Exit Strategy Read online

  “She was a great help, but I’ll want my partner back eventually.”

  For the first time since he’d found her, Theo saw her smile.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Joanna changed her mind and decided to go and see Allison at the hospital. While she was beyond relief about the outcome, “lucky” once more, Rue couldn’t bring herself to join her. She had spent most of the morning in bed, sleeping on and off, mostly to keep herself from drowning in worst case scenarios. Eventually she took a shower and got dressed. Joanna was safe. She’d sent a message that she would be back around early afternoon. Rue thought that she could manage a quick breakfast before that.

  She wondered if everyone would agree that Joanna had paid her dues. She helped to draw Grace out, and had offered her ideas. If they expected more of her, she and Rue would likely be stuck here until the serial killer duo was behind bars, not an uplifting prospect. Regardless of any expectations from former colleagues, Joanna might consider it her duty to stay until arrests were made, despite the lack of paycheck or otherwise acknowledgments.

  Rue missed their simpler life on the island. She was getting tired or sitting around or being babysat by Vanessa. If only the governor would confirm they’d be free to come and go as they pleased.

  Rue wanted to go.

  After getting dressed, she went downstairs and decided on a pastry and coffee from the shop across the street rather than the buffet. She paid for both and brought it back to the hotel room, juggling her purchases in one hand as she opened the door with the other.

  Rue put coffee and the small bag on the side table, distantly noting her hand was sticky. Had to be the powdered sugar…She looked down at her hand and gasped at the red smear. She wondered if she was still dreaming, had in fact never gotten out of bed…On weak knees she walked further into the room. More blood on the carpet.

  “Hello Rue. It’s so nice to finally meet you in person. I trust you not to do anything stupid.”

  Stupid? Rue didn’t think she was able to do anything, frozen to the point of paralyzed, her heart beating in her throat.

  The sight in front of her was almost enough to generate pity, if not sympathy, hadn’t she known who Grace Lester was, and the hell she’d unleashed. It was because of her that Short had wanted to torture and kill Rue. He’d even set up video so he’d have something to present to her.

  Grace didn’t look like the ruthless killer she was. Her face and hands were bloodied, her clothes stained. Yet, she was training a gun on Rue in a surprisingly stable grip.

  “What do you want?” Rue managed to get out.

  “I need you to help me,” Grace hissed.

  The situation, and her request, were so absurd Rue felt laughter bubbling up in her throat. Maybe she was going insane, hallucinating the whole thing.

  “Me? Help you? Why would I do that?”

  “Because I have a gun, stupid!”

  Rue couldn’t argue with that fact, though she hoped she’d have her chance to get back at her. Who was Grace calling stupid anyway? She’d gotten in bed with a serial killer and not imagined that he might turn on her? Like Edward Short had? He’d gotten rid of her when he left her behind in prison. Yet she’d teamed up with another monster. Maybe it was too early for that given her own predicament, but Rue did feel something akin to pity.

  “Okay. I can see that,” she said, slowly raising her hands. “What do you want me to do? You need meds, water? A coffee? I bought breakfast.” She could see the woman’s eyes narrow as Grace was probably trying to figure out if Rue was taunting her.

  Maybe she was, but certainly not on purpose. She simply blurted out the first things that came to mind.

  “He’s gone mad,” Grace said, a hint of regret to her voice.

  “Maybe he always was. Did you consider that?”

  “You might be right,” Grace agreed to Rue’s surprise. “But it wasn’t like I had a lot of options, was it? When the detective came to see me about Joanna’s dad, I had no idea what was going on. Liam was a real gentleman at first.”

  Listening to her delusions was almost enough for Rue to ignore the gun. She wanted to shake her, but she was aware that she’d achieve nothing except getting herself killed. Grace was weakened. Perhaps she’d pass out, and then Rue could take the gun from her and call 911…

  “He did this to you? Why don’t we call the police and let them know? Isn’t going back to prison better than your current situation?”

