She should’ve just gone to Sayer. But she had to do something to get her daughter away from this madman.
“Oh, Haaaannah,” Kyle’s voice filtered through the door. “I’m so glad you agreed to come back. How impolite to leave when you still have a job to do.”
“I came with you. Just let me see Sam,” she said with sad finality. Hannah knew he would probably never let her leave this place alive. She was slightly surprised that the thought of dying didn’t really scare her, but her heart twisted at the thought of not being there for Sam, not getting to watch her little girl grow up. She just had to keep Sam alive until Sayer could find her.
Kyle pushed the door open and stepped in. “Aw, poor Hannah looks like she’s about to cry.” His eyes burned with intensity. “Did you really think I would let you get away? Now I have you right back where you should be.”
Hannah closed her eyes and found a small, hollow spot deep inside. She retreated to that emotionless space where she could detach from everything happening around her. With flat affect, she stared back at Kyle. He could do whatever he wanted to her as long as Sam was safe.
Kyle reached for her arm and she tried not to flinch but couldn’t stop her involuntary recoil.
He leaned in until his nose almost brushed hers. “You’re going to kill for me. I get to watch you transform, that moment when you tear away the mask you wear. Good mother, fine young woman … all gone. Nothing but the beautiful moment when you take another life to protect your child.”
Kyle’s voice fell low, breath shallow with lurid excitement. His eyes glowed with pleasure.
Hannah pulled on every inner reserve she had in order to face him calmly. She stared back into his eyes. “I’m only sorry that it won’t be you I kill.”
They glared at each other, nose to nose, for a long time. Kyle eventually stepped back and broke into a smile. “Well done.” He seemed pleased that she was willing to face off with him. “More proof that you’ve got the heart of a killer. See, I’m helping you get in touch with your true nature, Hannah. There’s a monster lurking just beneath the surface.” He ran a finger along her cheek. “I’m helping all of you.”
Hannah let out a bitter laugh. “You think kidnapping women and children, shocking them with collars, forcing women to murder other women, is helping us? You’re delusional.”
“Never call me that!” He slapped Hannah hard enough to snap her head to the side.
“You might eventually kill me, but Sayer knows who you are. She won’t let you get away with this,” Hannah said.
Kyle laughed. “Sayer and the FBI are idiots. You should’ve seen the show I put on. Sayer got to see angry Kyle.” His brow pulled into a furrow, eyes stormy. “Angry Kyle was so mad at Max Cho for hurting his sister. Or what about poor sorrowful Kyle”—his eyes went soft and wet, mouth pulled into a frown—“wondering what horrors befell his beloved family? Or how about friendly police-chief Kyle?” Kyle’s shoulders fell, mouth forming a relaxed smile. “That’s my favorite mask to wear. My mother was right: create the perfect mask and you can get away with anything.”
Hannah felt a wave of disgust at Kyle’s display of false emotion.
“And those absolute fools were completely convinced that the killer was my sister.” He chuckled. “I had no clue she was even back, but it worked out perfectly.” Kyle cocked his head to the side “I will say, you and Cricket both managed to surprise me. I didn’t expect you to escape. And I certainly didn’t expect Cricket to show up and try to stop me. I thought she was long gone, but instead she was right there waiting for me. She even almost managed to kill me. You know”—Kyle smiled, baring his teeth—“you look just like her back then. Just like Mother, too.”
His expression shifted from fond remembrance to burning darkness. “And now you and Cricket have both learned that no one wins against me. You might have a monster buried inside you, but I am the original monster.” He spread his arms wide. “And here you are, right where I want you.”
Kyle turned to go. He paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Enough chitchat. I’ve got to go get little Sam strapped in my lovely machine. I think we’re about to find out exactly what kind of monster you have inside.”
Her bravado fell away, and the image of Sam in that nightmare machine left Hannah completely unable to breathe.
WILDCAT RIDGE, SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VA
The wind howled against the truck as Sayer and Max drove toward Wildcat Ridge. They crawled along an old mining road in the predawn light. Sheets of rain outpaced the frantic windshield wipers, making it impossible to see very far beyond the hood.
