Page 28 of Storm Warning

His light beam landed on a woman bound and chained to the wall. His heart jumped to his throat.What in the world?

Next to him, Remi gasped, then yelped before rushing forward.

“Jo! Oh my goodness.” Remi dropped to her knees next to the chained woman.

Adrenaline surging, Hawk shined the flashlight around to make sure Jo’s abductor wasn’t waiting in the shadows to nab both Hawk and Remi and chain them to the wall like animals. This was pure unadulterated evil, and Hawk remained wary of their surroundings.

Jo gasped, then sobbed. “What took you so long?”

The woman’s anguish cut right through Hawk’s gut. He moved to the wall to figure out how to free her so they could all get out of here with their lives.

“I mean ... we didn’t know you were missing.” Remi’s voice shook, her tone loud and anxious. “How long have you been here?”

“Since early this morning.” Her voice cracked. “Now get me out of this prison.”

Hawk examined the heavy chains looped through a hook sealed into the concrete. “The only way I can get you outwithout tools is to shoot the chain. Cover your face, eyes, and ears. I don’t want any shards to hurt you.”

“Wait.” Remi unzipped his duffel, tugged the blanket out, then covered Jo. “This will help protect you.”

“Ready?”

“Just do it!” Jo shouted.

He fired once, twice, and then the restraints fell loose. He quickly unraveled the chain from the wall and then pulled it through the link on the cuff on her ankle. “You’ll have to wear that until we get the right tools to remove it.”

“I don’t care. I’m free now.” She whimpered.

Stiff from being chained to a wall, Jo rose slowly as she climbed to her feet. Hawk and Remi assisted her. At least she had her own blanket on the floor and a bottle of water, but her lips were blue. She could be suffering from hypothermia. Fierce anger burned in his chest. She had only started calling for help when they were about to leave. Had she been asleep and then suddenly woken up? Whatever had happened, he was relieved she got their attention, otherwise she could have died in here alone. Or worse—at the hand of her abductor.

“Who did this?” Remi asked.

“Can we just get out of here before he comes back?” Jo asked. “He was supposed to come back tonight.”

Remi shared a look with Hawk, who nodded. Was the man who’d chained Jo to the bunker wall the same man who had attacked Remi twice, and then Hawk tonight? The chances that two different villains were committing such heinous crimes in this remote place were minuscule.

“Can you walk?” Remi asked.

“What? You didn’t drive here?”

“It’s a long story,” Hawk said.

“How did you find me, then?”

“We weren’t even looking for you.” Remi pursed her lipsas if trying to bite back the fury. “He was using your phone to text everyone that you were okay. I’m sorry. I ... I feel so bad about this. I kept wondering about you, and I looked for you in town. I even went to your tiny house. But I got a response, a text from you that you were okay. And then ... well, things have been kind of crazy today. I’ll tell you all about it later. Let’s get back to the lodge.”

“Are you ready?” Hawk asked. “We need all our energy to fight the storm and watch out for the jerk who did this to you. We’ll sort it out once you’re safe.”

Another small sob escaped, and Jo nearly collapsed. Hawk held her up. They stumbled their way through the labyrinth, back up the stairs. Hawk wasn’t sure how they were going to make it through the woods once their flashlights went out because the batteries wouldn’t last much longer.

Remi had talked about Scripture tonight, and he suspected she was a believer. She sounded like she loved Jesus, whereas Hawk had let himself believe that God was done with him.

He hadn’t prayed in a very long time, but if he was ever going to start again, tonight was the night.

Please don’t be done with me, God. Please, light our path. Show us the way.

Finally, they made it to the exit, where the storm bucked against the door, warning them of what was to come.

11

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