“That’s not good enough,” Liv said bitterly. “If my daughter dies it’s on you, Bill.”
“You don’t even know she’s there! Your daughter’s gone and you want to cling to anything you can, to believe some story about her being off in a cave somewhere. Based on what? A dream? An imaginary vision some teenage girl had while holding a book?”
Bill looked as shaken as Liv. Visibly controlling himself, he went on, “I may not be the best chief of police, but I’m all this town’s got. Right now there are at least three cars stranded with people inside. I know where they are and I didn’t dream it. Those are people I can save and that’s what I’m going to do. Tomorrow I promise you I’ll send a couple of my guys out to that cave, even though I don’t believe for a second that’s where Annie actually is.”
No one spoke. No one looked at me.
“Maybe he’s right,” Gavin said. “There’s nothing we can do for her tonight. We’re better off waiting. As it is morning’s only a few hours away. And in the meantime, we can work on that list.”
“Fuck the list!” Liv slammed her fist down onto the kitchen table so hard I thought it would break. If it gave her any pain she gave no indication of it.
“I think she might be right,” I said, directing my remark toward Bill. “I, uh, think this might be our only chance—to save her. I know you don’t believe but I think we need to try to reach the caves now, not tomorrow.”
Even Liv looked a little surprised at my proposal. I don’t think she expected me to agree with her. I don’t think she expected anybody to support what she wanted.
“Nobody’s going anywhere,” Bill said. “Not tonight. If you two want to stay at the house, you can head back there now. Even driving back to your cabin’s a risk, Kira. There’s a spare bedroom you can sleep in. Then you don’t have to worry about getting into town for the search tomorrow.”
“You’re right.” I reached for Hunter’s hand. “It’s too dangerous. Better to wait until morning. If they don’t know we’re coming we should be able to get Annie back fairly easily.”
Hunter looked at me as if I’d morphed into an alien species. “I’m glad you’re thinking this through, Kira.”
Liv fell silent now that even their resident psychic had bailed on her plan. Add to that the fact that she didn’t have the slightest idea where the caves were. “Are you telling me it’s going to be okay if we wait,” she asked me. “That it won’t hurt Annie in any way.”
I forced my mouth into what I hoped looked like a reassuring smile. “In my vision, the one I had just now, in the bedroom, Annie was sitting in a police car. There was another car behind her with two men seated behind the metal divider. They were handcuffed, Liv. They caught them. Annie was safe. If we wait until morning, our chances of finding her are actually better than they are now.”
“Okay.” Liv was still shaking even though Gavin held her tightly. “If you’re sure that’s what you saw.”
Funny how two people who’d been completely skeptical just a day ago were clinging to my every word.
“That’s what I saw,” I told her, praying for God’s forgiveness should my plan go wrong. Giving Liv false hope felt like the worst thing I’d ever done. But if I didn’t lie her daughter would end up as one of the soulless, lost for all eternity.
Now all I had to do was convince Hunter to accompany me on a death mission. Either that or lie to his dad for a while. Or both. As I watched Hunter and Bill standing side by side, the resemblance between them was so strong it was a little startling. I had a good idea what Hunter would say when I asked him.
And I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.
Chapter 7
“No way,” Hunter said through his ski mask. He pulled on his helmet and fastened the strap, the shotgun slung across his back. “I’m not going out there and neither are you. Not tonight. You heard what my dad said.”
Which was exactly what I’d expected him to say. “I heard him. But we don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
We stood there in the middle of the storm, neither of us willing to budge.
Bill Jackson was in the restaurant entryway talking to the Michaels. The light from the hall shone onto the snow, which was still falling thickly. Gavin and Liv listened to Bill in silence, nodding occasionally at something he said. When he approached us I fought the impulse to run. I’d only been lying five minutes and already I was tired of it.
But there was nothing to be done.
“I’m heading to the station for a while,” Bill shouted. “I’ll see you two back at the house in the morning.”
