The Edge of Destiny

by Emma Easter

  Daniel turned to them and said sharply, “You all need to step away from that window! A stray bullet might hit you.” He looked at Davina, who was still sitting on the sofa, looking at the wall with a vacant stare. He went over to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

  Rachel sat down on the sofa and squeezed her eyes shut. She prayed earnestly for victory over Mike, but she wasn’t even sure if Dennis Hamilton was truly here to save them. For all she knew, once he was finished with Mike, he and his men would come into the House and finish them all off.

  “Rachel!” Lily’s eyes were wide. “I think Dennis Hamilton was the person Taylor was talking about when he said he knew a man around here who he could ask about my parents.”

  Rachel blinked. “That means Dennis Hamilton has been living in Fallow Creek for some time now, and I didn’t even know,” she said, shivering.

  “Yes,” Lily nodded. “I think Taylor knew Dennis was here in Fallow Creek. I think he was the one who called Dennis to help us. You said Dennis’s first wife is in the House. That might have been enough incentive for him to agree to help.”

  Rachel nodded. “You’re right, Lily. Taylor must have called Dennis. And that means he knew Dennis has been in Fallow Creek all this while.”

  Another hail of gunshots crackled through the air, and Davina wrapped her arms around Daniel. Keith came and sat on the left side of Rachel and put his hand around her waist. “Let’s hope that Dennis is really here to help us,” he said.

  “I think he is,” Rachel said, and then pressed her lips tightly together, fear coursing through her as more gunshots sounded. It reminded her of the day Dennis Hamilton had kidnapped them and her stepfather had ambushed them on the way to his house. She and Keith had sat in the car wondering about the outcome of the gun battle taking place around them, knowing that whichever way it went, they were still in danger. This time, she believed Taylor had called Dennis and his team to help them, but Dennis Hamilton was just as insane as Mike was. And after everything that had happened months ago, he must hate her as much as Mike did. Who knew what he would do after all this was over?

  The gunshots suddenly stopped, and for almost ten minutes, silence reigned. Some of the women began to come down the stairs, but Daniel told them to go up and hide again. They were not out of danger yet. Until they knew that Mike and his men had been subdued and defeated, they still had to hide.

  Mike’s voice suddenly boomed in the air again. He sounded like he was inside the grounds of the house. “So, you called Dennis Hamilton to defeat me. Well, you all lost. I have captured him and destroyed his men. Now, I won’t say this again. All my wives and children, including Rachel, are to come out now, or we come in there and kill everyone. Don’t make me come in there, because once I do, that will be the end of you all.”

  “Let’s go, Olivia,” Rachel said. “And you, Davina.”

  Lily held Rachel’s hand. “You can’t go! He’ll kill you.”

  “Yes, Rachel,” Keith said. “And if you all go without the children, you know what Mike will do.”

  “We have to try. We can’t send the children out there,” Rachel said. “Who knows what sight will be waiting for us outside?” She shuddered. “I’m pretty sure it’s not something we want to expose the children to.”

  Keith shook his head and whispered, “I can’t let you go, Rachel.”

  She caressed his cheek tenderly. “Don’t be so afraid, Keith. I don’t think Mike will kill us. Just as we’ve said, Mike likes to collect property of all kinds, and he sees us as his property. It’s unlikely he’ll kill us.”

  “You can’t be sure of that,” Keith gazed at her.

  “We have to take our chances. For the sake of all the women here. You know I have no choice, Keith.” Her heart broke as she reached out and hugged him tightly. Tears fell down her cheeks. Keith pulled away slightly. “I promise, Rachel. I will find a way to get you out.”

  Daniel and Davina hugged. “Keith and I will look for a way to free you all,” he said.

  Rachel stood up, and Olivia did, too. Davina looked like she was about to pass out as she slowly walked to the door. She rushed back to Daniel, and he held her tightly. Keith came to Rachel, took her in his arms, and kissed her. “I love you with all my heart,” he said. “Daniel and I will find a way to rescue you.”

