CHAPTER 51
Jess fumbled for her phone and flicked on the light just as Afric opened her mouth to scream again. She clamped her other hand over Afric’s mouth.
“Don’t – scream.” The whisper echoed in the small space and Jess shivered, suppressing a surge of panic. She aimed the light from her phone along the passageway ahead and then glanced back at Afric. “I’m going to take my hand away, okay?”
Afric made a strangled, whimpering sound and cautiously Jess removed her hand.
“We’ll be fine. We just have to move that way, come on, I’ll go first.” With some effort, she managed to squeeze past Afric.
“I can’t do it.” Afric’s breathing was starting to sound laboured. “I need to get out. I need to leave right now.”
Jess took a deep breath. “We can do it together.” She couldn’t admit how terrified she was – it would make Afric worse.
“No, I’m leaving.”
“Afric?” Jess’s voice was a plea. “That guy outside is almost definitely press. And even if he isn’t, he has a camera. If you’re seen coming out of the tunnel, we’re finished. Doug and Mel will be accused of lying to the studio. You’ll definitely be in trouble.”
“Oh God.” Afric’s voice had dropped to a faint whisper but Jess figured she’d probably transitioned to the next stage of shock. Which meant she might be compliant until she’d got her into the castle.
“I’m going to start crawling,” Jess said.
“All you have to do is follow me.” Before Afric could reply, Jess started to inch her way along the cold stone floor, worn smooth down the centuries, her phone held up awkwardly to throw some light ahead.
A huge spider scuttled across the ground in front of her and she stifled a scream.
“What is it?” Afric’s voice sounded strange.
Jess tried to turn, but she couldn’t see anything behind her.
“It’s nothing. You’re doing great.” Taking a quick breath, Jess crawled a bit further, trying to see if the ceiling was getting any higher.
She felt her throat starting to constrict and willed herself to breathe.
She couldn’t lose it. She tried to think about something distracting, but her mind kept coming back to the idea that there was something off.
Where was Emily? If she’d unlocked the tunnel why hadn’t she waited for them like they’d agreed?
Emily was the only one who knew about the plan. And Robert, obviously.
There was a high, gasping noise, and Jess almost banged her head off the ceiling in fright as Afric grabbed her leg from behind.
“I’m going to die!”
Only if she strangled her with the straps of her designer rucksack, Jess thought grimly.
She reached back and took Afric’s hand. It felt clammy and cold. “You’re not going to die, I promise.” She tried to wet her lips but her mouth was completely dry. “The ceiling is starting to get a bit higher,” she lied. “It means we’re getting closer to your suite.”
Afric’s breathing sounded short and raspy, and Jess could feel sweat prickle on her skin as she tried to fight down her own panic. “Come on, just a bit more. Keep moving.” She inched further along. God, how long was this stupid tunnel?
“Are we there yet?” Afric’s voice broke.
“Not yet.” Gritting her teeth, Jess pressed her right arm to the ground and aimed the light from her phone towards the ceiling.
Was it getting a bit higher? It was hard to tell, and if she tried to stand but couldn’t Afric might start to panic even more.
She mightn’t be able to hide her own panic, either.
Moments later, Jess forced herself to take a deep breath and realised the air in the tunnel had changed slightly. “Afric, don’t move for a second. I’m going to see if we can stand up.”
When Afric didn’t answer, Jess turned carefully. “Afric? Are you there?” Shit! “Afric, where are you?”
She’d gone. She’d probably figured that she was closer to the woods than the castle and she’d chosen the quickest way out. Jess tamped down her own panic. It’d be fine. She’d just go back for her. Maybe between the two of them, they could work out another way in.
But first, she wanted to check her theory. Carefully, she got to her feet, staying crouched for a moment, then slowly unfolded her body until her upper back brushed off the ceiling.
Christ! If only Afric hadn’t panicked just then, she’d have been okay.
There was a sudden noise behind her and Jess half-turned. “Afric?” The light from her camera flickered eerily around the tunnel.
There was a sort of scuffling noise. What was that?
Her heart hammering painfully against her ribcage, she tried to pinpoint the source of the noise.
Okay, she had to get back to the exit. Still in a half-standing position, she gritted her teeth and started to shuffle back towards the exit, cursing as she banged her back against the sloping roof of the tunnel.
Almost immediately she had to crawl again.
Shit! How had she ended up doing this? She hated small spaces, but at least she’d had a good reason to actually be in one. Now she had none.
She was going to kill Afric. Just as soon as she managed to smuggle her back into the castle. She sent up a quick prayer that she’d be waiting for her in Linford Wood.
As she inched along, she focussed on her breathing, doing her best to slow her pulse. There was a sudden noise behind her and she tried to look back. Something she couldn’t see brushed against her ear and Jess screamed as she tried to aim the light from her phone.
She reached out and hit something soft. In a panic, she stumbled sideways and hit her head hard against the wall. Bile rose to her throat and she felt her legs crumple under her. And then everything went completely dark.