Chapter 74

I began to run after the car, yelling into my phone's voice activation to text Charles, then yelling breathlessly the text into my phone.

"The killer! He's on the bike behind you!"

"Wait! Elena!" I heard Matilda and Sally yelling at me. "Stop!

People on the street went by in a blur as my focus tunneled in on Charles' car and the bike. I watched in desperation as they got further away, the biker hovering close to the back left of the car, just out of sight of the side mirrors.

I waved my arms frantically and kept running, seeing that they are nearing a light that had just turned yellow. I pumped my arms, willing myself to go faster.

I saw the biker reach under the back of his jacket into his waistband and pull something out. I was too far to see exactly, but I was sure it was a gun.

"No!" I yelled, trying to push myself even faster toward them.

My phone pinged as the car slowed to a stop at the light. I raised the phone in front of my face as I ran, seeing it was from Charles. The texted bounced around as I went but I finally put the words together.

I got this, it said.

I looked up, watching in horror as the biker pulled alongside the stopped car until he was next to the backseat window. He began to raise his arm. He was going to shoot Charles!

"No!"

The backseat door flew open with such force that the man's arm was whipped sideways, spinning him down. A moment later I heard the report of a gun and people began to scream all around me. Charles went flying out of the car and into the falling man's back, ramming him down on top of the falling motorbike.

The front door of the car also flew open and the driver stomped on something on the ground which I assumed was the assailant's hand, then knelt and came up with the gun, emptying out the bullets on the ground before tossing it into the open front seat.

Cars stopped, people were yelling and getting out, but I still ran. I could no longer see Charles anymore with the crowd standing around and him on the ground.

"Charles!" I screamed. "Let me through, please!"

People parted as I pushed my way toward the cars. Finally, I was able to see Charles sitting on the back of a man, one hand on the motorbike driver's neck between his helmet and jacket, pinning him down, the other holding his phone up as he roared commands and directions to the emergency services operator.

Charles' driver was securing the man's feet, and his hands were already bound behind his back, though Charles' weight kept them pinned against the asphalt.

"Oh thank Goddess!" I collapsed against a stopped car, gasping for breath. I saw Charles look around an spot me. He gave me a nod and continued talking on the phone.

"Elena!" Sally dashed up and grabbed me, pulling me back, as if to protect me from whatever might be on the ground. Matilda arrived, panting, and immediately began to snap photos, her journalistic instinct kicking in.

Sirens sounded in the distance and began to approach.

"I saw it," the driver in the car behind them said, getting out of the car and looking shaken. "That guy was going to kill you, Mr. Rafe."

Charles nodded. "Will you stay and give a statement to the police?"

"Absolutely."

"And so will I," a woman in the car next to them said. "I'm just going to pull over."

Charles put his phone in his pocket and then crouched so that he could grab the assailant's entire body. He jerked the man on the ground around so he was laying facing up. Charles looked and saw Matilda taking photos, and nodded in approval.

"Are you okay, Elena?" he called to me.

I smiled. "I'm good. I'm so glad you're okay."

He looked back at the figure. "Time to see who this asshole is."

He pulled the helmet off the man's head, revealing a middle-aged, scowling, shaggy-looking male. His eyes were still slightly dark from having a recently broken nose. A broken nose that I had given him through his balaclava.

Next to me, Sally gasped and darted forward. "It's you!" she yelled. "You're supposed to be in jail for multiple homicides."

There was a gasp from the crowd and someone asked, "Preston Culpepper's son?"

Sally nodded. "Yes. The city Controller, the man in charge of the money of this city." Sally looked around and began to gesture at people watching. "Please don't stay silent, any of you who saw what his son did! We need him to stay in jail this time!"

There were nods of stunned people standing around and Matilda clicked away into the silence.

Somewhere close, doors slammed and there were running feet. Officers began to swarm the scene, their hands on their weapons.

Charles stood, pulling Blake Culpepper up by the collar. It was chaos and busy for the next few minutes. Sally was busy interviewing people while Matilda took photos. Charles and his driver were speaking to police, Charles not letting go of Blake Culpepper, as if he didn't trust anyone else to deliver him to a secure vehicle.

My heart rate began to slow and I carefully lowered myself to the curb, making sure I could still see what was happening. I didn't want to take my eyes of Charles or Jessica's killer. I wanted to see Blake Culpepper in the back of a police car or I knew I'd have nightmares for the rest of my life.

Finally, two officers gestured for Charles to follow them, and I got up and hovered a little way behind, not wanting to be seen watching, but needing to.

They loosened the ropes around Blake Culpepper's feet and forced him in and around the stopped cars to a police vehicle where one of the officers opened the back seat door.

Charles forced the still scowling man inside and then shut the door in his face.

Both officers shook Charles' hand, saying something I couldn't make out from the distance I was, and got in the car.

As Charles stepped up to the curb, I finally approached. He smelled me before he saw me, and he looked around, holding an arm out to me as I approached.

"Jessica's killer, and your stalker," he said, pulling me close and staring menacingly through the police vehicle's window. Blake Culpepper was distinctly not looking at Charles, whose gaze would melt ice.

"And your would-be assassin," I said, shuddering and leaning into him. "So that's the man Sally put in jail, and whose father destroyed her life."

"Only for a while," Charles corrected me. "Sally is back and operating at full force."

I went quiet, thinking of Jessica. She wasn't a very happy person when I'd known her, and it had caused her to lash out.

I wished I would have known her when she was happy and secure. Maybe then we could have been friends. But because of the monster sitting on the other side of the car's window I'd never know.

"Look at that broken nose you gave him," Charles said, smiling down at me and squeezing, perhaps sensing my darkening mood. "Good job, Elena. I feel a little better letting you walk around the city after seeing that."

I smiled shyly, trying to recover. "I want to tell Amy we've caught him," I said, looking up at Charles. "Can we do that?"

"Let's get out of here," Charles said and then lowered his lips to the top of my head.

As I turned to go, I stopped and looked back. Blake Culpepper was watching us with evil, angry eyes. I looked back at him and raised my chin. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.

If you ever try to hurt any of my friends again, I'll break more than your nose, I thought, and then was surprised at the strength and certainty of my thoughts. It was, I discovered, totally true. I meant it.

As if he heard me, Blake Culpepper looked away.

"What are you looking at?" Charles asked turning back. "Come on, Elena. Let's go give Amy the good news."