Grave Peril

by Mary Alford

  The day the verdict came in had shattered that belief. Her father was going away for the rest of his life. There hadn’t even been time to hold him one more time before he’d been escorted off to Eddyville, to the maximum security prison there.

  She and Paxton had visited every chance they got. Uncle Paxton had vowed he’d find out the truth and get his brother free. It hadn’t happened. Noah had died in a prison infirmary of miner’s lung, and Jamie hadn’t been able to get to him before he drew his final breath.

  The funeral had been one of the most devastating days of her life. Jamie had thought she would never stop crying. She still remembered Ava’s kindness that day, even though her father was considered a murderer by the town he once loved. Ava had organized a luncheon at the church, and she and Paxton had been treated with kindness. Jamie would forever be grateful for Ava Dalton’s friendship. Now Ava was gone and someone was trying to silence Paxton for something he knew. Jamie was terrified that she and Gavin wouldn’t be able to unravel the truth before it was too late and she and Paxton became the final victims of a nightmare that started ten years earlier.

  * * *

  Something startled Gavin awake. He looked around the darkened room. There had been movement. He’d sensed it.

  Gavin struggled to a sitting position. The light from the monitor captured his attention right away. Jamie stood close by. He got to his feet and went over.

  “What is it?” he asked, making her jump.

  She pointed to the screen that showed the road in front of the house. “Miller came back about a half hour earlier. He was alone, until now.”

  There were two additional patrol vehicles out there. The reality of it sent his thoughts churning. They needed to get out.

  “They’re getting ready to storm the house. Jamie, whether or not they have any proof, they’re going to arrest us. We have to leave now.”

  “There’s a shortcut I remember from childhood. It should get us to my house faster. We can gather the supplies and head to the mine.”

  Gavin nodded. “Good. Let’s get going. On foot, it’s not going to be easy.” He stumbled a little as he headed for the back of the place. When she didn’t follow, he turned, seeing all her doubts.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?” she asked.

  He wasn’t, but they were all out of choices. “I’ll be fine.” He tucked his weapon behind his back, and she grabbed the shotgun.

  “I have more ammo at your place, but we need to take extra just in case Miller has people stationed at your house. I think Ava keeps some extra shotgun shells in the hall closet. I’ll grab some bullets for the Glock I have in my bag along with the binoculars.”

  He found his backpack, shoved the medicine inside along with extra bandages, and then headed for his room when she stopped him. “I’ll get them. You just take it easy.”

  Gavin couldn’t imagine how bad he must look. He sat down at the desk and continued to watch the monitor. The men were getting out of their vehicles. They didn’t have much time.

  “Jamie, we’ve got to get out of here now,” he called out, and she came running into the room. He pointed to the screen. “They’re coming this way. We’ll never get away in time. Not with this.” He pointed to his wound.

  Her troubled gaze held his.

  There was only one place he could think of for them to hide out in a pinch. “Ava has that old root cellar on the place. I think I can find it in the dark. Hopefully, they won’t think to check there.”

  He turned off the monitors and slung the backpack she’d loaded with ammo over his shoulder. “We can’t afford to use a flashlight,” he told her. “Stay close to me.”

  She followed him out the back door, and they listened carefully. “I don’t hear anything.” He was worried. “I don’t like it.”

  Jamie took his hand, and together they stepped off Ava’s beloved back porch and headed out. Even though the yard was well maintained, they were still walking in the dark. The clouds hid most of the stars. The moon hadn’t come up yet.

  “It’s just over there. Getting the door open will be a pain, though,” he whispered.

  Once they reached the cellar a little way from the house, Gavin grabbed the door handle and pulled. It took everything inside of him to keep from screaming in pain.

  “Let me help.” Jamie took hold of the door with him. Together they managed to lift it. He prayed the deputies hadn’t heard the noise they made, but sound carried through the hollers.

  They stopped and listened. “I don’t hear anything, do you?” she whispered.

  “No, but let’s get out of sight as quickly as possible.” Gavin went inside and held out his hand to Jamie.

  “Be careful, it’s been years since I’ve been down here. I don’t know what kind of shape the stairs are in.”

  Once she was inside, he piled as much brush as he could in front of the door and then shut it as quietly as possible. Holding hands, they slowly made their way down the steps. When he reached the bottom one, he dug out the flashlight from his backpack and shone it around. Cobwebs clung to everything in sight. The place was covered in several inches of dust. He remembered his grandmother telling him that, with her advancing years, she hadn’t canned anything in a long time. The cellar had sat unused for a while.

  As he flashed the light around, he quickly noticed that the condition of the place was far worse than he thought. One of the walls appeared close to collapsing. Gavin pushed aside the image of the cellar entombing them inside its dusty walls.

  “We can’t afford to keep the light on. With the walls in such bad shape, the flashlight’s beam will show through.” He turned off the light and she moved closer, shivering. He would give anything to be able to reassure her it was going to be okay, but nothing could be further from the truth. He wasn’t sure how much Miller knew of the property, but most of the older houses around these parts had root cellars.