  Grace shook her head. “That’s what they make us do, hide away, cower in fear. I swore to myself I’d never do that.”

  Yet you’re here, hiding from him and dragging me into your mess, Rue thought angrily.

  “It’s not that simple. You need to step up so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

  She knew she’d chosen the wrong thing to say when Grace’s fingers tightened around the gun. Rue held her breath until her vision started to waver.

  “Or I could just shut you up!”

  “Why don’t we start by getting you cleaned up a bit? You can have my breakfast if you want. I meant that.”

  “There’s no time for any of this,” Grace said darkly.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because he’s coming here. Call Joanna. I want to talk to her before it’s all over.”

  * * * *

  After the hospital visit, Joanna had joined Theo at the station where she could witness more of the mystery being unraveled: Liam Preston had spent a considerable time online looking for information on the crimes of serial killers, Grace Lester and Edward Short in particular. Once they’d had all the information that the earlier warrant had produced, a pattern emerged: He had researched Grace and Edward, Joanna, and everyone else involved. He also had a wealth of personal information on one particular prison guard. He’d been on shift when Preston broke out Grace, signing off on the papers.

  Theo was about to leave with a couple of officers to bring him in when Joanna’s cell phone rang.

  “It’s Rue. I think I’ll go and meet her for lunch.”

  “Yeah, you do that.”

  He saw her pale and immediately knew another crisis was unfolding, even before Joanna said,

  “Grace! What are you doing with Rue’s phone?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Something softened in Grace’s expression when she spoke to Joanna. Sympathy? Pity? Jealousy? Rue didn’t have the time to sort through any of those emotions. Granted, any of them was better than the fear Grace might end the call and shoot her, put an end to some sort of twisted love triangle.

  “You come here. You don’t tell anyone, and you help me. You get me out of this, and I’ll leave little Rue alone. How does that sound?”

  Rue bristled at the nickname though there wasn’t much she could do about it. How did Grace figure this would work? She and Joanna would run away together? That was laughable. She’d break into hysterical laughter at any moment—this was all too grotesque.

  “All right, babe, I’ll see you soon. I missed you so much,” Grace whispered. Was there a trace of emotion in her voice? Rue wasn’t going to be fooled. A psychopath with that much blood on her hands wasn’t capable of affection. In that moment, Rue realized that none of it had anything to do with her. It never had. Short had abducted her, maybe would have even tried to get the video to Grace, but Rue was never the one Grace wanted.

  Joanna was.

  “No!” she cried. “Don’t come here! She’s going to kill you!”

  “Shut up!” Grace yelled back at her, throwing the cell phone at Rue with surprising force. It hit her shoulder and cluttered to the floor.

  “I understand it now,” Rue said, amazed at how calm her voice sounded. “That’s why you let Allison live. And you’re going to let me live.”

  “Don’t count on it.”

  “Why do you hate Joanna so much?”

  Grace stared her right in the eye, reaching up to touch the bruise on her face that still hadn’t stopped bleeding.

  �
��Because she hurt me more than this,” she said. “And now she’s going to pay.”

  Both of them froze at the sound of the door opening, and being shut softly.

  Rue closed her eyes, channeling Zach’s voice in her mind. He’d always talked her through her doubts. One of those times she’d been sitting on the bench, leaning against the ropes crying, convinced she’d never overcome the mindset of feeling helpless and hopeless, destined to be prey.

  She wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t little Rue. She refused to be prey.

  * * * *

  “You come with me, and you’ll do what I say,” Theo warned her.

  Joanna wasn’t going to argue. She knew this was their best bet, to save Rue, to get Grace back behind bars. She was fairly certain that Preston couldn’t survive on his own for long—he didn’t have her skills and intelligence.

  “Don’t worry,” she said curtly. If anyone knows the stakes, it’s me.

  “I’ll gladly come to your wedding,” Theo said as they headed to his car. “After that, I need you both to be out of my hair. I’m serious.”

