She tested her bonds again, subtly flexing her arms. Her hands were still tied together behind her back. It might be her imagination, but it felt as though the ropes were looser than before. She wiggled her legs, and the same scratchy rope was around her ankles. The abrasive texture felt as if it cut into her skin at the slightest movement.
If she was going to wiggle, it could make them tighter or looser. It would also draw attention to her. No use in freeing herself from the rope if the son of a bitch who took her was still watching.
Well, screw him. She was going to make it out and send this bastard to jail, one way or another. Mustering up every ounce of courage, Gabrie forced her eyes open.
She was somewhere...dark. Which meant it was night already, or she was somewhere with no windows. She craned her neck to get a look behind her and her eyes fell on Drake. Her eyes narrowed in disgust. How had he gotten one over on her? She'd been so damn careful. The gun. The pepper spray.
But even with all her self-defense training and hours logged at the gun range, all it had taken was a second's worth of distraction.
Jack would probably know she was missing by now, but what could he do for her? She remembered the days her mom had been missing. Gabrie didn't even report it to the cops, because she was so used to Lily disappearing for days at a time. What if Jack thought she'd left? No. He had her truck. Why would she leave without it? And Chris seemed to like her. Jack and the sheriff would be worried. They'd at least be looking for her.
That didn't mean they'd find her.
"Shit. You're awake," said a familiar voice.
"Drake," she croaked out. She wanted to sound confident and strong, but somehow her throat seemed to burn. "I thought we had an understanding."
"You mean when you threatened to shoot me if I came near you?" He crouched over her.
Gabrie unintentionally flinched. "I didn't do anything to you. I only met Jack two days ago. What do you want from me?"
Some emotion Gabrie couldn't read played across his face before his trademark creepy grin came back. "I want you to shut up. I'm not ready for you yet."
Gabrie maneuvered onto her back; the cold, gritty wood bit into her arms. But that didn't hurt as much as whatever dug into her ass. She grimaced, before she remembered what it was.
Her pepper spray! Drake must've not searched her. Paranoia: One. Crazy drug dealer: Zero. Fresh hope washed over her. She was getting out of this. She wouldn't be another victim. She wouldn't be a chalk outline on a dirty floor.
"What are you going to do to me?" She tried to formulate a plan.
"Don't talk," he ordered. "I'm in the middle of something." His back was to her as he pulled items from a duffel bag, but she couldn't get a good view of what he was taking out. While he was distracted, she went to work on the ropes that held her. They were loose, but she couldn't maneuver her thumb enough to slip free.
Loud clanging vibrated in the small cabin, and she looked to what Drake had thrown on the ground. Her entire body froze as she saw what Drake was laying out on the floor. Railroad spikes.
"What...what are you doing with those?" she whispered.
He frowned and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. "I'm trying to set this up," he snapped at her.
She inched away from him, even though the wall didn't give her any room. "Why spikes?"
He threw the paper on the ground and faced her. "Are you fuckin' deaf? I said I'm busy!" He stomped over to her and jammed his foot into her ribs, pushing the air from her lungs and sending waves of pain through her body. She let her head fall back and watched as he pounded the spikes into the ground.
She blinked a few times as he struggled to get the spike into the floor. Every time he brought his hammer onto the metal, the oppressive clanging would echo off the walls. Everything hurt. Her head. Her chest. Her wrists. Her ankles.
But she couldn't give up. This would be her best chance to get the hell out. Drake was distracted. He seemed frustrated, and the banging was the perfect cover.
With every bang of the hammer on metal, her mind flashed back to the horrible pictures. She was never supposed to see her mother like that. But the images of her mother, naked and bloody, were burned into her brain. No one had even reported her missing. Lily Moss had been found purely by chance, because not even her own daughter was looking for her.
Gabrie's desperation increased and worked frantically to free her wrists from the bonds. Little by little, the ropes loosened, but she felt as though the walls got closer together. Drake's panting breaths and the overwhelming scent of his sweat filled the cabin, and every damn pound of the hammer felt as if it was right against her head.
She forced her eyes closed and blocked out everything but the feel of the ropes against her wrists, blocking out the pain of the abrasions forming on her wrists, and concentrated wholly on her thumb. If she could get just one thumb free, that was all she'd need. One damn thumb....
There! Her eyes snapped open as her wrist was freed. Drake pounded the third spike into the wooden floor. This was all wrong. Not just the kidnapping. What the hell was Drake doing? She was no expert on killers, but she'd read more than a few books in college while trying to understand what happened to her mother. Drake was going to tie her to the spikes and do God knew what to her, but he didn't seem to enjoy it at all. Sadistic killers reveled in the hunt...in the torture. Drake seemed to be treating the entire process like a chore.
But she didn't have time to psychoanalyze him. For all she knew, this would be the last chance she had to escape before he realized her hands were free. She tried to arch her back enough to reach the ropes around her ankles.
Her fingers gripped the ropes, but she couldn't feel the knot. It was possible for her to undo the ropes without being able to see the knot eventually, but she didn't have the time. Instead, she pulled the pepper spray from her back pocket and reared into a sitting position.