The steel in his voice was hard to miss. Apparently I wasn’t as good at lying as I hoped. “See you in the morning,” I said as loudly as I could, climbing onto my snowmobile.
“We’re heading over to the house now. We’ll see you in the morning.” Hunter’s voice was as hard as Bill’s. He was facing his father but I was pretty sure his words were meant for me.
We watched as Bill got into his squad car and drove off, tail lights fading behind a curtain of snow. The Michaels shut the front door to the Blue Moon and disappeared inside. As if on cue, the lights along the street flickered and went out.
I hit the ignition and started the snowmobile. Backing it up, I steered it in the direction of the caves. Hunter turned on his snowmobile and pulled up alongside me.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he shouted, his voice merging with the roaring wind.
“You know where I’m going,” I shouted back. “She’s not going to be there tomorrow. I’ve got to get out there tonight.”
“Do you even remember how to get there?”
Not exactly, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. I was hoping maybe my psychic GPS might kick in. Why not? Maybe my powers were increasing exponentially, like they did in movies. After all, I’d never been able to see visions after touching objects before. Maybe navigating unmarked trails in the dark was next on the Sixth-Sense agenda. And using shotguns with at least fifty percent accuracy.
“I’ll find it,” I shouted, pulling away from him. “Don’t worry about it.”
When I looked behind me a few minutes later, Hunter was still there. Apparently he’d changed his mind.
It took us longer to reach the caves than it had before, but I’d expected that. By the time we killed our engines a few hundred feet from the entrance the snow had let up a bit. I decided to take that as a sign everything was going to work out.
Hunter took my hand and led me toward the side of the entrance, right next to the snowmobiles parked outside. I’d been right about Annie. My vision had been real and she was inside. I just wished the one I’d made up was real too—the one where we all lived happily ever after.
My heart started beating so hard I felt like everybody within a fifty-yard radius could hear it. Hunter took his shotgun off his shoulder and cocked it, holding it out in front of him. “You too.”
I wasn’t about to argue with him on that one. I steadied my hands and aimed the gun into the darkness, cocking it and hoping Hunter was as good a shot as he said he was.
The outer cave was pitch black and quiet. The thick walls of ice muffled the sound of the wind but that didn’t make me feel any safer. Hunter pulled an LED miniature flashlight out of his jacket and trained it on the smaller hole at the far end of the cave.
“Won’t they hear us coming?” I whispered as he knelt before the hole and shut off his flashlight.
“Not if we’re careful,” he said, disappearing into the passageway.
I crouched down and peered into the hole. Before me was nothing but unbroken darkness. I couldn’t even see Hunter, though he’d only stepped into the passage a few seconds earlier. I braced myself and crawled through. After a few feet I couldn’t feel the ceiling over my head and I knew we’d reached the point where I could stand up again. Reaching both hands out in front of me, I stumbled forward a few yards and ran smack into a wall. I cried out and
clamped my hand over my mouth. At the end of the passage I could see light.
“Shhh.” Hunter’s voice floated toward me through the darkness. “We’re almost there.”
Whether that was a good thing or a bad one was open to debate. I moved forward as quickly as I could, keeping a hand on the cave wall to guide me. When I caught up with Hunter he was pressed against the wall to one side of the hole that opened onto the inner cavern.
“You really think it’s her in there and not some drunk trappers waiting out the storm?” he whispered,
I hesitated, knowing what I said didn’t matter. It was too late to turn back. Whatever happened in the next few minutes would change our lives forever. “She’s in there.”
“Okay.” He raised his shotgun and positioned himself a few inches from the opening. “Let’s go.”
I raised my own shotgun and moved close behind him, bracing myself for what I knew was coming. “Let’s go.”
Hunter exploded into the room and trained his gun on one of the two men sitting before the campfire. “Don’t move,” he warned, indicating the revolver laying on the ground a few feet away from the man.
I aimed my gun at the second man, who was scrambling for the exit. “Stay where you are.”
