Chapter 6 - Secrets in the Red Car
The truck sped down the dark, winding state highway. Emma had crawled up onto the passenger seat, crying hysterically now that the immediate threat of silence was gone. I reached over with one bloody hand and held hers tightly.
"We're safe now, Emma. We're going to find Daddy," I promised, though my voice trembled so fiercely I doubted she believed me.
A mile down the road, my phone suddenly beeped. A single bar of service appeared. Immediately, a wave of text messages flooded through, followed by a vibrating incoming call screen.
Tom.
I hit the speaker button and threw the phone onto the dashboard. "Tom! Tom, where are you?!"
"Rachel! Oh thank God," Tom’s voice boomed through the speakers, laced with panic. "I’ve been trying to call you for an hour. Are you and Emma safe? Are you in the house?"
"No! We’re in the truck, we’re driving toward the highway," I yelled, navigating a sharp turn that made the tires squeal. "Tom, a man broke in. It’s David Vance. I found the papers in your truck, Tom. Why didn't you tell me?!"
There was a brief, agonizing pause on the other end. When Tom spoke again, he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I wanted to protect you both. I thought if you didn't know, you wouldn't look scared, you wouldn't live in fear. He was supposed to be locked away for twenty years, Rachel. His lawyers got him out on a technicality two months ago. I’ve been tracking him, trying to make sure he didn't find us..."
"He found us, Tom! He’s at the house, or he’s in the woods near it," I cried. "He tried to take Emma."
"Listen to me," Tom said, his voice dropping into a fierce, commanding tone. "I’m in the rental car, about five minutes away from the turnoff to our road. Pull over at the gas station by the interstate junction. Wait for me there. I’ve already called the state police; they’re dispatching units, but they’re fifteen minutes out."
"Okay, okay, the gas station," I repeated.
As I hung up, I looked in the rearview mirror. Through the rear window of the truck, far back in the darkness of the empty highway, I saw a pair of headlights appear. They were moving incredibly fast, closing the distance between us with terrifying speed.
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It wasn't Tom. Tom was ahead of us, coming from the interstate.
The headlights behind us flashed high beams, blinding me through the mirrors. It was an old, dark SUV. Vance had a vehicle, and he was hunting us down.
