Edge of the Season (4 page)

“Dani wouldn’t just steal Cassie.”

“Well, it sure as hell looks that way.”

Jake turned a corner and pressed hard on the accelerator. “Something’s wrong,” he said. “I’m fifteen minutes out.”

“She’s stopped. I’m almost to her.”

Jake pressed harder on the accelerator. What was going on in Dani’s head?

“I can’t reach her. Did you try calling her?” he asked.

“It went to voicemail.”

Why wasn’t she picking up her phone? “What’s she doing now?” There was a pause, and Jake had to clench his teeth in order to not demand answers from his sister.

“I’m across the street. She’s in front of the park entrance. She’s setting Cassie down.”

He heard her yell Dani’s name. “Is she talking to someone?” she muttered in his ear.

“I’m close, Lyssa. Keep talking to me.”

“She’s ignoring me. I can’t get to her—there’re too many cars on the street.” She yelled Dani’s name again. “Dammit, Jake,” Alyssa snarled. “She just left Cassie. Hold on.”

Alyssa’s panting breath sounded in his ear. “I’ve got Cassie,” she said. “Hey, Squirt, I’m here now.” He could hear her murmuring reassurances to his niece, who hiccupped between her whimpers.

“Where’s Dani?” he demanded.

“Jake,” she said. “She ran. She ran into the park. Do you want me to follow her?”

“No!” Cassie shouted. “No park. The bad man is there. Dani said no park.”

Bad man? What the fuck was going on?

“I’m almost there,” Jake said. “Hang on.” He wasn’t sure whether he was telling Alyssa or sending the thought out to Dani.

D
ani entered the park
. “Tell me the point of this game you want to play,” she demanded of the psycho.

“It’s simple. I’m going to hunt you,” he said.

“And how do I win?”

“If you can survive, then I’ll let you go.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t.”

Fucking bastard.

Dani ran hard but steady up East Drive, past the pond on the east side of the park. Soon the zoo would be to her right, the Wollman Rink on her left. She could hear the happy shouts and laughter of people skating. It would be shutting down soon.

She couldn’t go there. She had no idea if this guy even had a weapon or if he was just playing games with her, but now that it was just her running through the park, she started to question herself. What if this was just some prank? Who was this guy really?

She got a few weird looks from people strolling along the sidewalk and other runners, all dressed in appropriate gear, while she ran with jeans, boots, and her jacket flapping behind her. A guy driving a rickshaw yelled an offer to drive her where she wanted. She ignored them all.

“What’s the time limit on this game of yours?”

“Three hours,” he said immediately. “If you survive that long without leaving the park, then I’ll spare your boyfriend’s family.”

Could she do this? Her thoughts went to Jake. What would he do? A surge of longing cut through her. She wanted him beside her.

“Your three minutes is up,” he said. “I’m coming, Danielle.”

Her heart stuttered and she missed a step running. She had to stop herself from running faster. She needed to pace herself. Three hours was a long time. Marathon long. And he could track her. She panted.

Dammit. She would not let fear control her. So far she had no real proof that she needed to be scared. She purposely slowed her running, though she wanted to race through the woods themselves. No, she needed to see who it was doing this to her. She wouldn’t be chased by a boogeyman.

East Drive connected with Center Drive and kept going north. She crossed the road, ignoring the rickshaws and runners. She moved into the trees on the other side. Most of them were bare of leaves, offering little sanctuary—from sight or from the brutal icy wind that cut through her clothes.

One pine tree drew her attention. Its branches drooped almost to the ground. It stood about thirty feet from the running path. Her breathing sounded harsh as she walked around the tree. She wiggled under some of the branches and wondered if she’d just made the stupidest move possible. But she needed to see this guy’s face. She needed to know what she was up against.

She crouched under the lower limbs of the tree, smelling the sharp freshness of sap, her fingers digging into the pine needles that covered the ground. The branches blocked the wind and her heartbeat slowed.

