill her as a kind of fuck you to Nico?

She waited as the three dots told her he was typing in the address.

Then Lacey’s hand flew to her mouth, as the address appeared.

He was here!In Boat Harbour Beach.He was literally in the next street, just around the corner.

What the fuck?Had he been here all along?So close they could almost reach out and touch him.So close that he could keep tabs on them.Perhaps he’d been watching them all this time.Lacey’s gaze shot to the window and the encroaching darkness outside.Was he outside right now, looking in at her?Watching her?They’d thought he’d been down in Strahan, but what if he’d been here and picked those girls up in Strahan on a whim?All just happenstance?

Calm down,she told herself.If he was out there looking in, he would’ve known she was here alone, but he’d specifically asked her in the message if Nico was here.The address was for a place closer to the beach and on the outskirts of the small township.She could walk there.

Smudge bumped her knee with his nose, concern in his lovely brown eyes.Staring down at him, a sudden idea formed in her head.Serge hadn’t said anything about not bringing a dog.But what possible help could Smudge be to her?If she took him with her at least he’d provide some sort of security in the dark night.She didn’t think Serge meant to ambush her on the way over, but anything might be possible.Would Smudge attack on command?He was very protective of her and Nico, but they’d never had to test the dog that far before.Would he attack Serge if she told him to?Perhaps she could let him go once they reached the address, tell him to run back home as fast as he could.Tell him to bring Nico back to save her.

She laughed, startling the dog as she leaned down to pat his head.“You might be the best dog in the world, but this isn’t a Lassie movie.What was I thinking?”He might be smart, but not that smart.The dog wasn’t going to be her savior.Not tonight.Tonight, she’d have to do this alone.

She pulled herself up short.Had she actually decided to go through with this?To give herself over in exchange for Taylor?Become his hostage.A small part of her had refused to believe this was real.Even when she’d typed the message agreeing to go to him, her cop brain had been looking for an angle, some option where she could turn this around so she didn’t have to go.But there wasn’t one.Taylor was in a house less than a block away, probably scared and terrified.The only way to save her was to hand herself over to Nico’s father.Thereby giving him the ace of hearts.

Once Serge had her in his clutches, she was hoping like hell that she might be able to sway him around to letting her go again.Talk him out of whatever he had planned.She could appeal to that side of him which still had some paternal feelings for Nico perhaps.But that idea depended heavily on the fact that Serge still had human emotions.He’d already killed four women that they knew of, and perhaps more over on the mainland over the years.Did serial killers have feelings?Or more to the point, did this particular serial killer still have feelings?

Her pregnancy was a secret that Serge couldn’t possibly know yet.And she was going to make sure it stayed that way.It could be terribly dangerous to reveal she was carrying Nico’s baby.If Serge wanted Nico dead for some as yet unrevealed crime against him, then he might be more than happy to take the life of his unborn child as well.Unless she thought the news might be used to sway Serge around to her thinking.By telling him he was going to be a grandfather, appealing to his mortal soul and telling him that his legacy would live on in a better way.

Lacey touched her belly with her fingertips.Was she prepared to gamble with the life of their baby?Serge promised he wouldn’t hurt her, but could she believe him?

The burner phone dinged with an incoming message.

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