He yanked the knife out, releasing a lance of pain from her leg and a low chuckle from Bennett. He sounded as though he was having the time of his life. He probably was, at least until she drew the knee of her good leg to her chest and kicked her heel into his chin, then delivered another swift kick to his groin.
He doubled over. Growled in pain.
All she could do was crawl away from him, leaving a bloody trail across the floor as she made her way to the kitchen.
She couldn’t feel him coming after her, but she knew it wouldn’t be long. She dragged herself across the floor, past the small wood dining table to the cabinets, straining every muscle as she tried to pull herself upward. Another inch and she could reach the top drawer where she kept the knives.
But he was coming.
She could hear him now.
She opened a different drawer instead. When he appeared, she threw everything she could at him: an apple slicer, serving spoons, and a rubber spatula.
It was no use.
Even with his bad leg, he had no problem maneuvering. He ducked and shuffled, easily dodged every utensil.
He was laughing again now, having fun with her.
With the meat tenderizer in her grasp, she caught sight of the broom leaning against the wall and the cabinets in the far corner of the kitchen.
She had explicitly told Kitally no weapons allowed in her house.
But Kitally had left the broom for her anyhow.
The girl knew about living alone. She was brilliant, and the love Lizzy felt for her in that moment was boundless.
Lizzy crawled that way, keeping the table between herself and Bennett, dragging her injured leg behind her. She must’ve made quite a picture, because he laughed again.
Keep laughing. Take your time. Toy with me, you bastard.
And he did. He let her reach the broom, let her maneuver herself until she was sitting upright on the floor, leaning against the wall for support and struggling to catch her breath. Shivering and weak, she knew she was losing the fight. Holding the broom with one hand, she placed the other on her belly and willed the baby to kick. There was no movement.
“Give it up, Gardner. It’s over.”
He stood near the sink, ten feet away.
This was it. All of her past training, everything she’d been through had brought her to this moment. She refused to be a victim. She needed to get to her feet. She had no choice. Using the broom and the wall for support, she pushed her body upward, grimacing in pain, until finally she stood tall. Their gazes never strayed from each other. “I will not let you harm my baby.”
“You should have thought about that months ago.” He cocked his head to one side, staring at her with a confused look in his eyes. “Who do you think you are?”
With both hands clutched tightly around the broomstick, she twisted the handle, trying to release the brush at the bottom as she talked to him, hoping to keep his attention on her words and away from the broom. “I’m just one person trying her best to get a little justice in the world.” She twisted harder. Something clinked and came loose, but she kept her eyes on Bennett’s.
He smiled. “Was it worth it?”
“I think so,” she said.
He shook his head. “You’ve found yourself in a very tight corner, haven’t you, Lizzy?”
“It appears so, but I have my broom and I will not lay down my weapon and give up.”
“Your weapon?” He let out another throaty chuckle. “You’re ridiculous, Lizzy Gardner, but you’re a fighter. I’ll give you that. I could see it in your eyes the day you and that reporter came to film me. That was your first mistake. That was the day I started watching you, Gardner. And I never had to go out of my way to find you because I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
“So, why are you here? Why didn’t you send one of your goons to do your dirty work?”
“Because this right here,” he said, wagging a finger back and forth between the two of them, “means too much to me to hand it off to one of my ‘goons,’ as you say.”
“Oh, I see. I’m special.” Her thumb slid back and forth on the smooth wood as she searched for the button or lever Kitally had used to release the spear.
“I don’t know if special is the word I would use.”
“I have a word for you,” she said, still searching for the damned lever. “But I don’t think you deserve to know what that word is.”
“Oh, you’re a tease,” he said. “Please, tell me now and spare me the suspense.”
“Not until I’m standing over your cold, dead body,” she said as she slid a hand to the top of the handle. “That’s when I’ll bend down on my knees and whisper it into your ear, so softly you’ll think an angel is blowing you one last kiss before she boots your ass to the devil downstairs.”
There. Her thumb made contact with the tiny switch that would cause a sharp spear to jut outward. She smiled.
“You do realize you’re bleeding out, don’t you?” Bennett asked her. “If I choose to stand here long enough, I could watch you die a slow, painful death, but I’m more compassionate than you think.”
“I’m not the one who is going to die tonight,” she said between ragged breaths.
“You never give up, do you?”
“Never.”
“Well, Gardner, I’m a busy man.” He started for her, his ugly and crooked smile twisting into a mask of rage right before he lunged for her.
She lifted the broom handle, pushed hard on the lever, and braced for impact.
The next few seconds were a crazy blur. Bennett had come at her so fast she never saw the tip of the spear before it sprang into place and disappeared within his chest.
His face paled.
Gripping the broom handle as tightly as she could, she yanked back and pulled the spear out of his chest, then slid slowly to the floor, her back against the wall.
Blood bloomed up through his shirt as he staggered backward, out of reach. A look of surprise touched his eyes before he toppled over, unmoving.
Within a minute, his chest no longer rose and fell with each breath. It was over. He would never hurt anyone else.
She closed her eyes, every breath a struggle. White light exploded around her. And then she saw Jared. He was smiling at her, and her spirit lifted at the sight of him. She reached for him. He leaned close to her ear and whispered three words.
Detective Chase was watching a football game and enjoying deep-fried tortellini when he got a call.
Officer Gary Johnson was on the line. “You called it, Detective. They found Miriam Walters’s body less than a mile from Wayne Bennett’s Lake Tahoe cabin.”
Stunned, Chase picked up the remote and shut off the TV. “Where exactly was the body?”
“There’s a trail that leads from Bennett’s cabin to the lake. Her body was found half-buried just off the beaten path, so to speak.”
All the air left him. Chase knew Bennett was bad news, but he’d never figured the man for a murderer.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m here,” Chase said, trying to collect his thoughts.
“So it looks like Gardner was right. Bennett was lying through his teeth when he said he never met Miriam Walters.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“It’s on the tape that Gardner sent to the station, along with other evidence against Wayne Bennett before she announced her retirement from the PI business.”
“Where is Bennett now? Have they brought him in for questioning?”
“We’re trying to find him. He wasn’t home, so I went to his work.”
“He couldn’t be back at work already. He can hardly walk.”