by Vella Day
Amanda hovered over her. “You are so clumsy. Get up.”
Jessie rolled onto her knees. Without the use of her hands, she fell again. Her head ached and her stomach threatened to erupt.
“I can’t.”
“I can’t,” Amanda ridiculed, then kicked her again, this time in the leg.
Jessie cried out.
“Wimp.” Amanda grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her another twenty feet into a short tunnel, one that went nowhere. Rocks scraped her legs through her tights. Amanda dropped her and Jessie’s mouth slammed into the ground.
“Oh, God.” Jessie didn’t have the strength to fight back as tears stung her eyes.
“God ain’t going to help you now,” Amanda said.
Jessie managed to roll onto her side and look up at her captor. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“I already told you. I want to get Congress’s attention. If they don’t send troops to Darfur, my friends and I will set the charges. Now, if you get any ideas about getting out of here, I need to tell you I’ve set a few charges in some of the shafts. If you cross one of them—kaboom! It’ll be bye-bye, Jessie. If, by some miracle, you do reach the surface, the door will be locked from the outside.” She laughed.
Jessie was tempted to ask her to kill her now and put her out of her misery, but she had to believe there was something she could do to save herself.
Amanda strode off, kicking up dirt in her wake. Jessie sank back to the ground to gather her strength, to plan, to plot. The gate grated closed. She was now all alone and scared to death.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You keep up that pacing, son, and you’ll wear a hole in the floor.” Margaret took a swig of her gin and tonic and leaned back against the living room sofa, appearing calm.
“Jessie should have been back by now,” Dax said.
Margaret checked her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Perhaps she was more worried than he’d first thought. “She doesn’t usually miss dinner, and she’s good about calling. Did you check the office?”
That was the first placed he’d called. “Yes, but nobody’s answering. I thought she said someone would be staying with Brian.”
Worry churned his gut. “Maybe Frank took ill, and she had to drive him home. He’s getting on in years.”
“Even if that were the case, she would have called. Something’s wrong. I’m going to town to find her.”
Jessie’s grandmother polished off her drink. “Maybe she’s at the bar trying to calm down some drunk or helping someone in need.”
Dax didn’t buy her reasoning. “The night we found Sadie, we stopped at the bar. Even when her mind was elsewhere, she called you so you wouldn’t be upset.”
Margaret pressed a finger to her lips. “She is good about that.”
Dax headed for the door. “Keep your gun handy.”
Her jaw dropped. “Whatever for?”
He whipped around. “Do as I say.” Margaret flinched at his harsh tone and guilt attacked. “Please?” he said as gently as he could.
“If you think there might be trouble, I will.” Margaret stood up. “Wait a minute. I have something for you.”
A moment later Margaret returned with a large flashlight, one that used a heavy-duty battery. “Bless you,” he said.
“Oh, and you’ll need these too.” She dropped the keys to her car in his palm.
He’d forgotten Jessie had the cruiser and his truck was safely tucked away at Walt’s. Doc had dropped him off at the house after they finished with Clinton’s body. “You are a lifesaver.” Dax leaned over and kissed Margaret on the cheek, and she actually blushed.
She made a shooing motion. “Now go and bring back my granddaughter.” For a split second, he heard Jessie’s voice in Margaret’s, and his heart kicked up a notch.
“You got it.”
Dax rushed down the steps and jumped in Margaret’s Cadillac, ignoring the throbbing in his leg. It then took a moment for him to figure out how to turn on the headlights, but once he did, he couldn’t leave fast enough. His first stop would be the office. Brian should still be in jail, and Jessie might have told her ex where she was headed.
Even though the town was four miles away, it was the longest four miles in his life. He prayed like he’d never prayed before that Jessie was all right.
Just as he turned down the main street, a car pulled in front of him and slowed to ten miles an hour. Dax honked. The person must have recognized Margaret’s car and waved. Since Margaret’s car was bigger than a boat, he wasn’t able to pass her and not hit the cars parked along the side of the road.
