Page 57 of Her Baby, Her Badge

Dutton wanted to move in front of Grace, to try to protect her, but they were all jammed too close together for him to do that. Still, he tried to prepare himself in case he had to pull Grace to the ground.

“There,” Rory whispered, and his brother pointed to a small clearing to their right.

Bennie immediately shifted the flashlight in that direction, and Dutton caught just a glimpse of the movement. A person wearing all black ducked out of sight and into some thick bushes and undergrowth.

And the person wasn’t alone.

Dutton also spotted Aileen. Her hands were tied in front of her, and judging from the way she was walking, her feet were tied as well. She was gagged. Her captor latched on to her hair with a gloved hand and dragged Aileen out of sight.

Grace opened her mouth as if she might call out, but she reconsidered that, and snapped toward the deputies instead. “Rory, you, Bennie and Ellie try to sneak around on the right side. I didn’t see a gun, but it’s possible the killer is armed.” She looked at Dutton. “You and I will take the left side.”

To keep Grace as protected as possible, Dutton nearly argued for a deputy to be with them. But it was hard for a trio of people to sneak up on someone. Maybe the deputies would make enough noise to distract the killer, so that he and Grace could move in for the capture.

Or the kill.

Dutton wouldn’t hesitate to end this SOB if it came down to it. He only hoped that the killer didn’t manage to use Aileen as a human shield to try to draw out Grace. But that was likely the plan.

Maybe the truck had been damaged enough so it couldn’t be used for an escape. That was the only reason Dutton could think of for taking this fight on foot. That, or maybe Aileen had managed to hurt her captor. That blood had come from someone, and he was hoping it was the killer.

Bennie turned off the flashlight, plunging them into darkness again, but that didn’t stop them from moving. The deputies went to the right. Grace and Dutton, to the left.

Thankfully, after walking a few feet, Dutton’s eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and he could at least make out where he was stepping. He couldn’t hear anything, though, not over the pounding thud of his own heart.

His heart thundered even more when there was a slash of blue light that knifed through the trees. The cruiser. Maybe that was another distraction for the killer, too. Dutton just didn’t want this snake focusing in on the deputies, Aileen or them so they’d be easier targets.

Dutton stopped when he reached the area where he was pretty sure there was a stream. Or at least there had been when he’d played here as a kid. And it was there, alright. The water coiled and snaked right in front of them. Not especially wide, but they had to jump to get to the other side. He prayed that this physical activity and stress wasn’t taking a toll on the baby.

He and Grace landed together on the stream’s bank, their boots sinking into the mud and soft dirt. They didn’t stop. They just kept moving. Kept working their way past the trees and shrubs toward that clearing, where they’d last seen Aileen and her captor.

A sound stopped them. Not the snap of a tree branch but more like someone moving around on some twigs or dried leaves. They stood there, heads lifted, trying to pinpoint the direction. They both pointed to a massive oak at the same time.

Someone was there.

They didn’t move directly toward the person. Staying low and walking as quietly as they could, they continued to go left so they could come up from behind.

Each step caused the knot in his stomach to tighten even more. Caused his fear about Grace and the baby to skyrocket. But they kept moving.

Until he saw something.

Aileen.

It was definitely her. She was wearing jeans and a shirt, and he’d been right about both her hands and feet being tied. She was standing by the tree right next to the person wearing all dark clothes and a half mask that covered the bottom portion of the face. The hooded jacket concealed the hair as well.

But not the knife.

Dutton saw it then.

The cruiser light caught the blade just right so there was a flash of a reflection. Enough for him to see that the person had it pressed right to Aileen’s throat.

Was this Brian? Or Cassie?

Or some hired thug?

It was impossible to tell, what with the bulky outfit that reminded him of a grim-reaper costume. It could even be Wilson, if the man had managed to change when he’d run intothe woods. It was possible he’d left clothes there just to pull this off. A disguise so he wouldn’t be identified. Then, he could kill Grace and Dutton, maybe Aileen, too, and get away.

Dutton looked at Grace, and even in the darkness, they managed to connect gazes. She took a long, slow breath before she gave the nod for them to get moving again. They hadn’t spelled out what the plan was here, but he was hoping Grace would let him tackle Aileen’s captor. If Dutton got the chance to do that. He’d have to time it so Aileen wouldn’t get her throat cut.

Their steps were even more cautious now, but Dutton knew they were still making some noise. Noise that the person in black must have heard because his head whipped up, and he dragged Aileen against him.

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