Page 59 of Nothing Hiding

He scowled and then, with a cold efficiency, yanked his arm back, hard enough that she was unable to maintain her grip. Then he lashed out, striking her in the stomach with a powerful fist.

Her breath whooshed from her, and she choked, temporarily winded by the blow.

He reached for her neck again, and even though she was still struggling for breath, she saw another chance. His face was close enough for her to use her forehead as a weapon. With all the speed she could summon, she whipped her head forward and down, letting her forehead smash into his nose.

He recoiled, crying out, shaking his head. Blood oozed from his nose, and he wiped it away gingerly with the back of his hand.

"Bitch," he whispered. Now, she saw fury in his bland, gray eyes.

"Don't let the stones hear you say that. I'm sure you're not allowed to swear," she taunted him breathlessly, wanting him off balance and disorganized when he retaliated. And retaliate she knew he would. The “guy next door” persona disguised a pathologically violent core.

As she'd feared, he came at her again, lunging for her, so that she had to wrench her left hand to her right side to protect her neck. She couldn't kick, and she couldn't fight, the ropes prevented her. Her parry was weak, and it only just stopped him, and the angle was so bad she didn't manage to grab him in turn.

He stepped back, panting. Staring at her, the anger in his eyes turned to amusement, and he began to laugh.

"You really think you can stop me? With one hand? You're a determined little thing. The stones will love this sacrifice." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial mutter. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do so we can both enjoy the anticipation. I'm going to grab that hand of yours and break your arm. I don’t want to, but the stones will understand why. Then I'm going to strangle you. Slowly."

He reached for her hand, and this time, despite all of Juliette's efforts, he grasped hold of her left wrist with both of his strong hands. His fingers bit in.

She gritted her teeth. She had one chance to yank it away before he twisted and not much leverage. He was fiercely strong, but she was going to keep trying and keep fighting. If he broke her arm, she'd still fight. Until he choked the last of the life out of her, she was going to fight.

She pulled, and she pulled, but it was no good. His grip was too strong, too sure. His thumbs pierced into her wrist, his fingers spread wide, pressing in on her flesh. The pain was shooting through her arm, but she refused to let him get the satisfaction of a scream.

"You're a fighter. I'll give you that," he muttered, more to himself than to her, and he twisted his grip.She tried again to jerk her arm away, gasping in pain.

"That's enough," he said. His voice was no longer amused. It was cold and hard, and it sent a shiver through Juliette. "I'm going to snap it now."

And then, Juliette heard a sound above the whistling of the wind through the stones. A familiar, rhythmic rattling sound, drawing closer fast. Lights split the air, and her heart suddenly leaped.

A helicopter was approaching.

A helicopter? Here?

There was only one reason for it. Help had arrived.

She watched the killer's face change, his features tauten, and his body language turn from confident to panicked.

He let go of her arm, and she knew he was going to run for it, to break away and flee, and try to melt into the shadows of the stones and disappear before that helicopter arrived.

But as he turned, she made one final lunge.

She grabbed the back of his jacket with her left hand, and she tugged with all her might.

He gave a grunt of surprise, jerked half off his feet, stumbling to the ground as she clung on for all she was worth.

The helicopter was low now, the sound of its blades filling the air, and a spotlight blazed down, trapping him in its glare. He twisted away from Juliette and began to run again, but now, it was too late.

A shot split the air, a whiplash crack over the noise of the blades.

The killer staggered, fell. He tried to get up, but then sprawled to the ground, blood seeping from his left thigh.

Juliette let out a long breath of relief, turning her face to the night sky as the helicopter tracked to the field nearby and made a hurried landing.

It was over.

This killer had been caught at last, in the very place he'd claimed would stoke his murderous powers.

EPILOGUE

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