She just had to hold out until Jake found her. She had no doubt he would come. Alyssa would call him and he’d know something was up. He would find her, and together they would take out this lunatic.

In the meantime, she had to gather as much information as she could. Darkness had descended and she knew she was almost impossible to see crouched under the tree. Staying put would tell her whether this guy was telling the truth and was actually tracking her, or if he was just pulling some psychotic scam.

She ignored the runners on the path in front of her for the most part, looking for a solo man on foot. She shifted in her crouch, her knees protesting, and checked her watch. It had been five minutes since he’d entered the park. A group of runners went by, chatting and laughing about something.

A man in a business suit, checking something on his smartphone, walked along the sidewalk toward her tree. He had earbuds in and stopped for a moment, staring at his screen. He was about average height and had a knee-length dark trench coat on. That coat could hide multiple weapons, Dani knew. He looked up for a moment; his eyes scanned the area, almost as if he knew she watched him. He looked down again. Her heartbeat sped up. He didn’t know where she was yet. Could she take him right now?

She shifted in her crouch just slightly.

“Danielle,” the voice in her ear whispered.

She barely stifled a shriek. She didn’t answer him.

“I can see you.”

No, he couldn’t. He still stared at his phone.

“I’m very disappointed. I thought you’d be much more fun than this.”

The man walked along the path, still not looking up. She could rush him, surprise him. He kept walking past her tree, and triumph surged through her. She was going to take this asshole down.

A footstep crunched softly on snow behind her.

Her head snapped up and she whirled. A man stood on the outside of the low branches. He wore khaki pants and a black zip jacket with a hood pulled up. She couldn’t see his face.

He raised a gun, and pointed it at her through the branches.

She screamed and threw herself backward, putting the tree trunk between them. A muffled crack ripped the night. Pine needles exploded from where a bullet had struck the ground. The place where she’d just crouched.

She didn’t think. She rolled out from under the branches and ran back down Center Drive, sprinting hard. A glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t see him.

“Shall we try that again, Danielle?” he said in her ear. “I will give you one last chance, now that you realize I’m serious. Next time I catch you, I will kill you. Now run.”

And she ran.

J
ake scowled
. It had been fifteen minutes since Alyssa had seen Dani run into the park, and he had absolutely no idea what was going on. He hated it. He stood by Alyssa’s unmarked police car, which she’d parked on 59th Street. Cassie sat in the backseat, holding her blue train.

“I’m going after her,” he said.

“Cassie said Dani was yelling at someone on the phone,” Alyssa said.

“Maybe it was someone from her past and it freaked her out.”

“But why would she bring Cassie?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

Alyssa opened her trunk. “Are you armed?”

“Of course.” He’d grabbed his Sig from the glove compartment of his car. Dani’s knife was still there. He didn’t know what was happening, but he wished he hadn’t asked her to take it off.

She nodded. “Cassie mentioned a bad man. It could mean anything. But…” She pulled out a police vest from her trunk and handed it to him. “Go find your girl. As soon as Jessie shows up to take care of Cassie, I’ll back you up.”

“Thanks.” He shrugged into the vest and put his jacket over it. “Keep your phone on just in case.”

“Do you want me to put out a BOLO on her?”

Jake eyed the park and shook his head. “No. I don’t know what this is yet. It could be nothing.”

“Be careful, Jake.”

He smiled grimly. “Always, Lyssa.” With that, he turned and set a steady, even jogging pace into the park.

What the hell was going on? Where would Dani run if she was in trouble? Why wasn’t she answering her phone?

He needed backup. Central Park was over eight hundred acres. A grid-style search was the easiest but most manpower-intensive, and it would take Jake forever to find her that way by himself. He had to figure out where she was going and why she’d run from Alyssa.

He jogged up East Drive at a steady clip. He couldn’t imagine Dani running into a crowd, so he passed Wollman Rink. The zoo didn’t make sense, so he bypassed that too. If she needed space to think, then she’d want to go somewhere where she could be by herself. And if she needed to hide, then she’d probably follow the same logic. It left the zillions of small dirt paths that meandered through the park. He clenched his fists at the impossibility of the task.

