She ran to the corner of the building just in time to see the black-clad figure stumble out of the school doors. She plastered herself to the rough brick surface so he didn’t see her. He climbed into his SUV and drove about five feet before the Subaru wedged solidly in the snow.

She peeked and saw one of the tires was flat.

Yes!

She heard him curse as her heart pounded. She pressed herself against the building as he got out of the car. She grabbed the handgun and clutched it tightly. She couldn’t let him get away but the thought of pointing a gun at another human being, even one as depraved as this man…

She stepped out from the side of the building, gripping the heavy gun with both hands.

“Hold it right there!”

Ethan Grice looked up in surprise. “Well, well. Yael, or should I say, Yasmine? How does it feel to be back on the old stomping grounds? And with a gun? Tut tut.”

He held up his cell with one hand, obviously filming her. The assault rifle strap was hooked over his head and he had his finger on the trigger.

“Why are you still hiding behind a mask? The cops know who you are, Ethan Grice.”

He gave a sharp laugh. “You’re one to talk about masks. You’ve been hiding behind one for years.”

He took a step toward her.

She pointed the nose of the pistol right at him. “Don’t come any closer.”

“You won’t shoot me. Laura told me all about how much you hate guns before I came by to deliver my little housewarming gift.”

Yael’s hands shook.

He fired off a burst of bullets and Yael yelped and darted back behind the wall. She was about to run when the sound of raised voices had her freezing.

She peeked around the corner and Ethan had started to swing in the direction of three teenagers. What the hell they were doing here in a blizzard she had no clue. She yelled out, “Run away! Run away!”

She aimed at Grice’s legs and pulled on the trigger. It took an unbelievable amount of force as she frantically squeezed until finally the gun bucked in her hands.

“You fucking bitch!” he screamed.

Had she hit him?

The kids turned and ran around the side of the building. Hopefully they’d keep running all the way home like she had fifteen years ago. Fingers crossed they didn’t find what she’d found that day.

Ethan swung back to face her and started firing wildly. A piece of shattered brick sliced her cheek, narrowly missing her eye. She didn’t stop to worry about it.

She sprinted back toward the SUV, then realized that would make her an easy target.