Wild Night is Calling

  Wild Night is Calling, by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson

  Excerpt from FLEE, by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson

  Also by the Authors

  Part 1

  The red Grand Am crossed two lanes of traffic. Tires buzzing across rumble strips, it made for the off ramp. “Where is he going?” Caitlin jolted forward, nearly hugging the wheel. She swung in the direction Josh’s car had darted, trying to follow.

  A loud horn blared through her open windows and rattled the frame of her Subaru.

  A semi roared up beside her, cutting off the right lane, and she swerved back to avoid a collision. Caitlin couldn’t see the exit on the other side of the truck, but she felt them streak past.

  Her heart hammered against her ribs, jostling her stomach. Her whole body trembled. She glanced at Zach sitting in the passenger seat and prayed she wouldn’t be sick.

  He looked a little queasy himself. Bracing against the door and dash, he stared at her, eyes wide. “What was that?”

  “Josh just…” She gestured to the right, where the semi still blocked the next lane. “He veered off. I tried to follow. I—”

  “Almost got us killed.”

  He was right. She hadn’t looked over her shoulder. She hadn’t even used her mirrors. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

  Zach shook his head and relaxed his death grip. “It’s okay. I was watching Josh’s car, too. I don’t know why in the hell he did that. I didn’t see it coming.”

  “But you aren’t driving.”

  He let out a laugh. “Good thing. I am way too wasted to drive.”

  Caitlin had thought she was okay. Not old enough to buy beer in Milwaukee’s Summerfest grounds, she’d only had a couple in the parking lot. She hadn’t felt drunk. She’d been sure she could make it. Zach and Josh had said it wasn’t too far. But now she had to wonder if letting Hannah talk her into going to a party with guys they barely knew was a mistake, no matter how nice the guys had seemed. If Caitlin hadn’t promised to help Hannah celebrate how far she’d come in the last year, she would have said no.

  She pulled in a breath and let it out in shuddering puffs. Still sweaty after a long day in the sun, now she felt downright clammy; her palms slick on the steering wheel, her legs sticking to the seat. She adjusted her mini skirt and tried to smooth her frizzed and windblown hair.

  “Okay. So it might take us a little longer to get to the party. We’ll deal. So where do I go?”

  “Go?”

  “The party. Where is it?”

  “I…I don’t know.”

  He couldn’t be serious. “What do you mean, you don’t know?” She pulled her focus from the road and glanced into his sincere green eyes. Eyes that had given her a shiver—the good kind—the moment they’d met hers.

  Zach shrugged one shoulder, as if none of it was a big deal. “I don’t know where he lives.”

  “I thought you two shared a house.”

  “Josh and me?”

  “You don’t live together?”

  “I’ve only known him for a couple weeks.”

  “What’s his last name?”

  Another shrug. “I told you. I don’t know him very well.”

  “You don’t even know his last name? But you drove to Summerfest together.”

  Just as she and Hannah had. And when Hannah had gotten in the Grand Am with Josh and she’d agreed to give Zach a lift back to their house, to the party they were throwing, it had made sense. Or at the very least, it was spontaneous, adventurous and wild. Just what she and Hannah had decided tonight would be. Just what they needed after working so hard these past months.

  “Didn’t you guys drive together?”

  “Yeah. But he picked me up. He knows where I live.”

  She had to stay calm. She would find Hannah. Everything would be all right. It had to be.

  “So where’s the party?”

  “Josh’s place, I guess. I have roommates.”

  “How did you think we would get there?”

  “I thought we were following him.”

  “Clearly we aren’t anymore.” One hand gripping the wheel, she dug blindly in her bag for her iPhone. The next question was obvious, not that she’d thought to ask it back in the parking lot. “What was the plan if we got separated?”

  “I was…hoping you’d just want to come to my place.”

  If Zach hadn’t seemed as surprised as she was by Josh’s sudden exit, she would have to wonder if splitting up was their strategy all along. She had to admit that under different circumstances, she might have gone for the idea. Zach was cute; great smile, blondish hair just a little too long. She’d gotten a jitter in her chest the moment she’d met him. The kind of jitter she wanted to hold onto, to explore where it could go. And she and Hannah had decided they were going to be wild, hadn’t they? Spontaneous. To celebrate.

  Some celebration. Caitlin had no idea where her best friend was, and Hannah was alone with a strange guy…

  Alone with a strange guy.

  Oh, God.

  Now Caitlin didn’t want to go anywhere. Not to Zach’s. Not to a party. Not anywhere except home, with Hannah belted into the passenger seat beside her.

  Her fingers closed over the phone. She pulled it out and called up Hannah’s number, trying to keep her eyes on the road.

