Page 17 of Can't Stop
The woman scoffs, using her hotel-lobby-desk-clerk voice when she speaks this time. “You know how I feel about unwed couples rooming together. Couldn’t you have found a single woman instead of one who was already attached? What if this goes as poorly as the last one?”
Rayna and I look at each other.
“It won’t,” Samuel says. Boots scuff on the floor, and then he continues. “This one’s right. She has a pet squirrel she carries around, and she’ll fit right into the family. I’m sure of it. She already met Granny at the magic-go-round.”
“And what of the man?”
“We needed a sacrifice, didn’t we? The busted roads keep out the investigators, but they keep out the tourists as well. I can’t keep pulling from the local town, Mama. You know it’s not safe anymore.”
Sacrifice? I mouth to Rayna.
She blinks at me, her eyes growing wider.
“They’ll take off the moment they get a wild hair,” the woman says. “They’re already jumpy.”
“I’ve got her squirrel. I lied and said he needed time to set, but he’s just fine. She won’t leave town until she has him. I could always tinker with their car if you think it’s worth it, but now that Mike is dead?—”
“Mike wouldn’t have made a difference. He wasn’t a very good mechanic anyway. And it’s not like they’ll need the car repaired. Once we get rid of the man, the woman will never leave.” The lady sighs, and her chair squeaks. “Just do whatever you think is necessary. If they come down, I’ll occupy them, but make it quick.”
Rayna and I turn for the bedroom again, but my feet tangle together, and down I go. With a silent scream, I sprawl across the upper landing in plain view of Samuel and the woman. I mentally plead with Rayna, urging her to run, but of course she doesn’t. She grips my ankles and tries to pull me back into the shadows, but it’s too late.
“Grab them!” the woman squeals.
Footsteps pound up the stairs, and Samuel looms over us like some giant harbinger of doom. His meaty fists reach down, taking my arm in one hand and Rayna’s in the other. With the ease of a child picking up sticks, he lifts us into the air and begins dragging us down the stairs. My blood runs cold when I see which door he’s snatching us toward.
Looks like Rayna will get that morgue tour after all.
Chapter Nine
Rayna
All visions of escape evaporate after only a few minutes in the basement. Samuel left us down here without a word. He locked the door behind him, and that door is the only exit. Despite being a morgue, all the tools of the trade are absent, save for the single autopsy table. Not a bone saw or rib spreader in sight. Which means we are well and truly stuck.
“At least it’s a nice temperature down here,” Dalton grumbles as he slides down the wall and takes a seat.
He’s ready to give up, but I don’t know the meaning of the words. I give the door a final tug, then kick it with a scream before heading toward a metal cabinet that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. I’m sad to find the doors unlocked, because that means the contents aren’t worth protecting. My sadness only grows when I discover this is where they store their canned goods.
I grab a can of peas and test its heft in my hand. “If we shove a few of these into our socks, we could make a weapon.”
“It’s pointless.”
“Hell, the cans are made of metal. Maybe we can fashion a blade.” I throw the can to the floor, hoping it will burst open, but it only creates a dent.
“Didn’t you hear me, bones? Don’t waste your energy. We need to think of an actual plan.”
“What do you think I’m trying to do?” With a scream, I grab another can and toss it at the wall. “I’m trying to find a way out of this fucking mess I got us into. I’m trying to fix it.”
The tears threaten to come, but I refuse to cry. I grit my teeth and think about killing Samuel and his bitch of a mother, and the tears recede.
“Bones . . . come here.” Dalton waves me toward him, and I can’t help myself. I don’t rush into his arms like some terrified maiden, but I reluctantly plop into his hold, where I melt.
“I’m only going to say this once, so make sure you’re listening.” I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
He brushes the hair from my face, then moves me in his lap until I’m straddling him and resting my forehead against his. “You really got us into it this time, huh?”
I nod.
“You know I’ll get us out of it, though. Right?”