“Is Kona going to be able to do anything in this storm?” Sayer asked.
“We’ll see. I’m hoping the entrance is really close to that tree.”
Sayer looked at the plastic-wrapped topographic map Ezra had prepared for her. He had marked the tree with a red X.
She tapped the map. “We’re almost here. The road should curve to the left and dead-end. From there we’ve got about a quarter mile upslope until we reach the tree.”
“Okay, I’ll start Kona just south of the tree and we can see how it goes.” Max did not look optimistic.
They trudged up the rocky slope, Max checking his compass to make sure they were on the right trajectory, until they reached the tree.
“SWAT won’t be here for another thirty minutes,” Sayer said. “Let’s get Kona going on a search while we wait.”
Miserable in the torrential downpour, Max just nodded at her.
He held up Kona’s fluorescent orange work vest. “You ready to go to work, girl?” He tried to sound enthusiastic but Sayer could hear the weariness in his tone.
Kona did a little half-step dance back and barked, seemingly immune to the storm. At least one of them was ready for this.
Max got Kona in her vest. “Go find, Kona!” He flung out a hand and Kona moved forward.
Unlike the last time, the dog seemed tentative. As she made sweeping arcs, her body was slumped, her tail hanging low, ears back. She glanced at Max and he gestured her forward, clearly worried.
Sayer and Max followed her slowly westward along the slope, as far apart as they could get while still able to see each other in the storm.
After a few minutes, Kona stopped and turned in a circle. Max crouched down next to her and she whimpered.
“You can’t find any scent at all, can you, girl?” He gave her an affectionate scratch. “You’re such a good girl, Kona. It’s not your fault. Good girl!” Max whipped up an enthusiastic smile for his dog.
He stood and looked at Sayer expectantly.
They had to be close, but now what?
THE PIT
Hannah’s calm fled and her entire body began trembling with the knowledge of what was about to happen. Who would this man ask her to kill? Would she be able to do it?
Overwhelmed, Hannah’s body clenched, and she rocked forward, vomiting.
As she retched, the door swung open and Kyle towered over her.
He looked down at the vomit on the ground and tsked. “Poor Hannah, maybe not so tough after all. Don’t worry. I’m going to fix that for you. Come see.”
Hannah moved like a zombie, barely aware of her own feet carrying her toward the pit. She didn’t want to go, but she had to see her daughter.
They stepped out into the pit and she squinted against the floodlights overhead. Her eyes skittered around the room until she found Sam strapped to the machine. Hannah couldn’t process the sight of her own precious child strapped to the nightmarish device. The pointed blade hung just a few inches to the side of Sam’s neck.
Sam’s eyes were glossy, showing no recognition of her own mother. Her mouth hung open in a stupor.
“What’s wrong with her?” Hannah asked softly, too scared even to move.
Kyle waved a hand. “I gave her a mild sedative so she wouldn’t distract you. She’ll be fine. You can go see.”
Hannah rushed over to Sam. She pressed her hand
s to her mouth to prevent a strangled moan from escaping her lips. She ran her hands over the girl’s body, making sure she wasn’t hurt.
“Mommy’s here, sweetheart. I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Hannah couldn’t stop the tears rolling from her eyes.
“Hannah, I’d like you to meet Piper, your first sacrifice,” Kyle said.
Hannah had been so focused on Sam that she hadn’t even noticed the large woman lying on the floor. She was bound in a straitjacket, her legs wrapped with black rope.
“Hello, Hannah,” Piper said, with sad eyes. “You probably don’t remember me from the ranger station, but I was there when you escaped. Don’t worry. Sayer is on her way and I want you to do whatever you have to, to save your little girl.”
Hannah opened and closed her mouth, unable to speak. How could she possibly hurt this woman?
“Aw, well, isn’t that sweet?” Kyle spat the word sweet as he removed a small remote from his pocket.
