Hunter (10 page)

TWENTY-THREE

Sam

           
Little aches and pains become harder
to ignore when given nothing to take your mind off them. Whatever he did to me
in the basement of the cabin was not yet worn off. I have bruises from
struggling, but then I don’t remember anything until I woke up in this room,
chained to a bed. For all I know, I could be in another state. But he had
mentioned something about moving me upstairs, so I assumed I was still in the
same place.

           
My
neck was stiff, so I rubbed it with my free hand to alleviate the headache. My
chained wrist I tried not to move. There was no sense in causing injury to
myself by struggling against something I obviously couldn’t break.

           
The
strangest thing about my circumstance at the moment? I was bored. Even with the
threat of injury or death, being locked in an attic, with nothing to do but
contemplate life, left me bored. And groggy. Whatever he did had definitely not
worn off completely, and I worried there might be some kind of permanent
damage.

           
It
was dark outside. By now, Jason should be panicking about my disappearance, but
I couldn’t feel him. For the first time in years, I had no mental connection to
my brother’s emotions, which felt odd. What was even stranger was that it took
me hours to miss the connection.

           
I
closed my eyes against the light of the lamp standing in the corner furthest
away from me. The one corner I couldn’t reach with the length of chain I was
allowed. Apparently my captor didn’t want me to use the lamp to bash him over
the head. Too bad. From the moment I woke in the basement in this place,
bashing his head in was something I wanted to do.

           
I
turned my thoughts away from myself, and started thinking in terms of the case.
What I learned from Jason before I was grabbed, was that he assumed the killer
was using a small hunting cabin, hiding somewhere in the woods with his
victims. At least until he decided he was done keeping them, and killed them.

           
In
fact, the house I was in seemed pretty large. I also heard cars driving by
earlier. The activity could indicate that this was not a cabin in the woods,
but a house somewhere in town. We could conceivably be near the woods, since I
could hear the wind rustling through trees outside the partially open window.

           
Is
this the place he took all his victims? Was Jason really that far off in what
he thought he knew? I was rubbing my neck absently, when I was hit with a sharp
pain. “Ah!” My eyes screwed together and I put both hands over my face, ignoring
the twinge of pain in my chained wrist. “Jason!” I was right. He knew I was
missing and was not handling it well. The pain he was feeling now eclipsed even
the emotional trauma of what he went through with Trevor Mason almost three
years ago. He was self-destructing, and there was nothing I could do to help. I
felt my mind stretch toward his, wishing he could sense that I was okay, and
that he would be too.

           
“I
need you, big brother,” I whispered, wishing he could hear me. “Pull yourself
together again. I know it’s hard, but you’re stronger than you think. You’ll
find me, I know you will. Just have faith.” I could feel tears running down my
cheeks at the knowledge that he was hurting so badly, just because I was too
impatient to wait for a ride. Remarkably, I felt him fight the despair, and he
started to build up confidence. He could be listing things he managed to
accomplish, odds he beat, and the criminals who tried to take him down and
failed.

           
Moments
after his complete breakdown, he was ready. I could almost hear his voice
boldly stating, “I’m coming for you little brother.”

           
He
hadn’t been the one to save me from Trevor Mason. Not directly anyway. Mason
wanted me killed only because his men had caught Jason, so he no longer needed
me as bait. The men who’d been with me were the ones sent to capture Jason, so
Mark Jones was sent in to watch me. Until word came that Jason had been taken,
I was convinced that Jones was just another goon. Thankfully I was wrong. It
turned out he was an undercover FBI agent. So Jason was unable to save me, but
I knew he only left the safety of Alice’s house in order to find me.

           
What
Jason went through was partially because I wasn’t smart enough to do as he said
in order to stay hidden and safe. Erin and I were taken because we didn’t
listen to Jason, and everything that happened to him was a direct result of our
actions.

           
So
his confidence now, the knowledge that he would ignore safety and rush headlong
at this killer in order to find me, terrified me. Nothing scared me more than
my brother being hurt yet again because I hadn’t listened to him. “I’m sorry,
Jason. I should have listened to you,” I spoke softly, still monitoring Jason’s
now reckless confidence. My first impression when he switched from despair to
feeling more able was that he was going to use the resources available to him
in order to keep looking for the man who took me. Now…? Now I knew he wouldn’t
go to them. Until he exhausted himself, and convinced himself he couldn’t do it
without help, he was going to keep searching.

