Chapter 180: A Silent Death (1/2)

Sebastian POV:

Three kidnapped victims. Three assailants. Two of them were proved serial killers while the third was playing with the law and helping killers get away with their crimes.

I was up against the worst of the worst and that was saying something with all the cases I had seen.

As I sat in the front passenger seat, I looked at the scenery outside. It blurred and morphed as the journey continued.

”Have emergency services been called, yet? We will need ambulances at the scene. At least one of the three kidnapped have undergone severe physical trauma.”

Knowing Evie, she would fight her hardest to make sure none of the other two victims were harmed. I prided her for her presence of mind, but I didn't know how she would react. A part of me was sure she was going to use herself as a shield to protect the others.

She would probably not think of saving herself and throw her body in front of a bullet to protect another person. She wouldn't be able to stand seeing a victim hurt after what she thought of herself all this time.

Would she remember my face before she did it? Would I be important enough for her not to give in to her need to protect others?

I doubted it.

A better man would say that he would be proud his fiancé helped others survive. But I was a selfish man. I didn't care for those others. I just wanted Evie alive and unscathed. I wanted her unharmed. If I could but erase the memory of the torture she had seen the others go through, I would hope and pray that she survived in place of others.

I dared not tell anyone this. Not because they would think poorly of me, but that Evie would find out. I wouldn't pretend or lie to her. I didn't care about those others. Only her.

I was only concerned about those primarily important to me: my family and friends. Among them, Evie ranked first.

”Yes, Dr. Butler. We have four ambulances following us,” the officer sitting behind me answered. I turned over my shoulder to see his expression and found him staring at me with mild horror. I anticipated that my quiet calculation scared him. I was calm in most things, but now, I was fuming. I was plotting. For people who didn't think like me, it was unfathomable and monstrous, and I understood that.

”That's good,” I whispered before looking away. ”Keep them on standby. At least one of them has resuscitation technology, right?” I added suddenly, the thought coming to me like a stab in the chest.

”Yes, Dr. Butler. For such a big and sensitive operation, we have the high technology medical ambulances come out. You don't need to worry about that. The SWAT team is on standby as well. If the architecture of the building is hard to penetrate or dangerous for us, we will have the SWAT team send in their robot investigators inside for a better look,” he informed.

Ah, yes. The robots that could go into houses. Fascinating things. But I feared I couldn't wait out for another team to come out while Evie was probably dying inside.

I didn't trust myself not to burst in.

But I wasn't going to let anyone know that. I would have to throw them off me.

The buzz of civilization slowly died down with the tall buildings giving away to smaller houses and then fields. I could see the industrial area in the distance and braced herself.

”What is the estimated time of arrival?” I barked, slowly growing impatient.

”Around seven minutes, Dr. Butler,” the driver spoke. I rested my head on the seat and looked down. In the distance, I could see a small object nearing. The figure shimmered but seemed to be moving in our direction.

I squinted at it until I was sure it was human. The area was deserted, not even cars came here. What was this human…

My heart thudded in my chest. The image of Evie stumbling into the police station with her gashes and bloody clothes, asking everyone to help her came to his mind. He shuddered.

It was a girl.

”Someone is running in this direction,” I whispered.

”I see them too,” the others cried.

The car stopped a distance away from the girl. The poor little thing stiffened and stopped running, looking hesitantly at me as I wrenched the door open and made my way out.

She cried out as I neared but I didn't have half a mind to tell her who I was. ”Are you Gene? Gene Winter?” I yelled as I closed the distance between us.

She quaked and took an involuntary step back. Only then did I regain some semblance of consciousness.

”I am Sebastian Butler. I am… I am here to get you.” Should I Have said Evie's name? I was almost scared to know how this girl had escaped and the others hadn't. The last time this happened, everyone else was either killed or close to it.

”Are you the police?” the little girl called hysterically.

”Yes! I am with them. Do you know Evie?” I was desperate for an answer.

Her body jolted and she nodded. ”Yes!” she chanted. ”Save Evie!” she yelled.

I sucked in a breath as I kneeled down in front of her. ”You came from the building, right? Can you take us there? Do you remember?” I asked. My eyes must have looked wild with worry because the little girl threw herself at me.

She cried. I grew limp as I let her hold me. I didn't have time to waste.