“You own part of the ski resort? One business isn’t enough for you?”
“No, I definitely need two or three,” he teased.
Delphi’s brows lifted. “I guess there are lots of things I’ll be learning as long as I keep going out with you.”
“Better believe it.” Jeremy took her hand and led her around the left side of the pool of water. There was a small path between the dense vegetation and the water. It circled around behind a rock that she had thought was the back of the pool, but there was actually an opening behind it. There was a pile of rubble off to the side of the entrance. Her footing wasn’t very secure, but he held tight and got her into the narrow cave mouth, then flipped on the flashlight.
“Wow. I don’t think I ever would have found this place.” She looked around, studying the rock formations and a little graffiti. “How did you find it?”
“We were kids, running around with as little adult supervision as we could get away with. We used to come up here, hike to the waterfall and spend the day splashing in the water and exploring. I wouldn’t let a kid do it alone now, there are too many crazy people out there, but back then things were different. Safer. Or at least we thought it was safe.”
“Yeah.” Her gaze followed the flashlight beam around the cave. “I bet this place was like a treasure trove to a trio of active boys. It’s pretty, interesting and private.”
“Nothing wrong with private.” His free arm slid around her back. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, and we didn’t always have a flashlight with us when we were kids. Let’s see how far back it goes.”
The front of the cave was natural, but where it would naturally have narrowed, it had been enlarged. Most of the space was open so they could see the walls that had been chiseled and pried back decades earlier. There were a few cracks leading away from the main room and boulders on the ground, as if water had run past, breaking down part of the rock, but leaving this. It was dry in the cave though and covered in dirt, so if there had been water, it had changed course long ago. Delphi felt the hair on her neck prickle. “It’s kind of freaky in here.”
“That’s half of the fun.” The footsteps echoed off the rock walls and the sound of rushing water from the waterfall fell behind them and shrunk until it disappeared entirely.
It got chilly and she shrugged back into her leather jacket. “Do you bring women into freaky caves all of the time? Because that might be part of the reason why you haven’t dated anyone for very long,” she teased.
“No, I reserve that for you. I know you can take it.” They came to a Y in the cave and he pointed the flashlight down both sides. “Which way?”
“Right.” She looked around here and took several small stones, creating an arrow pointing the direction they had just come front.
“Smart. I knew there was a reason I brought you along.” He took her hand and led her further into the cave. The rocks glittered around them, just tiny bits and pieces.
“You think there’s gold in the walls here?” she asked.
“Maybe this is Manuel’s gold mine,” Jeremy suggested teasingly.
“Maybe. I wonder who owns the property.”
“I could check, but I think most everything out here is owned by the federal government now. If no one asserted their claims on the land, it would have been absorbed back into the national forest land.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Then who maintains the road we passed on the way here? It has to lead somewhere, or no one would hassle with maintaining it.”
He turned to look at her. “I have no idea. It doesn’t really lead anywhere that I know about. Maybe it’s a service road to something else. Or a back-woods pass to some doomsday prepper ’s cabin.”
That seemed odd to Delphi, but she supposed there were service roads all over the place. Maybe it went to a campground he wasn’t familiar with.
They continued down the tunnel for a while longer, noticing signs that someone else had been in the tunnel, and doing work there—and not long ago.
“This is starting to feel funny. Maybe we should take off,” Jeremy said.
“Yeah. I agree.” Her odd feeling had gone from the hair on the back of her neck to full-out chills on her arms. She turned back with him toward the cave opening.
And heard two male voices coming their way.
Delphi looked at Jeremy, her eyes widening. Her bad feeling only grew stronger as she wondered who the men were. Hadn’t Jeremy said that not very many people knew about the cave?
“Come here,” Jeremy tugged her over to a crevice in the rock that was large enough to hide them from view as long as the light didn’t shine directly on them. Then he flicked his flashlight off. “Until we know who they are, let’s stay out of sight.”
She nodded, agreeing. They had too many weird things happen to not take some precautions. He pressed up behind her, covering her body with his and brushed his cheek over the top of her head.
“I think we should cut our losses and get out,” one of the men said. “For a while at least. The paper said it was just fool’s gold. Maybe they won’t realize it’s not. Maybe they didn’t even take it with them. You can’t tell from a picture, can you?”
“You want to take that chance? And there’s plenty more gold where that came from. You want to walk away from it?” The second voice was deeper, harder.
Delphi drew in a deep breath, and her pounding heart seemed to leap in her chest. She felt Jeremy’s lips on the back of her head as he brushed them there in silent comfort, even as he crowded her closer to the rock in front of her. She shivered despite the jacket that protected her from most of the rock.
“I’m not leaving. Not yet. There’s too much left. Old Manuel really could have used some of the equipment we have today.” The second voice laughed deep and throaty. “So we need to finish up here first. Once we get to Rio we can turn this all into real cash and do whatever we want, but there’s more to be mined first.”
There was scuffling and movement as the men drew closer.
“Are those shoe prints? They’re too small to be ours,” the first man said.
