From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(99)
A ruckus ensued; chatter and laughter filled the air as a few nymphs pulled out instruments. They turned to each other, breaking into clusters, but Artemis was alone in her thoughts as she took her seat once more.
There was nothing left to be done but wait. Wait and watch and hope.
She watched the tips of the flames lick at the stars, watched as the embers floated up to the heavens and disappeared. The world went on around her, grinding her down like wheat into dust, scattering her to the wind, and she wondered if she would ever be whole again.
Day 12
JOSIE REACHED FOR JON’S hand resting on his knee, threading her fingers through his. He gently squeezed them as she looked out the window at the road rolling by.
They had been eight hours from Rhodes when they left the bed-and-breakfast but would make it to him in six. Jon drove like the devil was on his tail. But he wasn’t. The devil was at the end of the road.
Her thoughts were consumed by Rhodes, working over scenarios. She’d looked up the motel on her map and familiarized herself with the surroundings, imagining the routes he would take if he left, if he ran, trying not to think about what would happen if he were already gone.
She let herself imagine calling her dad when it was over, all while wondering and worrying over what over would mean when it was all said and done. Captured. Injured. Dead.
She didn’t want to kill him, much more satisfied with the thought of him spending the rest of his life in jail, rotting through a half-life behind bars. Death would be too easy, too simple after all he’d done.
Part of her still wondered what she would do, if faced with the choice. Would she pull the trigger? Would it feel good to watch him die, to know she had stopped him forever?
She pushed the thought away and turned to Jon. “Are you sure we shouldn’t call the local cops?”
He glanced over at her, rubbing her thumb with his. “We can if you want, but they’re going to go busting in there, guns blazing. They could fuck it all up, spook him, alert him, give him time to get away. We really don’t know.”
“It just feels…irresponsible or something.”
He smiled sideways at her. “That’s your cop blood talkin’. Don’t worry; we’ll call them as soon as we get there.”
She nodded. He was so solid and steady and calm next to her. And that was always the thing about Jon. He knew what he wanted and what he needed to do without question, and he did it. He was sure, certain, true. And his certainty seeped into her, affected her, changed her for the better.
The sky grew lighter by shades as they pulled into the motel and parked in front of the office. Josie’s nerves were on fire, her stomach churning, as they spoke to the man behind the counter who told them everything they needed to know. No, Rhodes hadn’t checked out. His car was right over there. And he was in room 205.
They stepped out of the office, and Josie made the call to the local police while Jon watched Rhodes’s door from across the courtyard. And, as they made for the stairs, the door to 205 opened.
Rhodes stood under the fluorescent lights, keys dangling in one hand and a duffel bag in the other. Shock and recognition passed across his face as he froze in front of the half-open door.
The three stood staring for a split second, and when Jon pulled his gun, Rhodes took off running.
Josie drew her gun as they ran after him. He sped down the stairs at the far end of the building and across a patch of parking lot to a chain-link fence that he scaled, landing him in the junkyard backed up to the motel. He disappeared into the maze of scrap metal.
Jon and Josie hurried around the corner to the front of the junkyard. There was no one in sight, everything hushed and still in the moments before dawn.
The owner stepped out of his office. Josie flashed her PI license at him and held her finger to her lips, motioning for him to get out, and he dashed away.
Jon gestured that he was going to take the back route around the stacks of scrap and junk. She nodded, watching as he made his way around, clearing corners until he was out of sight.
“Rhodes,” she yelled, wanting his focus on her and not Jon as her eyes scanned the shadows around her, “the cops are on their way. There’s no use in hiding.” Each step was wary and watchful as she walked between columns of cars on racks with her gun drawn. She cleared every passage, every corner of the jungle of rusted metal, until she found herself in a row that dead-ended into a tall wall of sheet metal.
She shifted the exact distance necessary to train her sight on Rhodes, who stood at the end of the path.
He was a handful of yards away with his gun pointed at her. Her heart drummed in her ears, her finger resting on the trigger. She could pull it and end him right then, right there. And she almost did.
“Where’s your friend?” he called.
She didn’t move, only stared at his eye at the end of her sight. “He’s either around here somewhere, or he’s not. Guess we won’t know till we know. Now, how about you put your gun down, and we have a little talk?”
“Or not.” He unlatched the safety, and in the dim light, she saw that his eyes and body held no fear. They were cold and deadly, and his calm certainty scared her more than the gun in his hand or all the things he’d done.
“You’re just going to shoot me in the middle of a junkyard? That’s not quite your style.” She took a step toward him, matching his calm with her own, however counterfeit it was.