by CJ Lyons
The doorbell rang.
"Lucy, is it Caine? Why? How?" Jenna sputtered.
"I'll get the door." Olivia headed down the hall.
"I think it's Caine." Lucy had her cell out to call Taylor. Adrenalin flooded her veins. She was right. She knew she was right.
"Put down the phone, Lucy." The muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of her head. It was Adam. He drew her weapon, put it on the counter across from Jenna. "I said put it down."
She obeyed.
Jenna was staring, back pressed against the cooktop. The knife she held just a few moments ago out of reach.
"Yours, too," Adam ordered Jenna. "And your gun."
Jenna slid her phone from her pocket, carefully set it on the counter. "I don't have a gun."
"Adam," Lucy said, her voice calm. She knew this boy, she could reason with him. He wasn't like his father. She may have been mistaken about Clinton Caine, but not about Adam.
She was staking their lives on it.
"Adam. I know it was your dad. And your mom. She was his partner, wasn't she?"
"Of course." His tone was wistful. "She loved him so much," he said in a singsong. "She could never say no to him."
"Adam!" A girl's voice called from the other room. "Bring your fish in. Stop fooling around."
"You heard her. Into the living room." Jenna backed down the hall, hands raised in the air. Adam prodded Lucy forward.
Lucy tried to think of a way to get to her backup weapon. "Is it just you and Morgan?"
"Yeah. How'd you know her name?"
"I know everything, Adam. I know you took the boys and Sally. Your way to get your father back. But now that he's here, now that he's made you kill—"
"I didn't, it wasn't me—"
"She killed for you. Take responsibility for your actions. Be your own man. Not your father's puppet."
He stiffened at that. "You don't know anything."
They entered the living room. The girl from the security tape stood near the open front door, the gun in her hand aimed at the three women cowering on the couch.
"Good boy," she told Adam. "Red," she waved her gun at Jenna, "you sit over there." She nodded to the chair on the far side of the slate coffee table.
Jenna glanced at Lucy, did as instructed. Then Morgan aimed at Lucy. "Now you," she smiled so wide, all her teeth showed, "you're coming with us. Adam promised you to Clint. A special fish to play with."
Lucy stood her ground. "No."
Morgan looked at her in surprise. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. I'm not going anywhere."
The girl considered her options. Then shrugged. "Fine. Adam, shoot her."
The muzzle knocked against the side of her skull as he trembled. She forced herself to breathe slow deep breaths, knowing he was almost there, almost ready to give up.
"I can't, I can't," he sobbed, throwing the gun down and collapsing onto his knees.
Jenna lunged for the pistol as Lucy threw her weight down and pinned Adam to the floor, the couch between her and Morgan.
Lucy drew her back up weapon from her ankle holster, but didn't have a shot. One of the women from the couch dove to the ground, plowing into Lucy, knocking her gun away.
"Don't shoot him. He knows where Darrin is," Olivia cried, clutching Lucy's arm.
"Everyone freeze. His gun might be not be loaded, but mine is," Morgan shouted.
Jenna aimed Adam's gun and fired. Nothing. Morgan laughed. "Told you."
Lucy shook Olivia off and inched towards her weapon. Morgan shifted position and fired a shot into the floorboard near Lucy's hand, splinters spraying the air. Lucy used her body to cover Adam, twisting to keep Morgan in sight.
Morgan tilted her head, a mad gleam in her eye. From where Lucy lay on top of Adam, she heard a voice murmuring through the Bluetooth he wore.
"No," Adam cried, not talking to them but to whomever's voice spoke in his ear.
Morgan smiled. "He wants you." She aimed the gun at Olivia. "He says to take you. Just like he took your mother."
An unearthly screech emerged from Karen as she lunged for Morgan. Colleen threw herself on top of Olivia, tumbling them both behind the coffee table. Morgan fired again and hit Karen in the leg.
Jenna caught Lucy's eye and made a diversionary move. Lucy sprang from the floor, hoping to catch Morgan off balance. She grabbed the girl's gun hand. It was a move of desperation, but when you had an active shooter you didn't sit around and wait for them.