Drake finally saw that she was moving and twisted around. "Hey!" he yelled as he stood, hammer and spike firmly in each hand.
Gabrie pushed herself back even as she took aim with her spray. She held it as far away from her face as possible and tightly shut her eyes as she pulled the trigger. As soon as she heard Drake scream, she stopped and leaned forward to her ankles. She cracked open her eyes just enough to see the ropes and from there, it was easy enough to get an ankle free. She jumped up right as Drake stumbled into the area she'd just vacated.
Her legs barely kept her up, but she managed to avoid his blind thrashing as he punched in her direction.
"Get back here, you bitch!"
He tried to open his eyes through the burning that Gabrie knew must be excruciating. Her own eyes started to water from the particulates of the spray that still floated around in the air.
Keeping her eyes on Drake's flailing arms, she reached behind her and felt along the wall until her fingers brushed the metal doorknob. But when she twisted it, the damn thing didn't move.
She needed to turn around to unlock it, but Drake barreled towards her, his red eyes squinting open enough to see her. Gabrie ducked away, her eyes burning even more as she scrambled on the floor until she came across something hard and solid. Her fingers curled around the hammer and she swung it blindly as she twisted around. She heard Drake grunt, and she pried her eyes open enough to see him collapsing on the ground, grabbing the side of his head.
She crawled past and brought the hammer down hard on his leg before she pushed herself up and fell against the door. She forced her eyes open and yanked the deadbolt free. Drake moaned in pain from behind her, but she didn't look back. Instead, she turned the lock on the knob and pushed the door open.
Bright sun flooded the room and blinded her. She stumbled into the humid air, turning as she did to face Drake.
"You need to get back here!" he shouted as he tried to push himself up.
Even with her blurred vision, she could make out the blood that trickled down the side of his face. Oh God. She could've killed him. Hell,
he was probably going to kill her. The dirt and rocks on the ground bit into her bare feet as she backed away. Where were her shoes? The woods around her seemed to spin as she tried to get her bearings.
The cabin she was being held in must've been some sort of hunter's hut, because it was so tiny. Gabrie kept backing away; her steps grew steadier the farther she got. Drake was finally standing, but she must've landed a good blow to his leg, because he fell right back down to the floor.
Finally feeling confident in her ability to get away, she turned around to hurry down the rocky road that led away from the hut. She wanted to run, but her shaky legs and bare feet wouldn't allow more than a slow jog. She kept glancing over her shoulder, but there was no sign of Drake.
As she jogged down the gravel road, she kept her eyes out for a car. She didn't want to miss a Good Samaritan, but she also didn't want Drake to come after her in a truck. Well, he must've grabbed her in a car since she'd been shoved in a trunk.
Gabrie didn't let herself stop to catch her breath. She was constantly craning her neck, looking for any sign of a vehicle to wave down or sign that Drake was coming after her. But as she got farther and farther away, she started to relax. If Drake was going to give chase, he would've caught up by now, right?
Her mind spun as the pain of her bare feet on the hot road started to sink in. She moved to the shoulder of the road, but the scratchy grass wasn't much better. At least on the road, she could avoid the sticks and stones that were hidden in the vegetation.
Her hand still clutched the hammer like a lifeline. The relief of escaping couldn't fully take hold. Even though she'd gotten away, she wasn't in the clear yet. And the entire thing had seemed too...easy. Drake had gone through all the trouble to steal her phone and ram her head with whatever he'd used to knock her out, but he hadn't even considered patting her down? For all he knew, she had another phone. Or had borrowed one from Jack.
And how the hell had he gotten her phone? She'd never gotten close enough to him at the store for him to lift it off her, and she doubted she'd just dropped it on the driveway and he'd happened to find it. Could he have broken into the house?
The telltale sound of an engine sounded, and Gabrie turned around. The car came from the direction she'd run from. It could be Drake or one of his men. She gripped the hammer tighter and squinted to get a better view, her eyes still not working quite right. She didn't recognize the shiny newish car that came to a halt ten yards from her. The driver stepped out. She knew that full, dark head of hair. "Jack," she breathed.
She ran towards him, pushing the pain pounding in her head and the aches in her feet out of her mind. She just had to get to him. As soon as his arms were around her, everything would be okay.
Jack ran to meet her. "Gabrielle? Oh my God. Are you okay?"
She didn't answer as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. "I thought I'd never see you again, Jack," she said into his warm neck. It was too hot to be hugging anyone, but she didn't give a damn. She needed this. Jack had to be completely overheated in his suit, though...
She pulled away and looked into his face; recognition snaked through her. "Darren?"
His brow crinkled with concern. "Of course it's Darren. Did Jack do this to you? What happened?"
Gabrie shook her head, for the first time realizing how hard she'd been hit. "I don't know," she muttered. "I need to go to the hospital."
Darren set a hand on her arm. "Sure. Let me help you." He led her to his car.
She frowned at the pristine, new vehicle. "Where's your BMW?"
He opened the passenger door for her. "You have it, remember? I called you a million times yesterday and today, but you didn't answer. So I had to rent something at the airport."