So many questions raced through his head. Something was very wrong, and his instincts told him to find Dani ASAP.

D
ani needed help
. She ran in the opposite direction of most of the runners. She was still on Center Drive, moving west. The psycho wasn’t behind her that she could see, but she didn’t slow down.

A long, drawn-out sigh echoed in her ear. “Must I tell you everything about this game? If you keep staying on the open road, then it’s going to be very easy to shoot you.”

Fuck. So that answered that question. He could see her.

She darted off the road and onto one of the pathways, running fast along its winding course. Not caring anymore about saving her strength.

“That’s better, little rabbit,” he said. “Run for me.”

“Fuck you,” she muttered, and he laughed.

She bolted. If she could get far enough ahead of him, maybe she could find someone with a phone. She raced past trees, taking random turns, always moving farther away from that tree where he’d shot at her.

“Where have you gone, little rabbit?” His crisp accent made his question seem so harmless.

She covered the Bluetooth with her hand so he couldn’t hear noises either from her panting breath or anything that might give her position away.

She came upon a young couple kissing under the bare branches of a massive tree. Dani skidded to a halt in front of them, an idea popping into her head. She took off the Bluetooth and held it tight.

“Can I borrow your phone? Mine isn’t working,” she said. “It’s an emergency.”

The guy had an NYU hoodie on under his open coat. He moved in front of the girl just a touch. Great. They didn’t trust her. Maybe she looked as crazy as she felt.

“Please,” she said softly, afraid to raise her voice. She didn’t want the Huntsman to hear.

The guy pulled his phone from his pocket, keyed in his password, and handed it to her. “Local only.”

“Thank you.” She tapped in Jake’s number.
Please let him answer.

The Huntman’s voice sounded from the Bluetooth. She put it to her ear.

“What are you doing, Danielle? It’s against the rules to take off the earpiece.”

“I’ve still got it, asshole,” she said. “I’m just not as talkative as you.”

Jake’s phone rang twice while she waited.
Come on. Answer it.

“Your phone seems to be working now.” College Guy reached for his phone.

She stepped back and shook her head. “Please,” she mouthed silently.

“You’re making this too easy, Danielle. Why are you staying in one spot? If you bore me, I will end the game.”

She tightened her grip on the Bluetooth so he couldn’t hear anything.
Please answer, Jake.

“Hello?” Jake’s voice came over the phone.

She wilted where she stood as relief crashed over her.

“Jake?” she said.

“Dani?” His voice sharpened. “Where are you? What’s going on?”

“Jake, there’s a crazy man after me. He wants to kill me.”

The guy in front of her stiffened, while his girlfriend gasped.

“Where are you?” Jake demanded.

“Where are we?” she asked the guy.

“South of Bethesda Terrace.”

She relayed that to Jake. “He’s got a gun.”

“Stay put. I’m coming.”

“I can’t, Jake. He’s tracking me.”

“I’ll get the police to surround the area.”

“No! No police. He said he’d kill your family.”

“What?”

College Guy ripped the phone away. “What the fuck, lady?” His voice grew louder. “Are you serious? Why don’t you call 911?”

“Danielle.” The Huntman’s voice singsonged from down the path.

She froze as fear spiked through her. His voice came from the path, not her earpiece. Shit. Footsteps crunched on gravel. Adrenaline surged.

“Run,” she hissed at the students. “Run as fast as you can. Then call 911.”

She waited a beat, until they took off down the path, away from the psycho. Then she turned in another direction and sprinted as hard as she could into the shadow-filled lane, hoping the darkness hid her from the evil stalking her.

J
ake ran hard
, north to Bethesda Square. Dani was in trouble. Why the hell had someone targeted her? He called Alyssa as he ran, and told her what he knew.

“I don’t know what the hell to think, Lyssa. She said no cops or he’d kill the family.”

