Whirlwind (36 page)

“How did you find me?” I asked over Jason’s shoulder. I slid the flashlight out of my back pocket slowly, hoping Ron couldn’t see it.

In his other hand he waved a white rectangle. “Having your mail forwarded is quite a convenience, isn’t it? The post office was nice enough to leave your old address visible on your report card.
Very
convenient,” he said. “By the way, your grade in Spanish slipped to a B.”

He threw the envelope toward us and reached into his pocket. “Of course, I had to wait for you to come home this evening. You two made quite a couple at dinner.” With a sharp
snap
he produced another weapon, a switchblade. “But I enjoyed the chase, Melissa. It makes the end that much sweeter.”

Ron crept closer, and Jason pushed me back, intent on keeping his body between me and the knife. “You won’t get near her,” Jason snarled. He continued to nudge me behind him, and I readied the light.

With a smug snort, Ron bared his teeth in a feral smile. “Maybe not…at first.” His finger twitched over the pepper spray. “But I owe
you
a little something, don’t I?” He raised the canister to eye level.

I flicked on the flashlight, aiming its powerful beam directly at Ron’s face. The spray flew wildly off line, and Jason sprang forward, fists flying.

“Jason, NO!” I screamed. The knife in Ron’s hand glinted in the beam of light, slashing toward him.

“Run, Melissa!” Jason yelled and smashed his fist into Ron’s face. The force sent them both tumbling to the ground. Ignoring his plea, I stood and watched, trying to figure out a way to help him.

Ron recovered quickly. When he tried to block Jason’s next punch, the pepper spray flew out of his hand, bouncing across the asphalt toward me. I kept the light focused on them, watching in horror as they wrestled on the ground, their hands locked together. Jason struggled to get control of the knife while Ron kept him from landing any more punches. I picked up the spray, but it would just as likely disable Jason as Ron, so I pocketed it. Heavy in my hand, the fourteen-inch metal flashlight was my best weapon, and I watched for an opportunity to club Ron with it.

They continued to scuffle, and I gasped when spatters of red stained Jason’s white T-shirt. Ron still had the knife, but Jason seemed to be getting the upper hand, slowly overpowering his weaker foe. They rolled to the opposite side of the road, near the edge of a deep drainage ditch. Just as I thought Jason was about to pin Ron, he let out a terrifying scream. I echoed the cry when I saw the knife buried in his thigh.

Ron quickly turned the tables, pinning Jason. With blood dripping from his nose, he grabbed the hilt of the knife, bringing another scream to Jason’s lips. He savagely pulled it out and brought it plunging down again.

Jason’s face twisted in agony, but he caught Ron’s hand, stopping the knife inches from his chest. “Go, Melissa! NOW!” he yelled. The pain in his voice cut me deeper than any blade, and my grip on the flashlight tightened.

Ron cackled hysterically. “Once you’re gone, who’s going to protect her?”

He yanked the knife high out of Jason’s reach, laughing as he prepared to stab him again.

Screaming “
NO!”
I swung the flashlight and its four heavy batteries as hard as I could. The metal hit Ron with a loud
crunch
, snapping his head to the side. His arm dropped harmlessly to his side, and with one push from Jason, he fell into the ravine. He tumbled down the six-foot drop, hit the bottom, and was silent.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” My voice trembling, I dropped to my knees, fumbling to point the flashlight in the right direction.

“It’s only a small…small cut. I’ll…I’ll be fine,” Jason stammered. I turned the shaky light on his leg and was horrified to see the entire side of his jeans soaked in blood. A long, deep gash exposed the muscles and tendons in his thigh.

Swallowing back my shock, I steeled myself. “No, it’s not. We have to get you out of here.” I handed him the flashlight, ripped off my shirt, and tied it around his leg, trying to pull the cut closed and stop the bleeding. Jason cried out, and I winced, sharing his pain.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

He shook off my apology. “Don’t be. You’re doing exactly the right thing,” he said through clenched teeth.

A faint moan came from Ron at the bottom of the ditch. He was coming around.

“Come on. Let’s go,” I said, reaching for Jason’s hand.

I helped him to his feet, trying to steady him as we made our way back to the car. Ron thrashed around in the dead bushes in the ravine, coming closer. We’d barely passed the stable when I stopped.

“Shit!”

“What?” Jason looked up and echoed my curse.

Sitting directly behind my car was a dirty two-door Saturn. Ron had blocked me in.

“Melissa, go. I have my cell phone; I’ll hide and call for help. Just
go!”
he commanded.

“Jason McAlister, if you think I’m going to leave you here alone, bleeding, and unable to walk, then you really
are
crazy.”

I guided him back to the stable instead. Ron was struggling up the embankment, swearing every time his feet skidded on the graveled slope. Once inside the building, I opened Buckeye’s stall and pulled Jason inside. His eyes drooped as he half-sat, half-fell in the corner of the hay-strewn floor.

I put my hands on his cheeks, praying he didn’t pass out. “Listen to me. Just stay here and be quiet. I’m going to lead him away.”