With shaking hands, Gabrie buckled herself in, trying to make sense of his words. "No. I called you. I called you constantly. I didn't have a single missed call."
Huh? That made no sense... She leaned back against the seat, letting the blowing air from the vents cool her down. Her arms and legs were covered in dirt. Hopefully Darren wouldn't be charged for returning a filthy rental car. That was a strange thought. She should be more worried about Drake and the police. Damn it. "I need to call Chris. He needs to know about Drake."
"He knows already." Darren set a hand on her leg. "He's been out looking for you."
"Was Jack looking too?" she asked, trying to put the pieces together.
Darren pulled onto the main highway. "Yeah. I think half the town is at this point. I got to Cross Falls a few hours ago and he told me you were missing."
"He should know I'm okay," she said softly. Gabrie didn't want to think of how pissed Jack would be, especially considering she was okay.
"Sure." Darren pulled out his phone.
A bolt of relief washed through her as she started to recognize the terrain. She really was making it out. She looked at the rolling hills and farmland, thinking over what happened. She'd have to tell Darren about her and Jack. After she'd run into his arms and called Darren by his brother's name, he must suspect something by now.
But that was the least of her concerns at the moment.
As much as she wanted to zone out and focus on the comforting scenery passing her by, she kept replaying the strange encounter with Drake.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Darren glanced between her and the road.
Gabrie rubbed at her forehead. "Drake was tying me down with railroad spikes," she muttered.
"Fuck," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."
"My mother was murdered. She was tortured for days before the sicko stabbed her in the heart."
Darren's eyes went wide. "Oh my God...I had no idea."
"She was tied to railroad spikes. That has to be more than a coincidence."
Darren was silent for a moment. "Drake is obviously crazy."
Gabrie shook her head. "It's not just that. It's everything. That I used to live in Cross Falls, your father, Drake knowing how my mother was killed..." Her mind raced. This had to be connected somehow. She thought Drake took her to get back at Jack for burning down his house and giving the police the evidence they needed to take Drake down, but his attack wasn't focused on Jack. It was focused on her. He didn't take sadistic pleasure in pounding the spikes into the floor. He'd been annoyed, as if it was one more step he needed to get done.
As if he'd been following someone else's instructions.
"Take me home."
His head whipped around. "What are you talking about? We need to get to the hospital."
"I have to get back to Cross Falls. Now."
"Why? I'd think the possibility of you having a concussion is more important than anything back at the house."
"Drive me back to the house or I'm walking. Your choice." She stared him down, and his eyes narrowed. She might not be willing to jump out of a moving car, but there was a conveniently placed stop sign on the way to the hospital that would put her within walking distance of Cross Falls. That she'd have to walk a mile in bare, already wounded feet wasn't ideal, but she needed to get back there.
Carson said the answers could be in the attic. She wasn't going to spend one more night in that house, in this town, without getting answers.
Thinking back to how close she'd been to dying messed with her mind. Her heart sped up as her breaths came faster and faster. Railroad spikes...
Darren's hand fell on her knee again and Gabrie jumped.
He glanced over, concern etched on his face. "Gabrielle..."
"No. I need to go to Cross Falls," she insisted.
He tightened his lips, but didn't fight her. Every mile or so, her mind would attempt to sink back into a panic attack, but she fought back the fear that threatened to engulf her. Attic. There were answers in the dusty old room. There had to be.
Darren finally brought the car to a stop in front of Cross Falls, and Gabrie jumped out. The hot blacktop bit into her feet as she ran to the house.
As soon as she opened the door, Jack
stood in the doorway. In a second, she was in his arms as he lifted her against him.
"You're okay," he breathed against her cheek, as though he could hardly believe it.
She stiffened in his arms. "Let me go, Jack. I need to get upstairs." She pushed away.
He obliged, but his gaze seemed to burn into her. "What happened?"
She rubbed at her temples as she ran up the stairs. "Call Chris. Tell him to get out here as quickly as possible."
"Gabrie, what the hell is going on? Chris is out looking for you. I've been driving around town for hours until Darren texted me."
She couldn't bring herself to turn around and answer him. She didn't want him to know about Drake. About what had almost happened. Then she'd have to tell him exactly what happened to her mother and admit her suspicions.
But that would have to wait until she had some sort of proof. "Just call Chris! I need to look for something upstairs."
She could tell from the pounding on the stairs behind her that both brothers weren't about to let her do her searching in private. The mere thought of telling them why she needed to be alone sent a fresh wave of pain through her head. Though, really, every step and breath she took made her headache even worse.
Midway through the hallway, Gabrie stopped to stand on her toes and pull the ladder that led to the attic down.
"I have no idea what she's doing," said Darren from behind her. "I tried to take her to the hospital, but she insisted on coming here."
"I don't hear you calling Chris!" she called as she climbed up into the attic. It was just as dank and dusty as she remembered, with just enough light streaming in from the small windows to illuminate the stacks and stacks of boxes.
She didn't waste a second before she tore through the old cardboard. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for, but it was easy enough to rule out the ones containing old clothes or housewares not used in decades.
One way or another, she would find her answers.
Cross Falls Saga - Southern Suspense Box Set Page 12