  “Deal,” Joanna said, trying hard to push the worst case scenarios out of her head.

  Rue would be okay, because they all knew it was Joanna that Grace wanted.

  That idea hadn’t been megalomaniac after all.

  This was what it all came down to, a one-night-stand gone wrong.

  “Jesus,” she said out loud. “You were right all along.”

  “We’ll bring her in, and you’ll be free.”

  They weren’t there yet, Joanna thought.

  * * * *

  It hadn’t been hard to follow Grace or anticipate her movements. His research had made her predictable to him, if it hadn’t been for her constant talk about Joanna Mitchell. He couldn’t understand what was so special about her, but then again, Grace had lost her appeal too when she revealed herself to be a controlling bitch. He was done with all of them. He needed Grace to be gone.

  “Little Rue” as Grace liked to call her, was a bit of a bonus, or so he had thought.

  Liam didn’t expect her to turn into a banshee the moment he walked into the room.

  * * * *

  For Joanna, it came down to the basic truth everyone kept reminding her of, the truth she’d tried to deny for so long: She wasn’t a cop any longer. That meant she didn’t answer to anyone, certainly not Theo. Whatever he and the governor could do for her meant nothing if Rue died in that hotel room.

  The police had evacuated the floor where the room was located, created a perimeter and secured the exits. Joanna joined Theo in the area where the SWAT team stood at the ready a few feet away from the door. She was only half-listening to them discuss the next steps.

  Grace and Preston seemed to fancy themselves to be a meaner kind of Bonnie and Clyde. They didn’t care who was hurt, who died, as long as they got the headlines, the last laugh.

  But there was something Grace wanted, and giving it to her might be the only chance to get Rue out of this alive.

  Joanna knew what she had to do. It was so obvious that she moved without thinking, her hand already on the door handle when she heard Theo’s angry shout.

  “Joanna! Wait!”

  Ignoring him, she slipped inside the room.

  The scene that presented itself to Joanna didn’t make sense, at all, though she didn’t care, grateful beyond measure that Rue was alive, victorious in fact, standing over Preston who was whimpering and writhing on the floor. It was glorious, though not quite the happy ending she’d hoped for, not yet.

  Grace, cowering next to an armchair, still clutched a gun in her hands.

  “Get him out of here!” she screeched.

  “Yes, we will. All in good time. Let Rue go first.”

  Grace pointed the gun at Joanna, then back at Rue. “I don’t want to see him any longer,” she yelled. “Get him out!”

  “We can handle this between us, right?” Joanna knew it was only a matter of time before the tactical team would breach the door.

  “What are you doing here?” Preston spat at Joanna. “You’re going to kill me too?”

  “Oh no,” she said, holding Rue’s gaze. “No one’s going to get killed. Right, Grace?” Because the cops will toss your asses back into prison not long from now. Joanna knew they couldn’t trust her, or him. Rue had been holding her own from the looks of it, but he wasn’t that badly injured—and Grace might shift gears, and loyalties, any moment.

  “We need to talk,” Grace said.

  “I agree. We don’t need Rue for that. This is between me and you.”

  The anger in Rue’s expression was unmistakable, even though it barely masked the naked fear.

  “I need a moment with Grace. Please, go.”

  She’d have a lot to make up for later, but Joanna could tell that for Grace, it worked. She wasn’t sure if this could end well for any of them, with both Grace and Preston knowing that they had nowhere to go. She had to take the risk. This was her final debt to pay. Maybe Theo was right, and afterwards, she could be free.

  “Yes, leave us alone!”

  “I saved your ass,” Rue snapped at Grace. “We had a deal!”

  “Deal’s off, now go, or do you want to find out how many bullets I have left?”

  “Go!”

  Rue flinched, but she obeyed.

  “You brought cuffs?” Grace asked. She tried to sound nonchalant, but Joanna could tell she was fading, in a lot of pain. Good.

  “These.” She held up the zip ties and bent down to fasten Preston’s wrists behind his back. One problem at a time. She could only hope.

