Chapter Forty-Three

“Just step out and act like nothing's wrong,” the man ordered Jade. “I would hate to have to do it, but I’ll put a bullet in the head of anyone who gets in our way.” The man tugged open the white lab coat to reveal a black revolver.

“I didn’t want it to be this way, Juliet.” His voice softened. “But you kept ignoring me. When I stopped getting your messages, I got worried. I was afraid something must have happened to you. I had to find you. I know you needed me.”

Jade waited as the door slid open and then she stepped out, searching for any means of escape. The stalker grabbed her elbow, and pressed the gun firmly against her ribs. “Just keep walking,” he instructed, guiding them to the doors leading to a parking area.

“Jade!”

Jade tensed at the familiar voice calling her name. She started to turn and warn Logan but the man beside her was too quick. He whipped around and fired down the hall.

Jade screamed as Logan dove behind a gurney, praying he got out of the way in time. Two nurses down the hall shrieked and ducked into the nearest room. A shrill alarm sounded down the corridor, warning all patients and visitors of an emergency situation.

The man grabbed her arm and propelled her through the automatic doors. She stumbled and fell to the ground but his iron grip never loosened. He dragged her along, scraping her knees on the concrete.

“Get up,” he growled.

She staggered to her feet and he towed her across the lot to his car.

“Let her go,” Logan called out.

The man jerked to a stop and wrapped a forearm around her throat, jamming the barrel of the pistol against her temple. Her arms clawed at the band around her throat. She couldn't breathe.

Two armed security guards rushed out, guns blazing. Logan stalled them with an outstretched arm. They obeyed his command and moved back against the building.

“Drop your gun or I’ll kill her, I swear it.”

Jade had no doubt he would do just that. Her eyes found Logan, thinking he would protest but he tossed his gun to the pavement and lofted his arms skyward.

“Just let her go, no one will get hurt,” Logan coaxed, walking slowly forward. “You can take me instead.”

The man tugged her closer to his car. “Stay back!”

Logan stopped. “Look Michael, your name is Michael, isn’t it? Michael Kint?”

Jade inhaled sharply. Michael Kint, Vanessa Van Gogh’s on again off again boyfriend? He was her stalker? She'd never even met him.

Logan didn’t wait for a confirmation. “Why don’t we talk this over, Michael. You can tell me all about your relationship with Juliet, how you met. I bet it's a great story. You're getting married, right? I’d like to hear the details.”

Logan’s words were confusing the man. “Yes, we are getting married,” he said cautiously.

Logan moved even closer, his hands lowering by minute degrees. Jade had no doubt he'd another gun stashed somewhere.

The man next to her—Michael—removed the gun from her temple and scratched his head with the barrel.

The split second would be all Logan needed. She knew he wouldn’t shoot if there were any risk of hitting her. She appeared in a movie once where she was being held hostage, much like this. She dropped to the ground, allowing the officers to get a shot off. It worked in the movie. The actor had his head blown off, digitally, of course. She had nothing to lose.

Using all her weight and the element of surprise, she dropped like a lead balloon. The man fell a split second after her, narrowly missing Logan’s bullet. He fired back, forcing Logan to lunge for cover behind a concrete barrier.

Yanking Jade by the hair, he wrenched open a door and shoved her inside. She scrambled for the other side but he pushed the safety lock. She was trapped. He yelled for her to get down and kept his gun trained on her head. Flooring the accelerator, he tore out of the lot.

“Damn you, Juliet. I didn’t want it to have to be this way. You know how much I love you.”

Gunshots followed and she heard a loud explosion before the car jerked violently sideways. Logan nailed a tire. Michael fought the wheel without slowing. Jade wanted to grab for the gun but she was thrown from side to side, her back connecting painfully with the dashboard.

They careened around a corner on two wheels and then whipped down a narrow alley. Turning left, he narrowly missed another car, whose driver laid on the horn. The rubber disintegrated off the blown tire, creating an ear-splitting grind of metal against concrete.

While he was driving recklessly, he seemed to be in complete control. He slid through narrow gaps with confidence, avoided collisions with amazing dexterity and still managed to keep the gun trained steadily on her.

Of course. Vanessa said he was a stuntman.

“Where is Vanessa, Michael?”

“Oh, Juliet darling, don’t be jealous. I never cared for her. I only tolerated her because she was your friend and you used her to send messages to me.”

Jade tried to recall everything Vanessa had told her about Michael, but she couldn’t remember much. She knew he'd worked on a few low-budget movies and wanted a shot at a big production. Jade thought from the beginning that the only reason he showed interest in Vanessa was so she could help him land a job with one of her movies. Now she knew he targeted her so he could get closer to Jade. It all made sense now. He refused to sleep with Vanessa and she caught him going through her things, probably looking for a way to get to her contact information.

From her position on the floor, she couldn’t tell if they were being followed but soon, Michael turned and braked the limping car to a stop. Gripping her hair, he pulled her out behind him and then shoved her forward. She stumbled blindly, her hands shooting out to catch her if she fell.

Sirens were wailing in the distance. It sounded like they were coming from all four directions. She tried to look around without adding more pressure to her scalp. She realized they were back at the hospital, but in a different lot. She didn’t see another soul who could help her. The building had probably gone into lockdown with all the gunshots. It should also be crawling with cops. But there were none around when she needed them.

Judging by the expensive, well-maintained cars and SUV’s, she assumed they were in the doctors' parking lot. The beat-up white panel van that they were heading for stuck out like a sore thumb among the luxury sedans. Michael propelled her forward with the butt of the gun.

This could be her only chance.

She kicked a leg out and he tripped, going down hard on the blacktop with a grunt. He didn’t release her hair, forcing her to tumble to the ground beside him.

Jade ignored the sharp bite of gravel digging into her palms and knees as the gun skidded away. She tried to scramble to reach it but he tackled her. She screamed as his weight crushed her painfully to the concrete. Rocks dug into her cheek. She couldn’t breathe. He was going to crush her to death.

She felt a sharp pinch in her neck and then she felt nothing.

“I didn’t want to do this, darling, but you have left me no choice. Now Juliet, you must die.”