“Could be. It’s the right size and shape.” All she really cared about was that Stevie and Frankie might be behind those blacked-out windows.
Laurie was standing nearby conversing with a tall, dark-haired man. From his uniform, Flora guessed she was looking at Sheriff Glen Harvey. She took a second to approve of him. He looked like someone she would trust to take care of her boys.
“Why are they just standing around?” she muttered. “Why don’t they do something?”
“They can’t.” Leon’s softly spoken words struck terror into Flora’s heart.
Of course the police couldn’t do anything. They were in a hostage situation. Daisy was shut inside that vehicle with Stevie and Frankie. One move from the police and she would...
The thought was choked off as she was grabbed from behind and hauled roughly away from Leon. Her attacker clamped one hand around her neck in a tight choke hold and the other over her mouth.
Although there was enough light for her to see, she didn’t need the look of horror on Leon’s face to tell her what was happening. The grip on her throat loosened, but in its place the sharp, cold edge of a blade pierced her skin. Warm blood trickled down her neck.
“One step closer and I’ll slice so deep your medical training will be worthless.” Daisy’s voice froze Leon in his tracks.
“How did you get out of the car and past the police?” He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke. Flora could almost read his mind. Laurie and Glen Harvey were about forty feet away. He could call out to them, but, if he did, Daisy would slit Flora’s throat before the law enforcement officers could even turn their heads.
“I wasn’t in the car when they got here,” Daisy sneered. “I’m not stupid. You think I didn’t know they’d be tracing that call? Of course I did. It was what I needed. How else was I going to get you where I wanted you?”
And there it was. Daisy had been clear all along about what she wanted. Leon. Everything she did was with one single-minded focus. The harassment, the murders, kidnapping Stevie and Frankie, now this. Leaving her car where the police could find her had all been part of the plan. She had known Leon and Flora wouldn’t be able to stay away from the twins.
Where are the twins?
With a knife to her throat and a hand clamped over her mouth, Flora couldn’t even ask the question. She and Leon had walked into Daisy’s trap...and, if things went her way, only one of them would be walking out again.
When they first heard from Daisy, Leon had enabled the emergency function on his smart phone. If he could trigger it, a pre-recorded audio message warning that he was in immediate danger, and giving his precise location, would be sent automatically to four contacts. Two of those contacts were Laurie Delaney and Joe Nolan. All he needed to do was press the power button on his phone three times in a row. The only problem with that strategy was that his cell phone was in the left front pocket of his pants.
He tried to keep his eyes on Flora’s face instead of focusing on the way that lethal-looking blade was piercing the soft flesh of her neck. If he could distract Daisy, and keep her talking, maybe he could reach a hand into his pocket.
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want your undivided attention,” Daisy said.
“You have it.” With a knife to Flora’s throat, he wasn’t about to get distracted.
“I thought you were still grieving for your wife. If I’d known you were ready to move on, that you wanted a family, I’d have told you how I felt. You’d have known I loved you, and there’d have been no need for any of this.” Daisy sounded almost reasonable. “So you see, none of it is actually my fault.”
If Leon hadn’t already known she was unhinged, those words would have been enough to convince him. “I can see why you would feel that way.” As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his pocket.
“You have to understand how it feels. It’s been so long since I was able to think of anything except you. I had to find a way to convince you to be with me. If you just let me into your life, we can have it all. Yes, we’ll have to leave Stillwater, but we’ll be together, and you’ll thank me for my determination. One day, we’ll brag to our friends about how I took the initiative and won you over.”
Oh, they were in so much trouble. Daisy really thought this was leading to a happily-ever-after? That she could persuade him to love her? Or maybe she thought she could force him...
“Let Flora go, and we can keep talking.” His fingertips brushed his cell phone.
Daisy gave a soft laugh, and Flora’s whole body jerked as the knife pressed deeper. “Not happening. I’m the jealous type.”
“Wait—” Leon’s finger found the power button on his cell phone and relief almost brought him to his knees. “You haven’t heard what I have to say.”
“Go on.” In the dim light, he could see both wariness and curiosity on Daisy’s face.
He knew he would get only one chance at this. Hitting the power button on his phone was the easy part. One. Two. Three. Done. He wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but he didn’t have time. Because now he had to keep Daisy talking. And speaking had never been his strong point.
“I wasn’t just grieving for Karen.” He kept his eyes on Flora’s face. Daisy could pretend this speech was about her. He wanted Flora to know the truth. This was for her, and every word was coming straight from his heart. “It was beyond grief. I was punishing myself. I believed I didn’t deserve to go on living when she had died. But I wasn’t living. I
