Page 63 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
Evan parked and got out of his vehicle, and heard Mocha’s tail thumping in excitement. “Hey, there, buddy. Where’s your mom? She’d never leave you in the car like this.”
Hands on his hips, Evan stared around. Where was she? If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. How long had Mocha been in his crate? He unfolded the portable stairshe’d seen Mckenna use to make it easy on Mocha to get in and out. He needed to find her, but if he didn’t take care of Mocha, Mckenna would never forgive him.
The dog was happy to see the stairs come out and bounded down, rushing for a dead tree to take care of business. Once he was done, Evan gave Mocha some water and petted him, letting him lean against his leg. As much as Evan wanted to put Mocha away and start searching for Mckenna, he knew he better wait for the sheriff to arrive.
He might need backup.
Crouching down, Evan continued scratching and petting Mocha. “I’m glad you’re okay. But your mom. Where is she? Is she always this stubborn and impulsive?”
Mocha gave him some licks and turned in a circle, then came over and leaned against Evan again. Wrapping his arms around the dog, he thought about his childhood dog and how his dad had taught him to track and hunt with his Lab.
Track.
An idea began to form.
“How baddidyou flunk out?” he asked Mocha.
The Lab gave a little whine and flopped to the ground, rolling upside down for Evan to pet his belly.
“That bad, huh? What do you think, do you think you could do one track? It would only be once, and it would save us time. I haven’t done this in years, so we’re the perfect pair, an FBI K-9 flunky and someone who hasn’t worked a dog since he told his dad he was joining the FBI and not the K-9 unit. But I think we could at least try, don’t you?”
Mocha sat back up.
“Okay, let me find your leash.”
CHAPTER 41
Head pounding, Mckenna tried to sit up. Nausea hit her and she paused, her eyes having trouble opening. That bastard had hit her hard, but as far as she could tell, he wasn’t here now. Was he close by? Or had he left so that he could come back at night to finish his plan?
Luckily, he hadn’t noticed that her hands weren’t tied. That she was just pretending by holding her arms behind her back. There was a bottle of water sitting close to her with a straw to help her drink if her arms were still bound. Mckenna was tempted. Her lips were dry and cracking from the heat. Sweat dripped down her face as the old building had very little airflow. She could feel that she was dehydrated, but she didn’t dare take a drink.
Who knew what Keith had laced the water with this time.
GHB again, or even something worse. Reaching for the bottle, Mckenna poured about half out. It wouldn’t hurt to make him think she’d drank some.
She managed to sit up all the way, cursing herself for her moment of stubbornness and deciding thatshewould be the one to find the cabin. As if Evan or anyone in law enforcement with a brain couldn’t have found it.
Stop being hard on yourself and think about how you’re going to get out of here. You escaped once, you can do it again.
Closing her eyes, she waited for the feeling of nausea to go away. What she wouldn’t give right now to have Evan wrap hisarms around her. Tell her everything was okay. And then spend another night with him. And another and another.
She had to keep going. This time it wasn’t only for her or her family—it was for Evan too. With her eyes closed, she’d listened for footsteps, the door creaking, something to let her know that Keith was around. She hadn’t heard anything, so she took a chance and put her arms in front of her, massaging her forearms that were sore from her holding them behind her back, pretending to be tied.
A groan made her pause. Was Keith here? Was he back?
She stared around the room and spotted Rex. Keith hadn’t taken him yet to enact his plan, so maybe she had time. His face looked like a raw hamburger. While Mckenna had been knocked out, Keith had probably taken his frustration out on Rex. She had to get out of here and get help, but the room was closed tight. Lily had talked about a small opening they had managed to squeeze through and get to the window from where Mckenna had escaped long ago. She remembered seeing Autumn’s shirt still hanging there. It gave Mckenna strength to fight, get out of here and make sure Keith never harmed anyone again.
Mckenna worked her way around the room, dark from a lack of windows, but some bits of sun shining in through slats in the wood. She had to find the spot Lily had told her about. Mckenna’s fingertips were becoming raw from trying to find an opening. Some wood slivers poked her, and one even went under a fingernail, but she didn’t care. She didn’t let the pain stop her.
Finally, after thinking that they were in another room in this mining camp building, she found a spot that was loose. The board was hanging by one nail but had been propped back up. Too easy? Another trap? Part of the crazy catch and release thing? She gently pried it back. The hole would be tight, but Mckenna thought she could fit. Lily and Autumn had been alittle smaller than her. She was about ready to slide through when a noise stopped her.
A wheezing sound came from Rex. Was he even conscious? His chin was resting on his chest. Mckenna went over to him. She gently untied his ropes. She was still uncertain if he was Keith’s partner, but there was no way he could harm her now. He probably wouldn’t even be able to walk. Even if she made it through the hole in the side and out the window and was able to open the door from the outside, she couldn’t help him out. Mckenna knew she was strong, but not strong enough to help him up the hillside and back to her vehicle. She would at least untie him to see if she could make him a little more comfortable and then see if she could get back to her vehicle.
I’ll release you again and catch you, over and over.His words echoed in her mind. There was a good chance Keith was waiting. He’d enjoy the chase, but this time she had an advantage—she wasn’t drugged. Now she was even more certain that the water contained GHB and Keith was trying to make it easy to catch her again.
As she took one rope off, Rex stirred.
He couldn’t really control his head, but he managed to open one eye and stare at Mckenna. “Forget about me. Save yourself.”