Piper stared at Hannah. “I mean it. Always remember that I forgive you for whatever happens here. You do what you have to. Save Sam, for me.…” Her voice cracked with emotion.
Smiling, Kyle tapped something on the keypad. “Enough. It’s time we begin. The rules are simple. Hannah, you have five minutes to kill Piper and I’ll let Sam live. Fail, and Sam dies. You don’t even have to fight. I have Piper all tied up, so it should be an easy kill.”
Eyes gleaming with excitement, Kyle pushed a button on the remote and a clock appeared on the wall.
WILDCAT RIDGE, SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VA
Sayer turned in a slow circle. The entrance to the pit had to be nearby. Beaumont said beyond the big tree.… She looked back toward the chestnut tree. They had moved almost parallel along the slope, with Kona searching.
“Hey, if I said something is beyond that rock, what would you assume?” She pointed to a rock nearby.
Max wiped rain from his face. “I guess I’d assume it was up there.” He pointed up the slope.
“Yeah, in Beaumont’s description, she specifically said an overhang just ‘beyond’ the tree. Which sort of implies upslope, right? Let’s go back to the tree and head uphill from there. Unless you’ve got another idea?”
Max looked down at Kona. Her eyes were alert but her ears drooped.
“Nah, Kona’s getting nothing here. That’s a good idea.”
They tromped back along the muddy slope to the tree. Sayer contemplated the steep rise to the north.
“All right, let’s do it. Should we send Kona on a search again?”
“Yeah, can’t hurt.” Max gently cupped the black dog’s face. “All right, girl, let’s get back to work.”
Her tail wagged slightly and her ears came forward.
Max stood and flung his hand up the slope. “Go find, Kona!”
Once again she took off in a zigzagging arc back and forth.
The steep slope meant slow progress and Sayer tucked her head forward, resigned to another long walk.
Bark!
Kona’s entire body stiffened with her alert, nose high in the air.
“Good girl, go find!” Max urged her on.
They surged forward.
Sayer rested her hand on her gun just for the feel of it under her fingers. She strongly suspected this wasn’t going to end without a fight.
Kona paused and tacked sharply to the left toward a rocky outcropping.
“She’s on the direct scent now. We’ve got him.” Max’s hand drifted to his gun.
They were close.
Kona circled around a jutting granite outcropping as it curved along the slope toward a steep drop-off. At the top of the cliff, she bowed down and pointed her nose to the ground twenty feet below.
Sayer leaned forward over the cliff’s edge and realized they were on the top of a shallow overhang. Hidden at the back of the rocky niche was a massive tunnel. Two trucks wide, the entrance was carved into a perfect arch. The remnants of a footpath ran down the slope. Signs of recent disturbance along the path convinced Sayer that they were in the right place.
She tried not to imagine Sam already strapped into the machine, blade to her neck.
“Good girl!” Max said, barely above a whisper. He petted Kona, who had a happy grin on her canine face.
“All right,” Sayer said. “I go in first. You and Kona follow at a distance. I have no idea what to expect in there and I want us prepared for the worst, including traps or explosives. Backup will be here soon, but we can’t wait. He could be killing Sam or Hannah right now.”
“Got it.” Max patted his hip. “To me, Kona.” She moved to her spot next to him, clearly thrilled that they were on the hunt together.
Sayer used her satellite phone to send Ezra their coordinates and they made their way down to the entrance.
She gave Max one last nod, pulled her gun, and moved smoothly into the tunnel.
Just a few feet in, Sayer felt as though she had entered an alternate reality. The sudden quiet from the storm raging ten feet behind her felt otherworldly. She threw back her hood, nose assaulted by the earthy musk of stale air.
As she advanced, voices echoed along the passage. Someone was talking up ahead. The sound of the roaring underground river grew louder, replacing the eerie silence of the entry as she moved steadily forward. The tunnel continued straight for twenty feet and then opened onto the pit. Sayer could make out the top of a ladder from the control room along the rim.
She cautiously approached the edge and looked down.
