61. A Tunnel
SIXTY-ONE
A Tunnel
MELISSA
Melissa’s lunatic ex-husband had one hand wrapped around her waist. The other held a knife to her throat. The cold metal edge of the knife pressed against her fragile skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, not sure what scared her more, that he would slip and fall, killing her, or that he wouldn’t, and this horrible moment would never end.
The door slid closed, taking the light with it. Dank, musty smells filled her nostrils, cloying in her mouth. The air reeked of death. Her death.
“There’s a switch to your right,” Pierce called out.
“Where?”
“Stretch your arm out; you’ll feel it about waist high.”
“Don’t try anything stupid.” Scott increased the pressure of the knife against her throat.
The rough sound of his fingers sliding against stone scratched in her ears. With the flick of a switch, light flooded her world with the steady illumination of yellow incandescence.
Pierce reached into a pocket and retrieved a set of handcuffs. “I’m going to cuffmyQueen.”
A trickle of blood pooled at the hollow of her neck, turning sticky as it dried. She had no idea how deep Scott had cut, but she was still breathing. Still alive.The pinch of pain across her throat helped focus her thoughts.
Pierce grabbed her hand, yanking her arm behind her back. Before she could think, he had both her hands cuffed. His breath heated her neck.
“You’ll pay for your disobedience, my Queen. Don’t think for a minute you won’t.” He punctuated each word with a short jerk on her wrist.
She swallowed against the cry struggling to get free. He didn’t deserve her tears, but they flowed anyway. Nostrils flaring, he smelled her hair, then her neck. Her eyes widened, and a low whimper escaped her throat.
“So, what the hell are we doing?” Scott asked. “What’s our plan?”
“Belle will meet us.” Pierce gestured down the dirt tunnel. “This opens into a culvert at the back of my property where it backs up to the forest. She’ll be there with the van.”
“And then what?”
“Contingency plans.”
“You put a lot of trust in a slave.”
Pierce shouldered past Scott, pushing Melissa ahead of him. “You don’t know Belle. Come! It’s not far, but we need to hurry.”
The faint yellow light cast dark shadows in front of them. The rough ground clawed at her feet, stubbing her toes, causing her to cry out. Pierce forced her forward, holding her when she stumbled and pushed to keep her moving.
Even though CJ was trapped in that horrible room, she had every faith he’d rescue her again. He wouldn’t have let them take her if he didn’t have a plan. Her eyes closed while she said a prayer.
Pierce’s firm grip held her up. “Careful where you step,” he cautioned.
A shiver worked its way down her spine at the concern laced in his voice. Pierce had a whole different crazy going on. Whereas Scott was a murdering psychopath, Pierce believed he was the good guy.
Darkness shrouded the tunnel as the light from the single bulb faded behind them. Melissa slowed, feeling her way forward with her toes. Pierce pressed against her back, his breath heavy on her neck, and his hand encouraging her forward with a gentle insistence.
“Just a little further, my Queen. We’re almost there.”
She squinted against the dimness. Up ahead, shadows became more distinct, and the ceiling dropped. The mustiness of the tunnel intensified, tickling her nose into a sneeze. Her foot splashed in a puddle of water. Slick, she lost her footing and slipped, but Pierce protected her from injury.
“Careful.” He lifted and steadied her on her feet.
Behind them, Scott’s ragged breathing rattled in the darkness.
“How fucking long is this tunnel. Is the roof caving in?” Her husband had never been fond of dark places.
“Not much further,” Pierce said.
“Shit, I can’t see a thing.”
“The tunnel curves to the left.” He guided her by applying pressure to her back.
Sure enough, the tunnel turned, and the ceiling dropped even lower until she hunched over and shuffled in the growing stream of water beneath her feet. Rock and slime turned to mud, which now squished beneath her feet. Thinking about what she was walking through was only slightly less nauseating than who followed her through the tunnel.
The only positive was the faint light at the end of the tunnel. The dim glow brightened with each step, providing a radiance that bounced off the tunnel’s roughhewn rock. When she dared to look down, the muck at her feet glistened with a greenish cast.
They came upon a grate with a lock. Pierce handed her to Scott.
“There’s a key I keep under a rock.” Pierce stooped to move a pile of rocks, tossing stones to the side in his search.
Scott whispered in her ear. “I’m going to fuck you until you bleed. You’ll watch as I kill him. Until death do us part, Melissa. Do you remember your vows?”
A shudder shot down to the base of her spine. Should she warn Pierce?
Pierce gave a grunt. “Found it.” A thick metal key scraped against a rock.
“Your fucking slave had better be waiting outside.” Scott nipped at her ear and whispered. “You’re going to watch while I kill them both.”
“Belle will be there,” Pierce affirmed. His confidence seemed unflappable in the faith he placed in that crazy girl.
Melissa’s heart slammed against her ribcage, and her pulse roared in her ears. She didn’t want to die!
The lock clicked open, and after a lot of squealing of rusting metal, Pierce forced the grate open. He retrieved Melissa and then led her out into a concrete culvert.
Less than a hundred feet away, his white florist’s van waited. Standing next to the van, Belle shifted foot-to-foot. She cast her gaze up and down a dirt road and glanced down the culvert. Belle fell to her knees when she saw them, pressing her head to the ground in supplication.
Pierce looked over his shoulder and caught Scott’s eyes. “I told you she’d be there.”
Scott sniffed.
Once they put Melissa inside that van, she’d never be free. Her feet dug in, refusing to move.
Pierce pushed against her back, but she fought him until he spun her around and lifted her onto his shoulders. He breathed easily, unconcerned with her weight.
“We’re almost there.”
“About fucking time,” Scott said.
In less than a hundred feet, they would arrive at the van. Death waited for her there.
CJ, I really need a hero!