Dax tried to relax, but the tension in his body made his pulse speed. Come on, move.
Margaret’s friend pulled into a parking spot on the main drag and Dax sped by. A half mile later, he stopped in front of the station, the brakes squealing in protest. As soon as he ripped the keys from the ignition, he jumped out, and then took the stairs two at a time. Dax burst through the door, hoping to see Jessie at her desk.
Brian jumped off the cot in his cell. “What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Jessie?” Dax asked.
Brian pointed to a curled up ball in the next cell. “Ask Lena.”
Lena? What was she doing in jail, and where the hell was Jessie?
* * *
Even with his headlights on high, the road to the mine was darker than sin. Dax’s hands trembled and his pulse raced. He despised how his phobias controlled his life, and anxiety only made them worse.
He forced back the horror the best he could and tried to make sense of the concept that Lena’s boyfriend might have kidnapped someone. Seth had only been in town two weeks, which meant he might have come to Kerry to do harm. Lena also mentioned that Jessie believed Roberta might have been the victim.
He slapped the wheel, fearing Jessie might have decided to track Seth down and then confront him. He should have found out from Lena where her beau was staying. If Dax weren’t so close to the mine, he’d have considered turning around.
After making the last curve, his lights spotted her cruiser, and relief blanketed him. He floored the car to reach her. Seconds later, Dax parked behind her cruiser and jumped out. “Jessie?”
The only response came from the howling wind buffeting the leaves, and the blood rushing in his ears blocked out all other sounds. He placed his palm on the hood of her car. It was cool, implying she’d been here a while. His gut soured, not liking where his mind was headed.
A chilly blast of air snuck through his shirt, confirming the predicted cold front had followed closely on the heels of the short-lived Indian summer. Keeping vigilant, he shone his flashlight at the mine entrance hoping to see some evidence of Jessie’s arrival. There. A red object was on the ground. As he moved closer, he identified it as a pair of lock cutters. Brian told him she’d brought a pair with her, so she had to be here.
“Jessie?”
He held his breath awaiting her answer. His gaze shot to the lock, and the metal loop was hanging open. Uncut. Guess she didn’t need them after all.
“Jessie?” He yelled louder this time.
She would have heard him if she’d been outside, which meant she’d gone into the mine to search for the kidnapped victim where it was dark, dangerous, deadly.
As he reached for the handle to open the cage, he stilled, wondering why it was at the top of the mine instead of at the bottom. An ugly sludge filled his veins. Something was seriously wrong. She wouldn’t have sent the cage up if she were still below.
Dax inhaled deeply and fought his demons as he stepped inside. Once more he called her name even though he doubted she could hear him hundreds of feet below.
Press the button.
He had to go down and find her, but all of his usual excuses surfaced—the elevator could break, the mine could catch fire, or he could die just like his dad.
Stop doing this; Jessie needs you.
As he tried to clear his head, his father’s screams
echoed in this mind. Dax slapped his palms over his ears to stop the death shouts from scrambling his thoughts. His knees buckled, and he lowered his hands to catch himself.
Oh, God. He wasn’t sure he was even capable of saving her. His throat partially closed from the lack of air and sweat beaded his forehead, as the sense of doom nearly paralyzed him.
Jessie was down there, perhaps injured, alone, and scared. Or worse, Seth was holding her captive.
The best-case scenario was that she had tried to help the kidnapped person and had been injured in the process. Given she’d arrived a while ago, Jessie should have come back up by now. He inhaled, but couldn’t detect any smoke, implying there hadn’t been an explosion. Panic gripped his lungs and squeezed his chest, and the urge to jump in Margaret’s car and drive back to town was strong, but he couldn’t leave Jessie. He’d rather die from his fears than have any harm come to her.