Jerking Morgan's gun into the air, she used her weight to twist the arm, keeping the weapon aimed away from her. Morgan anticipated her move and turned into Lucy's body, ending up with a knife to Lucy's throat, drawing blood.
Lucy relinquished her hold on the girl's other hand. She barely felt the burning sting of the shallow cut, but saw the red trickle of her own blood slip down the knife blade. The girl quickly repositioned herself with Lucy as a shield, the gun held steady at the base of Lucy's spine.
"Okay, maybe for once we don't get the fish. But we'll still get who we came for." Morgan pulled Lucy back, heading for the open door. Lucy had no choice but to comply. "Pull it shut," she ordered.
As soon as Morgan and Lucy stepped over the threshold and the door clanged shut with Adam, Jenna, and the others safely behind it, Lucy straightened, ready to make another move. That's when she saw the man. The man with the stun gun.
Everything sparked red as electricity jolted through her, disconnecting her brain from her body with the force of a pilot being ejected from his jet. Pain fired through her muscles and she fell to the ground. The man laughed as he grabbed her up in a fireman's carry.
"Adam's telling them he'll take them to the kids," Morgan said, listening to her earpiece. "Should I kill him?"
"No. Follow them. I want Adam." Even as he jostled Lucy down the steps and threw her into the back of a waiting van, the man sounded relaxed. As if he abducted federal agents at gunpoint every day. As soon as her body hit the floor, he grabbed her wrists and handcuffed them behind her. Her leg was twitching but she couldn't control any movements other than forcing her chest muscles to let air in and out.
"See," he beamed at the girl, "I told you. You can have it all. You just need the balls to go after it."
The girl ran off beyond Lucy's limited line of sight from her face down position. The man rolled her over. Lucy managed to blink her eyes into focus. Clinton Caine.
"Nice to see you again, Lucy. We have a lot to talk about. Like how you got my wife killed." He zapped her again with the stun gun and the world went black as her body blazed with pain.
Chapter 32
As soon as the door shut behind Lucy and Morgan, Jenna made her move. She scrambled under the couch, coming up with Lucy's backup weapon, and ran to the door, listening. Damn thing had no sidelights, only a worthless peephole, and this was the only wall in the room without windows.
"Call 911," she told Olivia as she handcuffed Adam. No other weapons on him. She took his Bluetooth and listened but the line was dead. Grabbed his phone. Colleen was already assessing Karen's wound.
Olivia ran to her mom's side. "I can't believe you did that. For me."
Karen grabbed her daughter into a one-armed hug and kissed her forehead. "I should have stood up for you a long time ago. From now on everything is for you. And Darrin."
"Get on the phone," Jenna ordered as she tried to get a line of sight out the window. Stupid things were angled so sharply it was hard to see down to the driveway.
"The kids," Caine said, rolling to his knees awkwardly with his hands cuffed behind him. "We need to get to the kids. Let me take you there."
Jenna saw the van pull down the drive, couldn't see the plate in the dark. She could try to follow in the Taurus. They hadn't disabled it. She wasn't sure why, seemed like they'd be smarter than that, but if they spotted her, they'd kill Lucy. Better to wait for backup. That was procedure. But with the sheriff's department stretched so thin, it might take time. "Are the kids in danger?"
"Th
ey are if he finds them. I'm sorry, so sorry. I thought I was saving them. But he—" Adam sputtered to a halt.
"What does he want with the kids?"
"He's their father. He-he's my father." He squeezed his eyes shut as if the truth was too painful. "I think he might hurt them. Or let Morgan hurt them. She killed Deputy Bob. Right in front of me. And," he took a breath, opened his eyes again, "and she liked it. She laughed. He didn't deserve that. He was a nice man. But she gutted him like a fish."
"Where are the kids?"
"In a cave. I have to show you, you'll never find them otherwise. Please. Don't let her do that to the kids. Please."
Olivia came in, holding the phone. "They're sending an ambulance from Alexandria. They want to know if the scene is safe."