“What?” The light flashed across the ground and the second person swore. “Someone’s been in here. They may have found our stash.”
“I’m telling you, Dave. We need to clear out of here. You can stay if you want, but I’m taking my cut and getting out before it gets too hot.”
More swearing and flashing lights. Delphi could just see the pool of light bouncing off the walls. She hoped they wouldn’t see her and Jeremy, though she was starting to doubt that was possible.
Jeremy shifted her along the wall, hiding them even tighter into the crack—if that was possible. She had her cheek pressed against the cool rocks and the gritty surface was bumpy and uneven against her face.
The men came into view. She could see them only through a tiny break between the wall and Jeremy’s head. He’d pushed so close to her she thought she could feel his heart thumping against her back while her own heartbeat seemed to bounce back from the stones.
Then the lights hit their faces and she squinted.
“Well what do we have here?” the man with the deep voice, whom the other guy had called Dave, lifted his gun and pointed it at them. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. It’s a good thing you aren’t careful when you talk about where you’re going. Modern technology will let you listen in on almost any conversation these days. Where’s your woman?”
“Something came up at work. I’ll catch up with her later. I just came to explore. It’s been years since I was here last,” Jeremy said, standing away from the wall, but stepping in front of Delphi so the light never shone directly on her. “Looks like you’ve been doing some work in here. There’s more rubble than I remember. But I guess that happens naturally over time.”
“Hands in the air, I want to be able to see them.” This was from the other man, the one who wanted to run, his voice seemed vaguely familiar. Delphi couldn’t see eithe
r person’s face, which was just as well since they might see her, and Jeremy had already said she wasn’t there.
“What are you doing in here?” the second man asked.
Jeremy shrugged. “I’ve been coming here since I was eight. A lot of local kids know where this place is. No idea what brought you here, but cold, dark and spooky can pretty much draw any little boy.”
“Or little man,” Dave said. “Well, this simplifies things for me, having you come where I can get you alone. More or less. Much easier than trying to chase you down.”
Jeremy nodded and Delphi felt her pulse speed up even more. They must have been the ones who broke into the houses and tried to run them off the road. She also started to sweat, even in the cool cave air.
“I don’t know what the problems is. Pretty sure this is public land.” Jeremy shifted his hand to his hip, then froze.
“Don’t move a muscle. I will shoot, you know,” Dave threatened. “Drop that flashlight, too.”
Slowly Jeremy set it on the ground. The man with the gun kicked it away and it rolled into the darkness.
The nervous man spoke in a low voice that echoed off the walls, “He doesn’t know anything; he just took a pretty picture of the waterfall. What did you do with the rock?” he asked. The light moved and nearly hit Delphi.
“What rock?” Jeremy shifted slightly to the right. “This whole place is filled with rocks.”
“Did you take a memento home with you after your visit a few weeks ago?” Dave asked.
“Pictures. Why, wasn’t it fool’s gold? I thought it was, but a friend of mine looked at the picture and said she thought it was jasper. I know that’s used in jewelry, or so she said, but seriously, is it worth killing someone over?”
“Jasper? Come on, I know you’re not that big of a fool.” Anger laced Dave’s voice.
“Dave, let’s just tie him up and leave him. If someone does find him alive, we’ll be long gone.”
Dave’s voice was a low growl when he responded, “You’re such a wimp. I told you, there’s lots still to gather. I’m not leaving until I’m sure I’ll be living large for the next forty years.”
“I’m not going to get in your way,” Jeremy said in a soothing voice. “I can wait here while you do whatever it is you need to do here, then you can let me go.”
Delphi felt helpless. She wanted to help Jeremy, but knew coming forward would just give them another person to shoot. There wasn’t anything useful she could do, and they didn’t seem to realize she was there yet. Light bounced off the walls with the sounds of their voices. And she heard the shuffling of feet as the men moved. Jeremy stepped back, closer to her.
“What are you doing?” Dave asked.
“Just getting out of your way,” Jeremy said. “Looks like you’ve got plenty to do without me standing in the middle of the cave.” He shifted back just a couple more inches, concealing Delphi even better in the crevice. She racked her brain for anything that might be used as a weapon—even if it would be pitiful compared to a gun. She carefully patted her pockets, but she didn’t think her small ring of keys was going to be much use unless they came in close and her cell phone was too light and small to be more than a minor diversion. Still, she reached into her pocket and pulled it out.
“Stop moving,” Dave commanded. “What are you doing? Is there a rock or something over there? You know a gun works faster than anything you could do to stop us.” There was the sound of the a bullet being chambered in the pistol.
Jeremy lifted his hands as if they’d been pulled by a string. “Whoa, I’m not trying to do anything, I’m just getting out of the way. See, my hands are up here, nothing to grab here anyway, right?”
Delphi put a hand on the his back between his shoulder blades, hoping it would reassure him, though what she expected to accomplish by that, she wasn’t certain. She wondered if he was sweaty too, but couldn’t tell through his jacket. She felt him take a deep breath and release it.
“Come on,” the lackey said. “Let’s tie him up and leave him. He lives alone. No one will miss him for a day or two, probably. By then we’ll be long gone.”
