The tips of her fingers brushed against the leather handles of her briefcase. The leather bag was still resting upright on the table before her, and Ellie knew all too well how heavy the damn thing could get when it was full.
It’s full now. It’s full, it’s heavy, and it’s the only chance you’ve got.
Harvey raised the gun clutched tightly in his hand. The breath in her lungs froze, and she sent up a quick, frantic prayer. And just as the barrel of that gun started to point straight at her own head, Ellie used every ounce of strength she had to throw her briefcase toward the weapon.
Leather met with metal, and a third shot blasted. The bullet went wild, thankfully only striking the wall somewhere behind her. The deputy’s stolen gun flew from Harvey’s hand, and for a second, Ellie thought it was over.
The man was now unarmed, and from her peripheral, she could see a handful of other deputies and law enforcement officials storming through the courtroom doors. But before they could stop him, Harvey threw himself at Ellie, his muscular form slamming into hers with such force, they both went tumbling to the floor.
Pain flashed when her head bounced off of the unforgiving tile. Tiny black dots filled her vision as she attempted to claw and kick her way out from beneath the man’s crushing weight.
“Help!” Ellie screamed as loudly as she could. “Help…me!”
Two civilians from the gallery got to them first and started pulling on Harvey’s broad shoulders. But even as he was struggling to fight them off, Harvey managed to reached down and wrap his meaty hands around her neck.
He began squeezing so hard that breathing became impossible. Ellie’s lungs burned with their efforts to take in life-saving oxygen, though none ever came.
An indescribable pressure filled her head to the point she thought it would literally explode. She continued kicking and scratching at Harvey’s bare hands to no avail. He was simply too strong, and she was growing weaker and weaker with each second that passed.
“You look just like them, you know,” Harvey whispered as he brought his lips next to her ear. “All that pretty brown hair…those crystal blue eyes.”
Something wet was smeared along that side of Ellie’s face, and it took her frenzied mind a few seconds to realize the sickson of a bitch had justlickedher. Bile rushed to the base of her throat, the acid burning the delicate tissue there.
Oh, God! He’s really going to kill me! He’s going to—
“I will get out someday, sweet Eloise.” A hushed promise meant only for her ears. “And when I do…I’m coming after you.”
The black dots from before morphed into a cloud of darkness that surrounded her vision. It began closing in, framing the killer’s evil, smiling face. The pressure in her head became almost unbearable as the man’s unforgiving grip grew impossibly tighter.
Her lids fell shut, the darkness pulling her fully under. But just as she started to lose consciousness, the pressure—and the man who’d been trying to kill her—was gone.
“Get off of her, you son of a bitch!” A male voice yelled as her attacker was yanked back and thrown to the ground.
On reflex, Ellie’s eyes flew open, her mouth like a fish out of water as she struggled to find life-saving oxygen. Time and again, she filled her starving lungs. It took several gasping breaths for her body to realize the threat no longer existed.
Two muscular men in uniforms hauled Harvey out of the courtroom in cuffs while three others kept their very large, very scary-looking guns pointed directly at the man’s head. A solid deterrent if she ever saw one.
The small group disappeared through the secured door to the left of the judge’s bench. And just like that, the terrifying scene was over.
George Ray Harvey was back in cuffs and being led to what she could only hope would be solitary confinement until the jury returned with the final verdict. Given that he’d just murdered two members of the court in cold blood before trying to strangle her to death, a guilty verdict was all but guaranteed.
But as the medics rushed to her side to begin their initial assessment of her injuries, the only thing Ellie could think of were those menacing, threatening words…
I will get out someday, sweet Eloise. And when I do…I’m coming for you.
Chapter 1
Seattle, Washington
Five years later…
“Okay, so the flowers have been ordered, the caterer and DJ have been booked, and the final fitting at the bridal boutique is scheduled for a week from tomorrow.” Ellie looked up from the small planner in her hands to the woman sitting across from her. “Is there anything I’ve missed?”
Please don’t let me have forgotten anything.
This was her first time as Maid of Honor, and the last thing she wanted to do was screw up her closest friend’s special day.
Cassie Montgomery smiled wide. Blonde and beautiful, the bride-to-be positively beamed with prenuptial elation. “Nope. I think that’s everything.” A soft sigh escaped her lungs. “I still can’t believe the wedding is less than a month away.”