Dead Too Soon: A Thriller (Val Ryker series Book 3)

by Ann Voss Peterson

  Lund’s job here was simple. As soon as he descended into that hole, it would take everything he had to climb back up. Val had the complicated part.

  “I stopped him before,” she said. Her voice was low, barely audible, but there was something… a hard tone….

  Lund looked up from adjusting his gloves and met her eyes. “I know.”

  “So what are you waiting for? Go get my Grace.”

  He cupped his hand around the back of her head and kissed her. There was no slow heat, no melting into one another, no romance, just a promise. He would keep his word—just as Val had asked. He would leave her and put Grace first.

  But he promised himself that he was coming back.

  Val

  Lund removed the sling from Val’s rifle and tied it around his waist. Then, giving Grace a heads-up, he tossed both ends of the rope down into the drop shaft, the walkway’s railing post acting as his anchor. He gathered the double rope and threaded it between his legs, around his right hip, across his chest, and over his left shoulder in a pattern that resembled a Z. Gripping a side in each hand, he climbed onto the edge of the hole.

  Val knew Lund trained regularly in rappelling and often enjoyed rock climbing in Devil’s Lake on weekends. But that didn’t relax the knot tightening in her stomach.

  “This is the easy part, Val. You’re the one who has it tough.”

  Not trusting her voice, she nodded. She was scared for herself, of course. But Lund… Grace… She didn’t know how she would go on without them. They had to make it through this.

  Lund gave her a half smile, then stepped backward into the shaft. One step down the wall. Another. Until only the top of his head peeked out.

  Then he disappeared entirely.

  Val shouldered her weapon and directed her focus to the surrounding forest. Without the sling, it was difficult to hold the rifle steady, and her good arm grew tired within minutes. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, knowing it wouldn’t help.

  “Chief Valerie.”

  His voice was little louder than a whisper, but it sent a shudder through Val that almost jolted the gun from her hands. She scanned the trees, unable to discern what direction it had come from.

  “I’m so glad you could make it. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”

  Chapter

  Thirty-Nine

  Grace

  His voice rasped out of the darkness and slithered over her from above, like something from one of her nightmares.

  Just as he’d done before he caught her. Before he locked her in this cold tunnel. The voice from above, echoing off stone. Or had she imagined it? Was she now hearing his voice when it wasn’t really there?

  Grace wrapped Lund’s coat tighter around herself. At first, she’d tried to keep it out of the water, knowing that if the coat got wet, it would make her colder than wearing no coat at all. The water had inched over her waist now, and she had no feeling in her legs. Shivers racked her body, making it hard to even stand. If she fell backward into the pool behind her, it would be over. If the water kept rising, it would be over anyway.

  She’d heard death from hypothermia wasn’t so bad. That the body stopped feeling. The muscles getting clumsy and finally numb. She’d heard people had visions that weren’t real, like something from their dreams. And then they would fall asleep, drift away.

  Could that be what was happening to her now?

  She tilted her head back, trying to see up into the darkness. What if no one was up there? Not Hess, not Carla, not even Aunt Val and David? What if all of this had just happened in her mind?

  “Chief Valerie. I’m watching you. I told you I would make things right. Didn’t I? And you don’t know how enjoyable it is to see you so scared.”

  “Aunt Val!” Grace screamed, her voice jerking and shivering as hard as her body. “He’s trying to trick you!”

  No answer from above. Not from her aunt, not from Hess.

  Her voice was so weak no one heard her.

  Or maybe it really was her imagination. Maybe she was dreaming, dying.

  Whatever. She wasn’t giving up. “Aunt Val! Don’t listen! He wants you to think he’s up at the top, but he’s not.”

  Then her foot slipped, her ankle twisted, and she plunged backward into the cooling pool. She grabbed the gate, trying to keep herself on her feet, but her foot wouldn’t obey. Agony screamed from her broken hand, the fingers not working. Her fingers slipped off cold steel, and she fell forward, barely keeping herself from slipping all the way into the deeper pool.

