Chapter 26
How does he know my father is a cop? The question burned in Andrew’s mind.
It was a beacon of confusion in a sea of pain. His father’s profession was not a secret but it was not something he advertised.
For a complete stranger to know it and to bring it up in this moment was terrifying. It meant this attack was not random.
Adam saw the shock on his face. He decided to act. He let out a low humorless chuckle.
It was a dry scraping sound that seemed to come from a place of deep bitterness.
He adopted the persona of a disgruntled colleague pushed too far.
"Your father has been making my life a living hell," he said. His disguised voice dripped with fake resentment.
"Just because we’re in the same department and my rank is lower he thinks he can order me around for everything. He doesn’t let me breathe."
He leaned in closer. The darkness hid the cold calculating look in his eyes.
He let the smell of his own sweat and the dirt of the hill fill the space between them.
"So I decided to teach him a lesson. To make him feel what it’s like to lose something. When his son dies up here tonight he’ll finally understand." He paused letting the threat sink in. He wanted Andrew to believe every word. He wanted this story to become Andrew’s reality.
"And I heard you were planning to bring a girl up here. That makes my job so much easier. All the blame will fall on her. They’ll find you dead and she’ll be the prime suspect. No one will ever know I was here." He punctuated the sentence with another dark chilling laugh.