Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
“We can meet you there and take a look...”
As Colby’s friend continued to talk on the line, his phone beeped with another incoming call. Probably from the station. He’d catch it in a minute.
“Sounds good,” he replied. “I’m getting things together to head back out there now.”
“We will too,” Gray said. “See you there.”
No sooner had he hung up than his phone rang again. He noticed it was Brynn as he answered. “Hey, your phones working?—”
“Colby, get here....now.”
The panicked sound of her voice broke through the crackle of the bad connection. “Brynn? Are you okay?”
It seemed like an eternity before he heard her again. “Someone—woods—help?—”
“I can’t hear you, Brynn. What’s going on?”
Even as he spoke he rushed over to throw on some more outerwear and grab his backpack. Everything else was already packed in the truck for his return.
“Locked inside.”
Shit. What was happening? He left the phone on speaker as he ran out the door and started his truck. After several minutes of no sound, he glanced down to see the call had cut off. Focusing back on the road, he sped as fast as he dared down the mostly clear roads within the city limits. He had to get to her as quickly as possible.
His mind raced a mile a minute as he evaluated every curve and twist for just the right speed to keep him on the road and not in a ditch. Please don’t let me hit any black ice. But he couldn’t slow down. He had to help her.
He should never have left her alone.
Opening the gate was an exercise in frustration, but he knew it was quicker to get the truck through than to try to run the distance to the house. He gunned it down the driveway, not worrying about the exact route.
Get there...get there...get to her...
Once again he found himself pounding on the front door, desperate to get inside. This time for a completely different reason. He didn’t need to save himself. He needed to save Brynn.
After what seemed an eternity, the door flung open and she was in his arms. “Colby! Colby!”
“Oh my god, Brynn,” he whispered into her hair. “I was so scared.”
“I couldn’t get the phone to work again. I didn’t know what to do. I just locked myself inside and hoped you would get here...”
“Shhh.... shhhhh...” The feel of her shaking against him lit up every protective instinct he owned. “I’m here now.”
Finally he looked behind her, scanning the open rooms he could see. “Is someone inside?” he whispered.
She shook her head against his chest. “No. Outside.”
His heartrate slowed just a touch. He kicked the door closed behind him and shifted them from the foyer to the doorway between the living room and kitchen, still surveying the space for anything awry. “What happened, love?”
“I went for a walk.”
As she spoke, Colby noticed the extra clothing and sweatshirt hood hanging behind her neck.
“And I found these in the woods when someone ran off.”
He glanced down to see photos in her hand. The one on top showed her lying asleep on the couch in the living room. He cursed under his breath. “Okay, let’s?—”
“Hello?”
The unexpected male voice had Colby pivoting, firmly bracing himself between Brynn and whoever was coming through the front door. Shit. How had he not secured that?
The face that appeared had him relaxing only a little. Gray. He’d called Gray. Talking with Brynn had completely blown that detail from his mind. Spotting Colby, Gray pushed through the door, followed by a very tall man. That must be Knox Pearson, Gray’s boss.
The man’s dark countenance was unsettling. Lord, he hoped he’d made the right decision.
Not that they’d given him much choice. He’d barely gotten through his description of what was in the box before Gray had put him on hold to get his boss.
They’d both insisted on seeing the evidence themselves. Colby had extracted a promise that they’d explain what they knew before he’d tell them where to go. Of course, once he’d learned their side of the story, he’d known he needed to get back to Brynn.
He wasn’t leaving her alone. Now or ever again.
Suddenly from behind him, she let out a scream.
He turned to circle his arms around her. “It’s okay, Brynn. It’s okay. I know them.” He felt her shiver in his arms and regretted he hadn’t been able to warn her, but there simply hadn’t been time.
“Brynn,” he said softly, so the men couldn’t hear him. “I’ve got a couple of guys I want you to meet. I think they can help us.”
That solemn hazel gaze met and held his. He tried to keep his expression as open as possible. “It will be okay.”
When she’d looked her fill, she nodded and stepped back from his embrace. His friend and his boss stepped to the side as soon as they entered the house to remove their wet and dirty shoes before continuing on. Colby appreciated the unexpected courtesy. Maybe it would make them a little less intimidating to a single woman.
It did seem to set Brynn more at ease. She gestured the men into the living area. Though the electricity was back on, she still had a fire going in the fireplace. Colby ached to go back to laying behind her on the couch while they watched the flames until they fell asleep—safe and warm. Together.
Maybe soon they could go back.
“Apparently Brynn had a visitor while I was gone,” he said, tossing the photos down onto the coffee table. He sat next to her on the couch, unable to look at the photo of her sleeping on the couch any more.
“Where did you find these?” Gray asked, his voice soft as if not to startle her.
Brynn whispered, “In the woods.”
He’d probably never forget the fear in her eyes. “Why would someone do this?” he asked.
Gray shook his head. “It could just be a random peeping tom or someone who wanted to show proof that someone had taken up residence in the house.”
