Page 67 of Trapped

“But you came up with the location.”

“Like I said. Nothing else,” he bit out. “And I assume you’re not crazy enough to insist on trying hypnosis again to dig it out of me—right.”

Though her chest felt tight, she had to agree with him. They’d both found out that hypnosis was not an option. “Right.”

“So, what’s next?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, wondering if some other technique would trigger the same response. She was going to have to tread carefully now. But she didn’t want to explain that to him.

He gave her an assessing look, and she wondered if he was reading her mind. As he waited for her response, he ran a hand through his hair and finally turned away from her.

She kept her gaze on him, and when he went rigid, she was immediately on guard.

Then she realized he was looking at something outside the window—not in the room.

“What is it?”

He spoke in a harsh whisper. “I saw a shadow flicker through the trees.”

“A deer?”

“No. Someone on two legs. There’s a person out there.” As he spoke, he moved to the wall.

“Who?” she asked, unconsciously lowering her voice.

“If we’re lucky, it could be the guy who owns the cabin.” He slipped along the wall, then along to the window, where he peered out.

“Shit.”

“What?”

“I see one of the guards from the Bunker—dressed in a hunting outfit. If he’s here, there are more of them.”

Suddenly, she couldn’t draw in a full breath. “What are we going to do?”

“Get out of here.”

She looked wildly around. As far as she could see, there was only one door to the cabin.

“We can’t go out the front door.”

“No.” He gave her a quick inspection. “Take off that uniform, and put these on.”

He crossed to the closet and pulled out jeans and a work shirt. She pulled them on and then rolled up the pants legs. He also got dressed; then he walked to the corner of the room and pulled up two floorboards. She remembered he’d been doing something in the corner while she was lying in bed—cold and exhausted. She hadn’t known what. Now she saw that he’d chopped a hole in the floor.

As soon as he’d removed the boards, he returned to the closet and pulled out a brown jacket. “Put this on too. It will blend with the leaves on the ground”

When she complied, he came back to the wall, looking out the window again without showing more than a sliver of his face.

“How close is he?”

“He’s holding his position. We’ve got a little time.” He handed her the gun and she wrapped her fingers around the butt.

“Go down through the floor. There’s a crawl space under the cabin. Stay flat to the ground. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Her heart was pounding as she lowered herself into the hole and lay flat on the damp soil, clutching the gun and smelling the musty odor of earth that hadn’t dried out in a long time.

Earlier, when the guards had been after them, they must have had orders to kill her and capture Cash. So, what were their orders now?

Above her, she could hear him walking rapidly around, obviously making preparations. Something he’d had in mind all along—in case the guards found them.

She turned her head toward the hole, watching and waiting for him to join her. The seconds ticked by, and she imagined the man outside and his fellows closing in on the cabin.

In the cabin, she heard the sound of breaking glass. She wanted to call out to Cash, but she knew she had to stay quiet, so she only took her lower lip between her teeth and bit down to focus herself. Finally, his feet dangled through the hole, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Stay down!” he ordered in a harsh whisper as he crawled toward her and covered her body with his.

“What?”

Before he could answer the question, she saw flames flickering in the opening above them.

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