“He’s playing with her,” Alyssa said. “We can protect ourselves.”

“You can, but if this asshole isn’t working alone…”

“I’m NYPD. I can protect Cassie and the others,” she said. “Go help Dani. I’m calling this in. If there’s a crazed gunman in my city, then I have to stop him.”

“Do your stuff, Lyssa. I’m heading to the Terrace.”

He hung up and ran faster, years of training taking over. His bad leg twinged when his foot slipped on ice, but he ignored it. Dani’s life was on the line. The Mall, the main walkway to Bethesda Terrace, was almost deserted of strollers and runners, either because of the bitter cold of the night or because it was so close to Christmas.

Within minutes, the Terrace was in sight. He slowed and crossed Terrace Drive, rather than taking the many steps and the stone tunnel under the road. He took a second to scan Bethesda Terrace as it spread out below him. A large, red brick circle surrounded an eight-foot-tall fountain topped with a bronzed angel. Seven engraved archways connected beneath him to the elegant stone tunnel under the road. The Terrace bordered the Lake, where in the warmer months tourists flocked to row rented boats on the murky green water.

Jake ran down one of the two sets of wide steps to the Terrace proper. Here, the cold wind bit his skin. No one wandered in this area after dark. He stalked the edges, getting a feel for it. Was Dani still coming this way? Had she been here and gone?

The tunnel under the road was empty and dark, but it was short enough that he could make out the other side. The tunnel and Terrace were clear of any potential tangos.

Four main pathways fed into the Terrace, in addition to the tunnel and two sets of stairs. He needed a better view. He ran back up the steps so he could get into an overwatch position. Fuck, he wanted his team with him. He could use another set of eyes on this.

Where was she? He called back the unknown number. A guy answered and ranted about a crazy lady, but he didn’t know much else. Jake hung up.

“Come on, Dani. Where are you?”

T
he Terrace had
to be up ahead somewhere. Dani ran off the path onto the sparse snow. She aimed straight for a wide-paved walkway, hopping over the knee-high railing meant to keep people off the grass, and ended up skidding a little on the icy pavement.

Up ahead, a horse neighed. This must be one of the transverse roads. She panted; her lungs burned and her breath fogged the air. She ran harder toward the sounds.

She could hear panting in her ear and knew he chased her. She had to move faster. Ahead, concrete stairs slick with snow descended into a tunnel. She rushed down them and into the darkness, embracing it because it hid her from sight.

She paused for a moment before leaving the tunnel, scanning the Terrace. Where was Jake? He’d said he would be here.

But was he even in the park? Why hadn’t she asked that? She needed a place to hide until he could come.
Please let him have a gun
, she thought—though Jake himself was a weapon. Once he was here, then they could deal with this lunatic together. Just thinking about Jake made her stand straighter and eased her panic. He would come.

She ran onto the Terrace. In her head, she heard Jake tell her to find cover, to not panic, to hold on. She kept to the edge of the paved area, heading for a path that went to the right of the Lake and the big tree beside it. She ducked behind it, listening to her panting breath.

“Dani!” she heard Jake yell. Adrenaline rushed through her system and she jumped out from behind the tree. He stood on the road atop the stairs. He was here.

“Jake.” She tried to yell, but it came out almost a sob.

And then he was running down the stairs to her. Something moved in the tunnel. Jake turned, his gun already raised.

A crack sounded, echoing around the Terrace.

Jake jerked and fell back, thudding hard onto the steps. He didn’t move.

“No!” she screamed.

“If you don’t play by the rules, Danielle, then others are going to get hurt,” the Huntsman said. He stood by the tunnel entrance, a shadowed silhouette. His gun was still pointed at Jake, but she could tell by the angle of his hood that he looked at her.

“Fuck you and your rules.” She had to get to Jake, but the psycho stood between them. Why wasn’t Jake moving? He should be moving.

The Huntsman turned away from her and walked to Jake, who still lay sprawled on the steps. Was that dark shadow underneath him blood?

