Page 2 of Breathe Me In

I wasn’t sure what we were going to see, but there was no way I’d chicken out now.

“Shit.” Brad fell behind when his shoe got wedged between two rocks. I went back and helped him.

“Hurry, Brad.” My curiosity had gotten the best of me. I grabbed his hand, and we hurried along the riverbank to get a better look.

“Jeez, what’s the rush?” he complained. As we got close, I stopped short, and he stumbled into my back.

“Brad,” I whispered, and I took a step back. A set of lifeless green eyes stared up at me. One eye was just below the waterline, where her blond hair swirled around as if she were alive. Her white dress was caught up around her legs and exposed her bare hip.

“Holy shit.” He bent down and reached out his hand but stopped himself. “Look at her neck.”

I ripped my gaze from her eyes and saw the barbed wire that was wrapped around her throat. Her wrists and hands were covered in cuts like she’d been trying to pull it off her. “What kind of a person would—” Something made a sound, and we both whirled around to scan the tree line.

My brain fired off all kinds of possibilities, and I could barely swallow my own spit. Then I spotted him as he spotted us. He dragged a woman by a barbed wire leash around her neck. The way she hung from his hands, it was obvious she was dead. He wore gloves to protect his hands, but there was no doubt he would feel the pricks of that wire from the pressure of her hanging body. In a flash of a second, the realization took hold that he was the killer and he was getting rid of the bodies.

“Bree.” Brad slid his hand into mine. “Don’t move.” A strange calmness flooded my body even as my head screamed at me to run.

The killer’s head tilted to one side as he studied us. I wondered if he was trying to figure out how he was going to deal with the situation. As we stood there, frozen, I noticed things about him. I was sure it was a “him” mainly because he had a man’s build and wore a gray zip-up jumpsuit like a janitor would wear. He had on white sneakers and had a black winter hat pulled down over his ears. A cotton scarf was tied around his neck, and he’d pulled it up over his face so only his eyes showed under the brim of the hat.

Brad and I both flinched when the man dropped the woman and her lifeless body jolted at the impact. He stood there and looked at us for another bit, then he just stepped back and faded into the thick brush.

“Go, Bree!” Brad’s words broke through my trance, and I suddenly felt my body come alive as fear burst through me like electricity. His fingers dug into my hand as we raced back toward the log. Terror made me hang on to Brad’s hand like a lifeline. Pure fear seemed to put wings on my feet at the thought that the murderer was on our heels and could grab us at any moment. Brad pulled his hand out of mine when my Converse sneakers suddenly slipped on a wet rock. He grabbed my arm so I wouldn’t fall and then hoisted me up onto the log ahead of him. “Hurry!” he urged, and he gave my butt a push.

“Not without you.” I waited for him to jump up and follow.

“Keep your eyes on the log,” he instructed. I felt the log move and looked over my shoulder. “Don’t look back,” he cried. “I got you. I promise.” I focused on my footing, and once we crossed, we both hit the ground running. The uneven terrain made my shoes slip, and I desperately grabbed at trees so I wouldn’t fall. We finally reached the beaten path, and just as we hit the opening to the field, Brad grabbed my arm and swung me around.

“Wait.” His eyes were wild, and I was sure they mirrored mine. “Just hang on a second.” He quickly scanned around, and it made my heart beat even harder at my need to escape. He cupped my face as we both fought to catch our breath. “I need to know you’re okay. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” I managed to say.

“All hell’s going to break loose soon.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Once we tell what we saw, all kinds of shit’s gonna happen.”

“Yes, I know. Come on, he might be watching. We need to tell the police!” I cried and tried to pull away, but he leaned down close to my face, and his own barely controlled panic showed.

“Just”—he took a breath—“just promise me if things get real bad, you’ll tell me. I’ve seen this stuff on TV.”

I felt the killer was on our heels and couldn’t understand how he could even form a thought at a moment like this.

“Okay,” I agreed. I just wanted to get to safety.

Brad’s words that day couldn’t have been truer. The whole town became a circus, and we were pointed at and questioned for months about what we’d seen that day. Our lives were never the same. But the fact that he was never found was the worst part. The Barbed Wire Killer was still out there.

That was the day I learned that some monsters were real.

Chapter Two

Thirteen years later

New York, New York

My feet beat the pavement as I fought to pick up speed. It was hard to run with one hand holding a cell phone, but I needed to talk down the store clerk before the opportunity was lost.

“You got this, Zahid. I get your frustration, but please do this for me.” I nearly took out a kid who stepped out of a barbershop. His angry shout followed me as I ran. “What’s she doing?” I gasped.

He sighed. “She’s currently stuffing a week’s worth of food in her book bag.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll square up with you.”