With more courage than he believed he possessed, Dax closed his eyes and pressed the down button. Clang, wheeze, grind. The cage rattled and swayed as it made its way to the bowels of the earth. He gripped the iron bars tight, half expecting the elevator to stop in mid-descent, stranding him. Only this time, it would be forever.
Then the horror began anew. The walls started to close in, and as much as he willed his mind to ignore the imaginary threat, the panic gripped him harder. He reminded himself for the zillionth time that his dad’s death had been an accident, and the explosion had been the result of a cave-in, but the tightness in his chest didn’t ease.
A hint of reason intruded. With the mine closed down, there wouldn’t be any working equipment to explode. There was no real danger going down there, or so he tried to convince himself.
Dax patted his side to make sure he had his gun, but a lot of good it would do him now. He couldn’t shoot the dark. The cage descended at what seemed like ten feet a minute, instead of ten feet per second. Come on, come on.
The farther he dropped, the darker the cage became. The trouble light hanging above his head didn’t help ease his fears, and the familiar smells made him sick. His breaths shortened. He was going to be sick.
Wimp.
Be a man.
Dax concentrated on sweet Jessie instead of on the claustrophobia that threatened to make him stop the death trap and return to the surface. When he imagined her beautiful, trusting face, his palms still slickened, but his quick breaths began to slow. Picturing her smile and how she always stood up to him brought the needed courage. Whatever it took, he was determined to keep her safe.
The elevator came to a clanging halt at the bottom, and he tried not to imagine what he might find. Anticipating the darkness to rush out and crush him, he waited a moment to calm down.
Go, go.
Gun in one hand and his light in the other, he stepped into the mine, and this time, his demons thankfully backed off, though they were bound to come rushing back with a vengeance at any moment.
He looked around at the serene tunnel. Railroad tracks narrowed to nothingness, and an old coal car sat abandoned. He almost expected to see his father’s smiling face round the bend.
“Jessie?” he called.
Several shafts shot out at odd angles just like in his hometown mine. She could be in any one of them. He listened for voices—a command, perhaps, from Seth. Then someone moaned. It might be Jessie or the captive, and he rushed in the direction of the noise.
Sweeping his light in a wide arc, he spotted her sprawled face down on the ground, motionless. When no one else appeared to be there, he rushed to her, his heart ready to explode. “Jessie?” His voice cracked and his heart nearly stopped.
Dax dropped to his knees, set down the flashlight, and then gently placed his forefinger on her artery to feel for a pulse. The beat was faint but there, and relief washed through him.
“Jessie? Can you hear me?” The side of her face was covered in blood from her temple to her nose, and he wanted to kill the son of a bitch who had done this to her.
She moaned and her legs jerked, jacking up his pulse.
Her hands were cuffed behind her back. Shit. As gently as he could, he slid his hands underneath her, sat on the ground, and then cradled her in his arms, willing his strength into her and sharing his warmth. Christ, she was cold.
She cracked open one eye. “Dax?” Then she did something he never would have believed. She smiled, and his heart flooded with joy.
“How are you?” That was a stupid question given what she looked like, but he wasn’t functioning on all cylinders right now.
“I hurt, but I’m okay now that you’re here. I thought you were Amanda coming back, so I didn’t move when I heard my name called.”
He couldn’t believe it. “Amanda is behind all this?”
“Yes.”
He’d worry about her motives later. “Come on, I need to get you out of here.”
“My wrists hurt. Amanda cuffed me. I have a key in my back pocket.”
“Let me help you.” He dug his fingers into her pocket and retrieved the key. “I’ll have you free in a sec.” He slipped the key in the lock and released the cuffs.
“Thank you.” Her voice wobbled.
“Let’s go.”
She grabbed his arm. “We can’t leave.”
“Why?”
“Amanda said she set a charge around—”
“I don’t care what that bitch said. We need to go—now. I didn’t trip any wires getting to you, so we’ll return the same way.”
