Free Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3) by Sarah Robinson Page A

assisting her to her feet as Kate hovered over her sister.
    “You shouldn’t have come out here, Annie. What about the police? Why didn’t you just tell them where I was? You could have been seriously injured.” Kate crooned, fussing over her.
    “I wasn’t sure you were here. I don’t know, everything just seemed so urgent. I just wasn’t thinking I guess.” Annie sighed as they walked toward the office door, one arm over Derrick’s shoulder and the other over Kate’s as they helped her move since her head was still spinning a bit.
    “You gave us quite a scare, Kate. Hell, everything about today did. But it’s all over, we got through it and things can only get better from here.” Derrick smiled, slightly apologetically, as he let go of Annie and stepped behind the girls so that they could fit through the doorway.
    Are you feeling okay, Kate?” Derrick asked, concerned as he saw her limp slightly, clutching her side where her ribs were bruised.
    “How is it that you always manage to see the silver lining in everything, Derrick? I’m bleeding from my head here.” Annie said and Kate chuckled.
    “Derrick’s always been a glass-half-full kind of guy. Well, you try to be, right, Derrick?” Kate was smiling, and it felt amazing.
    She felt like everything that had plagued her the last few weeks was finally gone, a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.
    “Derrick?” Kate turned around as she exited the office and helped Annie into the hallway, wondering why he was being quiet.
    She saw him standing in the office doorway, staring back at them. His gaze was intense and he wasn’t blinking, his expression confused.
    “Derrick?” Annie echoed, looking at him questioningly.
    It was at that moment that a trickle of blood slid off the edge of Derrick’s lip and fell to the ground.
    A coughing noise followed as he took one staggering step toward them, before his knees buckled.
    He fell on the ground before them, the doorway behind him revealing a swollen, yet conscious Frank.
    He was standing there smiling with a large knife raised in his hand.
    The entire knife, up to the handle, was dripping in fresh blood. Their eyes followed down to see the coinciding wound on Derrick’s back.
    Everything stopped.
    The world went deafeningly silent and thunderously loud at the same time.
    A blood curdling scream that would make anyone shiver in terror just hearing it leapt from Annie’s throat with no end in sight.
    Kate dropped to her knees, wailing, as she lay her head down on Derrick’s back.
    And Frank laughed.
    A belly-filled, joyous laugh where his head tilted backward in order to emit the full throttle of his enjoyment as his amusement joined their screams and sobs.
    “Guess you’re not the only one who is going to die today, my little Kate.” Frank grinned as his laughter subsided and he stepped around Derrick’s body on the floor.
    He grabbed Kate’s hair, yanking her off of him and dragging her toward Annie, who was already backing up in a panic.
    Kate was struggling to get free, but he reached down and slid his forearm under her chin. Pulling her up against his chest, he pinned her neck between his arm and himself, threatening to choke her as he tightened his grip. The knife in his hand was aimed at Annie as her back finally hit the wooden stall at the other side of the hall, leaving her nowhere to run.
    “Please, please don’t do this! Let her go! You already took Derrick. Just let Annie go!” Kate screamed, her voice strained as he crushed her throat and her legs dangled, kicking around in an attempt for freedom.
    “Kate!” Annie cried.
    “Everybody freeze!” An unfamiliar voice shouted behind them.
    “What the-” Frank turned around, Kate still in his grip, to see Detective Snow standing in the entrance with her gun drawn and aimed squarely at him.
    “Put the knife down, Frank. Now.” There wasn’t a hint of fear on her face as she squared off with him.
    “Or what?” He scoffed at her,