Evil Never Dies

“I have my ways,” he said as he stepped closer. “And you must have known I never overlook unfinished business.”

“Was Miriam Walters unfinished business?”

“What do you think?”

“What did you do with her body?”

“The same thing I’m going to do with yours. Nobody will ever find you. Just think—you’ll be sparing your friends and family the price of an expensive coffin.” His eyes lit up. “And if there is an afterlife, you and Jared will be together again.” He looked at the crib beside her. “All three of you, in fact. How sweet it will be. I have a place ready for you—a nice, deep grave beneath rich, dark soil.”

He took another step toward her.

She jabbed the screwdriver in the shrinking space between them.

He chuckled. “Put that away. You’ll just hurt yourself.”

Another step toward her. He pulled a knife from his pocket and opened its short blade.

Pi

The bellowing went silent as she raced for the front door. Whether the silence was good or bad she didn’t know, but she had her answer as she fought to free the door of its chain and felt a sharp, searing pain between her shoulder blades. His knife went deep. Her hands fell away from the chain and went flat against the door. An immense whoosh of breath left her as she felt him pull the knife from her flesh.

Be

Her baby. She must save the baby. Dropping and wheeling, she pushed herself from the door and rolled to one side as he struck again. The blade struck hard, impaling the wood.

She found her feet and staggered away, her body already growing numb.

A weapon. She needed a weapon.

Gun and holster had been locked away. She’d made the mistake of thinking her life could be a simple one, but she’d been wrong. Evil never dies. Zachary Tucker’s words.

She could hear Be

As she passed the decorative cabinet in her living area, she grabbed the heavy iron statue—an elephant, its thick trunk reaching for the sky, a sign of good luck—and pivoted hard on her heels, swinging the elephant with every ounce of strength she could summon and making contact with Be

The heavy cut glass vase came next, but that one he ducked.

She ran past the couch, down the hallway, and to her bedroom. She pla

He yanked the knife out, releasing a lance of pain from her leg and a low chuckle from Be

He doubled over. Growled in pain.

All she could do was crawl away from him, leaving a bloody trail across the floor as she made her way to the kitchen.

She couldn’t feel him coming after her, but she knew it wouldn’t be long. She dragged herself across the floor, past the small wood dining table to the cabinets, straining every muscle as she tried to pull herself upward. Another inch and she could reach the top drawer where she kept the knives.

But he was coming.

She could hear him now.

She opened a different drawer instead. When he appeared, she threw everything she could at him: an apple slicer, serving spoons, and a rubber spatula.

It was no use.

Even with his bad leg, he had no problem maneuvering. He ducked and shuffled, easily dodged every utensil.

He was laughing again now, having fun with her.

With the meat tenderizer in her grasp, she caught sight of the broom leaning against the wall and the cabinets in the far corner of the kitchen.

She had explicitly told Kitally no weapons allowed in her house.

But Kitally had left the broom for her anyhow.

The girl knew about living alone. She was brilliant, and the love Lizzy felt for her in that moment was boundless.

Lizzy crawled that way, keeping the table between herself and Be

Keep laughing. Take your time. Toy with me, you bastard.

And he did. He let her reach the broom, let her maneuver herself until she was sitting upright on the floor, leaning against the wall for support and struggling to catch her breath. Shivering and weak, she knew she was losing the fight. Holding the broom with one hand, she placed the other on her belly and willed the baby to kick. There was no movement.

“Give it up, Gardner. It’s over.”

He stood near the sink, ten feet away.

This was it. All of her past training, everything she’d been through had brought her to this moment. She refused to be a victim. She needed to get to her feet. She had no choice. Using the broom and the wall for support, she pushed her body upward, grimacing in pain, until finally she stood tall. Their gazes never strayed from each other. “I will not let you harm my baby.”

“You should have thought about that months ago.” He cocked his head to one side, staring at her with a confused look in his eyes. “Who do you think you are?”

With both hands clutched tightly around the broomstick, she twisted the handle, trying to release the brush at the bottom as she talked to him, hoping to keep his attention on her words and away from the broom. “I’m just one person trying her best to get a little justice in the world.” She twisted harder. Something clinked and came loose, but she kept her eyes on Be

He smiled. “Was it worth it?”

“I think so,” she said.

He shook his head. “You’ve found yourself in a very tight corner, haven’t you, Lizzy?”

“It appears so, but I have my broom and I will not lay down my weapon and give up.”

“Your weapon?” He let out another throaty chuckle. “You’re ridiculous, Lizzy Gardner, but you’re a fighter. I’ll give you that. I could see it in your eyes the day you and that reporter came to film me. That was your first mistake. That was the day I started watching you, Gardner. And I never had to go out of my way to find you because I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“So, why are you here? Why didn’t you send one of your goons to do your dirty work?”

“Because this right here,” he said, wagging a finger back and forth between the two of them, “means too much to me to hand it off to one of my ‘goons,’ as you say.”

“Oh, I see. I’m special.” Her thumb slid back and forth on the smooth wood as she searched for the button or lever Kitally had used to release the spear.

“I don’t know if special is the word I would use.”

“I have a word for you,” she said, still searching for the damned lever. “But I don’t think you deserve to know what that word is.”

“Oh, you’re a tease,” he said. “Please, tell me now and spare me the suspense.”

“Not until I’m standing over your cold, dead body,” she said as she slid a hand to the top of the handle. “That’s when I’ll bend down on my knees and whisper it into your ear, so softly you’ll think an angel is blowing you one last kiss before she boots your ass to the devil downstairs.”