“Do you have a visual on MacLeod?”
“Affirm. She’s near the base of the rise that leads up to Post.”
Tower copied, looked over at Chisolm and shrugged. “Sorry. Paranoid, I guess.”
Chisolm grinned. “Don’t be. A healthy dose of paranoia is the reason I’m sitting here and not in some military cemetery.”
2252 hours
He hesitated.
While she’d been stretching, her athleticism first irritated him. Then it set him thinking. Athletic people tended to be more confident than their sedentary counterparts. And she looked like she was in too good of shape to employ walking as a means of fitness.
When she finished stretching and resumed walking, he smiled to himself. Her shoulders slumped. He eyes fell. Even her walk was an insecure shuffle.
Maybe she hurt her knee. Maybe this was how she was rehabbing it. That would explain why the small trip worried her so much.
That made sense. And just because she was in good shape didn’t mean she wasn’t weak. The way she moved, it was obvious that something had happened to her in her past. Maybe she’d been some sort of victim before. If that were so, he was certain that she’d be more scared in the next five minutes than any other time in her pitiful, waste of a life. At least she’d have the opportunity to take part in his new beginning. At least she’d accomplish something in the brief moments left to her in this world.
He took in a deep breath. Things were falling into place nicely.
* * *
Katie focused on the small pools of water collected in puddles along the roadway as she shuffled slowly along. She drew her cold fingers into her middle and allowed herself to think about how good that hot cocoa was going to taste in about twenty minutes.
She wondered who would pony up and pay for the cocoa. She figured it would be a dead heat between Tower and Chisolm. Battaglia was too self-centered and Sully would be too conscious of the fact that they were both single. He wouldn’t want to send mixed messages. It was an unfortunate by-product of all the sexual harassment training that officers went through. A cup of coffee sometimes just can’t be a cup of coffee.
Katie figured Tower would still buy the cocoa because it was his operation and Chisolm would do it because…well, because he was Tom Chisolm. He just did things like that.
Her mind drifted to the events in the park two nights ago. She still hadn’t heard from any of the brass what was going to happen with her accidental discharge under the overpass. Tower told her before shift that he’d reported the incident to Lieutenant Crawford, who was going to discuss it with Captain Reott, the Patrol Captain. After that, who knew what-
The movement surprised her. The flash of shadow made her gasp. Before she could react, an arm had already snaked around her throat and pulled her tight against the body that appeared behind her.
She struggled, trying to reach for her fanny pack, but the attacker’s other arm wrapped around her chest and squeezed.
Her breath left her.
He grabbed onto her right wrist and drew him to her.
She felt his hardness grinding into her buttocks through his clothing and hers.
Katie froze.
* * *
“What the-?” Sully raised his binoculars.
Battaglia stirred next to him. “What?”
The scene through his binoculars was dark and difficult to make out. He saw a flash of shadow near the sidewalk, but it seemed to disappear into the trees.
He lowered the binoculars. “I can’t see her. Check with Tower.”
* * *
“Adam-122 to Ida-409.”
Tower raised the portable radio and answered, “Go ahead.”
“We’ve lost our visual on her. Do you have an eye?”
Tower shot an alarmed look at Chisolm. Then he answered, “No. She hasn’t come back into view yet once she headed down the rise.”
“Copy. We should roll in and check it out.”
Tower considered for a moment. If they rolled in and all was fine, they risked blowing the cover of the operation. But that didn’t matter if MacLeod were in danger. And besides, if all was well, who was really going to see that the operation was burned?
He pressed the transmit button. “Let’s go.”
* * *
“Don’t you move, bitch,” he grunted into her ear.
Katie’s knees went weak. Terror enveloped her as if she’d plunged into a freezing lake. Unable to think or move, she felt herself drift toward the bottom.
It was him.
The Rainy Day Rapist.
But to her ears, he spoke with Phil’s voice.
Her heels drug across the sidewalk and into the brush.
* * *
The words broadcasted over the transmitter were scratchy and distant, but they still managed to send a shock wave through Tower.
“Don’t you move, bitch.”
“Oh, God,” he breathed.
“Go!” Chisolm hollered at him, ripping his pistol from its holster. “Go, go, go!”
Tower started the truck, racing the engine. He slammed it into gear and punched the accelerator.
* * *
Ten more yards.
Ten more and then he was going to make this bitch pay. Tear her clothes away. Fuck her like she’s never been fucked before. Lay the whammo on her.
All the way.
His breath came quickly as he dragged her into the foliage.
2253 hours
His grip around her body was stifling. She could barely breathe. She stared out into the darkness, but it was the shadows of the past that washed over her.
Her own pleas.
Don’t do this.
His forceful replies.
You’ll do whatever the fuck I tell you to do, bitch.
And afterward, the condemnation.
You liked it. Don’t forget that.
A wet, leafy bush raked across her face, spilling cold water onto her cheek and down her neck. His ragged, excited breathing rang in her ears. His hardness bumped and grinded against her backside as he pulled her deeper into the brush.
Katie tried to cry out, but nothing happened. She felt strangely paralyzed, her limbs and mouth refusing to obey the weak commands that came from her mind.
Am I going to die?
* * *
He stopped near a pine tree. It was far enough away from the street to be out of sight through the other bushes and trees. And this one seemed too scared to scream for help. Just in case, he released her wrist and grabbed a handful of hair. With a jerk, he pulled her head back.
“I’m going lay the whammo on you, bitch,” he whispered directly into her ear. “If you make a sound, I will kill you. You understand?”
The woman didn’t respond.
He yanked hard on her hair, pulling her head further back.
“Fucking answer me!”
* * *
Katie felt no pain, only pressure. When he jerked her hair, it forced her head back. She stared up at the dark expanse of the sky. There were no stars visible through the cloud cover.
“Fucking answer me!” he growled in her ear.
Still unable to speak, she bobbed her head slightly in understanding. But in that moment, she felt a tickle of warmth in the pit of her stomach.
Fear melted away.
Who the hell do you think you are, you piece of shit?
The tickle became a flare and the flare turned into a blaze. Voices from the past echoed through the wet brush that surrounded her.
Don’t be a goddamn tease.
You liked it. Don’t forget that.
At least you weren’t a virgin.
Hot rage engulfed her.
* * *
He felt her try to nod her head in submission. That was all he needed from her before taking care of business.
With a hard shove, he threw her face-first into the ground. He heard her grunt as she landed. Even that modest amount of pain made him feel good. Of course, it was nothing compared with what was to come.