Jenna made her decision. Someone had to save the children. She took the phone. "This is Inspector Galloway. The scene is safe. Tell Sheriff Zeller that Agent Guardino was taken hostage. They're in a white van, Ohio plates, marked Guardian Security on the van's side. The man is Clinton Caine, five-ten, one-eighty, brown, brown. Wearing a black jacket, jeans, work boots. The girl is Morgan Ames, thirteen, wearing a light blue ski jacket and jeans. She killed Deputy Bob."
"Zeller here," the sheriff's voice interrupted her. "What the hell's going on?"
"I have Adam Caine in custody. His father just abducted Lucy. We also ID'd the girl as Morgan Ames, from Lawrence Kansas."
"Clinton Caine is behind all this—"
"Adam knows where the children are. He's going to take me there. I'll call you with directions as soon as I get there." She looked over her shoulder at Caine. "How long will it take?"
"Driving or walking?"
Like she was going to hike through the woods with a prisoner. "Driving."
"Fifteen, twenty minutes. Tell him it's near the old Stolfultz barn. He'll know where I mean."
"Did you get that?"
"Yeah. I shut down operations at the school. All the mutual aid from Blair and Cambria County are providing back up for the Staties at the Mall."
"The Mall was a diversion. Just like Lucy thought." Seemed like Lucy had been right about a lot of things.
"I'll get the State Police, see if they can get a helicopter searching for the van, as well as set up roadblocks. It'll be thirty minutes or more before I can get someone over to that side of the county. There's a pile-up with injuries on Route 45."
Adam shook his head, panic straining his features. "No. They can't wait. We need to go save them. Now!"
"Have them meet me at the barn. As soon as they can." She hung up and gave the phone back to Olivia. Then she hauled Adam to his feet. "Come on. We're going for a drive."
<><><>
Well at least she hadn't wet herself, was Lucy's first clear thought once she regained control of her body. That was one of the most common side effects of being tasered—and Clint's stun gun seemed to have been modified for extra voltage.
And this was just the start, a grim voice in her head reminded her.
The van rocked and rolled around sharp turns and bumps in the road. Then it stopped. The main road, she thought, trying to get her bearings. But when she looked out of the section of the windshield she could see, it was just sky and the tops of trees. Then the van lurched onto even rougher road, its wheels slipping against the snow covered ground.
Not the main road. Probably a logging trail. Which meant they could be anywhere on the mountain. Another lurch and she rolled onto her side, her face against the floorboards. The stench of diesel made her nauseous. She forced it aside, just like she had her fear. Think, dammit. Think.
He wouldn't take her too far. He needed to stay in cell range of Morgan. Which, from the Hardings' house, meant staying on this side of the mountain and the south end of the valley. Which also meant she was in range of help if she could grab a phone.
She pressed her hip against the floor. No telltale feel of her keychain and the small knife she kept there. He must have taken them. Her backup gun? No, Jenna had it.
"You back with us?" Clint called from the front of the van. "Wouldn't want you to miss any of the fun." The van stopped and he turned the ignition off. He turned around in the front seat, his arm draped over the back, and stared at her.
Just sat and stared.
The van was dark. The only light was the feeble sunbeams fighting through the snow that quickly covered the windshield. With the engine off, it quickly grew chilly.
Yet Lucy was sweating. Her shirt stuck to her and she could smell the acrid stench of her perspiration. She forced herself to lie still, keeping eye contact with Caine. He was used to total control and power over his captives, body and mind.
But this time was different. She wasn't in the dark. She knew what he was capable of. She had no hope of anyone finding them. Which in a way was freeing. It was just her and him. And she had a helluva lot more to live for than he did.
Caine did what he did for mere pleasure. Lucy was fighting to get back to her family alive.
An unbidden smile twisted her lips. He laughed at the sight of it. "This is gonna be fun."
Chapter 33
Jenna made the kid drive. Technically a no-no, but what choice did she have? Not like she trusted him behind her or even beside her. To her relief, he didn't give her any trouble.
"Used to drive all the time for my dad," he told her, as if they were taking a trip down memory lane instead of to rescue the kids he kidnapped. "I'm tall for my age, so it was easy."
