Page 58 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
Just take a quick peek in the window, see who’s there and then get the heck out of here. You can do this.
Mckenna took a deep breath and continued down the path that led to the old building. The window Lily, Autumn and she had escaped out of was on the other side. There were a couple of old windows at the front of the building. Where had she been kept? The room she remembered was dark. She didn’t remember windows, but maybe the kidnapper had boarded them up.
Stepping up to the old window, she glanced inside. What she saw made her catch her breath. The old glass made things distorted, sort of like looking through a bad kaleidoscope.
Mckenna went over to the other window to get a better view, but she still couldn’t see well. All she could make out was that there was a person in a chair and they were tied up.
She pulled her phone out and, to her amazement, it had one bar. Enough to get a message out. Hitting Evan’s contact, she typed in a message and hit Send, hoping that she had enough reception to send a message to him. Then she stepped inside, the door creaking as she took in a room that had been a part of her nightmares for years.
Her body shook, but now that she was inside, the shaking wasn’t just from fear—anger and rage also filled her. How dare someone do this to her? To other girls? To anyone at all? They’dtaken away her innocence as well as Lily’s and the worst act of all was taking Autumn’s life. She surveyed the room, turning around slowly, peering into the shadows when she heard a moan.
Walking through a narrow hall, she found a closed door. Open it? If it was a trap, this would be the time she’d be the most vulnerable. But the anger and determination to face her fear now pushed her forward. Mckenna turned the knob and let the door swing back, the hinges creaking. She remembered how Evan had her stand to the side at Penny Gardner’s house, so she did the same thing.
Waiting.
Nothing.
Her breathing was short and fast. Her heart pounded. Fear was creeping in, ready to take over. Slowly, she peered around the corner and saw the man tied to a chair. Blood trailed down his face and his head lolled to the side. The part of his face Mckenna could see revealed a black eye almost swollen shut.
Sensing Mckenna, the man turned his head the other way and stared at her with his better eye. “Mckenna? What are you doing here? Help me. We have to get out of here. He’ll be back any minute.”
“Rex?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Mckenna strode forward and, finding the ropes that tied Rex’s hands, began to undo them first. “Who did this?”
Rex screwed up his face. He was in serious pain. “Keith Warren.”
“Toby’s PO?”
“The one and only.”
“I don’t understand,” Mckenna said, stopping her work on the ropes. She barely knew Keith Warren, but would a probation officer do this? Or was Rex setting her up? Should she trust him?
“Keith moved away from this area when we were kids, but he’d come back to visit. He’s a sick and twisted person. Please, untie me and I’ll explain it all.”
“Okay,” Mckenna said, still uncertain. She needed to change tactics. She didn’t know whom to believe anymore. Why would Keith kidnap her? And Lily and Autumn? He didn’t know anyone around herethatwell. What made him come back and target this community? Her fingers were shaking as Mckenna went back to undoing the ropes that tied Rex’s hands behind his back.
The knots were beginning to loosen when Mckenna realized Rex had a terrified expression. He was about ready to say something when a jolt of electricity shocked Mckenna. She fell back, her body thumping to the dusty floor.
“Hello, Mckenna. I missed you.”
Keith.
She struggled to get to her feet, but her body wasn’t responding. Keith hit her with another jolt from a stun gun and she dropped again. He wouldn’t get the best of her. Ever. Mckenna refused to give in as she worked to move again, but he nailed her with electricity once more.
“This is what I don’t like about stun guns,” Keith said. “They really don’t incapacitate people well enough.”
Mckenna didn’t answer. She had to stay calm. She’d escaped once and she could do it again. For now, she’d pretend like she couldn’t move. If nothing else, it was so he wouldn’t shock her again. Why hadn’t she left when she had the chance? What about Mocha?
What about Evan? She’d never told him how much she cared…or loved him. Would she get the chance? Who knew, but she’d fight hard to see him again. She had to be smart for now and play Keith’s game. But would he release her now that she knew his identity? More likely he’d never let her go.
Keith crouched down, putting his face close to hers. His breath reeked of cigarettes mixed with a stench of body odor, but Mckenna refused to turn away. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of intimidating her. He started tying her hands together.
“What’s wrong? Nothing to say? Where’s your FBI boyfriend now? You two had a great night last night. I enjoyed watching.”
Mckenna’s stomach churned. Had he really seen them? Was that why Mocha was barking? Evan probably didn’t want to tell her if he’d noticed anything in the yard. Why hadn’t he told her? Or maybe he didn’t see anything.
