The Road To Echo Point

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

IT WAS A SHOCK, the effect of gravel on rubber. One minute tires gripped the road, bouncing over raised ribs of clay, the next they slid sideways.

Dust billowed, Vi’s pulse pounded, short puffs of air kept her going. It was like a scene investigation gone bad. The result of excessive speed on a dirt road. What a laugh. Except it was anything but funny.

She made it around the corner, somehow keeping the car on the road.

No trees. Thank God.

Her pulse rate dropped, her breathing eased. The company car wouldn’t end up a twisted wreck, along with her career.

“Good going, Davis,” she muttered under her breath. Instinct had her foot pumping the brake. The car started to obey.

A brown blur appeared near her right front fender.

The sound was sickening. It was dense and dull, the thud of live flesh meeting unforgiving metal.

Her ankle ached as she jammed on the brake. The car listed to a stop.

More dust. Everywhere tan plumes of the stuff rose around the car, like a dirty version of dry ice.

That was when the shaking started, from the throb in her ankle, snaking its way up her thighs. In seconds, her hands contracted on the steering wheel.

What had she done?

She had to get out. Had to go look.

Somehow Vi managed to make her hands cooperate and grasp the door handle. Her knees buckled as she got out.

This wasn’t like her. Not anymore. She was strong and in charge. But she had never been on the wrong side of a loaded shotgun, until today.

She hadn’t believed old Mr. Johnson would really shoot her. But one niggling doubt was enough to make her relive another place and time. A time when the threat was more real, though fists were the weapon of choice. A time when safety was a gift to be treasured. And survival was the name of the game.

Mr. Johnson and his rusty old shotgun had been enough to rattle her, big time. Enough to send her speeding down a dirt road, trying to outrun her past.

And now this.

Grasping the door for support, she squinted to block out the late afternoon rays. She didn’t see anything unusual past the expanse of white hood. Nothing.

Her chest stung as she sucked in more air. She willed the trembling to stop.

One step at a time. That’s all it would take. Like one day at a time.

How ironic that the twelve-step mantra came back to haunt her now. Wouldn’t her dad be proud? The way he was still able to control her life, so many years and miles away.

Anger stiffened her spine. She’d use it, just like so many times before. Just like when she’d left home and never looked back.

Placing one foot in front of the other, Vi refused to lean on the car. She didn’t need to lean on anything or anyone.

She rounded the fender and stared at the lump. It was bad. Brown eyes glazed in pain, begging her, blaming her.

But it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It could have been the first catastrophic injury claim she’d handled all over again. Where a toddler darted out in front of a car and ended up a quadriplegic.

Vi shook her head to erase the images of the file photographs she carried around in her head. She was on edge and she knew it. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she assessed the situation.

“Only a dog,” she whispered. But she couldn’t dismiss it that easily.

She’d had a dog once. Chubby and playful and a bundle of energy. Until he came home…

This wounded animal whined, snapping her back to the here and now. She crouched next to it. Her hand shook as she reached out to stroke the silky head. The other one had been beyond her help…maybe this one would be different.

Her hand hovered just inches away from the fur. Her fingers itched to caress, to comfort.

But the memories wouldn’t let her. She tried to push them away, back to that little corner of her mind where the unspeakable stuff lived.

The animal whimpered. She let her fingertips graze its forehead. The whimpers stopped, the grip on her stomach relaxed.

Blinking away tears, she whispered, “Sorry, fella.”

A loud crash of underbrush came from the opposite side of the road. Her heart hammered. Stupid, stupid Vi. She’d let down her guard. But not for long.

She turned to face the loud, crashing beast.

A man broke through the scrub brush, legs pumping, Arizona Cardinals football shirt stretched tight across his heaving chest. Meaty arms swung in time with his sprint. And his eyes. There was a desperation to him—a man with nothing left to lose.

She’d seen that look. So many years ago, right before—

“What the hell have you done?”

Run.

Vi turned toward the dog, hesitated. The animal struggled to its feet. Three legs supported it. This dog would live, unlike the one in her memory. The one her father had killed in a fit of rage.

Stones skittered behind her.

Vi spun around. The man was almost on her.

Instinct had her muscles moving before any conscious thought. Blood hummed in her ears as she jumped to her feet. Her pumps slid on the gravel for a terrifying second before she dug in her toes for traction. Panic propelled her toward the car.

Door locks, ignition, reverse, gas. This time, she used the gravel to her advantage, sliding into a tight U-turn.

A look in the rearview mirror didn’t show her a thing. Just a big cloud of dust and her wide brown eyes, pupils the size of nickels.

CHAPTER ONE