  Cold water soaked David’s coat. Grace’s shivering was approaching total numbness. She felt so helpless. So tired. What if she didn’t get out of this? What if she was already dead?

  Then she supposed there was no reason to stop. Grace pulled in a deep breath and yelled to Aunt Val once more.

  Lund

  Lund hadn’t been joking when he’d said rappelling was the easy part. If he’d had a harness, he could have lowered himself down in bounds, taking a matter of seconds, using a descender to check his speed. This way he was working step by step, walking backward down the shaft, careful to keep his feet under him, the soles of his boots flat against the rough-hewn stone walls.

  One step. Another.

  But when he heard Hess say Val’s name, he almost reversed his direction and started climbing.

  He never should have left her up there alone, he never should have… but if he didn’t get down to Grace soon…

  He had to trust Val. He had to keep his promise.

  Lund kept moving, letting the rope flow through his right hand, around his body, and out his left. Blackness closed in around him, only a vague light visible at the top of the shaft, none at the bottom. Grace’s shouts echoed through the tunnel, mixing with Hess’s singsong from above. And still he kept moving, kept descending, keeping his promise even though it was tearing him apart.

  As weak as Grace’s voice was, he could hear her clearly now. He could hear her splashing in the water. He was almost there.

  The rope in his leading hand changed from double to single. Careful not to pull one side of the rope more than the other, he stopped.

  Shit.

  He’d known the rope would come up short, but he was hoping he would be closer to the bottom than this.

  “Grace? Can you hear me?”

  “David?”

  “I’m right above you, sweetie. I’m going to get you out of here, but I need you to do something first.”

  “Okay.”

  “I need you to move close to the gate. As close as you can, okay? Tell me when you’re ready.”

  Seconds ticked by slow as minutes.

  “Ready.”

  Holding tight to the rope above him, he unwrapped the rest from around his body. He wasn’t sure how deep the cooling pool was, but he was sure it wasn’t comparable to a diving pool. The water should break his fall, but he had to be careful how he landed.

  Lund aligned his body, took a deep breath, and let go.

  The fall was fast, not even a blink, and then the soles of his boots slapped the surface, and he plunged into the cold, up to mid-chest. The shock made him gasp, then an ache set into his bones.

  The bottom of the tunnel was completely dark, as it had been most of the way down, not even a hint of light. But Lund could hear Grace’s movements in the water… and the chatter of her teeth.

  He climbed up to where she clung to the gate and took her into his arms. Her muscles jerked and spasmed in shivers. He tried not to let her hear the worry in his voice. “Honey, how are you holding up?”

  “Aunt Val?”

  Her words were barely understandable, and Lund wasn’t sure if he’d actually deciphered them, or if he already knew what Grace would say.

  “Val can handle him, Grace.” And if Lund told himself that over and over, maybe he would be able to breathe. “She did before. We have to remember that.”

  Grace nodded. At least Lund thought she did. Between the un
relenting blackness and her uncontrolled shivers, he couldn’t be sure.

  He unfastened the rifle sling from his waist. “We’re going to use this to help you stay on my back. But you’ll have to hold on, too. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  Taking off his gloves and stuffing them in his pocket, Lund directed one of Grace’s legs through the strap, then, stepping down into the frigid water, he had her climb on his back like a little kid getting a piggyback ride. Fingers quickly becoming stiff with cold, he circled the main part of the sling around Grace’s hips and anchored it around his waist.

  Now came the hard part. Lund pulled his gloves back on.

  “Chief Valerie,” Hess’s voice came again, echoing off stone.

  Grace buried her face in the back of Lund’s neck, and, groping for handholds and footholds in the dark, Lund heaved them out of the cold water and started up the shaft.

  Nothing blew out the arms and hands faster than trying to pull yourself up a rock face. So Lund climbed with his legs, using the handholds only for maintaining balance.