Forty feet below her, Kyle stood at the base of the ladder, back to her. Sam Valdez was strapped into the machine. Hannah stood next to the girl, whispering something in Sam’s ear.
Piper was bound on the floor. The sight of the park ranger in a straitjacket made Sayer’s teeth crack. Kyle must have kidnapped her sometime right after the birthday party.
Sayer moved around to the top of the ladder, trying to figure out how to get down quickly enough to stop Kyle. A metal gate hung horizontally across the ladder. She would either have to open the gate and descend so quietly he couldn’t hear her, or she would have to do something from above.
She heard Kona’s chuffing breath behind her and Sayer gestured for Max and Kona to join her.
Sayer pointed to the ladder and mouthed, Ideas?
Max shook his head.
This was a tactical nightmare.
Below them, Kyle tapped the keypad on a remote he held, and tall red numbers began to count down on the wall.
Sayer and Max looked at each other.
“I’m going down. Cover me,” Sayer whispered in Max’s ear, and grudgingly holstered her gun before lowering herself onto the ladder. Max moved to the edge, gun trained on Kyle down in the pit.
Hannah let out an animal cry of anguish that made Sayer shudder. “No, Sam. No.…” Hannah tried to pull away the straps across the girl’s body.
Sayer was almost directly above Kyle and she hoped the roaring river would cover any sounds of her descent. She moved as cautiously as she could while lowering herself down. She reached the gate and grabbed the handle, cringing as she pulled.
Kyle’s attention was riveted on Hannah trying to pry Sam from the machine. “I made sure my machine could withstand any attempt to remove the child,” he said, eyes gleaming. “The benefit of a dad who teaches you how to use power tools. But go ahead, waste your time trying.…”
The clock was already at four and a half minutes.
The gate opened without a sound and Sayer let out a soft breath of relief. She glanced down.
Hannah clearly realized that she couldn’t get Sam out of the machine, and she turned on Kyle. She hunched low, about to attack.
Kyle took a few steps forward and waved the remote. “Don’t even think about it. The only way to turn it off is to enter the right code. And I’ll only do that after you kill Piper. It’s the only way to stop the machine.”
Sayer used his distraction to move quickly downward.
At
her sudden movement, the ladder shifted, sending a cascade of rocks to the ground.
Kyle spun around, eyes wild.
“Sayer,” he growled.
She let go of the ladder, dropping the rest of the way. She pulled her gun before Kyle could move.
“Freeze, Kyle. Drop the remote. Hands on your head.”
Kyle stared at Sayer, eyes bulging with rage. “You…” He glanced up. “And Max. Of course.”
“Turn it off,” Sayer said evenly.
He panted, holding the remote for a long moment before a smile spread across his face. “You could shoot me and take the remote”—he held it up for her to see the keypad—“but, as I was just explaining to Hannah, it takes a code to turn off the machine. And I will never tell you what it is.”
His toothy smirk sent a flash of red across Sayer’s vision. But she glanced over at Sam. The girl was only half conscious, her head lolling forward, the blade just a few inches from her neck.
“Please,” Hannah said to Sayer. “Please save her.”
Sayer kept her voice steady despite her desire to shoot Kyle right between the eyes. “Hannah isn’t going to kill anyone for you, Kyle. Your game is over. Why don’t you let the girl go and at your sentencing I’ll tell the judge you cooperated?”
“At my sentencing?” Kyle laughed with a harsh sound. “There isn’t going to be any such thing.” He looked back and forth between Sayer and Hannah. With a manic laugh, he tossed the remote up into the air between him and Sayer.
As Hannah scrambled to catch the remote that could free her daughter, Kyle sprinted toward the tunnel at the back of the pit.
With Hannah in the way, Sayer couldn’t take a shot.
Kyle disappeared into the darkness.
“Is that a way out?” Sayer asked Hannah.
The woman looked up, cradling the remote. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“Can he get out that way?” Sayer demanded loudly.
“I don’t think so,” Hannah said. “Unless he goes in the river.”
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