  She smiled sadly and touched his cheek. “I love you, too,” she said. She blinked back the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks again and pulled away from Keith. She walked to the door, and Olivia and Davina followed. The three of them walked out of the House of Refuge and out the gate.

  Rachel’s stomach turned with revulsion as she looked around her. There were men lying on the ground, clearly dead. Dennis Hamilton was some distance away on his knees, one of Mike’s guards hovering over him. His hands were bound and his mouth gagged. Mike glared at her and then at Olivia and Davina. “Where are my children?” he barked.

  Rachel looked around her and pointed at the bodies on the ground. “Mike, look at this place. We knew this was the kind of thing we would see when we came out here. We didn’t want the kids to see all this.”

  Mike charged at Rachel. She stood her ground but looked away from him. He stopped just in front of her, let out a yell of frustration, and backed away again. “Okay, then! We will clear out all the bodies. And then my children will be brought out. No excuses!”

  Olivia said, “Let me just go into the house and check on the children. When it’s safe for them to come out, I’ll bring them all out and then we can go home, Mike.”

  She started to move away, and Mike spat out, “Stay right there!” He turned to Rachel and shook his head. “I know you called the police.” He looked at Olivia and then at Rachel again. “We aren’t going home. We’re leaving this town once the kids come out.”

  Rachel’s heart began to thud in panic. She’d been hoping that somehow the police would arrive soon and rescue them, but if they left town, that would be the end. She might never see Keith again. Lord, please help us. She couldn’t let Emily come out here or follow Mike out of Fallow Creek. There had to be a solution.

  Mike said, “My men have removed all the bodies. Now all my children can come out.” He barked at one of his men. “Go and get my kids, all three of them. You know them, don’t you?”

  “No,” Rachel began to panic. Once the kids came out, there would be no more reason for delay. Mike would take them all away. And he still might not spare the women here or her husband. She had to find a way to stall him. “Let me go and get them.”

  He laughed. “You think I don’t know what your plans are. You’re not going anywhere.” Mike nodded at his man again, and the man began to move towards the House.

  “Please, Mike. Look at him.” She pointed at the beefy, scary-looking guard holding a gun. “He’s a goon with a gun. He’ll scare the kids. Please, let us go in and get them.”

  Mike glared at her and called his man back. “You can go. Just you, Rachel, but I’m giving you fifteen minutes to get all my children out here. Is that understood?”

  “Yes,” she said quickly. She started to go in, but he called her back. She groaned and turned around.

  “Alan will go with you.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Mike shook his head. “Alan will follow you. I don’t want you playing any games.”

  “But he’ll scare the kids.”

  “The kids know him already,” Mike said. “Now you go with her, Alan. Remember, you have fifteen minutes.” He called Alan aside, and Rachel strained her ears to hear what he was saying to his guard. “When my kids are out, send the signal, and we’ll come in and finish those women off. Okay?”

  Alan nodded.

  Rachel’s blood ran cold, and she almost threw up.

  “Now go,” Mike said loudly.

  Rachel turned around again and marched to the door of the House of Refuge, Alan behind her. She opened the door and blinked at Daniel. Hopefully, he would understand what she couldn’t say out loud to him. She opened th
e door wide and entered, and the guard followed right behind.

  Daniel immediately put the gun to the guard’s head once he was inside the house and the door was shut. “Drop your gun now!” Daniel ordered. The man obeyed, and Daniel kicked the gun aside. “Keith, take his gun.” He looked at Lily. “You and Rachel, get strong ropes and tie him up.”

  Rachel hurried over to Keith, and they hugged. She whispered in his ear because she didn’t want to scare Lily and the others, “Mike doesn’t plan to let any of the women live.” She told him what Mike had said to his guard.

  “Then we can’t let that one out of our sight,” he said. “And you certainly can’t go out to meet him again. We need to pray for a miracle, Rachel.”

  Rachel nodded. She left the common room with Lily to find rope. Mike had given her fifteen minutes to bring his children out, but there was no way she was going to do that. Which meant they barely had fifteen minutes to find a solution, or there would be a huge disaster. She prayed with all her heart that God would give them an idea of how to escape before Mike’s patience ran out.