           
And
if I was right about the house I was in, then he was looking in the wrong
place.

TWENTY-FOUR

Hunter

           
I
left the boy alone overnight. When I went upstairs to put a couple pieces of
fruit on the floor where he could reach it, he was sleeping. His free arm
rested over his eyes and he was breathing evenly. I took this boy too soon
after my last hunt, and didn’t feel comfortable staying at my own little cabin.
Instead, because there was too much activity near my cabin, I drugged him and
took him to a house in a different section of woods. I knew the people who
owned this property would be gone for several months on a business venture
overseas, so I had no worry that anyone would find me here.

           
There
were no neighbors nearby to make a fuss about any noise the boy might make, or
to notice the lights on. I had gone back to my cabin for the night to sleep and
retrieve a few things I might need later, but got up early to get back to work
on finding out more about Jason.
If
the boy would talk to me. All I got out of him last night were wordless
grumbles as he tried to fight my taking him upstairs. He was a bit
uncoordinated in his efforts, apparently still a bit wobbly after being knocked
out.

           
I
let him sleep for the moment, and returned to the main level where I left his
cell phone. It had several more missed calls and messages from Jason, including
a text left only a few minutes ago.
I’m coming for you
. A shiver ran
down my spine. I told myself it was excitement and anticipation. Was it meant
as a reassurance for the boy or as a threat for anyone who may have harmed him?
Not knowing the man, I couldn’t be sure, but my first impression was that it
was a threat.

           
Calling
Jason was too much of a risk, because he may have gone to the police. They
would try to trace any call made about the missing teenager. I would have to
follow my first plan and try to locate him by hunting him. I knew his
footsteps—if Jason was the mystery man—and I would be able to locate and watch
him. Whatever was going to happen would happen on my terms, not his. This was
my game, and I had the upper hand. The kid would give me information about
Jason, and I would find him. The two would be reunited briefly before I hunted
them.

           
Going
back upstairs, I heard the boy moving around the room. He was sitting on the
bed when I leaned on the doorframe casually, my arms crossed over my chest.
“So. You’ll be here for a while, and I think we should get to know each other a
bit.” His eyes were locked on me, and he sat stiffly on the bed. His fear
showed clearly in his eyes and posture. “What’s your name?”

           
I
could see him thinking, wondering whether any harm could come of him sharing
his name, which is why I started with the seemingly harmless question. Getting
him to answer any question would open a dialogue, and it would be easier to get
him to answer other questions in the future. My mouth quirked in amusement as
he glanced down and mumbled something. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.
Could you repeat?”

           
A
muscle by the side of his mouth twitched, and he forced himself to look at me.
“Why should I tell you anything?” he asked defiantly.

           
“You
don’t have to tell me anything, kid. Just trying to make this a little more
entertaining. Fine. I’m Hunter.” The name always made me smile. It was the name
my parents gave me, and I grew into it. Not the way they intended, I’m sure,
but in a way thoroughly enjoyable to me.

           
The
boy snorted. “Ironic. Bet you made your parents proud,” he snarled, fear
diminishing from his eyes and determination taking its place. “You’ve been
hunting here too long, Hunter. You’re going to get caught. I won’t be your
victim.”

           
He
shook his head, and the defiant glare faded back to fear, but some spirit
remained.

           
“Who’s
going to catch me, little boy? Your precious Jason?” I sneered.

           
My
captive flinched so slightly that, if I hadn’t been watching for a reaction, I
might not have noticed. I had no other details to use other than the phone
calls Jason was making. “Is he your dad or something? He’s tried calling you
about fifty times since last night.”

           
The
boy snorted again and looked up at me sardonically. “You really think my dad
would be in my phone under his first name? How many kids do you know who call
their parents by name?”

           
Right.
Stupid. Most kids don’t do that. “Fine. Brother then. But acting as a father.
Not many people listed in your phone, and none of them a mom or dad. You’re
orphans, right?” Another slight twitch told me I was on the right track.

