Page 64 of Dangerous Secrets
Had she called or texted Walker?Thatdetail was lost with everything else.
She’d been hurrying toward the mill,terrified everything they’d built could be destroyed if the firewas bad, then the next thing she knew she was waking up in the darkwith a throbbing head.
Someone had knocked her unconscious,tied her hands, and left her in a dark pit.She shook violently,knowing she’d be vulnerable to whatever her abductor wanted to doto her.Her teeth chattered and she felt the dampness in the dankair seeping through her coat into her bones.She had to be in somesort of underground space, maybe a cellar or a mine.
A faint sound, like the scraping ofmetal against metal, snapped her to attention.The profound silencemade that slight sound as loud as a clanging bell.Her assailantwas returning.
They weren’t done with her and werecoming back.Fear galvanized her into action.
With her back pressed against the dirtwall and using her elbows to maneuver, she shimmied and shifteduntil she was on her feet.She paused, breathing deep, a wave ofdizziness causing her to press against the wall to steady herself.She tugged on the rope binding her wrists.It wasn’t very snug, andas she tugged the knots gave a bit, giving her hope she could getthem loose.
If she had time.
Another clink echoed through thedarkness.Using her elbow against the dirt wall to keep herbearings, she moved farther into the tunnel away from the sound,continuing to work the rope around her left wrist down over herhand.She had narrow hands and might be able to push itoff.
She continued her stumbling pace withno idea what direction she was going, instinct telling her whoeverwas coming was not her friend.
The floor sloped down and she’d goneonly a few feet when she came across what felt like a vertical woodbeam set into the wall, extending up as far as she couldreach.
She had to be in an abandoned mine,one of the hundreds dotting the Sierras.
Though she feared every step couldsend her plummeting down a mineshaft, she kept moving, trying tomake as little noise as possible.
She sucked in a breath when a metalliccrunch echoed in the enclosed space.She’d stepped on what soundedlike an aluminum can.Another step had her stifling a startled yelpwhen she sent what sounded like a bottle rolling across the dirtfloor.Over the thundering of her heart sounded the heavy tread offootsteps, the glow of an approaching light coming from beyond abend in the tunnel.
A singsong voice cut through thesilence, carrying eerily through the darkness.“Oh, oh, what wasthat?Has poor little Delaney woken up?I see you aren’t where Ileft you.Did you think you could get away from me?Hunting youdown here will be fun.”
Oh god.She was in the middle of ahorror film.Her heart continued thundering in her ears and sheforced herself to keep moving.
A quick look over her shoulder showedthe growing glow of light bobbing as if someone was carrying aflashlight.She looked desperately for an avenue ofescape.
She could barely make out rungs madeof bent rebar embedded into the opposite wall rising into thedarkness.That wouldn’t work with her hands bound.
A tunnel angled into the dark to theleft.She took a chance and darted in that direction.Moving asfast as she dared, she scuttled along the wall.She tripped oversomething heavy lying across the floor and stumbled to her knees.Hands still bound, she struggled to her feet again, moving forwardonly to slam against what felt like a metal grate.
The rope loosened and she moved herhands over the barrier, her heart dropping when she realized itextended across the mineshaft.She was trapped in a deadend.
“There’s no way out, sweetDelaney.”The light came nearer, then suddenly she was blinded by abeam spearing into her eyes.“Ah, there you are.Now it’s time forthe fun to start.”The creepy voice sounded like someone cooing toa baby.
She drew a deep breath to try to stopshaking.She wouldn’t go down without a fight.
The light looked to come from alantern rather than the narrow beam of a flashlight and was held bya dark figure whose shadow loomed large on the tunnelwall.
“Ah, Delaney Bryant, mine,all mine.”He held the lantern higher and she could make out thebearded face of a man wearing a sheriff’s department uniform.“Gotta say, you’re looking a little worse for wear, not your usualsexy hot self.I liked that halter top you were wearing before.Gotsome dirt on your clothes now.But that’s no worry, it won’t stopme from fucking your brains out.”
She breathed through her mouth to keepfrom vomiting.She was scared, bone-deep scared, but his words onlystrengthened her resolve to fight.She pressed back against thegrate, trying to see past the light, her mind working furiously tocome up with a plan.
“Had to hit you kinda hardto knock you out.Not that I’m sorry about that.As I always say,you gotta do what you gotta do.
“I had to use rope to tieyour hands since I couldn’t find my handcuffs.It was a bitchcarrying you up here, though.Jesus, I’m tired.I had to leave mycar parked on the trail and hike back down.Couldn’t risk someonespotting my car if I was driving around, right?But you’re notlight, you know?”
The man heaved a sigh, clearlyaggrieved.Did he actually think she should have sympathy for thetrouble he had kidnapping her?He began patting the pockets on hiscoat and pulled out a long object.“Shit.I had a couple Slim JimMonster Sticks in my pocket.Must’ve lost one.Thought they wereappropriate ’cause I’ve got a monster stick, if you know what Imean.”He laughed.“Must’ve dropped one somewhere.”
Revulsion brought another wave ofnausea.She peered at his shape, looking for any recognizablefeatures.
He peeled back plastic and took abite, speaking as he chewed.“Yeah, once I got that roofie in you,you were a deadweight.I knocked you out with the butt of my gun,”he patted his waist where she guessed he had a gun holstered.“ThenI dissolved that little pill in your mouth.Worked like a charm,like it always does.”
He swallowed audibly and took anotherbite.“I wouldn’t have minded doing you while you were out, but Ineeded to bring up more supplies before they figure out you’remissing and launch a search.I know how these things work.They’llfind my car, but I’ve wiped it down to get rid of any fingerprints,and since it’s registered under an alias, they won’t know dickabout who took you.I’m a ghost, you know.”
