Where is she?” Panic edged Garrett’s voice as he joined Colton. “Someone pulled her that way.” Colton took off in that direction as he tried to understand where the man came from. He’d been certain no one followed them. He’d done everything he’d ever seen in the movies to try to lose a tail—well, except turning massive figure eight patterns. The highways didn’t work that way around the lake. Still he hadn’t noticed any cars or trucks.
Had this guy put a transmitter on his car? He’d have to check later. Now he had to find Reagan. Garrett caught up with Colton, grabbed his arm, and spun Colton around. “Stop. They want me. That’s what this is all about. They’re using her to get to me.”
Colton’s chest turned to stone as he studied the young man he thought he knew. “You’d better explain.”
“I owe some money. They threatened Reagan. I created the stalker in St. Louis to get her to leave.”
“You killed her cat?” Colton struggled to keep from strangling Garrett.
“I had to get her out of town! They told me they would kidnap her unless I paid, and I couldn’t. No matter how much I played, I kept losing. My debt mushroomed. But I had to get the money back plus enough for law school.” “That’s messed-up thinking.”
“I know. But they kept pushing. Started threatening her.” Garrett ran his hands over his head again and again. “I had to get her out of St. Louis. This seemed like the perfect excuse and hideaway. But they still found us.”
“The note on your car …”
“Not me. I swear.”
“So they followed you. Now they have Reagan.”
Garrett nodded, a miserable expression on his face.
“First, we call 911 and get the police involved. We get Reagan back, and they can straighten this out.”
Garrett seemed to crumple into himself as Colton watched, but he couldn’t focus on him. He had to find Reagan. The thought of her in the hands of some gambling enforcer made him want to move faster, rush in to save her. Instead, he forced himself to slow down, take a couple of breaths. Getting Reagan hurt wouldn’t help.
After he pulled his phone out, Colton checked for a signal. Moved a few feet and checked again. Nothing. Should they split up? Should he send Garrett to get help? Pressure built inside him at the thought of what the enforcer could do to Reagan as they raced around. Could he even find the right cavern again? There was nothing that marked the one the man had pulled her into. He’d give it a few minutes. Try to find Reagan. “All right. We’re going to follow them. This time we’ll be the ones using the shadows.”
Garrett nodded, but Colton got the sense he wasn’t listening.
“Hey, if you’re not with me, go find help. I won’t let you get Reagan hurt.” Any more than Garrett already had when he set this mess in motion.
Garrett’s gaze darted around as if he expected to find a gangster with a gun waiting. “I’m coming with you.”
“Fine, but focus on Reagan. She’s all that matters right now.” Garrett had no idea how much she mattered. The idea of her scared out of her mind about broke Colton. He had to get to her before something happened.
Once she was safe, he’d wring Garrett’s neck.
He shook off his anger and focused on the slit Reagan had disappeared into. Time to move.
Reagan listened. Each scruff of a shoe on stone sliced the silence.
Her lungs demanded that she gulp air, but she resisted. The man was too close. At the smallest sound, he might find her.
She had to stay hidden. Her mind reeled with this man’s allegations about Garrett. If any of his accusations held truth, then Garrett needed help. Gambling was a serious problem, with life-altering consequences.
Another scrape of a shoe against rock had her pushing deeper into the shadows. He couldn’t find her, not when she had no way to defend herself. She brushed her fingers along the cave’s face. Somewhere she could at least grab a rock. That would provide some protection, better than a scream and prayer.
“Come here, little girl. There’s no way out except past me.”
She bit her lip and slid another step back. Her heart raced until she thought it might explode. She gasped for air.
Another step, then a slice of light pierced the darkness. He must have heard her inhale, because he laughed. “Didn’t think I’d come down here without a way to find you, did you?” The light switched to the other wall. “Will I find you here? How about here?” The light danced in rapid motions.
Reagan pressed farther back. She needed a plan. Her hand grasped at a rock. Her fingers barely wrapped around it. Not as comforting as a lethal weapon, but at least she had something.
“You want to make this hard? Fine.” The man laughed, a sound that forced a shiver through Reagan. “No problem. I’ve got hours. I’ve got a jacket. I can wait. Eventually, the cave closes, and I have all night to find you. In the morning, the staff will find a surprise. I don’t think it will affect them the way it will Garrett.”
She clamped her lips together to keep from answering. She pulled the rock in front of her then groped along the wall with her other hand. How far back did the crevice go? She slid away from the opening a step, keeping an eye on the waving beam of light. It slid across the wall toward her, and she ducked farther back. Please don’t let him find me.
Another press into the darkness. The crevice never expanded, yet she hadn’t found the end.
The light winked closer.
The crevice narrowed.
Please don’t let it close now.
She pushed back and fell into emptiness.
A woman’s scream pierced the air. Colton broke into a run and headed in the direction of the shriek. “Reagan.”
Garrett caught him and yanked his arm so hard Colton spun.
“We’ve got to get her.”
“If we race in there, whoever’s with her will just kill us.” Garrett hissed.
“Better me than her.”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “If you die, what’s to keep him from killing her, too?”
Colton yanked free and stared at Garrett, disgust curling through him. “Man up. You got her into this. Now we have to save her.”
“Sure, but not by rushing in blindly.”
A laugh reverberated toward them. Colton picked up his pace again and headed that direction.
He turned back when silence surrounded him. “Go call the police now. We need help.”
Garrett took a step toward the Bride’s Veil then turned back. “I’ll go till I find cell coverage. Then I’ll be back.”
Colton nodded. There was a fire in the younger man’s eyes Colton wanted to believe, but Garrett had to prove himself.
The scream had come from in front of him to the right. No rushing in there, or he’d get both of them killed. Garrett had that much right. But sitting back waiting for the cavalry wasn’t an option. The light was dimmer off the regular path that was laid out for the tourists who came through the caves. He’d have to go by gut instinct.
In his years since Boy Scouts, he hadn’t spent much time in caves. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he shot up a prayer for direction.
He leaned forward, straining to hear anything in front of him. There. To the right. Were those footsteps? He crept forward a few steps then paused. There it was again. Ah, a small tunnel opened up, one he hadn’t seen from a few paces back.
After waiting another moment to see if Garrett would return, Colton stepped into the tunnel and then down into another cavern. A narrow band of light zipped back and forth.
A flashlight? Maybe the man had lost Reagan.
Colton stepped into the cavern, sticking to the wall like a spider. Too bad he couldn’t web his way up the wall and over the top of the enforcer. Then he’d disable him and find Reagan.
A muffled cry reached him, and he picked up his pace. His foot collided with a rock, sending it skittering across the cavern’s floor. The sound ricocheted like a boulder crashing down a mountain. Colton froze as the beam of light pivoted in his direction. It teased across the front of his dark T-shirt, and Colton sucked in, as if that would make him disappear.
“Ah, someone comes to rescue the damsel in distress.” The deep voice held an ominous tone and was followed by a snicker that was anything but funny. “Too bad you can’t have her.”
The light drew closer, and Colton felt pinned in place by its brightness like a mounted moth on display. He had to break free, get to Reagan.
The beam flashed to his face, and Colton squinted against the glare.
“You’re not Garrett.”
“You have a gift for the obvious.”
“A smart one, huh.” The man stepped closer still. Another step. Colton had to break free from the beam of light. “That’s what my mom said.”
“Too bad, this will end badly for you.” A glint of metal. Then the metallic sound of a gun hammer cocking. “Any last words?”