Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(87)

She lifted her knees and sprinted toward the lights. Her dad would be coming and she just had to reach him. If she could make it around the last building, she would be in the open and he would see her. The heavy footsteps thundered behind her. A strong hand grasped her hair and pain shot up her neck as Jones wrenched her to a halt. She twisted and stared into the face of evil.

Clawing at his face and eyes, and trying to knee him, Emily fought using every move her father had taught her. “Daddy, help me.”

Gasping, she lifted her knee sharply and hit pay dirt. Jones made a long moaning sound and let go of her hair but seemed to recover in a split second. Pain shot through her face from his punch and she staggered then broke away and ran. Her vision blurred, tears streamed down her face but she made it around the last building and could see people heading toward her. “Daddeeeeeee.”

“He can’t help you now.” The reverend’s voice had changed to a sinister growl.

The sharp tug on her scalp pulled her to a standstill once more and she fell to the ground with the weight of him on top of her. Winded, she gasped in a painful breath. The stink of him filled her nostrils and his sweat dripped onto her face. She had clawed his cheeks and blood oozed from the corner of one eye.

She caught the glint of a knife and screamed, “Daddy, help me!”

“I’m so going to enjoy killing you.” Jones’s blood-streaked lips curled into a smile.

The promenade lights blinked in the sharp blade as it rose high in the air. Unable to fend him off, she waited to die. The next moment, Sheriff Alton crashed into them and locked both hands around the reverend’s wrist. Her head came down on his nose in a sickening crunch and one foot locked around his waist.

“Drop the knife, you’re surrounded.” The sheriff rolled to one side and slammed his hand into the ground. “Drop the damn knife.”

“Bitch.” Jones swung a fist at her face. “I’ll cut you so bad your mother won’t recognize you.”

The sheriff ducked the punch then rolled the reverend away from her. Terrified, Emily dragged her leaden body away. The reverend reared up but the sheriff had his arm in a death grip, her legs locked around his waist, and she was squeezing so tight Jones’s face was turning blue. Footsteps came running and in the blink of an eye, Deputy Kane had ripped the knife from the reverend’s fingers. The deputy had Jones by the throat, lifting him high in the air.

“Put me down.” Reverend Jones’s eyes bulged as he fought to breathe through his bloody nose. He moved his gaze to Sheriff Alton. “I had a special time planned for you. No game, no rules, just you and me and a knife.”

“Shut your mouth.” Deputy Kane’s eyes flashed with anger. “One more word and I’ll tear your head off.”

“Stand down, Kane.” Sheriff Alton’s worried face came into view. “I want this animal alive, but get him away from Emily.”

“Great tackle, by the way.” Kane’s lips twitched as he shoved Jones toward the gathering deputies.

“Oh Jesus.” Her dad, white-faced and angry as hell, kneeled beside her and gathered her into his arms. “You are so grounded for life.” He checked her injuries, muttering curses under his breath.

Head spinning, she sat up slowly. “Julia is in the stable. The last one, way back there. He hit her over the head.” She pointed in the direction. “She was moving, so she might be okay.”

“I’m on it.” Sheriff Alton turned her concerned gaze toward Deputy Kane. “With me. Rowley, take care of the prisoner and call the paramedics.”

Emily looked up at her father. “I remembered everything you taught me. Look at the damage I did to him, and if he’d killed me, I would have his DNA under my fingernails.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” His daunting expression gave no hope for a reprieve. “Can you stand?”

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded. “My head is sore. He punched me in the face too.”

“So I see.”

Flashing lights came into view as the paramedics drove toward them, sirens blaring. She looked at her father. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. If you think I’ll need an X-ray on my head, you can do that, can’t you?”

“I think an ice pack will suffice.” His pale gray gaze moved over her face. “You did good, kid. You survived because we planned for all contingencies, but if you ever put yourself in danger like this again, so help me, I’ll lock you in your room until you turn twenty-five.”

Emily smiled at him. “You have the killer. Do I get points for that?”

“Nope.”



* * *



Two deputies arrived to escort Reverend Jones to the lockup. Emily sat in the back of the ambulance and allowed the paramedics to tend her injuries without complaint. Her dad had walked away and was speaking on the phone, no doubt to the Department of Homeland Security. He had mentioned the killer was probably responsible for identical murders across the state. With a dangerous man in custody, the Black Rock Falls Sheriff’s Department would likely need assistance.

A wave of relief flooded over her at the sight of the sheriff and Deputy Kane carrying Julia in his arms. Her friend had one arm wrapped around the handsome deputy’s neck, and as they came closer, she could hear her talking. When he deposited Julia into the ambulance, she smiled up at him.