had to be closer to her than Larry. There was only one way to save Larry’s life, and it was to risk her own. She had to draw Julian to her, not send him away. If she survived, it was all good. If she didn’t, Larry would be free to escape. Everything had started in a woods, and it was going to end in one, too.
Allie broke off a branch, and the end splintered like a stake.
Her heart pounded. Blood pulsed in her ears. She gripped the stake in her left hand. She took a deep breath, gathering her courage.
“Larry, run!” she screamed. “Run! Run! Go back!”
CHAPTER 96
Julian Browne
Julian turned his head toward the sound. Allie was calling for Larry. She was telling Larry to run. He realized what she was doing. She was offering herself instead of Marco Polo. Fine with him.
Julian switched directions, heading for her. She sounded closer than Marco Polo. She would be easier to pick off.
Julian swung the hammer down on a branch, cracking it off. He got a bead on Allie’s shouting. It was getting louder. He didn’t need the flashlight to find her anymore. He tucked it into his waistband behind his back.
Julian kept going, pushing through the forest. Allie sounded closer and closer, and in the next minute, he saw her shadow outlined in front of a pine tree.
Allie was standing there, screaming her fool head off.
Julian couldn’t wait to shut her up for good.
CHAPTER 97
Larry Rucci
Larry stalked the killer, heading for him with the rock. He heard Allie start shouting again.
He turned his head toward the sound. She was telling him to run. He realized what she was doing. She was revealing her position. She was letting the killer know where she was. She was sacrificing herself for him.
Larry’s throat swelled with emotion. She was willing to give up her life for him. She was answering the question he’d asked himself since they got married. She loved him as much as he loved her.
Larry moved faster. He had to get to her before the killer did. Allie was his wife until death did them part.
Larry was hell-bent on making sure that didn’t happen.
CHAPTER 98
Allie Garvey
Allie spotted movement to her left. She turned. She saw the flash of a white shirt between the pine needles. Julian.
Her mouth went dry as dust. Her heart thundered. Adrenaline surged in her system. All of her senses focused like never before. The pain in her wrist receded.
Larry had gone silent. She couldn’t think about him now. Julian was breaking the last few branches between them. She trembled. She told herself not to panic. She stood her ground.
She tightened her fingers around the stake and let her good arm fall. She didn’t want Julian to know she had a weapon. She had to draw him in and make her move. He wouldn’t expect her to attack. Her best shot would be her first one. She braced herself.
She could hear Julian grunting with exertion. He moved a branch. She glimpsed a flash of his face. He was almost upon her. His white shirt stood out like a target. She waited for him to get as close as possible.
“You bitch,” Julian spat out, breaking the last branch between them with a hammer.
Allie lunged forward with the spike and aimed for his chest. Julian jumped aside but was hemmed in by a tree. The spike went into his lower right side.
Julian yelled. Allie drove the stake into him with all her might. Julian dropped the hammer. He grabbed the stake and wrenched it out of his body.
Allie felt for the hammer on the forest floor and grabbed it. Julian kicked her, connecting with her broken wrist. She screamed.
Julian reached down, but she swung the hammer up at his face. It hit him in the cheekbone. He staggered sideways, howling.
Allie scrambled to her feet, holding on to the hammer.
Julian leapt onto her in a rage. He shoved her backward to the ground. His hands went around her throat. He squeezed her neck, strangling her.
She hit him with the hammer but he didn’t stop. She hit him again and again. It still wasn’t enough. She was too close and couldn’t get a powerful enough swing. She kneed him in the groin, but he didn’t stop. She couldn’t breathe.
She heard gagging sounds and realized it was her. She began to panic. She was losing consciousness. She kneed him and kicked him, but he kept squeezing.
She dropped the hammer, her good hand going reflexively