Dave swore. “I don’t know why I get involved with such soft-hearted idiots. I want him dead. He’s too big of a risk.” There was an oophing sound, like someone got hit in the stomach. “Here’s the spare gun. You take care of them while I load everything up.”
Delphi felt the air evaporate from her lungs. She had to do something. She couldn’t let Jeremy be killed.
“But… Fine. I’ll take care of it.” The second man’s voice wavered a little with determination.
“We have a lot to load up.”
“Right. Right.” The second time he said it, his voice was firmer.
There was the sound of shuffling feet as Dave left, apparently laden with gold.
“Come on,” Jeremy said in a low voice. “You don’t want to kill me. Just tie me up. One of my buddies will realize I’m gone tomorrow and come find me. By then you’ll be out of the country. I can’t see your face in the darkness, so I can’t lead the cops to you.”
“Turn around.” The man’s voice was low. “And put your hands behind you. I have a zip tie.”
Delphi felt her lungs loosen again and let out a shaky breath, which seemed loud in her ears. She pushed back in the crevice more when Jeremy moved, hoping his scuffling would cover her own. Her nose itched and she wrinkled it a little as she felt a sneeze coming on. She lifted her hand slowly, so slowly, to hold a finger under her nose, but the sleeve of her jacket brushed against the rock.
“What was that?” The man flashed his light around, including over her, then back to shine in her eyes. He swore under his breath. She couldn’t see his face, just a dark form in the cave.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Delphi said in a low voice.
“No wonder he stayed so calm and peaceful, protecting you. You seem to be along for the ride a lot lately.” His gun lifted to point straight at her and he held out another zip tie, though she’d never seen one so long before. “Do his feet.”
When she took the tie from him with shaking fingers he put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and pushed him down. “You sit before she does it.”
Delphi finished and Jeremy leaned back against the cave wall. “Are you sure he’s not going to come back in?” Jeremy asked in a whisper.
“No. So you’re going to have to act dead, and she’s going to have to hide. I’ll try not to let him get close enough to see that there isn’t any blood.” The man held out another tie. “Turn around, this is for you.”
Thoughts of knocking the gun out of his hand ran through her mind. It must have shown in her expression because he said, “Do you really think you have a chance to live if he finds out you’re here? You can’t get out without passing him and he’ll kill you both—and then he’ll kill me too.”
“Right. Of course.” She submitted to having him tie her up and he took her back in a corner, sliding her down half behind a rock, then did her feet. She watched his hands, not looking into his face. The light was still pointed away from him, but she didn’t want him to worry that she might be able to identify him.
He lifted his gun and pointed it away from them, pulling the trigger twice.
Delphi cowered, surprised by the noise and wondering if the bullets might ricochet and hit one of them.
The man made short work of tying her feet together, dropping his flashlight in the process.
When he picked it up again, she shifted her head to avoid the bright light, saw his face and realized who it was. Shock passed through her as she recognized the guy from the beekeeper’s association. No wonder she hadn’t ended up with the contract. “What?”
He swore under his breath. “Silence from both of you for the next hour. I’ll try to not let him come back down this way.”
There was more scuffling and then he left.
Delphi let out a shaky breath and waited. She heard him return a few times and Dave’s voice returned.
“Two bullets to the chest and laying on the cold cave floor? If the bullets didn’t kill him right off, he’s bled out for sure by now. No one will find his body for awhile, likely months. Come on, let’s go.”
There were more sounds of footsteps on the dirt and gravel and then everything became silent.
Delphi waited in the darkness, feeling like she would suffocate from the feeling of being blind, not daring to speak yet.
“Are you okay, Delphi?” Jeremy’s voice was barely audible when he finally spoke.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She sucked in a breath as her nerves started to settle. “How about you?”
“Seriously uncomfortable and I think my hands have lost circulation, but I’ll survive.”
“Any chance you could reach the knife in your pocket?” she asked.
“Nope. I can roll a little, but that’s it, I’m pretty much useless. Any chance you could get over here and reach the knife for me?”
She tried to remember where the rocks were between them. She couldn’t see anything in the blackness. “I can try.” Her hands were feeling rather tingly as well, but she shifted her feet closer to her bottom, then used them to try to push herself up the side of the rock wall. No luck—that wasn’t getting her anywhere. She paused for a moment and considered, then shifted around so her bent left leg rested on the floor and she used the wall to push herself on to her knees. It took four tries before she had shifted around to that position. Now what?
“What are you doing?” Jeremy asked. His voice echoed off the cave walls, disorienting her.
“I maneuvered to my knees. Now I have to figure out how to get over there.” She spoke in a quieter voice. “Let me see if I can move to you.”
She could only move her knees forward half an inch or so at a time with her feet tied together so tightly, but she started making steady, albeit slow progress, across the cave floor to him, holding in the gasps of pain as gravel dug into her knees. She felt her blue jeans rip and the digging rocks grew worse. Her ankles stung where the zip tie rubbed against them. She gritted her teeth against the pain.
Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides) Page 20