Page 65 of SEAL by Fate

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“THIS MUST BE the address, Lola.” Stormy rechecked the number on the address card that the veterinarian’s office gave her. Although the house was old and dilapidated and looked unoccupied, the number on the front door matched the one she was given. After she’d run her errands, she’d decided to have Lola checked for a chip and sure enough, she had one.

Getting out of the borrowed SUV, Stormy led a leashed Lola up the cracked and crumbled steps to the weather-worn door. Lola growled and pranced, but Stormy calmed her with a scratch on the head. “It’s okay, girl.”

However, Stormy wasn’t feeling one hundred percent sure about this herself. Yet, what choice did she have? What if Lola belonged to a living family and they were worried sick about her? And before she could call the dog hers, Stormy needed to make sure she’d at least tried to find the owner.

She knocked twice more, and no one answered.

Starting back toward the vehicle, she heard something that sounded like yelling. Going back to the door, she pressed her ear against the peeling paint and listened. It was quiet.

Then she heard it again. Fear trickled down her spine. She tried the handle and it opened…

Peering inside, she called out, “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

The yelling turned into screams.

Her heart slammed against her ribcage.

Lola barked and growled.

“Lola, be still.” She tugged on the dog’s leash, but she was too strong for Stormy’s hold. Lola lunged through the doorway, practically dragging Stormy with her.

“Lola! Get back here,” Stormy yelled in a quiet voice.

Stepping further into the room, her boots crunched on glass and metal. She started to take backward steps toward the door, ready to get back to the SUV when she bumped into something solid. She swiveled on her heels and looked into an angry, familiar face.

She realized she’d made a grave mistake.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Her heart skipped three beats. “Duncan?”

Stormy fluttered her eyes open and the first thing she realized was that her head felt like she’d been hit by a truck. The second thing she realized was that she wasn’t alone…

She jumped up. “Colette?”

“Stormy? Oh my God. How? Why are you here?”

The sisters fell into each other’s arms, hugging as tears flooded their cheeks. Stormy pulled away, looking her sister up and down in the dim light coming through a crack in a boarded window from across the room. Her blonde hair was matted. Her clothes were dirty and ripped. Her face looked bruised and splattered with blood. “Tell me what happened?”

“Storm, it’s Duncan. He’s the one—” she whispered.

“I know. I realize that. How long have you been here?” Stormy scanned the small space. It was the size of a jail cell with barred ceiling and walls.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve lost track of time. I’m sorry, Storm. I found out who he was, that he was lying, and I planned to tell you, but he got to me first. He used chloroform and I woke up here.”

Stormy tried the bars, shaking and tugging frantically. “We need to get out of here.”

“It won’t work. I’ve tried every single one of them,” Colette said.

“There must be a way.” Stormy couldn’t give up. She stood, a little wobbly and pain attacked her temples, but she managed to stand long enough to inspect the rusty bars at the top of the cage. “Maybe if we climb up.”

“Storm. He’s listening. He’s watching everything. He’ll kill you. He’ll kill us. That’s his plan. He killed the woman, right in front of me.”

“The woman? Tiffany?”

“Natasha. He’s lost his mind.”

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