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He is my husband's son.
The words stopped him.
Eric leaned back against the house beside the open window. Daniel was his son?
Could it be true?
That kindhearted, beautiful boy...his son?
Eric couldn't think about it now. He had to focus. To save Kelsey. He looked through the window again. He could see Kelsey just below him, but the other woman was out of sight.
Eric slipped off Surfer Dude's red parka and the skullcap he'd found in the pocket and left them on the ground. The ruse had worked. He'd replied to the text Surfer Dude had received on his phone, then slipped into the other man's coat. Mateo—the older man Kelsey had ridden in with—had come to help dispose of Eric's body. Eric recognized him from the photos Garrison had shown them that day.
Eric had caught him off guard. Mateo was unconscious, lying in the woods beside Surfer Dude's corpse. The police were on their way, but Eric couldn't wait for them.
He had to deal with the woman, Vanessa.
Killing Surfer Dude had been bad enough.
But to kill a woman, a woman carrying a child?
He didn't want to, but he would if he had to.
He crept up the front porch steps, through the front door, and down the stairs.
Both women were out of sight. He could only see the raised gun, his gun, which she'd taken off him earlier. It was aimed at his wife.
Eric lifted the weapon he'd taken from Surfer Dude and crept closer. He needed a better vantage point.
Kelsey kept the woman talking, kept her engaged.
"It must have been worse for you," Kelsey said. "I was your age when I was taken, maybe older. How old were you?"
The gun wavered. The hand was trembling. "I was ten."
"Oh, honey." How could Kelsey direct that much compassion toward a woman aiming to kill her? "I cannot imagine the kind of life you've had. I remember what they did to us. The locked closets that were terrible, but at least in the closet, you were safe. Alone."
"Da." A pause. "Yes. Safe when they left you alone, but also hungry and scared and desperate."
"Those conflicting feelings that came when you heard the keys jingling outside the door, hoping they would free you, but knowing it would be worse when they did. For me, I heard the keys and worried for my baby sister. I could hear her screams, but I couldn't protect her. I could do nothing to save her."
For a moment, the woman said nothing. But the gun lowered just a little.
Eric stood just beyond the door. From here, he could see Otero's body. The man might've still been alive, but he wasn't moving. He could see the front edge of the bed, and in the other direction, the woman's raised arm.
"It wasn't a closet for me," Vanessa said. "We were held in one big room, together. We had each other, and we held onto each other, because to not meant to freeze, da? When the men came, it meant a bed, blankets, food. We hoped to be chosen, because as terrible as it was with the men, at least we wouldn't starve."
"Nobody had the right to treat us that way, Vanessa. We are worth more than that."
The gun dipped a little lower. Maybe if Kelsey could get her to leave voluntarily...
"You never have to feel like that again," Kelsey said. "What that man did to you..." Kelsey paused, and Eric imagined Kelsey pointing at Otero. "He deserved what he got. If you run, they won't catch you. You don't need to go to prison. You never need to fear him or people like him again. I've been free for over nine years. I made my own way. And I did it with Carlos looking for me. You... you can just walk away. You never again have to be treated like chattel."
"I do not know this word, chattel," Vanessa said.
Eric willed Vanessa to lower the gun completely. He feared how she would respond when the police arrived.
"Chattel means property," Kelsey said. "Humans should never be treated like property."
There was a long pause, like the lady was considering it. Then, the gun was raised, aimed properly again. "Da. But you will tell the police."
"I won't. I swear."
There was a long pause. The woman seemed to be thinking, considering.
Lower it. Just lower it.
"I can't risk it."
Eric was out of time.
Eric launched himself into the room, stepped in front of Kelsey, and aimed at Vanessa.
The woman gasped.
Behind him, Kelsey said, "Oh, my God. Eric!"
Vanessa aimed at him.
A standoff.
"Nobody has to get hurt." He held the gun in his right hand, lifted his left like a stop sign. "I don't want to shoot you. And I sure don't want you to shoot me."
The woman's eyes were wide, terrified.
"The door is open. The car is out there. If you know where the keys are, grab them and go."
"You will follow."
"I don't have a car, even if I wanted to follow you," Eric said. "But the police are on the way. If you want to escape, to protect your child, you need to go now."
Her gaze flicked to Otero.
"Does he have them?" Eric asked.
I think, yes."
"Kelsey," Eric said gently. "Can you search his pockets, see if you can find the keys?"
He felt her move, but he didn't take his eyes off Vanessa.
The keys jingled, and he held out his left hand. "Hand them to me."
Kelsey did, and he held them out toward Vanessa.
A few feet separated them. He took a step forward.
She took a step back.
"You're going to have to trust me, Vanessa. I don't want to hurt you. And I am sure as heck not sorry you killed Otero. But if you run into those woods, chances are good you'll freeze to death before you ever find a way out. The baby you're carrying deserves better than that."
"You will hurt me."
"I won't. I swear." He stepped forward again, the keys resting in the palm of his hand like an offering. "I'm not like him. I don't want to hurt you."
She moved toward him. He shifted toward her.
She didn't lower her gun. He didn't lower his.
Finally, she reached out snatched the keys.
She bolted out the door and up the stairs.
Eric grabbed Kelsey away from the window, pulled her behind him, and stood in the center of the room. His gaze jumped from the door to the window, waiting.
A moment later, a car started. Vanessa drove away.