Page 69 of Dead Fall (The Quantico Files 2)

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Alex was safe at home, and Krypto was beside her. He slept next to her every night, sometimes giving her less space on the bed than he had. But she loved reaching out for him. Feeling his warm body near her. She felt safe. Protected and loved.

She tried to touch him, but for some reason she couldn’t move her arm. “Krypto, move over,” she said. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. What was going on? She forced her eyes open, but everything was blurry. She blinked several times until her vision cleared. Confused, she looked around her. She was in a large building. Like a warehouse. She suddenly remembered what had happened at the academy. The shot Julie had given her. She had to blink back tears. Thinking of Krypto made her wonder if she’d ever see him again.

She realized someone was sitting in a chair a few feet away from her. Kaely. Her head was dropped onto her chest. She was still out.

Alex tried to take several deep breaths so she could clear the fog in her head, but as soon as she made an attempt, the pain in her chest made her eyes fill with more tears. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone else in the building. Were they alone? Had they been dropped off and left here? Frankly, she was surprised they were still alive. Why hadn’t Julie or Ben just killed them? Then she remembered Julie said someone wanted them alive. For now.

“Kaely,” she called out. “Kaely, wake up.”

No response. Alex’s heart dropped. Was she dead? Julie had given her two doses of propofol. It was a dangerous drug. Michael Jackson had died when his doctor gave him too much. It was supposed to be used only as an anesthetic in operating rooms.

Alex strained against whatever they’d bound her with. Once again pain shot through her and she yelled out. She looked down at her shirt. The bleeding had stopped. She didn’t think the wound was very deep, but the impact had been awful. She’d end up with a pretty bad bruise before long. She couldn’t tell how many ribs were broken. Her only chance was to ignore the pain and do whatever it took to get her and Kaely out of there. Although her hands were behind her back, she could tell this time they’d used zip ties to bind her wrists together. Her feet were bound the same way. If she could use the right amount of force, she might be able to break them.

Alex tried to stand but realized the ties around her wrists were woven through the spindles on the back of the chair. She sighed and began to scoot it closer and closer to Kaely, until she was finally next to her.

“Kaely?” she said. “Wake up.”

This time Kaely’s eyes fluttered open. “Where ... where are we?”

“We’re in a large empty warehouse or something,” Alex said. “We’re tied up. We have to get free. Now.”

Kaely nodded. It was obvious she was still fighting the effects of the drug. Thankfully, the tape had been removed from their mouths. Probably so they could breathe better.

“What do we do?” Kaely asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t see anyone. We could make some noise and hope someone hears it, but if we do that and the wrong person is here, things could get worse.”

“They’ll show up sooner or later anyway. I say we give it a try.”

“Okay. One ... two ... three...”

Alex yelled as loudly as she could. Kaely tried to help, but she was still weak and could barely make a sound. Alex prayed someone would hear them and call the police. She also decided to use some of that vacation she’d earned after this case. She had lots of time off coming to her. She and Krypto deserved a chance to do something fun. Maybe they’d go to the mountains in Colorado. Krypto loved snow. He found such joy bouncing around in it.

Odd the thoughts that drifted through her mind as she and Kaely continued to call for help. She’d just tried to take another deep breath for the next round when a deep voice behind her said, “Shut up, ladies. Or I’ll put a slug in your backs.”

Hands grabbed Alex’s chair and pushed it back where it was originally.

“You stay where you are if you want to live,” he said.

The man walked around in front of them. He wore glasses and was overweight, balding, and had a large nose. The man in the sketch.

“You won’t get away with this,” Kaely said. “People are looking for us.”

“I’m afraid they won’t find you.” A smile cracked his face. He swung his hand around like a circus entertainer showing off the acts in his tent. “This will be the last place you ever see.”

“Where are we?” Alex asked.

“This warehouse was left empty when the company moved out of town. It was easy to break into. It’s the perfect place for me to make my exit.”

“You’ve been wearing a disguise,” Alex said. She could see where the makeup on his face had caked.

“Yes, so no one would know who I really was. And it’s worked beautifully. Even you, supposedly the world’s greatest profilers, have no idea.” He walked up next to Kaely, his face only inches from her face. “The great Kaely Quinn. The daughter of a serial killer who’s brought down so many criminals that no one can count them all. I followed your escapades in the papers. There was the Elephant Killer. Oh, and the Copycat Killer. What silly names.”

“We didn’t name them. The media did,” Kaely said. Alex could tell she was trying to gather her strength, but her voice was still weak.

“Yes, I know that. You could never cheapen what you do by creating goofy nicknames for violent serial killers.” He sighed. “There’s no one you can’t find, is there?”

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