  He held her tight. Being close like this reminded him of all those times in the past when he and Jamie would slip off to a quiet place to be alone. He’d hold her, as he was right now, and they’d sneak kisses. He’d been crazy about her. Back then, he’d thought he would spend the rest of his life right here in Darlan with her at his side.

  He’d been wrong. Neither one of them could have foreseen the tragic outcome that would drive them apart.

  Outside, the noise of footsteps could be heard, rousing him from memories of the past. The men were almost right on top of them now. Jamie clutched him tighter.

  “Any sign of them?” Miller asked. He sounded as if he was just outside the door.

  “No, and there’s been no movement at the house. Maybe they didn’t come back to the house like you thought. They could have headed out of town.” A voice he didn’t recognize responded.

  While the conversation continued, it sounded as if they were moving away from the cellar.

  “How long do you think we should wait here before we leave?” Jamie whispered.

  Gavin had no idea. Miller was law enforcement. He could be standing close by, waiting for them to slip up. “A little longer. If we leave before they’ve cleared the area, we might be walking straight into an ambush.”

  EIGHT

  It felt as if they’d been huddled in the rotting old root cellar for hours, and Jamie wasn’t sure what the worse danger was: the men searching for them outside or the man standing a breath away.

  Holding him close, she could feel Gavin’s steady pulse against her ear. But her heart was breaking all over again for what might have been.

  If it weren’t for the danger they now faced, it might have been ten years earlier. Before Gavin’s final words imprinted themselves in her head.

  He moved slightly. They faced each other. Did he feel the same way?

  “Jamie...” He whispered her name, his voice rough with emotion. Her breath hung in her throat at the poss
ibilities hidden there. She couldn’t go back to the hurt.

  She stepped back. His hands fell away. Would there ever be a time when they could be together without the past clouding their feelings?

  “How long do you think we’ve been here?” she asked, needing to bring things back down to a less emotional level.

  He dragged in a breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe an hour.” She could hear the pain in his tone. She couldn’t imagine how difficult the trek through the woods had been for him.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Hanging in there, I guess.” He didn’t sound good.

  “I think I saw a chair in the corner. You should sit down for a bit.”

  He didn’t argue. “I think that’s a good idea.” Gavin felt his way over to the area where the chair was and eased his weight down. Jamie heard it squeak.

  He leaned back, exhausted by the effort.

  Lord, he needs Your strength. Please help him, Jamie silently prayed.

  Outside, a sound captured her attention. “I hear voices again,” she whispered and knelt next to him.

  She reached for his hand, and he held it as a flashlight’s beam bounced off the holes in the walls.

  “We didn’t check the cellar. They could be hiding in there.” A voice she didn’t recognize moved closer.

  “They’re not in there. But just to be sure...” Miller stopped. Before Jamie knew what the man intended, shots split the quiet of the night and whistled past them. Jamie grabbed hold of Gavin. They both hit the ground. Gavin tucked her in close, his body sheltering hers in a heroic measure that was just like Gavin.

  Another round of shots kicked up dirt inches from where they lay. Then silence followed.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here. If they were in there, they’re dead now. I don’t want to have to explain this to the sheriff.”

  Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they walked away. After what felt like an eternity, Gavin slowly eased to his feet, holding his injured side. He dropped down to the chair. Immediately, Jamie was at his side, worried.

  “Are you okay? You didn’t get hit again?” Fear gripped her heart. He couldn’t take much more.

  Gavin barely managed an answer. “No, but I’m not okay. I think I reopened the wound.”

  She took the flashlight from him and shone it on his side. He was right. Blood seeped from the wound to stain his shirt.

  “I put some extra bandages in the backpack,” he forced out.

  Jamie unzipped the bag and then helped him slide off his jacket before she unbuttoned his shirt.

  “It’s not too bad.” It was a lie to reassure him. Nothing could be further from the truth. The wound appeared red and inflamed. She tossed the bloodied bandage away, then packed the wound with strips of cloth and rewrapped it.

  Then she knew he needed to hear the truth. “You need medical help. If this gets infected...” She didn’t finish.

  “I’ll be okay for the moment.” She wanted to believe him, but in her mind, she couldn’t imagine how he was going to make it to her house, much less the mine. “Gavin, you’re barely able to stand by yourself.”

  He framed her face and looked into her eyes, silencing her. “I’ll be okay. We have to keep moving. It’s our only option. Right now, they believe we’ve left town. That won’t last for long.”

  His answer wasn’t the one she needed, but they were all out of choices.

  Jamie helped him to his feet, then grabbed the backpack and slung it over her shoulder. With the shotgun in one hand and the flashlight in the other, Gavin leaned heavily against her as they stumbled up the stairs.

  “Kill the flashlight. Let me go out first,” Gavin said in a near whisper. Jamie moved out of the way and let him ease the door open.

  He stepped out into the dark night while Jamie’s heart hammered in her ears. She couldn’t hear a sound. Had Miller and his men headed back to their vehicles?

  Please, God.

  Gavin held out his hand. “I believe they’ve left,” he said softly. “Let’s get going. Which way to the shortcut?”