  While Lund had done his share of climbing, he’d never climbed blind. Normally a climber looked ahead, planning out his moves several hand- and footholds in advance so as to avoid getting himself into a situation he’d regret. The darkness made that impossible.

  With each move, he raked the wall with his foot, searching for a ledge or pocket substantial enough to accommodate his boot. Finding a small ridge, he tested the sandstone for strength before moving his corresponding hand. Then he straightened his leg, pushing himself and Grace up the wall instead of pulling, before groping for the next foothold.

  Hand.

  Foot.

  Hand.

  Foot.

  The chill of the river water melted away. Sweat trickled down his back, his chest. His fingers cramped as he pinch-gripped one small protrusion of rock after another, wishing he had a handy pouch of climber’s chalk instead of the slickness of wet gloves on wet stone.

  Grace clung to his back, her body tight to his, her weight in-line. Still each push with his legs felt impossible. His legs vibrated, the muscles threatening to give out.

  At what he guessed was twenty feet up, he groped the air with a free hand, searching for the rope.

  Nothing.

  He climbed at least ten feet more, then, locating another good handhold, he grabbed for the rope again.

  This time it brushed his fingers.

  He didn’t grab at it. Instead, using the curvature of the shaft, Lund placed his feet and hands wide, bridging the space. Once he got into the position, it took little effort, the large muscles in his legs doing the work, the soles of his boots flat against the rock, holding him in place.

  A good position for rest. And to get a little insurance.

  “We’ve reached the rope, Grace. I’m going to tie it to us for safety. Kind of a self-belay. But I’m going to need your help.”

  He could feel the shifting weight of her nod.

  “Okay, the rope is hanging right behind you. I want you to grab it, and when you do, make sure you get both ends. Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  He gave her the go-ahead and braced against the sway of her body weight.

  “Got it. Now what?”

  As a firefighter and a recreational rock climber, Lund had spent hours learning how to tie knots until he could do it behind his back and with his eyes closed. Unfortunately his arms weren’t long enough to reach behind two people. “Do you know how to tie any knots? Well enough that you can do it in the dark?”

  “Like a quick-release knot?”

  Lund remembered Grace showing him the knot she used to tie her horse. If the horse spooked, one jerk of the end would release it. As long as the end wasn’t pulled, the knot was very secure. Better yet, Grace could tie it in her sleep. “That will work. Can you tie one end of the rope around the harness I made?”

  A second later, Grace had tied the rope, and it was secure.

  “Now as I climb, I want you to keep pulling on the loose end of rope. You are going to be our insurance policy in case anything happens. Can you do that?”

  “Piece of cake.”

  Lund had to smile. The shiver was still in her voice and racking her muscles, but Grace wasn’t about to let it stop her. And the remaining eighty feet of this drop shaft wouldn’t stop him, either. Muscles stronger after the short reprieve, Lund resumed his climb.

  Hand.

  Foot.

  Hand.

  Foot.

  Slowly, methodically, Lund moved toward the surface, up into darkness. And as his skin heated from the climb, a chill that had nothing to do with temperature raced over his skin.

  What the hell was going on up there?

  And what would he and Grace find when they reached the top?

  Val

  When she finally encountered Hess, Val thought she’d be afraid. But as she listened to the purr of his voice and strained to spot him among the dark trees, she felt nothing but anger.

  She’d decided to stay put even before she’d heard Grace’s warning. Not only was the climb to the smelting house more than she could handle, she’d never leave the rope—Lund’s and Grace’s lifeline—unattended.

  After Grace’s heads-up, Val had realized Hess was likely using Grace’s phone as a speaker, making his voice seem like it was coming from the smelting house. And of course, that meant he was here in the woods. Close. Watching. Waiting.

  She blew out a breath, and it fogged in the air. The rain continued, the light sting of sleet mixing with the drops.