“Or they could have had other reasons for wanting proof,” Knox said, his deep voice as disturbing as Gray’s was soothing.
“She’s not safe, is she?” Colby asked.
“We can’t know for sure,” Knox said.
He glanced around the unusual interior of the space, scanning the vestibule and the peeked roof in the main area. He glanced over his shoulder to see the stained-glass window. Under his scrutiny, Brynn’s back got a little tighter, a little straighter.
The man had an intimidating presence, with eyes that seemed to see everything. Colby couldn’t blame her for getting her defenses up. According to Gray, he didn’t keep up the intensity all the time—once you got to know him.
Finally, Knox glanced down at her. “Can we see the room please?”
That startled them both.
“I thought you’d want to see the photos?” she said, her voice a little strangled.
“I do. But first, the room?”
He wasn’t overbearing, but firm. Brynn didn’t concede immediately. She continued studying him as if she could pull his thoughts from him just by looking.
As if realizing his mistake, Knox held out his hand. “I’m Knox Pearson. I’m the new owner of Hawthorne Preparatory school. This is Remington Gray, my head of security.”
The other man shook her hand in turn. “Everyone calls me Gray.”
She glanced between the two men, taking their measure. “A preparatory school sounds very fancy out here in the country?”
Immediately Colby knew where her thoughts were going. They’d talked about the town leaders, the upper class. He could see where she’d be suspicious.
“Gray is a friend I grew up with,” he quickly said. “Knox here started the boy’s school earlier this year. He and Gray knew each other in the military and went to high school together, but Knox isn’t from Thornbury Woods.”
That backbone relaxed just a notch.
“Why the room?” she asked, obviously not convinced.
Gray spoke from just behind Knox. “Where the materials were hidden can tell us a lot. Plus, we want to compare it to what we’ve already found.”
She nodded slowly. “And that is?”
“During renovations,” Knox said, “We’ve found some evidence beneath Hawthorne Manor of some kind of cult. Possibly linked to a rash of missing women that occurred—unsolved—about twenty years ago. We are quietly investigating what happened there—and now possibly here.”
“Is it still happening?” Brynn was nothing if not direct. Colby was proud of her. For her own safety, she needed to ask...and they both needed to know.
Knox glanced over his shoulder at Gray, who gave a quick nod. He turned back to Brynn. “We don’t have any evidence at the moment of women going missing now, but we think some of the original players are still out there. That’s why we’re investigating—we need to be sure.”
“What about holding them accountable?”
Knox’s hands tightened into fists. His expression turned hard and closed. “Oh, they won’t all get away this time.”
Whatever Brynn saw in his face satisfied her. She stood and led them through the doorway leading to the kitchen area. Without speaking, she pushed the cabinet aside, then gestured toward the darkness below.
Knox and Gray took small but bright flashlights from their pockets to light their way. Brynn remained near the edge, staring down into the shadowed hole as if she didn’t trust it for one minute.
“Are you okay?” Colby asked.
Seeing that look on her face caused guilt to settle low in his stomach, as if he’d left her behind in a place that scared her. The foot of space between them felt like a mile, when he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and keep her safe.
Brynn slowly shook her head. “I just—I know something bad happened down there.”
Colby agreed. He could feel it in the air. See in his mind the visage of the woman crying by the alter. He’d known a bit of a sixth sense at accident scenes. He always had a feeling as he approached. Somehow, he knew if the person up ahead was going to make it or not.
Unfortunately, he’d never been wrong. But that had not prepared him for what he’d seen in the cellar.
“You can stay up here if you want?” he said, keeping his voice low, his words just between them.
Honestly, he had no desire to descend those stairs. He would never force her to do so.
Brynn shook her head. “No. It’s okay. I want to know what they think, what they see.”
Colby could understand that, even though he worried. He held his hand out until Brynn placed her palm against his. He didn’t let go as they descended the creaky, dust-covered stairs into the suffocating blackness.
Knox and Gray had crossed to the other side of the room, crouching behind the lectern to look inside. Brynn pulled him to the right, almost skirting the edges of the room to join them, despite the space in the middle being empty.
As they stood, Gray focused on the antlers hanging on the back wall with his flashlight. “Definitely the same group,” he said, his voice almost musing. “Maybe the origins? Same symbolism.” The circle of light swept over the lectern and table. “Same setup.”
Feeling his throat tighten up, Colby coughed to try to clear it. “So, this isn’t some kind of makeshift sanctuary then? Like maybe an original one before they built the church upstairs?”
“Oh, it is. But not the kind you’re thinking of.”
The grimness of Knox’s voice almost echoed in the dark space. Brynn crossed to stand beside the altar table. “So the woman in the picture, the one who looked like she was sleeping here?” She glanced back over at Colby as if he would have the answer.
The men were silent so long Colby felt dread sink into him. But he couldn’t deny his curiosity of the “how” even though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she was gone.
Finally, Knox said, “She was either drugged or already dead.”