Page 30 of Vengeful

Hell, for all I knew, the walls would stand for years after I got out of here. The opening of the pit would be covered over again and it would lie in wait for someone else. This year's trials, or one years from now. Sooner or later, someone else would find themselves down here. That was a problem for a future someone. I couldn't dwell on that right now.

I tilted my head back, raised my chin and shouted.

"Hello! Can anyone hear me?"

The walls of the pit trembled. Chunks of dirt broke off from the lip and poured down around me. A couple of fist sized rocks hit my arm and bounced off painfully.

I threw my hands up in front of my face to protect myself from debris.

The trembling and crumbling seemed to go on for ages. Truthfully, it was no more than a handful of seconds. It finally stopped, followed by an intense silence. Even the birds and insects made no sound. They'd probably fled when I shouted.

I listened for any sign I'd been heard. A return shout. Running footsteps. Something. Anything.

I heard nothing.

I shook my head and raised my chin again.

"Hello! Hunter! Parker! Slade! I'm down here!"

Please hear me this time, I pleaded silently.

The sky was getting darker and darker and I was struggling to hold on. The only saving grace here was that no one could see me come apart. No one was here to witness me panicking, on the verge of losing my mind.

"Down there," a voice said.

I froze. That wasn't one of my guys.

Was I right after all? Someone set this trap for me and that someone had come back?

Fuck. If that was the case, I might be better off dead. After she tried to sell me, I wouldn't put anything past Chloe. I might end up in a different truck, or worse.

I pressed my back against the wall as though I could possibly hide down here. It was a ridiculous instinct, I knew. I could no more hide than I could run.

"This looks precarious," the same voice said. "You really want to risk yourself to get her out of there?"

Another couple of chunks of dirt fell away, as if punctuating his words.

"See what I mean? The whole fucking thing is ready to crash in on itself. People these days can't even dig a decent hole."

I chewed my lip. Who was he? I got the impression he knew exactly who I was. He certainly knew exactlywhereI was. Whowas he talking to? I hadn't heard anyone answer him yet. Friend or enemy, he was not alone.

I swallowed hard. My palms were sweating.

A light shone down on me, so bright I had to raise my hand to shield my eyes.

"Well, what do we have here?"

CHAPTER 12

LILA

"Don't make me poke your eyes out, Kent."

That was Slade's growl. Thank fuck.

Kent chuckled. "Do you want my help or do you not?"

"Let's just get her out of here. Are you all right, little fox?" Slade's tone softened.

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