They stumbled across the yard, locked in a hideous embrace. White angrily kicked away the junk that littered the ground as he dragged his captive towards the back gate. Kassie’s gaze immediately darted to the house, searching for Adam. She had no idea why he had turned up at her home – had he come to help her or harm her? – but she needed him. She couldn’t bear to be abandoned to White’s cruelty.
And now he appeared, stepping purposefully into the yard, his gun pointing in their direction. White reacted immediately, quickening his pace, as he marched Kassie away. Every step was agony, her mutilated leg threatening to give way at any moment. She groaned in pain, but White showed no mercy, clamping his hand over her mouth, as they continued their clumsy dance.
But Adam was gaining on them. He was twenty feet away, his weapon raised.
‘Don’t do it, man,’ White shouted. ‘Think of the girl.’
But Adam kept marching towards them.
‘You really a killer? You really want her death on your conscience?’
White’s tone was mocking. It was true Adam made an unlikely killer – with his smart suit and clean-cut features. But it was an image that Kassie was familiar with, one which had haunted her waking hours for years.
‘You haven’t got it in you,’ White continued. ‘Nice college boy like –’
But he didn’t get to finish – a bullet ripping over his head. It missed the retreating couple by a foot or so, but still made Kassie jump. The sound was deafening, the sensation of the bullet flying past terrifying.
‘That was a warning shot,’ Adam said grimly, lowering his gun to their level.
He sounded shaken, but determined. And now for the first time White paused, arresting their progress, wondering perhaps if Adam really would shoot. The gunshot was still echoing through the night air and, as it did so, Kassie saw lights coming on in nearby houses. Lights, accompanied by worried voices. And, as the curtains began to part, as the hubbub of voices steadily grew, Kassie noticed something else.
Sirens. The night sky was suddenly filled with sirens. Instinctively, she knew they were coming to her aid – multiple vehicles speeding towards her home. White seemed to sense this too, resuming their urgent retreat towards the back gate. Suddenly Kassie was filled with hope. If she could release herself from his grip, if she could buy herself some time, then maybe everything would still be ok. She could escape, White would be captured …
‘Not another step.’
Adam’s instruction was clear, but his voice was shaking.
‘Pull the trigger if you want to,’ White responded grimly, pulling Kassie closer to him. ‘But you’ll have to kill both of us.’
Adam was ten feet away now – he could hardly miss – but suddenly he looked uncertain, as if, at the very last moment, pulling the trigger on another human being would prove too much. This gave Kassie an opportunity, but the pair were only a couple of feet from the back gate, so Kassie sank her teeth into White’s sweaty hand.
Her captor roared, withdrawing his hand and loosening his grip on her. Immediately, Kassie lurched forward, breaking free. Adam was within reach now and was already lowering his gun to receive her. If she could fall into his arms, she would be safe …
Suddenly her head snapped backwards. The impact took her breath away, her vision blurring. She felt as if she might black out for a second, even as she fell backwards, away from Adam. And now she became aware of White’s hand gripping her hair, pulling her towards him.
‘No …’
White ignored her protests, tugging her back, back, back. Adam looked wrong-footed, his gun still pointing at the floor, but White knew exactly what to do. They had reached the back gate and he kicked out viciously at it. The rusty padlock capitulated, crashing to the ground and the chain link gate lolled open.
And now, too late, Kassie realized how it would play out. Beyond the yard was open wasteland. If White could make it there, he would be free and clear. There was plenty of cover and numerous escape routes – endless tracks and alleyways he could scurry down, even as the police sped to Kassie’s front door.
‘Take the shot,’ Kassie gasped.
Adam reacted, raising his gun. But Kassie’s head, her body, were directly in front of White and this seemed to make him hesitate.
‘Don’t let him get away –’
White’s fingers dug into her open mouth, but she shook them roughly away.
‘Do it!’ Kassie implored.
Adam looked as if he was in pain. If he had come here to hurt her, he certainly didn’t look as if he wanted to now. But Kassie knew what he had to do, how he could end White’s reign of terror. So, even as her captor loosened his grip on her, preparing to make a break for it, Kassie raised her eyes to meet Adam’s.
For a moment, time seemed to slow – a silent charge passing between the pair – then Kassie screamed:
‘Do it now!’
Grimacing, Adam pumped the trigger – four crisp, clean shots ringing out in the cold spring night.