“Jesus, that’s fast.”
“No shit, and he’s about to enter a school zone. Find out where Jenna is. If he doesn’t slow down, I’m taking his license on the spot.”
“She’s right here. Want me to send her out?”
“Yeah. I’m right by the elementary school.” He hit his sirens so anyone near the school would hear him. Unfortunately, he felt the need to slow down since he was approaching ninety miles an hour. He sure as hell didn’t want to cause harm to anyone, but he had to stop this asshole. “He flew by it, and I’m about to. She might be able to cut him off if she comes at it from the other side.”
“She’s already out the door.”
The blue car disappeared around a sharp bend. Jag considered himself an excellent driver, but he wasn’t a race car driver, so he slowed a little more as he took the curve as tight as he could.
“Fuck.” He hit the brake and swerved, trying to avoid the vehicle he’d been chasing sitting right in the middle of the damn street. “Oh shit.” As he turned hard right, his left tires lifted off the pavement. Before he knew it, his patrol car did a full three-sixty in the air, landing on its wheels before flipping one more time to the side.
His body jerked left and right. The airbag smashed into his face, snapping his neck back. He groaned as the car slowly came to a halt. He hung sideways, the seatbelt keeping him still. Carefully, he undid the strap and climbed out of his car, then fell to his knees with every muscle in his body aching. His face felt like it had been used as a punching bag. The sun chose that precise moment to peek out from behind a cloud, forcing him to squint. A silhouette approached him carrying some kind of long stick or maybe a bat. He covered his eyes with his hand. “Kara?”
“Hello, Jag,” Kara said, taking the bat and smacking it against her hand. “Sorry to have to do this.” She raised the object high over her head.
Jag blinked as he tried to stand, but before he could catch his balance, a sharp pain vibrated against his head. He slumped to the ground, landing face-first on the pavement. His vision blurred. All he could hear was a loud ringing between his ears before a vast darkness overtook him.
Callie paced in front of the seafood diner on the docks in the center of downtown Langley. She’d left two messages on Tina’s phone, but Tina would only text.
That was weird, but when pressed, Tina said it was because she didn’t want her husband to know she was meeting with Callie.
Fine.
But why not call her now that she should be disembarking from the ferry?
Callie sat on the bench and glanced down the street. No sign of a police vehicle, but that didn’t mean Jag didn’t have eyes on her.
Callie: Where are you? Tina should be here in twenty.
Jag: I’m ten minutes out. Don’t worry.
Right. Easier said than done. Only, she had no idea why she was so frazzled. It was just an interview. It wasn’t like she was having lunch with Kara and confronting her about her identity.
But something felt off.
The sound of someone scuffing their feet behind her and the smell of fresh fried clams caught her attention. She stiffened her spine and slowly turned her head.
“Hi, Callie girl.”
“Kara? What are you doing here?” Callie asked, trying to act all casual as if she wasn’t terrified for her life.
At least Jag was on his way.
“I thought you and Ivy were in Oregon.” Callie took the clam roll Kara offered. “Where’s Ivy?”
“She’s not here,” Kara said. “Why don’t we go for a walk? I think we have a lot to talk about.”
“I can’t. I’m meeting someone. An interview for the book. It’s coming along really well. I think you’d like it.” Callie said the words so fast she thought she might trip over them.
“We both know who you’re meeting,” Kara said. “And I’m here to tell you that Tina won’t be showing up.”
“Excuse me?” Callie swallowed.
Hard.
Her pulse raced. Her palms turned sweaty as she fumbled with her cell, trying to call Jag. She managed to hit the right button.
It rang.
And so did Kara.
Kara pulled out Jag’s phone. “He’s not coming either.”
Callie dropped the clam roll to the ground. She slumped over. “Where is he? What did you do to him?”
“If you’re asking if I killed him, the answer is no. Not yet. Now pick up the mess you made, and let’s get out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I know who you are.”
Kara laughed. “So, you think you have it all figured out, don’t you?”
Callie didn’t have a fucking clue, other than Kara and Carol were one in the same and her life as well as Jag’s were hanging in the balance. “Why don’t you fill in the blanks for me.”
“I plan on it. But not here. I want Jag to hear this too.”
“Why?”
Kara shrugged. “Because the only way I’m going to get away with this is if the two of you die together.”
Jag blinked open his eyes. His head felt like someone hit him with a baseball bat.
Oh, wait. Kara had done just that.
He waited a few moments while his vision came into focus before trying to move off the cold, hard floor. His hands were bound behind his back, and his ankles were held together with duct tape. He managed to push himself to a sitting position using the wall. There were two boarded-up windows on the opposite side.
Someone groaned.
He glanced to his left, his heartbeat raging out of control. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn’t Callie.
But it didn’t last very long knowing she was out there, all alone, waiting for Tina, who was lying on the ground
