Page 69 of Rescued Faith

The door was locked. Even with a swift kick to break the locking mechanism, the door didn’t budge. “They must’ve blocked it with something. Any tools in here?”

Penny wrapped her arms around herself. She shuddered as she looked around. “Not that I can see. We need to get word to someone or find something to break down the door.”

Get word to someone. Bryce felt his pockets. “What kind of bad guys are these? They let me keep my phone?”

“Thank God.” She leaned into the door, some of the tension in her shoulders relaxing.

“Looks like I missed calls. Jude. Jason Woods. Olivia.” He scrolled down the screen. “What’s going on?”

“Right now we just need to get my sister and the kids.”

Bryce pushed aside the unease about the list of missed calls. “I’ll call the rescue team. They’ll be here quickly.” Bryce made the call to dispatch, explaining the kidnapping, and then gave them the address. “Send the cops out to look for those kids ASAP. You can send the rescue squad here to get us out.”

“Yes, sir, I have a squad car on the way. But the rescue squad is out on another call.” She was new, someone he hadn’t met yet. “Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?”

What he needed was to get Penny out of this pantry ASAP. But it wouldn’t help her to get upset, and it certainly wasn’t the dispatcher’s fault. “We’re good.”

He called Izan instead. Then tried Jude and Olivia. No answer with any of them. He tried crewmate Zack Stephens next. Thank goodness he answered on the first ring.

“Hey, we need help. Can you get any of the off-duty guys and come help us out?” Bryce explained what had happened.

“I’ll grab Izan and we’ll be there as soon as we can, but we’re out in the boonies. Got called in to help support the on-duty crew with a field fire, but they’re sending us back. So it will be a little bit before I can get there. Can you hold out?”

“Believe me, we’re not going anywhere. But get here as soon as you can.”

He ended the call. Now he just needed to keep Penny calm while they waited.

Her breathing was starting to speed up again. But it was probably better to let her know they were in for a bit of a wait.

He took her hands in his and helped her sit down on the floor. “Stephens and Izan will be here, but they’re stuck out in the remote part of the county, so it will be a little bit longer than we thought.”

“What?” Her voice squeaked. He’d never seen her this scared. She’d been fearless throughout the whole Diego Sosa thing. Seeing this side of her didn’t take away from her appeal though. It only made him care more, deepened the desire to see her safe.

“I’m right here. Not going anywhere.”

Her eyes searched his face, pinging back and forth. “You probably think I’m nuts.” She released a humorless chuckle.

“I’m guessing there’s a really good reason enclosed spaces freak you out. I mean, last time I saw you in a closet, a bomb had just gone off, so there’s that.”

He gently caressed her hands, trying to massage some warmth back into her fingers.

She closed her eyes, dropped her head down to her knees. “I thought I was over this.”

“Over what?” Yes, he wanted to hear what had her so terrified, but he wouldn’t push.

She lifted her head. “I keep seeing her body. And the spiders.” Her voice sounded small, far away.

“Whose body?”

“She was our next-door neighbor for a short time. She’d make us cookies and bring them over. But I’ve worked so hard to forget those days that I can’t even remember her name now.”

Bryce moved next to her, tucked her close to help fight off the chill. She didn’t resist. “I’m sure you have a good reason for not wanting to remember.”

She sniffed. “I hated that duplex. We had a nice home growing up, but after my mom got sick and died, my dad ended up losing it. Had to move into that rundown rental in the middle of my fourth grade year. But the elderly lady next door was kind. She was the only good thing about that place.”

Bryce’s heart squeezed. “I didn’t realize your mom died when you were that young.”

“She died right before my ninth birthday. And my dad…he fell apart.”

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