  The phone rang three times before going to voice mail. “Why aren’t you answering?” Caitlin’s voice sounded as panicked and choked as she felt. “You guys turned off too fast for me to follow, and Zach says he doesn’t know where you’re going. Call me back right away.” She ended the call and tossed the phone back into her purse.

  “I’m sorry this happened, Caitlin. Really, I am. I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”

  “Sorry doesn’t help.”

  “No, it doesn’t. We need to find your friend.”

  She glanced at the side of his face, and for a second, what Hannah and she had done crashed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Wild? Spontaneous? More like profoundly stupid. And she wasn’t sure that she could get them out of it this time. At least not on her own. “Are you serious about the we?”

  “Of course. Don’t you think I feel bad about this?” He stared straight ahead, the green glow of the dash highlighting the line of his jaw.

  A strong jaw. A hero’s jaw, that’s what it was. At least she needed him to be a hero tonight. “What are you thinking?”

  “That I shouldn’t have drunk so many beers.”

  She wished none of them had. Especially Hannah. Especially her. Sure, Caitlin hadn’t had as much to drink, since she was driving. But obviously it had been too much; otherwise, she’d never have let Hannah get in the car with Josh. No matter how good looking he was or how spontaneous they’d decided to be tonight, it hadn’t been worth the risk. Even if Caitlin fixed this mistake, after all Hannah had been through, this might be too much for her.

  Jesus, what could be going through Hannah’s head right now? Did she know Caitlin had lost her?

  Please, please, please let it be okay.

  “Take the next exit.” Zach’s voice rang with conviction, taking charge.

  Caitlin wanted to trust him. Wanted to be able to rely on his help to find her friend. She took a deep breath and zoomed down the off ramp. “You thought of something?”

  “He talked about work. A place in Lake Hubbard.”

  Caitlin recognized the name of the small, southeastern Wisconsin burg she’d visited once as a kid. “You think he lives there?”

  “It’s a start.”

  A start. The name of a town. And the scary thing was that she felt relieved they had something, anything. That she and Hannah, after all this, just might come out of this mess okay.

  “
What does Josh do?” she asked.

  “He’s a mechanic or something. As I said, we’re not that tight. We just started hanging.”

  “Is he…okay?”

  “Yeah. He’s cool.”

  “I mean, do you think he’ll try anything with Hannah?”

  Zach was silent.

  “Zach…?”

  “I said, he’s cool. But I saw him shove a girl once. It was no big deal, really. She was acting like a bitch. But he knocked her down.”

  Caitlin jumped on the highway heading for Janesville. Miles spun under tires. Summer wind whipped through the car, carrying the scent of moist earth, green plants and manure. Rolling hills and the yard lights of farms gave way to the illuminated slashes of strip malls then faded back to dark stretches of burgeoning corn. Neither one of them spoke. Caitlin couldn’t really hear Zach’s breathing, but she could sense it. In and out. In and out. She found herself listening for it, straining to hear over the whoosh of the highway outside. As if it was the only thing she had to hold onto. The one thing that could see her through this nightmare.

  “How are you doing?” he asked, as if sensing her tenuous hold on control.

  “Okay.” It was a reflexive answer. And not a bit true. “Actually, I’m scared. Hannah’s had some trouble in the past.”

  “Trouble?”

  She kept her focus on the road. She knew she shouldn’t be telling him her friend’s secrets. Hannah wouldn’t forgive her. “Her stepfather.”

  “He beat her up or something?”

  “That was only the start of it. It was bad. The whole thing was bad. I’m afraid…” She couldn’t say more. Hannah trusted her. She couldn’t tell the rest. She couldn’t betray her friend.

  “We’ll find her,” Zach said.

  It didn’t take long before they were in Lake Hubbard, yet Caitlin still had no clue where to start searching. The town wasn’t large, but it was certainly too big to find one woman, when they had nothing to go on but the first name Josh.

  She looked to Zach. He was so cute with his hair curling around the collar of his polo shirt. Clean cut. Nice. The kind of guy she could rely on to help. At least she had that going for her. “Now what?”

  “Now we go to the police station.”

  A quiver seated itself in Caitlin’s stomach. She drove two blocks and stopped for a red light before she was ready to speak. “Are you sure we need the cops?”

  “Any other ideas?”

  She didn’t have a single one.

  “Me, either.” Zach reached out and patted her arm. The gesture was awkward, as if he was trying to be reassuring and didn’t quite know how. “So we go to the police. Maybe they can help us figure out where Josh lives.”

  “Why would they know? Has he been in trouble with the law?” Possible scenarios sprouted and bloomed in her mind.

  “I have no idea,” he said. “Except for that one thing with the girl, every time I hung out with him, he seemed perfectly normal.”

  “A lot of people seem normal. Seeming normal doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in trouble before.”

