The Killing Moon by Dan Padavona (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

“Back off! Don’t come any closer.”

Aguilar spoke into her radio and called for backup as Lambert’s cruiser skidded to a stop along the curb. Benson still hadn’t spied the two private investigators converging on him outside the terminal. Raven’s heart pounded, her mouth dry. Aguilar caught Raven’s eye through the window and urged her to stay back. But Raven wouldn’t allow Benson to escape again.

From the corner of her eye, Raven spied movement between the buses. LeVar. Raven prayed her unarmed brother wouldn’t attack a man with a gun.

Raven crept closer, moving just beyond Benson’s peripheral vision. The convict wrapped a powerful forearm around the hostage’s neck and inched him toward the boarding doors. The other passengers backed away. A woman in a business suit hurried into the women’s restroom and threw the lock.

“You don’t want to pull the trigger, Benson,” Aguilar said, stepping closer to the convict. “Let the prisoner go.”

Benson answered by firing at Aguilar’s feet. The explosion sent screams rippling through the terminal. Aguilar flinched but refused to yield.

“I mean it. Back away, or I’ll kill this guy. Is that what you want?”

Suddenly, Benson wheeled around and fired through the window at Darren. Glass shattered, raining down on the sidewalk. The state park ranger fell to the pavement as Raven covered her mouth. Had Benson shot him? Raven breathed again when Darren scurried behind a mailbox.

With his back to the boarding doors, Benson panicked. He smashed the gun against the hostage’s skull. The man’s legs gave out, and his head whacked the floor with a sickening crunch. Benson shoved through the doors and sprinted between the buses as Aguilar radioed Lambert to cut him off.

But Lambert didn’t have an angle on Benson. If the convict escaped between the buses, Lambert would need to round the front of the building to catch up. Raven anticipated Benson’s escape route. As Aguilar leaped over a row of plastic seats and skidded across the mopped floor, Raven leaped out of hiding. She rushed down the sidewalk with Darren ten steps behind.

Passengers ran into the street, desperate to escape the firefight as vehicles sped past. Sirens rose inside Kane Grove as backup rushed toward the bus terminal. Raven dodged the clerk she’d scammed yesterday afternoon. The man appeared too panicked to recognize her. Her sneakers slapped the sidewalk, arms pumping, as she searched for Benson. Where was he?

A mechanic bolted from the garage a second before Benson burst out of hiding. The escaped convict cut across the road, blind to Raven, who converged on him like an eighteen-wheeler without brakes. His head swiveled as Raven closed in. The man’s eyes widened before Raven speared Benson, her shoulder driving into his midsection.

Benson’s feet flew out from beneath him. Time stopped as the convict suspended in midair.

Then gravity yanked him down.

Benson struck the street as an SUV skidded to a halt. The former gym owner sucked air into his lungs and propped himself up on his elbows. Raven smashed a fist against his face. Benson’s eyes blurred as Raven rolled him to his stomach and wrenched his arms behind his back. She was tempted to yank Benson’s arms until his shoulders snapped. Fury burned through her body as she pictured Benson stalking her mother. With the criminal’s arms immobilized, Raven drove her knee against the back of Benson’s head and pinned his face against the blacktop.

“You looking for me, Benson? Well, you found me.”

Aguilar appeared at her side. She set a knee on Benson’s back and grabbed the man’s wrists as LeVar stood over the prone man.

“Stand down, Raven,” said Aguilar. “I’ve got him now.”

As Aguilar slapped the handcuffs on Benson, she met Raven’s eyes. Mutual respect passed between them for a heartbeat. Then the deputy cleared the area and barked orders for everyone to stand back. Raven forced herself to release her grip on Benson. She’d waited too long for this moment. When she stood, Darren was there to embrace her.

“You’re faster than I thought,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“I’d whip you in a race.”

“Give me a few years to train, and we’ll see about that.”

When Raven spotted Serena waddling toward them, she sighed and pulled out of Darren’s arms. Serena wore a blanket around her shoulders. It fanned out in the wind like a superhero’s cape.

“This is the creep?” Serena said, scowling down at Benson. Lambert cut Serena off. Good thing. Raven worried her mother would remove a shoe and club Benson over the head. “Take his sorry ass away before I teach him to respect his elders.”

Darren scratched his forehead.

“Isn’t Benson a few decades older than your mother?”

“Don’t stop her now,” Raven said, grinning. “She’s on a roll.”

While the looky-loos gaped from the curb, Lambert and Aguilar hauled Benson to his feet and marched him toward the cruiser. Holding the shoe, Serena berated the criminal as LeVar placed himself between his mother and Benson. Raven leaned her head against Darren’s chest and observed the chaos. A heaviness lifted from her shoulders. She hadn’t felt this free since before the kidnapping.

“I suppose the deputies will require statements,” Darren said, stroking her hair.

Raven yawned.

“They know where to find us. How about we call it a night and crash at the cabin?”

“For real?”

“Absolutely.”

“What about your mom?”

“Mom will be okay.” She nuzzled against his chest. “We all will.”

Darren nodded at LeVar and tilted his head at Serena. LeVar got the message. He’d drive his mother back to the house.

The state park ranger scanned the crowd as Aguilar slammed the door on the cruiser.

“Let’s get out of here before the press shows up.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

November 8th

5:10 p.m.

A pristine blanket of snow glistened in the last light of day. Standing on the front porch, Thomas blew on his hands as he held the door open for Raven and Darren. This afternoon, he wasn’t the sheriff of Nightshade County. He just wanted to be a friend to the people he cared about.

The state park ranger hauled a casserole dish into the toasty