Page 61 of Scent of Death

His heart sank. Were they too late? Was Alexis already dead?

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When Tyler roughly shoved her into the cabin at gunpoint, Alexis was surprised to see the glow of a lamp on inside. She frowned in confusion. A quick glance at the windows made her realize they were blackened out in some way. As she crossed the small kitchen area, she could see that black plastic covered every single window, blocking the ability to see any of the wooded landscape surrounding them.

Her heart sank. This must be where he brought his recent victims to kill them. And even worse, there would be no way to know when Griff arrived. If he and the deputies had figured out where she was.

She was completely on her own with a sick, deranged man who enjoyed hurting women.

A shiver of fear rippled over her, but she did her best not to show weakness. Tyler was mentally unbalanced. There was no telling what would set him off.

A low moan caught her attention. Someone else was here! Maureen? She turned to see an open doorway leading to what she presumed was a bedroom. She instinctively moved that way, but a sharp command stopped her.

“Stop! Stay where you are. Sit on the sofa,” Tyler said. “I didn’t give you permission to go anywhere.”

Permission? He almost sounded like an overly controlling parent. Remembering what the FBI profiler had mentioned, she grimly realized Tyler fit the profile as predicted. Including the part where he had likely been abused by his mother when he was younger.

Was he echoing the orders she’d given him as a child? Was he killing his mother over and over again when he strangled a young girl to death? And if so, why the sexual assault? Had he been sexually assaulted by his mother as well?

The very idea made her feel sick. Especially as she had never realized Tyler was being abused. She didn’t remember seeing any bruises or obvious signs of physical harm during their tutoring sessions. Granted, he’d been a shy child who was severely behind on his education. When she’d asked him about school, he’d muttered that he’d missed a lot of classes due to being sick. She hadn’t pressed for more, but she should have. Especially when she discovered that despite being in eighth grade, he read at a fourth-grade level.

Now she understood his knowledge gap was due to his tumultuous upbringing.

“Sit down,” he repeated, interrupting her thoughts. “I won’t tell you again.”

Moving slowly, she turned and lowered herself onto the sofa. She made sure to keep her hands where he could see them. “If Maureen is sick, I can help.”

“Shut. Up.” He overemphasized each word. “You are not to speak unless I ask you a question. Understood?”

“Yes.” She used her voice rather than nodding. If that was Maureen in the other room, or yet another of his victims, she hoped the girl would hear them and realize she wasn’t alone. “I understand.”

Tyler raised the gun so that the barrel was pointing at her face. Swallowing hard, she held his gaze. Was this it? Would he just shoot her now and be done with it?

Lord Jesus, please protect me and the woman in the other room. If You choose to bring me home to You, so be it. Let Thy will be done, Amen.

The prayer helped her remain calm. She did not fear death, but she had regrets. She wished she’d told Griff how much she cared about him.

How she’d fallen in love with him.

But maybe it was better this way. If she died in this cabin, she wanted Griff to find a woman to love. Someone to build a life with.

To have a family with.

Ironically, now that she faced her own mortality, she realized just how much she wanted that too. She would miss Griff, Denali, and her brothers and sisters.

But it seemed as if God had other plans.

As she watched Tyler staring at her with his cold, dead eyes, she decided that if she had to die today, she’d take him down with her. To do everything possible to save the woman who was in the other room.

No matter how this night ended, she would not allow this man to kill another young woman.

A renewed strength coursed through her. She could do this.

She slowly dropped her gaze. Antagonizing Tyler may not be the best approach. She needed him to drop his guard. To give her an opening that she could use against him.

What that looked like, she had no clue. Especially since he wouldn’t let her talk. She’d wanted to remind him of their tutoring sessions. To see her as someone he could trust.

Yet she sensed he was too far gone for that.

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