  “Yeah. You’re right.”

  Her throat pinched. A sob jerked deep in her gut. This whole thing was seeming more hopeless all the time. Maybe Zach was right. Maybe going to the police was their best choice. Maybe it was their only choice. And if Hannah hated her as a result, she would just have to live with that.

  The light turned green, and Caitlin continued through the outskirts of Lake Hubbard. The bright colored signs of fast food restaurants, bowling alleys and big box stores shimmered in the humidity. The scent of burgers and deep fried grease wafted in through the windows. Caitlin hadn’t eaten since she’d scarfed down a cream puff right before they left the park, but the last thing she wanted was food. She just wanted to be on her way home with Hannah. She just wanted everything to be back to normal. And if it took going to the police to make that happen, maybe that’s what she’d have to do.

  “We’ll find her. It’s all going to be all right.”

  “You keep saying that. But…” The horrors of the past battled at the wall she built in the back of her mind. She didn’t want to remember the details. Didn’t want to think it was possible such terrible events could happen again. “It was bad enough with Hannah’s stepfather, but there was another guy, too. Just last year.”

  “Sounds like your friend has gone through hell.”

  “She has.” And Caitlin had, too. Everyone had.

  “I know you’re afraid for Hannah, but Josh will be cool.”

  “You don’t know…”

  “No. You’re right. I don’t. We don’t know anything for sure.” Zach covered her hand with his and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Listen, we don’t have to go to the cops. If you want me to go door to door, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes. We’ll make sure she’s okay.”

  The street ahead blurred in a mosaic of streetlights and shadow. She opened her eyes wide so tears wouldn’t spill over. She’d never had anyone promise to do whatever it takes. Not for her. And although she suspected guilt might have something to do with Zach’s kindness, she soaked it in all the same. “No. You’re right. Let’s go to the police.”

  Caitlin’s iPhone gave a chirp. A new text message.

  She clawed at her bag with a shaking hand, trying to keep her eyes on the road.

  “Here.” Zach pushed the phone into her palm.

  She flicked it to the new text. It was from Hannah.

  Need help. 315 Bransheer Court, Lake Hubbard.

  A wave of dizziness swirled around Caitlin. Forcing herself to breathe, she managed to pull off the street and find a spot on the curb. She shifted into park and tapped the screen with shaking fingers, redialing Hannah’s number. “Please pick up. Please.”

  Hannah’s phone rang on the other end. Two rings. Four. When it transferred over to voice mail, Caitlin cut off the call.

  She switched back to Hannah’s text and stared at the screen, as if she might be able to see more between the letters if she just stared hard enough. For a second, she almost punched in 911, but she couldn’t do it. Not until she knew what had happened. Not until she was sure it was her only option.

  Caitlin looked up to find Zach staring at her. His eyebrows canted downward with worry, but he looked downright Zen compared with the panic racing through her mind and jangling every nerve in her body.

  He was a nice guy. He’d promised to help.

  She flashed Zach a look at the screen. “Do you know how to get to this address?”

  He pressed his lips into a slight smile and nodded. “It’s not too far from here.” In a steady voice, he told her what turns to make. Before she was sure she was ready, they were pulling into the driveway of a green, two-story Victorian.

  They were both out of the car in a second and racing for the door across the expansive front lawn. Caitlin stabbed the bell with a finger. Zach banged the door with a fist.

  No one answered.

  “Oh God, we’re too late.” Caitlin cupped her hands over her mouth holding in the sob that threatened to erupt from her chest.

  Zach raced back to the car. When he returned, he brandished a tire iron in one fist. “Stand back. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She did and he swung. It hit the monitor window with the force of an explosion. Glass shattered, shards flying into the hall and skittering over the tile floor. He reached through, unlocked the door and pushed it open.

  A sound echoed down the hall, something guttural, like the dying groans of an animal. Caitlin stifled a scream. She was going to be sick.

  Zach spun to face her. “Stay behind me.” He raised the tire iron and charged deeper into the house.

  Caitlin reached out to grab him, to stop him, but her hand grasped nothing but air. He wasn’t prepared for what he might see, what he might interrupt. But then, neither was she. No one could have been.

  She ran down the hall after him. A cloying odor hung thick in the air. Strong and visceral, it made Caitl
in cover her mouth to keep from gagging. A light shone from a bedroom at the top of the stairs. Caitlin focused on it, raced for it. She almost smacked into Zach, standing in the doorway.

  Why had he stopped?

  She opened her mouth to ask, but the question shriveled and died in her throat.

  Peering over his shoulder, she could see a body on the bed. Spread-eagled. Wrists and ankles tied. Blood everywhere. So many cuts. Some so deep, the flesh gaped open. Some so deep Caitlin could see bone.