  Chapter 18

  Rachel finished tying the guard’s hands while Daniel stood over him, the gun pointed at him. “Keith, get his gun. We might need you to use it later.” Daniel picked up the guard’s gun from the floor and put it in Keith’s hand.

  Keith shook his head. He looked horrified as he stared at the weapon. He dropped it onto the coffee table. “I’m not holding that,” he said.

  Daniel snorted, and Rachel said to Lily, “Have you ever noticed a back gate or something like that through which we can escape this House? I haven’t, but you also lived here.”

  Lily shook her head. “There’s no way to escape through the back. And the fences are really high and have barbed wire.”

  “That’s true,” Rachel said. “It’s the way the Restoration House was built so that no one could escape from it.”

  “Yes,” Lily said. “I also saw Mike’s goons patrolling the back of the house. We can’t...” She gasped.

  “What is it?” Rachel asked.

  “Taylor told me that your grandfather also built most of the homes in Fallow Creek.”

  “Yes.” Rachel nodded and looked inquisitively at Lily.

  “But I know Taylor built some of the buildings, too. Was the Restoration House built by Taylor or your grandfather?”

  Rachel frowned. “My grandfather built most of the homes and the older buildings in Fallow Creek. But the newer ones, like the town hall and the Restoration...” She sucked in her breath sharply. “Taylor was the one who was commissioned to build the Restoration House years ago. A smaller building was on this land before Dennis Hamilton told Taylor to build this larger House.”

  Lily nodded. “That means Taylor might know every nook and cranny of this place.”

  “He probably does,” Rachel said slowly, her heart racing with hope. “He’s a very detail-oriented person. This House was built a long time ago, but he might just remember if there’s something like a secret escape route.”

  Lily said with urgency in her voice, “Let’s call him. We have very little time before Mike becomes suspicious and comes in here with his men.” Her eyes traveled around the common room. “Where’s my phone?” she asked, and then grunted. “I left it in your apartment, Rachel.”

  “I’ll call him with mine.” She picked up her phone from the sofa and groaned. The battery was dead.

  “Let’s use mine,” Keith said and picked up his phone. Taylor’s phone began to ring, and then his voice came on the other end of the line. “Taylor!”

  “Keith!” Taylor sounded scared. “Are my sister and Lily okay? Has Mike Cadwell been subdued?”

  “Rachel and Lily are fine, Taylor. But Mike Cadwell defeated Dennis Hamilton. I take it you’re the one who called Dennis.”

  “Yes,” Taylor said, groaning.

  Rachel sighed. That meant Taylor had known Dennis Hamilton was alive all this while but hadn’t told her. There was no time to ask him about it right now.

  Keith went on. “Mike still insists that Rachel and his kids go with him. He’s planning to leave Fallow Creek to some secret location.” Keith glanced at Lily and lowered his voice. “And he’s not planning to spare anyone here, either.”

  “No... oh no...! That man is mad! Can I talk to Lily and Rachel?”

  “Yes. They have something to ask you anyway.”

  Rachel took the phone from Keith. “Taylor!”

  “Rachel! Are you okay? Thank God you’re alive. Please don’t go anywhere with Mike Cadwell. Hopefully the police will arrive soon.”

  “We don’t know when that will be. Mike has given me fifteen minutes.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Ten minutes now. Listen, Taylor. We thought of something. You built the Restoration House years ago. Do you remember if there’s any secret passage or door where we can escape without being seen by Mike and his men?”

  For a few seconds, Taylor said nothing, and then he said, “It was such a long time ago...” There was a brief silence on the other end, and then Taylor spoke again, “Wait! I remember adding a secret door and telling my builders to build an escape route. A tunnel. Dennis didn’t tell me to do that, but I just thought it might be needed one day. I’d forgotten all about it.”

  “Where is this secret door?” Rachel asked, her hope soaring.

