Page 86 of Sutton's Shadow

Sighing in defeat, she turned to leave but froze when a faint sound reached her ears, a thump followed by shuffling noises. Then a whimper as if someone was crying. Sutton’s eyes shot open; someone was still in the house. She scanned the room, trying to figure out where the noise had originated. Another thud reached her ears, and it dawned on her... basement. She found the door she’d missed the first time she’d searched the room and opened it slowly.

A set of stairs met her eyes, and she forced herself to use caution as she stepped down. She saw it as soon as she’d reached the bottom, a hastily added room constructed from particle board in the basement’s corner. The door, made from the same material as the walls, was padlocked. The whimper she thought she’d heard upstairs was more defined, making Sutton’s blood run cold.

Oh God, Bethany.

She rushed to the door and knocked, calling out to Bethany. A rush of breath left her lungs with the answering cry. “Sutton?”

“Yeah, Little Bee. I’m here.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“Hold on, I’m gonna get you out of there.” She studied the padlock; it was too substantial for her to break off. The screws on the latch were also sturdy. If she could find a screwdriver, she could use it to take off the latches.

“There was a key hanging next to the door,” Bethany called out.

An empty nail in the plyboard to the right of the door mocked her. “It’s not there anymore. I want to see if I can find a tool to open it.”

She spied the toolbox on a nearby workbench. Tearing the lid open, she thanked her lucky stars when she spotted the screwdriver. She worked on the door, panic and frustration making her hands shake. The tool slipped out of the screw repeatedly, but she kept at it. She would not fail to get Bethany out. She owed that much to Wyatt. He wouldn’t lose his sister because of her.

Finally, the last screw was out, and Sutton could remove the door. She identified Bethany instantly, looking no worse for wear. Her relief made her knees feel weak, but she locked them when the girl threw herself into Sutton’s arms.

“I’ve got you, little heart,” she crooned, using Wyatt’s endearment for her.

“Thank you, Sutton.”

Her voice trembled, but she kept it together as Sutton studied her. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine. But we need to get out of here.”

Two other girls were locked in with Bethany. One was incredibly thin, with dark circles under her eyes and torn clothing. The other looked better, but no less scared. They gave her hopeful smiles, which prompted Sutton to move. She would get them out, accepting no other outcome.

They hurried to the stairs but froze as a group when an upstairs door slammed. Sutton prayed that an air draft or something had sent the door crashing, but the footsteps that followed the noise told her that prayer would go unanswered.

Shit.They needed another way out of here. Sutton scanned the room, spotting the dirty rectangular-shaped windows. They were small, but she was confident the girls could easily slip through them if she could get them open far enough. Her, she wasn’t so sure about. But if she could get the girls safely away, she would gladly risk herself.

Reaching for the lock, Sutton pulled. It was stiff, but it moved, and the window unlatched. The tilt-in window’s construction didn’t allow it to open very wide, there were brackets preventing it. Sutton grabbed the screwdriver and removed the brackets, catching the window before it could crash against the concrete wall.

She helped the girls climb out the window one at a time. The girl Bethany introduced as Lia went first. Outside, she turned to help the other girl who Sutton recognized as Kaitlyn, the missing person the Nighthawks had been searching for. Then it was Bethany’s turn.

“As soon as you’re out, don’t wait for me. Run. Run and find Wyatt. Or go to the police station and find Ian.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

The creak of the basement door opening echoed in the room. Bethany’s eyes widened with fear. “Go,” Sutton hissed. “Now.” Bethany hesitated, then nodded and took off with her friends.

With no time for her to shimmy out, Sutton closed and locked the window. Quickly, she sought somewhere to hide and chose the HVAC system to crouch behind. Two people came down the stairs. When they noticed the empty room, a woman screeched, and a man cursed.

Heavy boots trod up the stairs. Sutton closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief that the girls had gotten away.

Pain erupted through her skull, knocking her over. Stunned, she lay on the cold concrete floor. She tried to focus but couldn’t get her eyes to clear. A shadowy figure stood over her.

A hand tangled in her hair, pulling her out from behind the equipment. She tried to ease the tension on her scalp by scrambling to keep up with the person, but her feet kept slipping out from under her.

She was thrown to the floor, her shoulder taking the brunt of the fall.

“Interfering, little bitch,” hissed an angry voice before more pain erupted, this time in her side. Sutton was sure a rib or two was bruised, if not broken, especially after the second kick that stole all the air in her lungs.

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