He raised his hands in the air. “Who are you?” he asked. “We’re not out to hurt anybody. We found this cave and decided to wait out the storm in it. You have nothing to fear from us.”
“No.” Hunter tilted his head toward the spot where a small figure lay under a gray blanket. A shock of red hair fanned out across the wool. “Then would you mind telling me why you’ve got a little girl tied up?”
The two men exchanged glances. “Look, buddy, I don’t know you from Adam but this is one fight you want to walk away from. Take my word for it.”
Hunter laughed. “Doesn’t look like this is a fight, if you ask me. Looks to me like we’re holding you two at gunpoint,” he said. “Now I’m gonna ask you both to move to the back of the cave, real close together. Don’t make me shoot you to get you to pick up the pace.”
We kept our shotguns trained on them as they shuffled toward the far wall.
“Good,” Hunter said. “Now fold your hands behind your heads, both of you.”
When they’d done as he asked Hunter glanced at me over his shoulder. “Get the guns, Kira.”
“I need to make sure Annie’s okay first.”
“Okay,” he said in a clipped voice. “But make it quick. I don’t want these clowns to try anything.”
I hurried over to Annie and pulled the blanket back from her face. Her cheeks were red and her skin was warm to the touch. I lowered my head to her chest and felt her breath against my cheek. “She’s alive,” I called out, propping her up so that her face lay against my shoulder. “Come on, Annie. Time to wake up.” Annie’s eyes fluttered open then closed again as her head lolled to one side. “I think she’s been drugged.”
“Leave her where she is. Whatever they gave her will wear off soon enough,” he said. “Now go get the guns and bring them to me.”
Considering what could have happened, things were going pretty well. Damn well. There was only one problem. By my estimate it couldn’t have been later than 2 or 3 in the morning. It seemed unlikely that Hunter’s dad even knew we weren’t at his house. I had no doubt he’d figure out where we’d gone but how long would it be until he got to us?
I had the feeling we were in for a long wait and I didn’t like long waits with guys that kidnapped little girls. But there wasn’t any point thinking about it because there was nothing I could do. I gathered the two guns off the floor and brought them to Hunter.
“Give me the Glock,” he said.
I handed him the larger gun. I must have guessed right because Hunter tucked it into his pants.
“Now take the other gun and put it in your pocket. Or tuck it in your pants, like I did.”
“I don’t need two guns.”
“Do it, Kira.”
Apparently playing Alpha cop ran in the family. Hunter must have sensed I didn’t like being ordered around, so he softened his voice. “Please.”
One of the men let out a slow whistle. “I see how it is now. You got yourself a girlfriend. Well, ain’t she pretty.”
“Shut up.” Hunter lowered the shotgun so it was pointing directly at the guy’s groin. “One more word and you’ll never want to think about a woman ever again.”
“Now you crossed a line, boy. And you’re gonna regret it.”
The man lunged toward Hunter, tackling him and knocking him off his feet. Hunter pulled the trigger as he leapt but the shot went wild and lodged itself in the ice.
His buddy was in motion too, rushing toward me at full speed. I held up my shotgun and pulled the trigger without stopping to think. He cried out as the bullet entered his shoulder and staggered back, only to regain his footing a moment later. I raised the gun again and took aim a second time but he was on me before I could fire. The shotgun skittered to a stop a few feet away from us as we struggled.
He fell on top of me, pushing me back onto the ground and grabbing me by my hair. I kneed him in the groin and scratched his face but I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off.
“Ain’t you a fiery one.” He pinned my arms and climbed on top of me. “Now are you gonna settle down or am I gonna have to kill you to keep you quiet.”
Behind me, I saw Annie sit up and look around as if she couldn’t understand what she was seeing. Keep quiet, I begged her silently, hoping somehow she’d hear me.
Other than the grimace on my assailant’s face it was hard to believe he’d just taken a bullet to the shoulder. He had though. And that had to hurt a hell of a lot.