  Val might be struggling with her vision, the numbness claiming her right arm, and the weakness in her right leg, but her hearing was absolutely fine. Sirens screamed somewhere in the distance. An owl hooted among the trees. And when she detected the crunch of half-melted snow along the path where erosion had hollowed out shallow caves in the sandstone, she took one step down from the walkway, took cover behind the edge of the vestibule, raised the barrel of her rifle…

  And aimed smack between a pair of ice-blue eyes.

  “Don’t shoot, officer.” Hess smiled and raised his hands. He held something in one fist, something Val couldn’t make out. “Actually, you probably should shoot if you’re smart. But if you do, I will take you with me.”

  “It would be worth it.”

  “Worth losing the firefighter? Losing Grace?” Another smile, wider this time, straight, white teeth shining in the darkness. But the way he was standing wasn’t as confident as his tone.

  He held one arm lower than the other, as if he was trying to protect one side, as if he was in pain.

  Maybe Harry had actually shot him. Kevlar or not, Hess seemed to be injured.

  “Tell me, Valerie. Have you ever heard of a Claymore mine?”

  A shiver of nerves seated itself just under Val’s rib cage. “Once or twice.”

  “Well, if you look under that decking you’re standing on, you’ll see one of the little buggers pointing right at you right now.”

  Box. Wasn’t that what Ethan had said? Box.

  Had the toddler been hiding right next to a mine? A mine none of them had spotted in the darkness?

  “And you don’t want to try shooting me. I’m standing on a bit of a dead man’s switch. You shoot, and the steel balls won’t just tear you apart, they’ll do a number on that rope, too. Not to mention the concussion of all that C-4. Probably a bad time to be hanging by your fingernails in a hole in the ground.”

  Val forced the image into a compartment in the back of her mind. She needed to keep her focus on Hess, not imagine the horrors he was feeding her. She eyed the item in his hand. If he was standing on the switch, what was he holding?

  “So it seems we have a bit of a standoff. An Old West showdown, don’t you think? Clint Eastwood in the graveyard? Or maybe Gary Cooper in High Noon?”

  “I thought you preferred medieval princes.”

  “I’m eclectic.”

  Val’s mind raced
. They might be in a standoff at the moment, but Val had no doubt that Hess had a plan. She needed to buy time. Let Lund get to the top of the drop shaft. Make sure he and Grace were safe. Then she would take the monster out, no matter what the cost to herself.

  “You’re pretty close, aren’t you, Hess? I mean, I’ve learned a few things about Claymore mines. Even though the blast is directional, you still don’t want to be standing too close.”

  “It’s sweet that you’re concerned about me. Or are you just trying to stall? Give the firefighter time to save the day?” He smiled that smile. “I know your every move. I have this whole time.”

  Val felt uneasy. Hess was always cocky, but here she had an AR-15 leveled on him, and he was acting as if he’d already won.

  “I knew where you were going to send officers before you did,” he continued. “I made you think I was at the old ammo plant so I would have a chance to set up here.”

  What was she missing? What was his plan?

  “You located the train depot a little sooner than I wanted, and I thought I’d have to rely on Grace’s phone signal to lure you out here. But those were your only bright moments. The rest of the time you were… disappointingly average.”

  Hess held up the detonator wire, gave it a yank.

  No, not the detonator. Something else. Something…

  Val squeezed the trigger just as the step she was standing on lurched out from under her. Her strong leg skidded. The shot went wild. She tried to recover, to keep from going down, but her remaining leg couldn’t hold her weight. Her knee buckled. Her crutch slipped out from under her arm and clattered off the edge. She threw out her hands to catch herself, hitting the ground, sprawling on ice and mud. The rifle skidded off the path’s edge and down the steep incline.

  Hess chuckled softly. He pulled a handgun from a holster at his waist. An HK45. And then he started down the stone steps.

  Val flinched despite herself, expecting the bomb to go off as he stepped off the pedal.

  “Expecting a big boom, Valerie? Sometimes I don’t tell the entire truth. The mine is there, all right. I just wasn’t stepping on the switch. That you took my word at face value is just another disappointment.”