CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Blinking against the rain, Kaitlyn braced in the doorway of the doomed car—now close to the top of the conveyor—and jumped. As she’d planned, her right foot landed on the railing of the ramp, helping her vault over and clear the edge, launching herself into the shadows.

She landed hard on the wet gravel with her feet under her, pitching forward and catching herself with her hands, then falling onto her knees, a sharp pain blossoming in her left ankle. The shredder’s roar intensified with more slamming and crashing. The car was being eaten alive. She smelled oil and dirt. She rose to her feet, testing her ankle. The pain was bearable.

Above the racket she heard a man shout. “Hey!”

She began limping away, trying to stay in the shadows. She could feel the grinding and clanging—the monstrous anger—of the shredder in her bones. The rain ran down her hair into her eyes. She wiped them with her sleeve, shivering.

“Hey you! Stop!” He was closer. She flattened against the outer wall of the shredder. “I won’t hurt you.”

She bolted toward a little shed and made it to cover, her chest heaving. She had to find a place to hide—and a way out of this place.

“I promise I won’t hurt you.” She shivered. He was even closer now. “Just come on out. Nothing to be afraid of.” Closer still. She froze and held her breath, her back pressed against the shed. Raindrops pattered on the metal roof. She crouched and felt something hard and sharp edged against her ankle. Her hand trembling, she touched it.

“You’ll get soaked and freeze out here.” He was just on the other side of the shed. His voice was deep, with an accent like Marianna’s. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he would hear it. “She was a bad woman,” he said. “She was trying to hurt you. I didn’t know you were in there.”

What was it she has just touched? She felt again. It was a jagged chunk of metal about the size of an apple. Her fingers closed around it. It was heavy, but not overly so. She thought of how the shredder tore things apart, compressing and twisting and hammering cars into things like this.

“I want to help you.” He was coming around the shed now.

She hefted the chunk and rose. It was slightly larger than a baseball. She thought of Mr. Brady. He was close enough now that she could hear his boots scuffing gravel.

“Just let me know where you are so I can help you.” She saw the splash of yellow made by his flashlight as he swept it around, the raindrops slanting through the beam of light like needles of silver. Light glinted off a puddle. In a moment he’d be around the corner. The arm holding the flashlight came into view. “Let’s make this easy.” Then she saw the gun in his other hand. “I’m your friend.”

Her breath was coming fast, her heart crashing inside her chest. Then his entire body came into view, and she could see him silhouetted. In a moment he would turn and shine the light in her direction. She cocked her trembling arm back, braced, and threw. She heard the crack and saw his neck jerk.

The chunk had hit the side of his head. The flashlight and gun clattered on the gravel. The flashlight twirled once around. He said nothing. He stood there for a few seconds before his silhouette fell forward, hitting the ground like a chopped tree. The flashlight was still burning. She limped over and picked it up, her hand shaking so badly she had to steady it with both hands. She shone the light on him. He was very still. Blood was pouring out of a gash on his temple, trickling in rivulets that dripped off his nose and the stubble on his chin, mingling with the rain. Had she killed him? The gun. What if he came to and started chasing her again? He might still shoot her. She thought of taking the weapon with her, but she had no idea how to use it. Instead, she kicked the pistol into a puddle, where it disappeared.

And then she began running as fast as her ankle would allow, back past the shredder and the crane. She saw a chain-link gate, locked with a cable and a padlock. She tucked the flashlight in her back pocket, wiped the rain from her eyes with her sleeve, and began climbing. There were two strands of barbed wire on top. They were fitted on an extension of the fence that tilted away from her. This would hurt. She grabbed hold of the top strand and swung her leg up. The wire bit into her arms and hands and caught on her clothes, but gradually she worked her way over. Knowing that jumping would make her ankle worse, she managed to climb down the other side.

The road was dark. There were trees on either side, and there were no stars or moon. She used the flashlight only when she needed to. The rain was easing, but she had never been so cold in her life.

After a long time walking and shivering, she saw a light in a window.