Please let him be okay.

The Huntsman stalked closer to Jake, still holding his gun up.

“What are you doing?” she said, her voice getting louder.

“I’m making sure he’s dead. I can’t have someone interfering.”

He was going to shoot Jake again. She ran onto the path. She had to stop him, but how?

“I’m right here.” She moved onto the Terrace. “Don’t you want to kill me?”

“I’ll get to you in a minute.” He started up the steps.

She kept expecting Jake to leap up, pull out his gun and kill the psycho, but he still wasn’t moving. He might not even be breathing. Oh God. Her breath hitched. She had to get him help.

Sirens sounded in the distance. Were they headed this way? Could they help Jake?

“Those are police coming here,” she yelled at the Huntsman. “I told some people to call for help. They’ll be here any second. If you want me, then you’re going to have to get me now.”

“You are very annoying. Now I know why Rusakov wants you dead.”

“Rusakov? He’s behind this?”

The Huntsman turned to her. Good. He was focused on her now rather than Jake. “Rusakov is in prison,” she said.

He took a step toward her. “He still has money and connections. And the man is very angry with you.”

“Did he ask you to play this game?”

She couldn’t see his smile, but she felt it. He took another step toward her. She moved back a step, hunching her shoulders, not having to fake the fear that coursed through her.

“The game is my specialty. It’s why people hire me.”

She shook her head.

“Yes,” he said. “I’m the one they call when they want their victim to suffer.” He raised his gun. She could barely see it in the dark. “Your boyfriend is dead. And soon, you will be too.” He paused. “Unless you run.”

Adrenaline surged outward from her core, and she sprinted into the dark, away from his maniacal laughter.

Away from Jake.

She sobbed as she ran, pushing herself hard, but a part of her screamed to stay. To fight for Jake’s life. But what could she do? She had to draw the maniac away from him. If Jake was still breathing, this was the only chance she could give him.

She put the Bluetooth piece back on. She hated listening to him, but she might gather clues about where he was if she could hear him. She ran along the path, away from the man she loved. And she did love him. Why hadn’t she told him that this morning? What was wrong with her?

Jake loved her. And she loved him. And now she might never have a chance to tell him.

“Are you crying, Danielle?” The Huntsman’s voice was back in her ear. She wanted to shriek at him, to vent her rage and fear, but she kept silent. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to her.

“I will have you crying before this is over. They all do. They cry and beg. It’s quite lovely to see.”

She gritted her teeth and ran harder. “You are a sick fuck.”

“Some might think so.” He chuckled. “But I always give my clients what they want.”

He was walking still, she decided, if he could talk this much. It meant she could gain some distance on him. He’d said the game would go for three hours. Not that she believed him, but Alyssa and Jake would have called the cops by now. They had to be searching the park for her.

Up ahead was a bridge that crossed the Lake. A solitary male jogger bundled up against the cold ran across it. She wanted to yell at him to turn around, to go the other way, but she was afraid that would only paint a target on him. She hated being in the open and sprinted across the stone bridge, counting the seconds it took in her head, her back tensed. Expecting a shot at any moment.

The crack sounded. Her arm jerked and a loud splash sounded. The jogger stopped, startled, and looked around. A searing pain burned her upper arm. She grabbed it. Wetness soaked her hand; her leather jacket had a rip in it. The bullet had winged her arm and hit the water. She ducked down behind the stone railing.

“What was that?” the jogger asked, his eyes wide as he searched the water.

The Huntsman would shoot him if he stood there talking to her. She had to get him off the bridge. “Keep running or I’ll scream,” she said.

He stopped looking at the water and turned to her, holding up his hands. “Easy, lady. I didn’t do anything.”

“Then get away from me,” she yelled.

He took off running toward the shore where the psycho waited, but she didn’t think he’d shoot the man now. Or at least she hoped not. She took a few deep breaths and then sprinted the other way. Running for her life across the bridge.

Her life, and Jake’s.