"Did you help your dad in other ways?" She didn't add: Like rape and torture his victims?
Adam swallowed hard, his hands tightening on the wheel. "I helped him find fish. Yeah. Wasn't very good at it. He never let me touch any of them. Said I would ruin it. But he made me watch a few times. Before we got Morgan. After that," he shrugged, "it was their thing. I was in charge of stuff like getting food, stealing cash."
He sounded remorseful, but Jenna wasn't buying it. How could anyone—even a kid—not know what he saw was wrong?
They pulled up to the barn where Bob had brought her yesterday. "We're not going in there, are we?"
"No. There's another cave. Smaller. Just through those trees." He pointed to the forest that spread out from the side of the barn at the base of the mountain. The sun was gone now and in the light of the car's headlights, the trees swayed in the wind looking as if they weren't too happy about anyone trespassing.
Jenna wasn't happy either. Especially not about another cave. She called the sheriff's station. Backup was delayed at least another half an hour. Maybe more.
Well, hell. Sit and let those kids freeze to death? Or worse, let Caine Senior to find them? Or play the hero and rescue them?
She wanted to do the first. Play it by the book. That way anything that happened wouldn't be her fault.
But all she thought was what would Bob do? What would Lucy do?
They wouldn't play it safe. They'd save those kids and not care about being a hero. Easy for them. They already were heroes. Even with a gun at her head, Lucy hadn't been afraid. Jenna wanted to run away and hide. Of course she didn't, her training wouldn't let her. But that didn't erase the fear she felt when Morgan aimed that gun at her.
"Please," Adam begged. "We can't wait. He'll find them. I know he will. He's too smart—and when he wants something, he always gets it."
Jenna made her decision. "Okay, let's go. But if you try anything, I'll shoot you like a dog."
Not so heroic, but kids or no kids, she was coming out of this alive.
<><><>
It was so easy. The redhead's car had a safety latch inside the trunk, making it child's play for Morgan to hide there, hear everything they said, then slip out again. Easy peasy to follow their trail through the snow after that.
She watched from beneath a hemlock, shielded by its low hanging branches. Adam sidled behind a rock and vanished, followed by the redhead. Another cave. One so well hidden, no one, not even the search teams, would ever find it. Clever boy, her big br
other. Maybe more clever than she gave him credit for.
She pulled out her phone. The reception here was lousy. A single bar, but good enough for her needs. "I found them." She gave Clint directions to the cave. "You can't miss their trail. Now that the snow's stopped, it's obvious."
"That means the cops will find it."
"They're half an hour out. So you need to hurry."
"We're ten minutes away. No worries, baby girl. We'll have plenty of time to have some fun."
She wasn't sure about that. Lately Clint had been taking way too many risks. Almost like he wanted to be caught. No, that wasn't it. Like he needed the rush of almost being caught.
Fine for him. But not her. She liked her freedom, being able to blend in, go anywhere, do anything. She'd always be grateful to Clint for giving her that freedom, showing her how powerful she was. But that didn't mean she was ready to rot in prison for the man.
She pulled out her knife and followed Adam's footsteps into the cave. She owed big brother for his betrayal back at the house. And she'd smelled the fear radiating off the redhead.
She'd be long gone before the cops came.
Plenty of time for fun.
<><><>
Jenna swallowed the urge to scream as she followed Adam into the cave. She didn't have Bob's hand to hold this time, so she clutched Adam's arm instead. Had to keep her prisoner close. Although she already felt like an idiot for not thinking of another way to save the kids. As it was, she moved Adam's restraints to the front and made him hold the flashlight. She didn't like giving him a potential weapon, but it was the only way to keep her gun hand free.
He was docile enough so far. But they were on his territory. And totally out of her comfort zone. The blackness closed in on her as it had yesterday. Not so bad, thanks to the light Adam held, but bad enough.
All he had to do was turn the light off and she'd be a goner.
"Keep moving," she snapped at him when he hesitated. They were in a large cavern at the front of the cave with two paths in sight: one leading down and one leading to another chamber to the side.
