Page 147 of Whispers and Wildfire

But I had the horrifying feeling he wasn’t a threat to any of them. Because he was busy with mine.

Rage and adrenaline pumped hot through my veins, burning away my fear. I wanted to scream at Garrett for being so calm and reasonable, reassuring everyone we’d find her. Assigning search areas, as if she was going to turn up on the football field or was simply chatting with someone near the concessions.

As if we wouldn’t have found her already if she were there.

When Harper and Marigold came back, Garrett passed Isla to her mom. Dad and Anton stood at the bottom of the bleachers, one on each side of the section, as if they were the last line of defense, protecting the women and children. I half expected Krista to freak out or push past her husband to look for her daughter. Instead, she caught my eyes and clasped her hands to her chest as if to say, ‘Find her for me. Please.’

Garrett and I headed back toward the restrooms. The game continued, and I was vaguely aware of the announcer declaring another Timberwolves touchdown.

“We should have him make an announcement,” Garrett said, bringing out his phone again. “I’ll see if Harper can get him to do it.”

I knew we wouldn’t find Melanie inside the restroom building, so I veered around it to show Garrett the side door. He finished his call to Harper and started looking around. There wasn’t much to see, as far as I could tell. Just some shrubs around the building and a gravel path leading to the gap in the fence.

He stopped about halfway to the fence and crouched down. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he took a picture of something on the ground with his phone.

“What is it?”

“Syringe cap.” He stood and put his phone to his ear. “Sheriff, I have reason to believe The Whisper has another victim.”

I ran to the parking lot while Garrett gave Sheriff Cordero his report. I didn’t know what I was doing—she wasn’t there. How long had it been since she’d gone in the restroom? Ten minutes? More? If The Whisper had her, she was long gone, stuffed in the trunk of his car.

And he was going to—

No. No, he wasn’t. That disgusting psycho piece of shit was not going to hurt her. I’d burn down the whole fucking world before I let him touch her.

I was going to find them. And he was going to pay.

CHAPTER 36

Melanie

My head swamwith an almost pleasant buzzing sensation, and I vaguely wondered why my eyes were closed. A jumbled mess of thoughts vied for attention, and I couldn’t make sense of any of them.

A second later, the fear hit. Something was very, very wrong.

Confusion and panic made it almost impossible to think. My eyes flew open, but nothing made sense. Why was it so hard to breathe? My mouth wouldn’t open.

Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe through my nose. My body wanted to panic—to flee, to run, to lash out. But I couldn’t. My limbs were too heavy, my brain too fuzzy. Unconsciousness beckoned to me, the bliss of sleep almost too tempting to resist.

No. I forced my eyes open and took a deep breath.

I was lying on my side, on a soft surface. A mattress, maybe? The room was dark. I stretched out my legs, but they were stuck at the ankles.

The sensations plodded through my groggy brain like thick mud. Duct tape. There was duct tape over my mouth and around my ankles. My wrists were bound, and when Ilifted my hands and tried to move, I met resistance. I looked up, squinting into the darkness. Was I chained to a wall?

Panic rose again, sharp and overwhelming. I wanted to flail and scream, but it was so hard to move. Where was I? How did I get there?

More deep breaths. I needed to think, not have a mental breakdown. But why couldn’t I seem to fully wake up?

Wait. I knew that feeling. The grogginess, the strange shadows at the corners of my vision, the desire to sink into unconsciousness, or maybe just stare at the wall and float for a while. I’d been drugged.

The football game. We’d been at the high school. I’d gone to the restroom and exited the wrong door, on the far side of the building. No one had been around, and the door to go back in had been locked.

But no. Someone had been there. I just hadn’t realized until it was too late.

He’d been so quiet, sneaking up on me like a silent predator. For a second, I’d had the awful realization that it was happening again. Someone had me, and my attempt to fight back was quickly neutralized as I lost consciousness.

I couldn’t remember anything after that. I didn’t know where I was, or how I’d gotten there. But I had a feeling it involved the trunk of a car.

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