At the sound of the second gunshot I didn’t hesitate. I’d been ready for it. Taking advantage of his surprise, I pulled my arm free and punched his shoulder with every bit of strength I had left. His hold on me loosened, only for a second, but that was all I needed. I hit him again, not quite as hard as the first time but it was enough for him to roll off me and curl into a ball. He howled and gripped his shoulder, rocking back and forth as I sprinted toward the shotgun and grabbed it. I stood over him, the butt of the gun aimed straight at his heart.
“Don’t make me kill you.” I gave his shoulder a kick with the heel of my boot.
This time his howl was so loud it echoed across the cavern, making it sound as if half a dozen men were screaming, not just one.
Annie raised her hands to her ears and started whimpering. “Make it stop,” she cried. “It’s scaring me.”
It wasn’t scaring me. The more pain he was in the less chance there was he’d be able to put up a fight. But it wouldn’t do Annie any good to hear much more. Holding the shotgun steady over his heart, I gave the guy’s shoulder one final kick and made sure it was a good one.
“It’s okay, Annie,” I called out to her, not sure if she could hear me over the screams. “He’s one of the bad guys.”
Whether she understood me or even heard me at all was unclear. But her whimpering quieted enough for me to take my eyes off her and look around. Hunter stood with the Glock trained on its owner, who was on his knees with his face to the cave wall and his hands behind his head. A trickle of blood ran down Hunter’s jeans at the thigh and his face was as pale as the snow outside.
“Are you okay?” I cried.
“For the moment, yes,” he said. “But if I pass out you might want to shoot that guy at your feet.”
Below me, the wounded man groaned in protest.
I knew what I had to do. “Get up.” I reached down for the man’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Now get over to where your buddy’s waiting.”
I nudged his back with the butt of the gun until he was standing next to his friend. Hunter glanced over at me, his eyes glassy and unfocused. I just hoped he could hang on a little bit longer.
I knelt down and picked up the shotgun, handing it to Hunter. “Take it,” I said. “Now give me the Glock. And the flashl
ight.”
Hunter handed them to me, swaying slightly. I tucked the flashlight into my jeans then took the Glock and slung the shotgun over my shoulder. “I want you both to walk toward the opening single file, real slow,” I told them, gripping the Glock with both hands. “When you get there you’re going to make your way back through that passageway. Then you’re going to get on one of those snowmobiles and get the hell out of here. You’re going to do this because if I see either of your faces in this cave again I’ll shoot you dead. I’m guessing these are the only guns you’ve got and I’m also guessing you want to get out of here alive as much as I do. So if I were you I’d keep my mouth shut and do exactly what I’m telling you to do.”
I glanced over at Hunter’s sheet-white face. He wasn’t going to be able to stay conscious much longer so I didn’t have a lot of time.
“Hurry up,” I said, following behind the two of them as they walked with their hands folded behind their heads. “I wouldn’t wait around because I might just change my mind.”
Part of me knew the safest thing was to kill them. But I couldn’t go through with it, no matter what they planned on doing to Annie. No matter how they might be involved in what happened to Miki all those years ago. If I let the hate control me it would destroy me in a way that nothing else had, not even Miki’s disappearance or my father’s death. If I pulled the trigger on them my visions would be lost forever. I don’t know how I knew it to be true, only that I did.
When the two men reached the hole that led to the outer cave I stood a few feet away, the Glock aimed at the back of the man who’d shot Hunter.
“Stop,” I said. “Now get on your knees. You’re going to crawl all the way to exit and I’m going to watch you do it. If I see either of you get up, I’ll shoot. If you run, I shoot. If you speak, I shoot. Got it?”
They nodded. Luckily they didn’t know I’d shot a gun maybe six times in my life.
“There’s just one thing I have to ask you before you go.”
Neither of them spoke. The wounded man was weeping softly.
“Who the hell are you and why are you doing this?”
Wraith Page 9