           
“So,
big brother Jason is the only parent you have, and he’s coming for you. He’ll
go to the police, and search the woods. I know you saw me there a few days ago.
He will be miles away from where you are. But I know where he will be looking,
and I’m curious as to what it is he does.”

           
Still
nothing from the kid. “There was a man in the woods during my most recent hunt.
Someone who was acting strange, walking the trails but pausing almost every
mile and stooping to the ground for a few minutes before moving on again. He
was pretty close to my hunting ground, and I believe he was trying to find my
prey. I also know he was near you that night after you saw me in the woods.
I’ve been looking for this man. He is consuming my thoughts, and I need to know
what it is about him that is drawing me to him.” The boy’s face was paling, and
I smiled. I was on the right track. “I wonder, kid, if the man I’ve been looking
for is your big brother.”

           
The
brown eyes were filled with fear and he took several deep breaths, his hands
clenching at his sides as he tried to settle himself. “My brother…” his voice
cracked and he continued, “My brother likes to walk in the woods. It’s why we
moved here. The woods are open and usually quiet, and he sometimes walks for
hours while I’m in school. If you saw him wandering by your hunting ground it
was a coincidence. He wasn’t looking for you.”

           
I
sighed, my gaze dropping to the floor as I shook my head. “Sorry kid. If I
wasn’t sure before, I am now. Your reaction told me everything I need to know.
Your brother was looking for me, and now I know where to start looking for
him.” Meeting his eyes, I said, “Thanks for the information. When I have your
brother, I’ll let you say goodbye to him before the hunt.” I turned around as I
spoke, closing the door behind me.

           
When
he realized I was going to go after his brother, I expected some kind of
yelling or ranting about how I should leave him alone. But all I heard was the
creaking of the bed as the boy sank down. Most likely trying to disappear into
the mattress once he realized he helped me get what I needed.

           
Jason
was my mystery man.

           
He
was coming after me.

           
This
was going to be fun.

TWENTY-FIVE

Jason

           
Exhaustion
threatened to drop me as I continued searching through the woods. I was still
feeling echoes, but not like the power I felt… when was it? I looked at my
watch, and realized I’d been in the woods for almost ten hours—for the second
day in a row. And found nothing. Taking a shaky breath, I rubbed my
dirt-covered hands over my face in fatigue.

           
Almost
twenty hours of searching the woods with only a couple hours rest in the
middle. At that point, I went home to go over the files for the millionth time,
trying to find any piece of information that could possibly help. Since the
burst of power the first evening when I felt further and deeper than ever, I
found nothing.

           
“I’m
sorry, Sam,” I muttered, sliding down a tree to sit for a few minutes. Finding
him on my own might be impossible. I was searching blindly, not tapping the
resources I knew were available to me, because I fell back into old habits:
when bad things happen, rely only on yourself. Do whatever needs to be done to
keep Sam safe.

           
But
I didn’t do that. He was taken because I was too distracted to tell him to wait
for me. It was another horrible mistake on my part that got Sam into trouble.
For someone who promised to protect him, I seemed to make a lot of those
mistakes.

           
Dragging
myself back to my feet, I slowly moved out of the tangled brush, and made my
way to the trail that would lead me home. I paid very little attention to my
path, but as always, I knew I could follow my own echoes out of the woods.
Getting lost—at least physically—is not something I worry about.

           
It
took nearly an hour and a half to walk to the edge of the woods. It was about
eight-thirty, and getting dark. Searching the woods blindly since about eight
that morning did no good, and I kicked myself for not getting help sooner. Why
was it so hard for me to go to people for help? Even for Sam’s sake I hadn’t
been able to.

           
The
silence of the house almost drove me to tears, but I took a deep breath and
dialed a number I hadn’t used in almost two years. I needed help, and I needed
someone familiar.

           
“Hello?”
The voice on the other end of the phone was feminine and sweet. I had to take a
deep breath to control the emotion I felt at hearing her for the first time in
so long. “Hello? Is someone there?” Hannah’s voice had a tinge of annoyance
now, and I knew I had to speak.

           
“Hannah?”
I wanted to say more, but my voice shook and cracked, and I took another
shuddering breath.

