Chapter 19 - The Hunted|
I checked my cell phone. No signal.
Panic clawed at my throat. We lived ten miles outside of town, surrounded by dense forest. The snowstorm had picked up, howling against the windows, cutting us off entirely.
I ran upstairs to my bedroom, grabbed the locked handgun box from the closet shelf, and punched in the code. My hands were shaking so badly I messed it up twice. Finally, it clicked open. I pulled out the 9mm pistol Carter had taught me how to use.
I checked the magazine. Fully loaded.
I had to get Lily. School let out in an hour, and if Daniel was here, he wouldn't just come for me. He would take her.
I threw on my boots and a heavy coat, clutching the gun in my pocket. I stepped out onto the porch, the freezing wind biting my face. My SUV was parked in the driveway, covered in a thin layer of snow.
I practically ran to the car, unlocking it with the fob. I jumped in, slamming the door, and jammed the key into the ignition.
I turned it.
Click.
Nothing. The engine didn't even try to turn over.
“No, no, no,” I sobbed, trying again. Click.
I popped the hood and stepped out into the storm. As I lifted the metal frame, my stomach plummeted. The battery cables had been cleanly severed with wire cutters.
He had been here. He was here right now.
I spun around, aiming the gun into the treeline. The whiteout conditions made it impossible to see further than twenty feet.
“Daniel!” I screamed into the wind. “Show yourself, you coward!”
May you like
Only the howling wind answered me.
I had to hike to the main road. I had to flag down a snowplow, a neighbor, anyone. I began trudging down the long driveway, the snow already up to my knees, gripping the gun so hard my knuckles ached.
