Chapter 11 - THE NIGHT I STOPPED RUNNING
I did not go alone.
I also did not follow Sheriff Ortiz’s plan.
Both things were true.
Ortiz wanted SWAT from the state police. A warrant. Perimeter control. Negotiation.
Reasonable things.
Adrian had Noah.
Reason had trouble competing.
At 6:22 a.m., I stole Deputy Katie Monroe’s unmarked SUV while she was inside the station printing maps.
I am not proud of that.
The keys were in the cup holder.
That part I blame on Katie.
Mostly.
Adrian’s message led me to an abandoned glass factory twelve miles east of Blackwater. Appropriate in a way that irritated me.
Broken windows. Rusted loading doors. Tall chimneys cutting into a pale morning sky.
I parked half a mile away and walked through wet weeds.
My mother’s old glasses were in my coat pocket.
I had taken them from Adrian’s porch case when he left.
Blood still stained the hinge.
Near the factory, my phone buzzed.
NO POLICE.
I typed back: NO HUSBAND, NO ME.
Three dots appeared.
Then vanished.
A gun cocked behind me.
“Hands up.”
I froze.
Deputy Katie.
She was breathing hard, furious.
“You stole my car.”
“I borrowed it.”
“You left me at the station.”
“I was bringing it back.”
“After the kidnapping?”
“Probably.”
“That’s not funny.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“Ortiz is going to kill you.”
“If Adrian doesn’t first.”
Katie’s anger shifted. Not gone. Just rearranged.
“Show me the entrance.”
I stared at her.
“You believe me now?”
“I believe your husband is missing. I believe a rich creep has a private medical lab. The mythology part can wait.”
Fair.
We entered through a broken side door.
Inside, old conveyor belts ran beneath curtains of hanging glass shards. Every surface reflected something.
My pulse spiked.
“This place is dangerous for me,” I whispered.
Katie frowned. “Mirrors?”
“Mirrors are safe. People aren’t.”
“Comforting.”
We moved deeper.
Then the lights came on.
Hundreds of work lamps.
The factory exploded into reflections.
My own face appeared in broken panes all around us.
Gold eyes behind dark lenses.
A speaker crackled.
Adrian’s voice.
“Welcome, Mara.”
Katie raised her gun.
“Show yourself!”
A metal door slammed behind us.
Then another.
Footsteps approached from three directions.
Adrian’s men.
Katie whispered, “How many?”
“Too many.”
“Can you…”
She stopped.
“Can I what?”
Her eyes flicked toward my glasses.
I understood.
Turn them to stone.
I hated that the idea had already occurred to me.
The first man stepped into view with a taser.
Katie shouted, “Police! Drop it!”
He fired.
The darts hit Katie in the chest.
She went down screaming.
I ripped off my glasses.
The man looked at me.
Stone climbed his face.
The second man saw what happened and turned away.
Smart.
Then Katie looked up.
Right at me.
I had forgotten she was there.
---
The chapters are on the left side of your screen.
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
May you like
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