           
“Yes?
Who is thi…?” her voice trailed off for a moment, “Jason? Is it you?”

           
“It’s
me. Hannah… I, uh, I need help. Is Alice around?” My voice continued to shake,
but it didn’t crack again.

           
I
could hear the concern in her voice when she spoke again, “She’ll be home in a
couple minutes. Jason, what’s wrong?”

           
“I…
I lost him, Hannah.” Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I told her. “Sammy’s
gone, and I can’t find him. Hannah, I need help. Please help.”

           
She
took some deep breaths, and I knew she was trying to hold back her own tears
when she spoke again. “How? What happened? When did it happen?”

           
“About
four o’clock yesterday afternoon. He walked home, Hannah. He called and told me
he was walking home, and I knew… I
knew
it was a bad idea. I told him before, with a killer on the loose grabbing
teenagers…” I trailed off again for a moment. “I didn’t stop him, Hannah. It’s
my fault. I was distracted because of another case, and I didn’t stop him.”

           
“Jason…”
She paused. “Have you called the police? What did they say?”

           
I
sat on the couch and rubbed my hand over my burning eyes as I replied, “I
haven’t called them yet. I was trying to track him.” There was silence on her
end, and I spoke again. “Hannah, I made a mistake. I…”

           
“It’s
okay, Jason. I understand. Going to the police, unless it’s my sister, is not your
number one priority. Sam is. But you need to call them. If they are aware of
this killer, they can help you.”

           
“I’ve
been working with them. When Sam was taken, well… I kind of lost it, I guess.
But they don’t know any more than I do. Even a little less because I know at
least some of the places he’s been, but I still can’t find him.”

           
“Alice
just pulled in. What do you want us to do?”

           
“I
need someone here who knows about me, Hannah. Your sister is good at what she
does, and she knows me. Please, can you ask her to come? I… I think I need to
sleep for a couple hours.”

           
I
could almost hear the frown in her voice when she asked, “How long have you
been at it?”

           
“From
the time I realized he was missing, until now? I worked from about four-thirty
until about two in the morning, and then again from about eight this morning
‘til I called you.”

           
“You’re
right. You need to get some sleep. I’ll call you after Alice decides what to
do.”

           
 
“Sure. I’ll talk to you later.”

           
“Everything
will be okay, Jason. We’re coming.”

           
My
reply stuck in my throat, never making it past my lips, and she hung up with a
quiet ‘goodbye’ before I could get it out. After two years of refusing to call
her, refusing to talk to her, she was still coming. Why? She had a life of her
own. Why would she want to get mixed up in mine again? All I ever gave her was
grief. My problems took over her life leading her into danger and keeping her
from accomplishing her goals. Guilty feelings suddenly rose, and I regretted
calling her.

           
When
the phone rang again I startled awake, my neck stiff from my position on the
couch, and I reached blindly for it. My hand grasped at the surface of the
coffee table until I felt the phone at my fingertips. “Jason.” Hannah’s voice,
not waiting for me to speak the first greeting. “I’m coming, but I need to know
where you are.”

           
For
a moment I was relieved, and then my guilt flooded back. “No. Hannah, you can’t
come here. You have a life. I can’t take you away from it again.”

           
She
let out a deep breath, and when she spoke her voice was firm. “Jason, you’re my
friend. Do you really think I wouldn’t do the same for you that I would do for
any of my other friends? If any of them were in trouble I would drop everything
to do whatever I can to help. Don’t worry about me; just tell me where you are.
You need someone, or you wouldn’t have called.”

           
Rubbing
my hands over my face in a characteristic show of weariness, I gave in. “I’m in
Necedah.” It was a small city about two hours away from Crandal.

           
She
paused, but didn’t comment on how close we stayed. “Okay. I should be able to
get there sometime tomorrow. Sorry I woke you, I was going to leave a message.”
Checking a clock, I realized it was almost midnight. “Alice and I just got done
talking things over… anyway, get to sleep, and in the morning go to the police.
Tell them what happened and use the resources they have available to you.”

           
“I
will. And Hannah?”

           
“Yeah?”

           
“Thank
you.” We ended the call, and I decided to go up to my bed for a couple hours of
sleep before heading to the precinct to talk to Detective Nickels.