Rage. Such red-hot fury descended. Her hand shook and her finger curled around the trigger. She could shoot him. Right here, right now. No one would blame her. No one would ever know it hadn’t been done in the heat of the fight. She could shoot him and then untie him and leave him to die. He deserved to die like a gut-shot animal. Slow and painful.
Do it. Just do it.
The voice whispered over her ears. She was tempted, so tempted. He’d taken everything from her. From Micah. He’d tried to kill her baby. He didn’t deserve to live.
Tears filled her eyes and she wiped at them, leaving sticky blood.
She lowered the gun and turned away. No. David had taught her to value life. He’d never want her to kill another human being for him.
She left the house, stumbling down the steps, the gun once more tucked into her jeans. Cell phone. Chad’s cell phone. He’d left it on the seat of the car.
She wrenched the door open and looked again for the keys, though she’d seen him bring them inside. She grabbed the phone and slammed the door shut.
From inside the house, she heard Chad curse and then yell at her. He called her a litany of names and vowed to kill her if he ever got his hands on her again.
She needed no urging; she turned and ran down the road they’d driven in on.
CHAPTER 38
Micah paced the interior of the meeting room at HPD. He was about to go out of his mind. Nathan, Gray, Connor and even Damon had gathered along with several detectives. They had crawled over Chad’s entire life, tracked his movements by credit card receipts, knew where he’d stayed in Houston and when he’d taken leave from Miami PD.
Micah blamed himself. The taste of guilt was sour and overwhelming. How could he not have seen what a nutcase his friend was? Hell, they’d worked together for years. Nothing had ever made him suspect Chad was off his rocker.
He’d made it entirely too easy for Chad to get to Angelina. He’d failed to protect her then just as he’d failed her now.
His cell phone rang and he flipped it open in his hand. He froze as he stared at the incoming number.
“It’s him,” he barked.
Silence fell, and one of the detectives motioned him over to the table.
“Put it on speaker,” he mouthed to Micah.
Micah pushed the button and snarled into the phone. “Where is she, you son of a bitch?”
There was a moment’s hesitation and then Angelina’s voice quivered across the room. “Micah?”
Fear exploded over him. He snatched up the phone even though it was still on speaker. He needed to be closer to her voice.
“Angel? Angel, baby. I’m here. Where are you? Are you all right?”
Her breath came out in a low sob, and she sounded winded and scared out of her mind.
“I don’t know where I am. I need help, but I don’t know where I am.”
The desperation in her voice scared him shitless.
“Okay, baby, calm down a minute. Where is Chad? Is he there?”
“I left him in the house,” she said faintly. “I handcuffed him and tied his legs and arms so he couldn’t come after me.”
Stunned expressions met her statement. The detective’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit.”
Micah ignored him, his only focus on Angelina. “Good girl. You got away from him. Now tell me where you are so I can come get you.”
Another sob poured through the phone. “I don’t know. I’ve been walking forever, but I don’t see any signs and it’ll be dark soon. He ... he shot me.”
All the blood drained from his face. He collapsed into a chair still holding the phone to his ear. Oh God.
“How bad?” he asked, trying to stay calm when his heart was ready to pound out his chest.
“My arm. Or my shoulder. I’m not sure. Hurts. I’ve lost a lot of blood.”
Her voice sounded weaker.
“Angel, Angel, baby, listen to me. I want you to find a place to sit down. I need you to save your strength so you can help us find you.”
There was wind noise and a light whimper and then silence.
“Angel. Angel! Stay with me. I need you to stay with me,” he pleaded.
“Who is the cell provider?” the lead detective whispered loudly. “We can try to lock onto her location. I need that cell number.”
Micah held up one finger. His first priority was making sure Angelina was still on