Page 95 of Glimmer in the Darkness

The thought of trying to get back down it had her stopping, hands gripping the stony cliff, breathing through the terror.

She had to focus. One handhold, one foothold at a time, she climbed until she finally pulled herself over the top and scrambled to stand.

Nobody in sight.

They hadn’t seen her.

Pressing her back against the stone, she inched her way to the hidden passage, no longer a secret but at least out of sight of the watching men.

The sound of soft crying carried through the narrow gap in the boulders.

Ella.

Cassidy tried to slow her heartbeat. She could rescue her. This time, she would do it right.

She took off her backpack, found her water, and took a swig of it. As she was returning it to the pack, she spied something else at the bottom.

A knife wrapped in a leather sheath. After their conversation about one’s need to carry a hunting knife, James must’ve put it in there. She shoved it deep in her front pocket.

Checked her handgun. It would be a challenge to wear it through the passage, but she wasn’t leaving it, and she’d need both her hands.

She found a bush, stashed the backpack behind it. Not well hidden, but it would do.

Her gaze traveled the hillside below, wondering where the killer had stood when he’d shot at her before. She turned her back on that phantom fear and looked up at the rock wall beside her.

It took two tries, but she managed to climb the boulder and into the cramped space. Stone on all sides, barely enough room to move, she wiggled her way, pressing hands and feet against the rough walls to keep moving upward, fighting the gravity that wanted to push her down and spit her out. She reached the curve and took her gun from its holster. Keeping it in her hand in front of her, she bent her body over and around the stone, feeling the scrape against her hips as she wiggled through. She made it to the slightly wider opening.

Ella’s cries were louder here.

Could James and the killer hear? Would they notice if they suddenly stopped?

Father, please. Help.

After sliding the gun back into its holster, she reached the mouth of the passage and caught sight of the child.

Ella lay curled on a blanket, head on a pillow, back against the stone wall that had been Cassidy’s prison for days. Thumb in her mouth. Her eyes were closed, her hands unbound.

Unbound? Cassidy’s and Hallie’s hands and feet had been tied.

And then she saw it. A thick, black… something. Looked like iron or steel. Was it an anvil? She’d never seen one in real life, but it looked like the images she’d seen.

Admittedly, most of those images had come from the old cartoons.

There was nothing amusing about this one. A hook connected a chain to a leather cuff wrapped around one of Ella’s ankles.

Cassidy crept toward her. When she was within five feet, she whispered, “Shh.”

The girl gasped.

“Shh.” Cassidy pressed her finger to her lips and shot a look at the mouth of the cavern. “He’s out there.”

The girl’s eyes widened.

Cassidy closed the distance between them and swept the child in her arms. The metal chain clanged, and she froze at the sound.

So did Ella.

A normal sound. The girl could move. The sound of chains would make sense.