Squatting, he lifted her up. Even with Jessie in his arms, he was able to hold the flashlight, but with each step, the light bounced around. Returning to the elevator wasn’t as easy as he thought, as the darkness disoriented him. Even though he stepped carefully, he must have kicked something, because a second later, an ear-shattering blast knocked both of them backward. As he lost consciousness, he remembered he forgot to tell Jessie he was falling in love with her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Head pounding and vision blurry, Dax slowly roused. He spit out the dirt lining his mouth and tried to focus on what had happened. He’d been holding Jessie when an explosion ripped through the tunnel. Now dirt blocked their exit.
Oh, my God. “Jessie?”
The rays from the fallen flashlight shone low on the wall, illuminating a sea of particles. As he staggered forward to find her, dirt and rocks fell off his back, and he scoured the cave before him.
Not more than ten feet from him, her body stuck out of the rubble. He rushed over, knelt down next to her, and gently shook her shoulder. “Jessie? Can you hear me?” His heart nearly burst.
She moaned and joy spiked his pulse. He brushed away the dirt covering her lower half. Her skin looked scraped, but at least he didn’t see any protruding bones.
“Jessie, talk to me.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “Dax?”
“I’m here.”
“What happened?”
“An explosion happened and caved in the entrance.”
She coughed. “We’re trapped?”
Considering that possibility would undermine all of his logical thought. He needed to stay calm and remain focused to get them out of there.
“Don’t worry; it won’t take me long to dig us out.” He only half believed it, but he needed something to hold onto.
“If we ever made it back to the elevator, Amanda said she’d locked the door to the outside.”
“I left it open.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” Jessie tried to sit up again but fell back.
Dax yearned to hold her, comfort her, and make sure nothing else bad happened to her. He slipped his hands under her legs and slid Jessie onto his lap. Shivering, she rested her head against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re so cold.”
“You feel good and warm.” She sat up straighter and looked toward the entrance. “How are we ever going to get out of the tunnel to reach the elevator?”
“I’ll dig our way out. It shouldn’t take long.
” A thin shaft of light, coming from the direction of the elevator, peeked through the top of the rubble. The rest of the wall of dirt didn’t seem to be more than a few feet thick.
“Do you think anyone will try to save us?”
“Lena knows I came out here to find you. She’ll rally the troops when we don’t return.”
“She’s sweet, but she doesn’t move fast. Given her condition, I’m betting she’s sound asleep on the cot. By morning we could be dead.”
“Don’t think negative thoughts.”
He kissed the top of her head, not caring if she was coated in dirt. Jessie looked up at him, and even in the dim light, he caught desire in her eyes, causing his groin to shoot to attention.
Stop it. Jessie’s injured. The last thing she needed was some horny bastard taking advantage of her. In her delicate condition, he couldn’t make love to her, though as God was his witness, he wanted her worse than life.
Jessie squirmed on his lap, making his situation worse.
Her eyes widened. “How can you get an erection when I’m such a mess?”
Nothing ever embarrassed him, but her comment sent heat up his face. “You are not a mess to me. Your eyes are still this sexy blue-green color that reminds me of the Caribbean, and your hair is so brown and curly that I can’t wait to dip my fingers in it.”
“Dax Mitchell! I never would have thought you to be the romantic type.”
As he ran his hands over her dusty mop, his good intentions evaporated. “That’s not romance. I’ll show you romance.” He leaned her back against a pile of soft dirt and kissed her, brushing a smudge off her cheek with his thumb. “You taste good.”
She laughed. “As good as dirt tastes, I bet.”
“I want to kiss your lids, your forehead, your ears, and everything in between, but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. You have a pretty bad bruise next to your eye.” He ran a thumb gently over her temple.
“What bruise?” she said in the sexiest voice he’d ever heard.
She reached up and tussled his hair. He wanted her in the worst way, but now wasn’t the time or the place. Her lips parted, and she drew him to her. She might be willing, but Jessie deserved more than a rough tumble in a disgusting mine.