Page 8 of Corey
Keeping her headlights off, she drove to the main gate. When she saw it was already closed, she let out a curse, pulled in a deep breath, and did the only thing she could—slammed her foot down on the accelerator and plowed straight through the chain link barrier. It flew open and she burst into the night, flipping her lights on and making her escape.
Eyes glued to the rearview mirror, waiting to be followed, she sped all the way back to her apartment. The moment she parked in her usual spot and turned off the engine, terror and doubt gripped her ferociously.
What if she wasn’t safe here? What if they came for her?
She had no idea if Joel had seen her, but the warehouse had cameras. All he had to do was rewind them and watch.Shit.She wasn’t safe. Hell, her address was listed in her employee file in his office. What if he came for her? Clearly, the man was a cold-blooded killer, and although she wasn’t quite sure what she’d witnessed going down between the former business partners, one thing was clear—he wanted her caught…and silenced. Neutralized.
She had to leave town, but she wasn’t going anywhere without Loki.
Sera turned her car off and jumped out, her head on a constant swivel as she headed for her apartment. It took her a few attempts to get the key in the lock because she was shaking so hard, but she finally managed.
“Loki!” she called out, racing to her bedroom. Diving into her closet, she dug out the cat carrier and pulled a shoebox hiding her emergency cash from the back of the top shelf. Thenshe stuffed some clothes and toiletries into a duffel bag and hurried into the kitchen.
Loki appeared, expecting his dinner, but Sera grabbed him and put him in the carrier. “Sorry, Bubba. I’ll feed you in a bit.”
After throwing some cans of cat food into her bag, she put the cat on her back, never happier that she’d bought the cute backpack with a bubble window that Loki could look out of when she traveled or hiked. Or, in this case, ran for her life.
Maybe she was being too cautious. Or maybe Joel was on his way to her place right now. Either way, she decided the best thing to do was drive to her baby sister’s place and lay low. Melanie had gotten married to Liam last year and moved to Canada because that’s where he was from. Sera hated that Mel had left, especially since she was her only family left. Their parents had died more than two years ago, her mom first from cancer and then her dad followed not long after. He had missed her terribly and went downhill fast once she was gone. It had been a tremendous blow.
And then last year, the shooting happened. Sera’s gut clenched. Mel had helped her through it as best as she could from thousands of miles away, but she had her own life. And those demons never really went away. They haunted her every night. Made her wonder why she survived when so many others had died, all brutally shot to death.
Swallowing hard, she forced her mind back to the present. She hadn’t escaped one tomb just to find herself trapped in another.
Grabbing her stuff, she locked her apartment door, not sure if or when she’d ever return. Then she got back into hercar, situated Loki in the passenger seat and plugged Russell, Manitoba, into her phone’s GPS.
“Canada, here we come,” she murmured, praying her shitbox car would make it.
Chapter Three
Other than for gas, snacks and a quick pee, Sera drove all night, guzzling crappy rest stop coffee to keep her awake. Every so often, her car would start making a weird rattling sound, but it eventually stopped. Thank God. It definitely wouldn’t be good if she conked out in the middle of nowhere.
One state after another fell off in her rearview mirror, and sixteen hours later, she found herself in Montana. Ominous gray clouds hung in the sky and snow-covered mountain peaks soared in the distance. She would have to buy a coat before the day was over. San Diego weather rarely ventured below sixty-five degrees, even at this time of year. But she quickly discovered that Montana in December was a veritable icebox. The rugged state was exceptionally beautiful, but cold as hell.
It was almost noon and she cringed as she drove past another poor dead animal’s corpse laying on the side of the road.
“Bless its little heart,” she murmured. At this point, she’d said the phrase at least a hundred times, but it made her so sad whenever she saw a poor furry critter who hadn’t made it across the road fast enough. Hopefully the creature was now at peace and in a better, safer place.
A few hours ago, she’d called her sister and explained the situation. Mel asked why she hadn’t gone straight to the cops. A logical question on the surface, but some memories died hard.The police hadn’t been able to help her before, so she had very little faith in them now. And, quite simply, she’d panicked. Active shooters had a way of doing that to her.
She also had no proof, and the last thing she wanted was to come off as a crazy person. It’s not like Jeremy’s lifeless corpse would still be lying there on the warehouse floor. The police would’ve taken her report, probably checked things out, and told her everything was being handled.
But what if Joel discovered she’d witnessed him shooting Jeremy? If he played the cams back—and since he already suspected someone was there, he would—he’d see her. And then he’d silence her.
No, it was safer to leave town. Not like she had any ties to San Diego, anyway. Mel was safe in Canada and—
She sucked in a sharp breath as a terrible thought hit her. What if they went after Mel? Her sister was listed as her emergency contact in her employment paperwork which Joel could easily access.
Please, no. I can’t let that happen.
Overwhelmed, exhausted and now alarmed about her sister’s safety, too, Sera blinked hard. Her eyes felt gritty and she was barely keeping them open. Maybe she should pull over at the next rest stop and try to sleep for a couple hours. She felt weary to her bones and feared she wasn’t thinking clearly. It probably wouldn’t hurt. She had to be far enough away to be safe for a little while. Besides, how would Joel know where she was going, anyway?
Taking the next exit, she found a small place to stop with a gas station and convenience store. Unfortunately, there weren’t any of the big interstate rest stops the truckers usedaround there. Just rinky dink pit stops off the beaten path with questionable characters behind the counter.
She parked in the nearly empty lot and looked around. Where was everyone? Unease rolled through her, but any other place would be nearly identical. And her bladder revolted at the idea of driving even another mile. Looking over at Loki curled up on the passenger seat, she said, “Be right back.”
Slinging her purse over her shoulder, trying not to stress over the dark sky, she headed for the small building. If it was clean and had coffee, she’d be fine. Or so she thought.
A bell dinged as Sera walked in and a kid with his hair in a man-bun sat on a stool behind the counter, glued to his phone. He didn’t even look up as she walked past another customer at the coffee bar and then entered the women’s restroom. Five stalls lined the wall opposite a couple of sinks. She walked down to the last one, slipped inside and bolted it. After taking care of business, she washed her hands and had just tossed the soggy brown paper towel into the trash can when her phone rang in her purse. Digging it out, she glanced down at the caller ID and froze.