  In the darkness, it was hard to find. “It’s been years since I came out here. I believe it’s this way.” She pointed to the right, where nothing could be seen but blackness. At night, the hollers could be deadly. One wrong move and you could fall into one of the half-dozen abandoned mine shafts to your death. Or stumble off the side of the mountain.

  She and Gavin started walking in the direction she’d indicated. Jamie hoped her memory proved true and they weren’t running in circles.

  With Gavin struggling to put one foot in front of another, Jamie tried to get her fuzzy brain to make sense of what they’d been through so far. Was this really all related to drugs? How did Sheriff Lawson fit into all of this?

  “Where exactly will this way put us out at?” Gavin asked. He stopped and dragged in several labored breaths. Jamie’s fear for him increased.

  Somehow, she shoved aside her troubled thoughts. “Back off to the side of the house. I hope they aren’t still watching it.”

  “Let’s hope not,” he managed. Guilt tore at her heart. She’d put Gavin’s life in danger by turning to him for help.

  “What do you think they did with Ava’s truck?” she asked.

  “Probably hauled it off somewhere and searched it for whatever they were looking for at your house. They probably dumped it in one of numerous old mine shafts once they didn’t find what they were looking for, to get rid of any evidence that would tie it to us. They’ll do the same to you and me if they find us.”

  Those ominous words hung between them in the chilly night. “This has to be related to the drug problem in Darlan somehow,” Gavin said, and Jamie suppressed a chill. “Still, why do they think Paxton would know anything about that?”

  Jamie drew in a breath and voiced her beliefs. “Uncle Paxton told me he’d found proof that my father didn’t kill yours. What if he’s right and your father’s death had something to do with drugs?”

  Seconds ticked by before Gavin answered. “I think we should stick with what we know,” he said quietly and he had no idea how much those words hurt to hear.

  Jamie struggled to hold on to her composure. She didn’t care what evidence they tried to falsify to prove their case against her uncle, there was no way she’d ever believe Paxton was involved in such a destructive thing.

  * * *

  “I can see the house.” Jamie pointed up ahead, and Gavin followed her. “We’re almost there.” Her eyes skimmed his face, no doubt seeing the exhaustion he couldn’t hide. “Do you think you can make it?” she asked gently.

  He managed a nod, conserving his energy. Truth be told, he’d never been so happy to see anything than he was to see her old house. The hours in the woods had depleted what little strength he had left. It was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other.

  Once they drew closer, Gavin glanced around, trying to pick up any abnormal movement. While he didn’t see anything unusual, he couldn’t help but feel they might be walking into an ambush. He took out his night-vision binoculars and zoomed in on the house. “I don’t see anyone around the place. Let’s hope it’s empty.”

  They slowly eased down the rise and toward the back of the house.

  Gavin stepped up on the porch and froze. Someone had left the back door standing slightly ajar. It hadn’t been that way earlier.

  “They’ve been here since our last visit.” He pointed to the open door. “Miller must have searched the place again. Maybe he thought we left something incriminating behind.”

  He drew his weapon, eased the door farther open and went inside. He was almost halfway across the living room when he heard it. Click, click, click.

  “Run, Jamie!” he yelled as he turned and ran as fast as he could, all but dragging her along with him.

  They’d barely made it o
ut the door when the house exploded. Both he and Jamie flew some twenty feet through the air.

  For a moment, he lost consciousness. The heat from the fire brought him to. He stared up at the blaze. Where was Jamie?

  Gavin struggled to his feet. The world around him swayed. It was as if everything had gone mute. While his hearing had taken the brunt of the explosion, he could feel blood trickling from several facial wounds.

  Once the world stopped spinning, his only thought was for Jamie. Ignoring the pain in his side, he searched frantically for her. She’d landed a little way behind him. He could see her crumpled body lying still. Gavin covered the space between them as quickly as his broken body would allow, fear following him every step of the way.

  “Jamie.” He called out her name as he reached her side, then knelt next to her. He felt for a pulse. After he’d assured himself it was there, he touched her arms and legs. Nothing appeared broken. She had several cuts, as well, and she was bleeding.

  He shook her. “Jamie, wake up.”

  She slowly opened her eyes. When she saw him, she grabbed him around the waist and held him tight, shaken.

  “What happened?” She barely got the words out.

  “The house was set to explode when someone entered it. No doubt all entrances were wired. They were probably expecting Paxton to return.”

  She pulled away and stared at the blazing inferno behind him. “I can’t believe it. We almost died. Gavin. What are these men after?”

  He shook his head. “I wish I knew. Right now, we’ve got to get out of here. They’ll see the explosion and come looking to see if Paxton is dead.”

  As if in response to his words, the sound of a vehicle could be heard making its way up the mountain toward the blaze.

  “Do you think you can walk?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

  He wasn’t nearly so sure, but they didn’t have a choice. He managed to get to his feet and held out his hand. She took it and slowly stood. For a second, she leaned against him and his arms tightened around her. He wondered if she was hurt worse than he’d originally thought.