My mind was already two steps ahead, remembering the nearby corral and its angry occupant. If I could get Ron to follow me, I’d make sure he had more than enough to keep him busy.

“Melissa, no. Just go, before he gets here. I can’t let you get hurt,” Jason protested weakly.

“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
I hope.
“When I get him far enough away, call 911. Tell them you’re in stable number two of the equine unit at the end of Via
Carta
. Got it?” The adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream made the words come out fast, and I had to work to keep my voice down.

Jason tried to hand me the phone. “Maybe you should…” but I closed his hand around it, hearing Ron’s yelling coming closer.

“We don’t have much time. Say it—stable number two at the end of Via
Carta
!”

He sighed. “Stable two, Via
Carta
,” he repeated, then clenched his teeth as he tried to reposition his leg.

I leaned down and kissed him hard, trying to impress how much I loved him into a single, frantic act. “It’ll be okay,” I whispered, telling myself as much as Jason. Then I let him go.

Buckeye huffed when I caught his halter and pulled him toward the door. “No matter what you hear, Jason, you have to be quiet, or this won’t work. Promise?” I pleaded. Of course my half-baked plan might not work in any case, but at least Jason should be able to get the police out here.

He nodded slowly. “I promise. Please be careful. I love you.”

The desperation in his voice brought tears to my eyes. “I love you too. I’ll be back soon.” I clipped Buckeye’s halter to the short rope next to the stall door, not only preventing the horse from stepping on Jason, but effectively shielding him from view.

Outside, Ron pounded on the door to the stable. “You can’t hide for long, Melissa. I’ll find him…then I’ll find you!”

The horses around me shuffled nervously when he forced the door open. I ran to the other end of the cavernous building, purposely tipping over a pile of shovels before running out the back.

“I’m growing weary of this, Melissa,” he hissed.

He’s too close to Jason!
I had to get Ron out of the stable so Jason could call for help. I stopped halfway between the building and the corral and yelled at the top of my lungs. “Jason, get up. We have to go. GET UP!”

I was about to turn back and yell again when Ron crashed through the pile of shovels. That was my cue to run to the corral fifty yards away.

I threw my leg over the top of the metal rails and waited. My plan was working—so far. When the back door of the stable flew open, I jumped into the corral. Where was its occupant?

“Damn it, bitch, you’re going to pay when I find you,” Ron screeched, stepping out into the open. I waved the flashlight wildly, not-so-subtly guiding him toward me. I carefully made my way to the center of the iron-enclosed circle. To my left was a wooden wall—a safety barrier. Only one animal required such a thing, and with almost debilitating relief, I heard his heavy breathing under a piece of dented siding that served as a makeshift roof. I swung the light around just long enough to find him—all eighteen hundred pounds of the aptly named Diablo. His glassy eyes and short, downturned horns definitely gave him a devilish aura. The bull didn’t move, but without the light I doubted he could see me. Noise triggered this animal’s rage, and I planned to provide him plenty.

Swinging the light around, I caught Ron climbing the fence. I slowly withdrew the pepper spray from my pocket and slid my finger over the plunger, praying it wasn’t empty. The breeze sliced across my bare shoulders like icy fingernails. I should be terrified, trapped between a vicious murderer and a living, breathing battering ram, but it didn’t occur to me that the animal in the corner could just as easily come after me until Ron spoke.

“I like the new look, Melissa.” He raked his eyes across my bikini top and licked his lips. “What happened to your boyfriend? I’m sure he’ll be sorry he missed out on this.” He jumped to the ground and stalked toward me. “I guess I’ll move you to the top of my list, but I
will
find him, I promise you that.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, taking a step back. Ron looked around, but didn’t slow. Diablo’s pitch black coat was just another huge shadow in the darkness, invisible.

“Of all the places to hide, you brought me
here?
After such a long wait, it’s a shame to finish you surrounded by this shit.” Ron kicked a pile of manure toward me. “But this doesn’t have to be the end. Maybe I’ll take you home with me, keep you for a while. Show you what you’ve been missing, wasting your time with Prince Valiant.” His voice became shriller, the closer he got.

Just a few more feet.

“How many women have you hunted down, Ron?” I asked, trying to keep him talking.

“I like the way you say my name, Melissa,” he said, his voice lowering an octave. “A few. They all wanted me, in the end. None were as—” he inhaled, as if smelling flowers “—intoxicating as you. Your little game of hide-and-seek proves how much you want me. To go to such trouble to turn me on… You’ll beg me to take you with your last breath,” he promised. He slowed, still too far away for the pepper spray to reach him.

Again I heard Dad’s voice.
Keep him talking.

“What about Vanessa? Did she want you too?” I asked.

Ron took another step toward me.
Just a little farther…

His laugh sent imaginary spiders running up and down my arms. “Vanessa? Of course she did, but she was nothing. A way to let off some steam after your rude friends interrupted our little chat. Don’t worry. I’ve been saving up for you, Melissa,” he said.