This Fallen Prey (Rockton #3)(116)

Even from this distance, I recognize it.

She doesn’t slow, though. And in trying to surprise her, Dalton got a shock himself, one that has him stumbling. Then she’s around the corner, too far ahead to ever catch.

After a pause he heads back to me as I cover him. I will fire—if she turns and I see her gun trained on Dalton, I will shoot her.

She doesn’t turn.

Dalton breaks into a jog and says, “Did you see . . . ?”

“I did.”

“That was—”

“Petra.”



We leave Val’s and Brady’s bodies behind. We cover them and mark the spot. Then we set out to Rockton.

“I killed Val,” I say.

“You did what I couldn’t. Last winter. With Peter.”

He’s looking straight ahead as we walk.

“I froze up,” he says. “All I could see was Peter holding a knife on you, and I panicked. I should have shot him.”

“No, you couldn’t. If you had killed him, we’d have lost Nicole.”

A few steps before he says, his voice low, “I didn’t care. Not at that moment. I just froze.”

“And I just reacted. I panicked. With another result.”

He shakes his head. “You thought it through. Made a choice. I still regret not shooting Peter. I go over it and over it in my head. What if I lost you because I froze up? And now you’ll second-guess making the opposite choice.”

More quiet walking. Then he says, “We’re both going to suffer. Wonder if we made the wrong decision. But I guess that’s better than the alternative.”

“Which is?”

“Not giving a shit.” He looks back in the direction of the bodies. “Being like them.”





61





We’re nearing town when we meet Anders, pacing the path. He looks behind us and says, “You didn’t find Brady.”

“We did,” I say. “Someone didn’t want us bringing him back alive.”

Anders swears. “The sniper.”

I make a noise he can interpret as assent for now.

“How’s Kenny?” I say, dreading the answer.

“Stable. That’s all I can tell you. We got him back, and now we’re getting the swelling down so Mathias and I can see the bullet. Unfortunately, that’s not our biggest problem right now. Phil is ready to put Wallace on a plane and fly him out of here. I was giving you guys another sixty seconds before I stopped him at gunpoint.”

We break into a jog, and I say, “Is Phil in on it? Or is this the council?”

“No idea. I told Phil what Wallace did. Told him you think he’s the killer, not Brady. It seemed like he believed me. Then he starts packing. I say hell, no, not until you guys get back. He reminds me that, in Val’s absence, he’s in charge. I argued, but he ignored me. Acted like the walls were talking and then went to check the plane.”

“Where is he now?”

“He ordered me to bring Wallace to the hangar. I told him to go fuck himself and came to see if you guys were nearby.”

We head straight for the hangar. Anders tells us Jacob and Storm are fine. He managed to persuade Jacob to sneak into my old place through the back door, and he’s recovering there.

We’re nearing the hangar when we hear the plane start.

“Shit!” Anders says.

We’re about twenty meters away when Phil appears, doing a last visual check of the runway.

“I’m taking the prisoner, Sheriff,” he calls when he sees us.

“The hell you are,” Dalton says.

“Actually, yes, I am, and while I know you need to bluster in front of Will and Casey, let’s skip that part. Your protest is duly noted. But it doesn’t change the fact that you are not in charge here. I can assure you, Mr. Wallace will be properly dealt with.”

“We have a patient in urgent need—” I begin.

“And you have Dr. Atelier. Plus the sheriff’s plane, should the council decide to extract Kenny.”

“I want to talk to Wallace,” I say. “I have questions that require answers.”

“No, Casey, you have questions you would like answered, and you wish to stall me while you figure out how to stop me.”

“I want to figure out how you can take him safely,” I say. “He’s a dangerous psychopath—”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Phil says, as if I’m telling him Wallace might prove an annoying seatmate.

Dalton’s gaze swings toward the hangar. Then he starts to run.

Phil holds his ground, saying, “If you physically try to stop me, Eric—”

Dalton swerves around the hangar instead, heading for the rear door. I follow, and Phil calls, “Whatever you two have in mind, it is a waste of time. If you attempt to stop me, there will be consequences. I would suggest, Casey, that you . . .”

I don’t catch the rest, drowned out by the sound of the plane.

The back door to the hangar stands open.

Dalton circles into the trees to sneak up on the other side. Anders has joined us, and he gets into the trees, angled where he can cover me.

I swing through the doorway. There’s a figure at the open passenger side. A small one wearing a hooded jacket. When I see her, there’s a moment of confusion as complete as when I first spotted Val. Then it’s like dominoes falling, connections made in an instant.