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The man jumped, dropping his victim. He stared at Faith in shock, his mouth open and his eyes wide.
“Put your hands above your head and back away slowly!” Faith called.
The man stood stock still, his expression unchanging. Turk barked firmly to emphasize Faith’s command.
“Do as I say!” she called down. “Or so help me, I swear I will shoot you!”
The man remained riveted to the spot. Faith’s finger tightened around the trigger.
But she wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t fall that far. She wasn’t broken yet.
“Sir, you are under arrest for the murders of Cassidy Holt, Samanthan Reynard, Lorraine Hayes and the young woman you brought into this theater.”
Remembering reinforcements, she pulled her phone from her pocket, keeping her gun trained on the killer, and quickly dialed Michael’s number. He answered, and she quickly said. “He’s at the theater. I need medical and backup ASAP.”
She hung up before Michael could answer and put her phone back in her pocket. “I have backup on the way,” she said. “Surrender now, or things will go very badly for you.”
The killer blinked. Then his eyes narrowed shrewdly. Faith saw the killer’s intentions and said, “Don’t try it. You move, Iwillshoot.” That was an action she could justify considering the situation.
The killer looked at her. Then he looked somewhere to his left. “Don’t try it,” Faith warned again.
He bolted. Faith shot a split second too late, and the bullet buried itself in the soft wood of the stage. She swore and rushed toward the other side of the mezzanine, where a stairwell led down to the first floor. Turk outpaced her and quickly ran down the stairs. Faith followed.
She was halfway down when one of the steps snapped. She cried out and fell through, falling eight feet to the floor and landing heavily. She grimaced with the pain, but quickly got to her feet.
The killer was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately for her, Turk’s nose still worked just fine. He sprinted toward the back of the auditorium, barking. Faith followed him, shouting ahead, “You need to come quietly! If you hurt me or my dog, I’ll shoot. This isn’t worth it!”
“This iseverything!”a voice shrieked.
A moment later, the killer tackled Faith. He tried to kick the gun from Faith’s hand and slammed his fist into her nose. Her vision swam, but she clung to the pistol, and the two of them grappled for the gun.
With a growl that close to a roar, Turk leapt from the mezzanine. He landed heavily, and Faith watched with bated breath to see if he’d get up.
That was a mistake. The killer hit her again, and this time, she stumbled back, releasing her gun.
The killer lifted the weapon, but Turk leaped into the air and clamped his hands around the killer's wrist. The man cried out and fell on top of Turk.
Faith put her hand against one of the chairs and sat down, struggling to gather her thoughts. Her ears rang, and her vision swam.Damn it, pull yourself together!
Turl yelped, and Faith snapped back to alertness. She rushed the killer, and this time, it was she who forced the gun off of its target. A few yards away, Turk got unsteadily to his feet and shook his head.
Faith drove the killer backwards, but after a few steps, he twisted the gun from her grasp and stiff-armed Faith. She flew backwards as though she had been thrown.
Turk dove low this time, grabbing the killer’s ankle and dragging him to the ground. The man cried out and fired, but the bullet went wide and poked a hole in the roof above.
Faith rushed forward and grabbed his wrist before he could aim the weapon at Turk. She got her first good look at the manresponsible for killing these women. He didn’t wear his mask today, another mistake borne of desperation.
He was older. That surprised Faith. She’d chased older killers before, but they had either avoided a physical confrontation, or they’d been massive specimens of humanity. This killer was athletic but slender, almost wasted.
But he was strong. Faith fought with all her might to keep the gun pushed away from Turk, but even his one arm was all she could handle. With his other hand, he fought off the snarling Turk, and after a moment, he shrieked and pushed both Faith and Turk off of him.
He leveled the gun, but Faith kicked upward. The toe of her shoe caught the killer's wrist and sent the gun flying. He started toward it, but once again, Turk leaped on top of him and dragged him to the ground.
Faith got to her feet and prepared to join the fight when a moan caught her attention. She looked toward the stage, her eyes wide. The woman was groaning and rolling to her side, her eyes opening blearily.
The victim was alive! She was still alive! He had knocked her unconscious, but he hadn’t killed her yet!
The killer noticed this too. He released a sound like a train whistle and shook Turk off. The dog’s teeth tore grooves in his arm, but he didn’t care. He ran toward the stage, moving at shocking speed.