  “It’s in the common room…”

  “Here in the common room?” Rachel looked around her. “I’ve never noticed any secret door.”

  “Yes, Rachel. That’s because it’s a secret door. Move the large bookshelf that’s against the wall.”

  Rachel blinked. “Can it be moved? It’s huge.” Before Taylor could say anything, she said, “Don’t worry about answering that. I think we’ll all manage to move it.” Keith and Daniel were already on opposite ends of the bookshelf. Lily went and stood beside Keith, and Rachel went to the other end and placed the phone on the edge of the sofa. She stood next to Daniel, and together they began to struggle to move the bookshelf forward. It took a lot of pushing and effort, but they finally managed to shift it forward.

  Panting, Rachel picked up Keith’s phone again and said, “We’ve moved it, Taylor.” She frowned as she looked at the wall behind the bookshelf. She could see no clear edges that indicated any door or passage. All she could see was smooth painted wall in front of her. “Are you sure this is the location of the secret door?” she asked. “Maybe someone like Dennis Hamilton discovered it some time ago and had it sealed.”

  “No,” Taylor said. “I had the wall plastered that way so no one would know there was a secret passage… but it’s there for sure.”

  “So how do we find it?” Rachel asked impatiently.

  “You don’t,” Taylor said. “I do.”

  “How?”

  “With an electronic device I have here that’s… You know what, don’t worry about all that. I’ll open the door from here.” He sounded like he was walking fast, even running. “Let me find it. I haven’t seen that thing in years, but I know where I kept it.” There was silence for a few seconds more, and then Rachel gasped as the wall in front of her suddenly moved back, and a big empty space gaped at them. Lily’s mouth was wide open, her eyes as big as dinner plates, while Keith stood shaking his head, a look of wonder on his face.

  Daniel said, “Let’s start evacuating everyone. What are we still waiting for?”

  “It’s open?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes,” Rachel answered, astonished. “So where does this lead?”

  “There’s a long passageway that leads to a flight of stairs that goes underground to a tunnel. It’s a very long walk down the tunnel but it ends at the edge of Fallow Creek, near the river.”

  Rachel shivered slightly as she remembered the awful events that had taken place almost a year ago at that river. That day had been etched in her mind, and she was sure she would never forget it. Neither would she forget this one. She looked at Keith and said, “That place still gives me nightma
res.”

  “I’ll drive there right now with my children,” Taylor said. “I’ll be waiting there for all of you.”

  “But what about Davina?” Daniel asked, looking at Rachel. “There’s no way I can leave here without her.”

  “And Olivia.” Rachel said. “She is with mad Mike.”

  “Who?” Taylor asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Is Lily there? Can I speak to her?”

  Rachel handed Lily Keith’s phone.

  Lily looked uncertain as she took the phone from Rachel. “Hello, Taylor?”

  “Oh, Lily!” Taylor sounded both relieved and worried. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I’m really sorry for how I’ve treated you these past few days. For ignoring you. I thought... There’s no time to tell you everything I want to. You will have to get out of there now! I’ll be waiting.”

  Lily nodded as though he could see her. She pressed the phone to her ear, overcome with emotion. “Lily, I have so much to tell you. I can’t wait to see you.”

  Lily smiled. “Taylor, I...”

  “No, Lily! There’s no time to talk! You need to leave that house! We’ll talk as soon as you’re all safe.” He ended the call, and Lily looked at Rachel.

  “We have to go now,” she said.

  “I’m not leaving without Davina,” Daniel said again.

  “I certainly can’t leave when the lives of all the women here are on the line,” Rachel said. “We have to get them all out quietly through this secret door without Mike suspecting anything.”

  Keith said, “Rachel, I will stay and try to get them all out and also try to stall Mike. You and Lily can go with the children.”

  Rachel shook her head vehemently. “No. These women are my responsibility. I’m not leaving them when Mike is looming outside like the devil himself. I will help you and Daniel get them all out before I leave this house.”

  Lily glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have five minutes more,” she said, with a tremble in her voice. “Whatever we plan to do, we need to do it now.”