The ties cut deeper, and warm liquid dripped across her skin. Two of her fingers grasped the hilt. She shifted and the knife slid partly out of the sheath.
Careful, careful.
She took a deep breath. “Tom kidnapped Savannah, but I don’t think he did it willingly. You ambushed him outside of the post office and terrorized him. The church had cameras. You couldn’t risk taking Savannah yourself.”
Nolan’s expression darkened. “Tom was an embarrassment to the family. My father gave him chance after chance, but Tom was a weakling. I manipulated him into helping me, and then I got rid of him.”
Nolan was demented. How many people would he kill? She had no illusions. This wasn’t about vengeance, not really. It was the thrill he was after. Nolan had a taste for murder, and he’d keep going until he was in jail or dead.
Her fingers trembled, and Avery inched her way up in the chair. More of the knife came out of the sheath. “I saw Tom in the theater building. When did you have time to kill him?”
Nolan arched his brows. “While you were fishing Rachel out of the pool.”
That explained how she was able to do CPR. But…had Nolan killed Rachel after attacking Avery? Her stomach clenched at the thought. “Aren’t you worried Rachel will be able to identify you?”
He waved a hand dismissively. “She never saw my face. I wore a mask. Besides, that’s a loose end I can clean up later.”
Avery sent up a prayer of thanksgiving. Whatever else, Rachel was alive. Weston would keep her under protection.
“Enough chit chat.” Nolan released the noose, and clapped his hands together. “Time for some fun. Now who wants to be first?”
Avery jerked upward in her chair. “Wait, you haven’t told me everything. What about the phone calls? How did you manage to hide where they were coming from?”
She let desperation bleed into her voice. Nolan wanted her fear. Well, she would give it to him. Anything to buy more time. The knife wasn’t free yet.
Nolan grinned. “Don’t worry, Avery. After we kill one, we can talk some more.”
He turned on his heel, and Mike lunged at him. Nolan sidestepped and grabbed the man in a choke hold. “Ah, a volunteer.”
Avery’s heart went into overdrive. Time was up. Sweat dripped down her back as she blocked out everything in the room and focused solely on getting the knife out of the sheath. She wiggled in the chair.
Almost. Almost.
She held her breath and slid left. The knife came free and she gripped it. She met Savannah’s gaze briefly and then sliced through the ties on her wrist as Nolan slipped the noose over Mike’s neck. He tightened it.
“Don’t look away, Avery.” Nolan hit the button on the wall. Mike’s feet left the ground and he clawed at the rope. “You don’t want to miss it.”
Savannah flung herself at Nolan. Avery used the distraction to cut through the bonds on her legs. Her movements were jerky and she slit her calf. It started bleeding. She ignored it, launching herself across the room, but her feet had gone numb.
She tripped. Nolan rushed her, and she slashed at him with the knife. It sank into his thigh. He screamed, his face turning red.
She ducked as he swung a fist. Keeping hold of the knife, she ripped it from his leg and shoved his body with her shoulder. He fell to the ground, cursing. Avery staggered to her feet and raced to the button on the wall. She slammed the heel of her hand into it.
Mike dropped to the ground. He came up on all fours, coughing.
Avery’s vision swam. She was going to pass out. The knocks to her head, coupled with whatever drug Nolan had pumped her full of, was still affecting her. She blinked to clear her vision.
A muffled scream came from Savannah. Avery half-turned in time to see a flash of color as Nolan tackled her. Together they went sliding across the room. The knife flew out of her hand and skittered across the floor.
Nolan punched her in the face so hard her teeth knocked together. He wrapped his hands around her throat. “I’m going to kill you.”
She bucked and struggled to free her own hands. They were trapped on either side of her body by Nolan’s legs, and she was too weak to fight him off.
Avery grew lightheaded, dark spots growing across her vision. Her sister’s muffled screams disappeared. She desperately shook her head and kicked her legs. Nolan smiled, and his grip tightened.
Air. She needed air.
A primal roar echoed in the room one heartbeat before Nolan was flung away. Avery dragged in a breath. Then another. A swirl of commotion surrounded her, but none of it made sense. Voices barking out orders, someone yelling. Darkness still clouded her vision. She couldn’t do anything but focus on drawing oxygen into her lungs.
“Avery.” The word was a whisper, almost a prayer. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”
Weston. He touched her face, brushing hair off her cheek. It took effort, but Avery opened her eyes a slice. The edges of his face were blurry. He’d found her. He’d saved her.
I love you.
Tears dripped on her face. His tears.
“I need an EMT now! I think her windpipe’s damaged.” He cupped her face. “Keep breathing, Avery. Just keep breathing.”
Twenty-Two
One month later
Sunshine streamed across the backyard. The scent of hamburgers drifted on the wind. There was a nip in the air, but not enough to dissuade anyone from enjoying the outdoors. Weston tucked the blanket around the baby nestled in his arms. Ava studied his face with wide eyes. “It’s okay, sweet girl. I’m giant-sized, but I’m no ogre.”
Luke shook his head. “Don’t listen to him, Ava. He used to tackle people for a living.”
“True, but my guess is, in about sixteen years, your daddy’s gonna
