Page 2 of Katherine's Last Hope
Picking up the pace, she closed in on her vehicle. Why had she parked so far away knowing she’d be walking alone in the dark? The glow of a lamppost beamed down on her black SUV, but it didn’t chase away the anxiety inching up her spine.
Five long strides. That’s all it’d take to reach the handle and get inside, locking away whatever imaginary monsters chased her.
Four more steps.
Three.
She beeped her key fob to unlock the door. Her headlights flashed and she extended her arm for the handle.
A hard yank on her coat pulled her backward. An arm hooked around her neck and anchored her against a warm body. Something sharp and pointy found its way under the hem of her jacket and touched the tender spot just above her hipbone.
Hot moist breath skimmed her cheek, igniting her gag reflex.
“Don’t do anything stupid, and I just might let you live.”
Cool air filteredinto Cody Hogan’s cruiser as he drove down the country road toward the county hospital. Working as a sheriff’s deputy in Cooper County, Tennessee, was a lifelong goal, and one he’d never take for granted.
But that didn’t mean it didn’t have its faults.
Living in a small town with a low crime rate was the dream, but sometimes that made for a slow-ass night. Tonight was one of those nights. Not one call from dispatch or even a reckless driver who needed pulled over. So he drove a route that kept him outside of the city limits and patrolling areas where people found themselves once the sun set and businesses closed.
The county hospital was one of those places.
Fidgeting with the radio, he kept a low hum of country music on to keep his mind engaged and turned toward the emergency room. This would be his second loop on the north side of Water’s Edge. Once he headed back toward town, he’d stop somewhereto stretch his legs and maybe grab a cup of coffee to push him through the rest of his shift.
He turned into the parking lot and a set of flashing headlights at the back caught his attention. Probably an employee walking to their vehicle. Plenty of light shone down from the lamp posts strategically placed around the lot, but he might as well swing around to make sure whoever it was got home safely.
An ear-splitting scream made him push the gas pedal to the floor and shot adrenaline through his veins. He sped forward, screeching to a stop in front of a man with a black ski mask over his face struggling to keep a woman pressed against his chest.
Cody jumped out of the vehicle with his hand on the butt of his weapon. As much as he wanted to tackle the guy to the ground, he had no idea what he’d stumbled across. He had to keep a cool head and steady hand.
The woman thrashed against her captor. Her sandy blond hair whipped in front of her face.
The man stiffened, lifted his knife in the air, and waved it before putting it back against the woman’s side. “Stay away. Don’t make me do anything to hurt her.”
If the situation wasn’t so terrifying, Cody would laugh at the absurdity of the man’s statement. If he didn’t want to hurt anyone, he wouldn’t have a knife to some woman in the ER parking lot.
Keeping one hand on the weapon, Cody lifted his other palm. “Why don’t you just let her go? I mean, what are your options, buddy?”
The wind died down and the curtain of hair around the woman’s face dropped. Katherine Milton stared back at him with wide, terrified brown eyes.
His stomach muscles tightened.
He and Katherine weren’t exactly friends, but they’d both grown up in Water’s Edge. Her father the sheriff, his familyoften behind bars. He worked hard to earn a good reputation as a sheriff’s deputy, erasing any preconceptions heaped on his shoulders with a father and brother who didn’t know how to stay on the right side of the law.
But some people refused to see him for more than his last name. Katherine was one of them.
“Why don’t you mind your business?” the man spat out, yanking Cody back to the very dangerous moment.
Cody kept his gaze away from Katherine and his eyes locked on the ominous darkness of the holes around the man’s eyes. “You and I both know I can’t do that. I’m here until this ends, and soon so will the backup I called the second I saw you out here. That means it’s you and one knife against soon-to-be three sheriff’s deputies and our weapons. I don’t really like your odds, so it’d be a safer bet to just finish this now without hurting anyone.”
The man snorted. “Smooth talker. Think you can just show up and save the day.”
Cody shrugged. “Just trying to do my job.”
Katherine moved her hand slowly toward her jacket pocket.
Cody bit back the urge to tell her to stop moving. He didn’t want her captor to sense anything was happening but also cringed at the thought of her gaining more of the man’s wrath and getting stuck with a knife before Cody had a chance to stop him.