  “You’re insane,” he hissed. “This is what she wants.”

  “Okay, Grace. You’ll be okay, I promise. We can get out of here now, but first, you have to give me the gun.”

  Grace shook her head.

  “They have surrounded the place.”

  “Then there’s nowhere to go for either one of us.”

  “There is. You’ll be able to tell your story. He didn’t ask you, did he? He came to get you out, and you had to do as he said.”

  Joanna could swear Preston scoffed at that.

  “That is true,” Grace said, sounding sad. “None of these bastards ever listened to me.”

  “I’m listening to you now. Do you hear that, Grace? I’m listening,” Joanna said, taking a tentative step closer. “I’ve always given you the benefit of the doubt, haven’t I?”

  She was aware of Grace following her every movement.

  “I might not understand what you’re doing, but I want to. I’ve told you that before.”

  “And I’ve told you before we are the same. Hunters.”

  Abruptly, Grace started to laugh for almost a minute, until her laughs turned into sobs.

  Joanna wasn’t sure she’d ever been this disturbed in her life.

  “It wasn’t true. I didn’t kill with them. I killed for them, and look where it got me!”

  “I’m sorry, Grace. I’m really sorry.”

  Joanna held out a hand, and so slowly it was nerve-wracking, Grace gave her the gun before she stumbled forward, holding on to Joanna for dear life.

  I’m not sorry about this, she thought, reaching for that second pair of zip ties.

  It was in that split-second that Grace seemed to have a change of heart and reached for the gun. Joanna, who had half anticipated that action, fought her. A shot rang out, deafening in the confines of the room. She didn’t see, only heard the tactical team rush in, instinctively taking a step sideways. Another shot was fired, but neither Joanna nor Grace had pulled the trigger.

  Grace, who had cried on her shoulder seconds before, stumbled, looking stunned. She collapsed on the floor.

  Joanna realized that when she’d moved aside, she had given the team a clear shot to take out the killer. All of a sudden, many more people were in the room.

  She heard someone say, “You can’t go in there. Ma’am!” and then Rue was in her arms.

  “Joanna
!” It wasn’t until Rue’s shocked exclamation that she noticed the blood on her sleeve and the side of her shirt. Grace’s blood.

  “It’s not mine. I’m okay.”

  “Thank God.” Rue looked ready to keel over, so Joanna pulled her close again—just to be safe, and because she needed the contact more than anything.

  “It’s over,” she whispered. “This time, it’s over for real.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  In the days leading up to the meeting with Governor O’Neal, Joanna and Rue hadn’t left their new hotel room much. They had moved to a different hotel altogether, unwilling to stay in the place where Rue had fought Preston to the point her knuckles were still bruised, and where Grace Lester had died.

  All of it felt unreal, yet Joanna was well aware of the gravity of their circumstances. That, and their incredible luck for apparently having nine lives between them.

  “Don’t worry. She’s not going to have you arrested now,” Rue said behind her, leaning down to kiss her neck.

  “I hope not. She can’t possibly ask more from either one of us.”

  “Before we go home, what are you going to do about…?”

  She didn’t need to say any more.

  “I don’t know. Let’s take it one day at a time?”

  “Of course,” Rue said. “Ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.”

  * * * *

  Joanna had little time to be impressed with the fact that Governor O’Neal had sent a driver, or the sprawling mansion where the dinner took place.

  Vanessa, overdressed as usual, was waiting with Theo in front of the massive staircase.

  “I didn’t know we were going to the opera,” Joanna muttered, making Rue laugh.

  She couldn’t imagine that this would turn out to be any worse than anything they’d been through before—but she was nervous. It might have to do with the lingering tension, her worry for Rue, the shocking moments when she’d had Grace’s blood all over her. What a thin line it was. She doubted anyone would question the person who had fired the shot that killed Grace.

  It wasn’t Vanessa’s job any longer to put those pieces together. All of them could move on now. That’s what she hoped, at least.