Page 78 of Minus

“I’m glad I brought plenty of cocktail with me, because I’m gonna take my time with her. I’ll be sure to take lots of video, so I can show you when I get back. I’d bring her back here for a private show, but I think the lighting will be better inside, don’t you?”

The blood vessels in my eyes began to burst as I fought against my bonds.

“Alright, you just wait here, then, and I’ll be back for you once I’m done having my fun. Maybe she can tell me where the book is, or maybe you’ll be ready to talk once you’ve seen what I’ve done to her.”

He slammed the trunk closed, and I laid in the darkness unable to move.

* * *

Cricket

“Christina, where are you?” the creepy voice echoed through the house.

I turned the gun’s safety switch to off.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “Your friends call you Cricket, don’t they? Well then, I’m gonna call you that, because you and I are gonna be really good friends.”

Where the hell is Minus?

Pearl and Duke were both out cold. Whatever this sonofabitch injected them with was serious. I had to get them, and myself, somewhere safe. Whoever was in the house had come back for a reason, and I wasn’t about to rely on my aim alone if he should make his way back here. Emergency services were on their way, but who knew when they’d reach us all the way out here.

I closed the bedroom door and locked it. The door looked solid, but it surely wouldn’t keep him out for long. I looked around the large master suite for a place to hide, trying to quickly choose between the master bath, and one of the two walk-in closets. I don’t really like any of those options but didn’t seem to have much of a choice. Considering how “low key / high tech” the rest of the house was, I was surprised Duke hadn’t built a panic room in here.

Just because he didn’t mention it to you, doesn’t mean he didn’t.

I sized up the closets and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, like reinforced doors, that would suggest they were designed to keep intruders out.

Scooby Doo.

There had to be a hidden door somewhere that led to some sort of safe room. I felt around the closet’s back panel but couldn’t find a latch or knob.

There must be a hidden release mechanism somewhere.

I looked around the room for anything that might serve as a lever or switch until something caught my eye. A decorative brass robe hook, in the shape of an elephant, with its trunk in the air, fastened to the wall right next to where Duke lay flat on his back.

Baby elephant.

I ran over, pulled on the elephant’s trunk, and the wall back panel next to it immediately slid open, triggering lights, which illuminated a state-of-the-art safe room. Inside, there were four bunk beds and shelves stocked with food, water, and supplies. There was also a gun cabinet, and a wall of closed-circuit TV monitors, which displayed live feeds from cameras all around the property.

Thump, thump, thump!

The creep was at the bedroom door. “Cricket are you in there?” he called out. “You in that room with those sweet old folks?

“I have a gun and I’ve called 911!” I yelled back, as I grabbed Duke’s ankles and began sliding him into the panic room. Fortunately for the both of us, he was wearing a silk robe, which helped him slide along the carpet a bit easier, and by that, I mean, I had to use every muscle in my entire body to move him.

“Guns, ooooh, I don’t like guns,” he replied. “I prefer to do my work with knives, needles and ropes, but you’ll see soon enough.”

Once Duke was inside, I went over to Pearl’s side of the bed.

Thump, thump, thump!“Cricket why don’t you let me in now and we can talk about the book?”

“Fuck you! Did you hear me? The cops are on their way!”

“Oh, I doubt they’ll be here any time soon, given how far we are from the highway. That is… if you even called them.”

“Believe me, I did, plus when Minus finds you, he’s—”

The sound of the creep’s laughter through the door made me feel sick. “I don’t think Minus is going to give me any trouble. Viper said he wanted him to be awake when I worked him over, so I only gave him a half dose. I’ve got him on a time-out someplace safe.”

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