Page 45 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

She knew it without having to be telepathic.

Kelli took off, her feet feeling the way in the darkness. She kept one hand pressed against the cavernous wall to guide herself, her exposed shins scratching along the rough rock.

Nox had told her to just stay to the side and find her way out. He would stop Archie, get Nevel and Elise out, and turn her captor over to the cops.

All Kelli had to do was get out.

But as the wolves raged around her, bodies and fur knocking into her as she scurried along toward where the tunnels were, she wasn’t sure she knew how to. She had studied her escape route, but it was nearly impossible to find with the fighting and no lights.

God, she hoped that this didn’t all go terribly wrong.

THIRTY

KELLI

Kelli’s heart quickened, and she suddenly felt frightened. She had no idea where she was. She could hear everything going down, but her eyes kept bouncing around, trying to see but unable to. She swallowed, feeling her throat going dry.

She couldn’t worry about everyone else and had to focus on herself. Nox would want her too. She turned and followed the others into the cave, still hearing the yelling of everyone behind her.

She curled her arms around herself and tried to keep up with everyone. She could hear the footsteps shuffling and the scent of dirt being kicked up. She grazed her finger over the wall to ensure she was at least going straight.

She could tell the corridor was getting narrower, and the sounds were starting to shift. She stopped when she realized she wasn’t walking next to anyone. She was completely alone. What she was hearing were footsteps shuffling somewhere else in the cave. Her heart quickened, and fear grabbed at her throat.

“Hello? Guys?” she asked, hoping she was wrong. If she was alone, that wasn’t good for her.

No one responded, and soon, there was no shuffling of others at all. It was completely silent.

Tears built, and she turned. She froze. She couldn’t go back because Archie would be there, and he was going to be pissed. She couldn’t risk it. While she was afraid, she knew better than to make a dumb mistake and retrace her steps. She just needed to keep pushing herself forward and hope she made it out.

She turned and continued deeper into the cave. She tried to focus, but her panicked mind made it hard. She kept thinking about Archie coming into the cave and finding her. He’d drag her back, and she probably wouldn’t live. The idea terrified her, and she quickened her steps.

She could only hope that he thought they escaped, and he was on the run himself now. Once they got the FBI involved, he was toast. His smart move would be to run himself. But she didn’t know if he would be thinking straight after this. His anger might be raging him forward. She hoped that wasn’t the case.

She had the cave mapped out in her head, and when she’d seen it, she was sure she could do this. This was supposed to be the easy part. It was just walking and being sure to take the right corner. She had the map, so she knew she was good, but the task got a lot harder when she had no idea where she was.

She paused for a moment, running her fingers up the wall. She remembered at some point, the cave would get slightly wetter when they grew closer to the river. Her fingers came back damp, and she smiled, knowing she was at least heading in the correct area.

She ran her hands forward, knowing there was an opening soon, and she would have to crawl through it. Her fingers ran over a sharp edge, and the ceiling dipped low.

She crouched and felt the wall allowing herself to imagine how it looked. It was a tight fit, for sure.

She crawled on her knees, trying to squeeze herself through, but she got stuck. Her hips were just slightly too wide. She wiggled and pulled, cutting into her hips slightly. Fear gripped her once more, and she started to panic.

“No. No. No. I can’t get stuck. I can’t.” She wiggled harder, feeling the stone biting deeper into her skin. She started to cry, trying even harder.

She wasn’t getting through. She stopped, resting her head in the dirt, and felt tears flow. This was not part of the plan. She wasn’t supposed to get separated from everyone.

She could hear a steady drip and allowed it to calm her. Yes, she was stuck, but she still had a mind to help her figure it out. She crawled back and searched for a large rock. As her fingers froze around one, she pulled it up, slamming it into the crawl space. She heard the chipping and felt the rock give. She did it several more times until she could finally slide herself through.

She patted herself down, wishing she had a light to look at her wound. She could see it later. She needed to keep moving.

She kept to the wall and continued forward. She didn’t know how far, but she felt the sudden change in air direction. She paused, trying to think of where she was on the map. The wind tousled her hair, and she took a deep breath in. “Okay, you can do this, Kelli. You’ve gotten yourself this far.”

She was near the cliff, where the river started. She clung to the wall since she had no idea where the floor ended, and the water began. She didn’t need to fall in and swim blindly.

She held onto the rocks, and as she walked, fear coursed through her. She tried to think of anything besides the fact she might be seconds from stepping over the edge.

“Think about Nox. Yes, that’s smart. Think about him.” She tried running her mind over different moments with him. Him holding Violet. Watching him read to her. Hearing him tell her about his day. All aspects she looked forward to again.

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