Page 107 of Silver Secrets

“No. But it’s okay. We’ll think of something.”

His hand tightened around hers as their captor walked down the stairs.

Twenty-Seven

There were only two things coursing through Gage’s body at that moment. Pain that felt overwhelming when he’d first woken up, now dulled by the second emotion. Rage.

Whoever that fucker was, they were about to be sorry that they came after Sloane again. Because it would be their fucking undoing, he’d guarantee that. Especially since they’d brought Sloane back to her own fucking house for whatever they had planned.

Gage had clocked it as soon as light filtered down the stairs. He’d been in Sloane’s basement once before, to show the guys where he wanted her security system installed. His eyes drifted to the far corner of the room and hope sparked in his chest.

Heavy boots stomped down the stairs, and Gage locked onto the body making its way down. Fuck. Whoever this was, they were bigger than Sloane. But not bigger than him. A lot of the bulk looked like it was from the loose-fitting clothes he was in. The asshole wore a mask exactly like the one that had been sent to Sloane, and Gage could hear her breath sawing in and out of her chest with each footfall.

“Breathe, Red.”

From the way her eyes widened, she was close to losing it. “He has Kimi.”

The statement forced Gage to move his eyes from Sloane back to the fucker walking across the space. Sloane was right. Hoisted over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry was a limp body. The FBI Agent fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Their captor turned, and Gage tried to catalog every piece of information he could. But there wasn’t much. The asshole was covered head to toe in black. Black shirt, black pants. Black combat boots and even black gloves. Gage could only assume he was staring at them because the black mask with creepy fucking eyes covered his face completely. An eerie laughter, mechanical, just how Sloane had described it before, filled the basement.

“Is she breathing?” she whispered. Whether she was talking to Gage or not, he didn’t know.

“For now,”their captor responded. Then he turned to the stairs and walked back up them.

The lights flickered off and Gage immediately pulled at his chain. It killed him that he couldn’t haul her into his arms, but he would take the small victory of being able to hold her hand.

Sloane was shaking as he felt her body turn towards his. “Why are we inmybasement?!”

“He’s fucked, Red. Bringing us here is going to be his downfall.”

“What do you mean?” His eyes hadn’t adjusted to being back in complete darkness, but he could hear the hope in her voice. Gage was just desperate to see it in her eyes too.

“Remember when the guys came over to install your security system?”

“Of course. But they didn’t finish, right? It’s not active yet.”

“It might not be active at the front door, but the main module is live and online. Over on the far wall, in the right corner. I can see the first two lights are on and that’s all we need. You have to listen to me, okay? I know how we’re going to get out of here.”

“How?”

“The lights mean different things. Right now, I can tell the system is up and transmitting a signal to the server. All we need to do is get over to that box and get one of the wires loose. Doesn’t matter which one. Power, internet… If we interrupt the service for even half a second, it will send an alarm to the team.”

“Won’t they just think it’s a glitch? A power outage in the neighborhood, or I don’t know, someone knocking down a telephone pole making the internet drop? They know you never finished installing the system here. If they ignore it, it might be too late…”

“No. They’ll be looking for us by now. Besides, it won’t just send a message to the guys. I set it up to send a message to the Clarence County emergency dispatch line. They’ll send the nearest sheriff’s deputy over when you don’t respond to their call. It’s not a request, either. They’ll have to investigate.”

“He’s going to come back down here for me, Gage. I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to get away from him. What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t save us?”

He had a speech ready to go. One that told her how proud he was of her. That he knew she was strong enough to face what came next. Together, they were going to escape their nightmare. But the footsteps returned above them, and then the door opened, and he watched what little color she had in her face drain as the psychopath returned to the basement.

* * *

Breathe. Breathe. Don’t you dare let your body betray you right now. You are stronger than you were. You are ready for this.

“Breathe, Red.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”

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