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Jonathon was about to call Allina and tell her that the Doll Killers had been here, but they were gone now when he remembered a door in the kitchen. There had been two doors; one had led back outside to a decked patio; the other door probably led to a basement. And a basement would be the perfect place to keep a prisoner, especially if they wanted Clara to kill the children they abducted. They probably thought keeping her away from them would prevent her from bonding with them and make it more likely that she’d do what they wanted.
Flying back downstairs, a light was on in the basement as he slowly edged open the door. Gun out in front, he resisted the urge to barrel down the steps; instead, he took his time, until he saw her.
Clara was lying on a bed. She was inside a large cage. The rest of the basement was empty.
At the sound of him clattering down the stairs, her head snapped up.
At the sight of him, she scrambled to her feet and stumbled a little unsteadily to the bars.
Jonathon froze as he looked at her. She was pale, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy, and a bruise was forming on her jaw. There was a long scratch on one cheek, her left shoulder was badly bruised, and most of her exposed skin was red and blistered. An anger so strong it nearly knocked him off his feet rushed through him. He’d never experienced something so powerful before. He’d known that the Lincolns had hurt her—Katie and Jimmy had told him that they had—but seeing it made it seem so much more real.
“You came,” she smiled up at him.
“Baby.” He reached for her, took her face in his hands, his thumb brushed gently over the darkening bruise. “Are you all right?” He searched her eyes, seeking the truth and not the platitude he was sure she was going to offer.
“I'm okay now you're here.” Her hands stretched through the bars and took hold of his face, bringing it down to meet hers. Their lips touched, and he felt some of his anger float away as relief took its place. She was alive. That was what mattered.
He kissed her as long and as hard as he could. When he had to stop to draw a breath, he reluctantly pulled away. His fingers dropped to her arms, tracing around the fresh brands. “How badly do they hurt? And don’t lie to me,” he cautioned.
Her composure cracked a little; her eyes grew watery, and her bottom lip wobbled. “They hurt a lot.”
He gave her another quick kiss. “Then let’s get you out of here and to a hospital to get checked out.”
“My sister—is Naomi okay?” Clara asked as he began to search the room for the keys.
“She lost a lot of blood, but she’s going to be okay.”
“You saved her, didn’t you?”
“She was lucky I turned up when I did,” he acknowledged.
“Thank you.”
She said it so seriously, he paused to look at her. “It would have been luckier if I'd turned up earlier so that your sister didn’t get stabbed and you didn’t get kidnapped.”
“No,” Clara shook her head. “They just would have come after me another time. They wanted me here, Jonathon. They think that I can learn how to turn people into dolls so I can do it to them because Job is dying. Jimmy and Katie, did they get away?” she was breathing hard now, getting panicky. “Did you find them?”
“We found them,” he soothed. “We found them. Try to keep yourself calm; you just need to hold it together a little longer.”
“Yeah, okay.” Clara took several long deep breaths. “I'm glad you found them. I was scared that Ruth and Job had gone after them once they knocked me out.”
“Both of them are fine; they're with their families,” he assured her. “Bingo.”
“What?”
“Found the keys,” he grinned. Now he could get Clara out of the cage and someplace safe. Allina was already on her way; then they just had to wait for the Lincolns to turn back up here and arrest them.
“Jonathon.”
Clara said the word at the exact moment he heard the gun cocking.
“I don’t think you're going to need the keys.”
He weighed his options. He still had his gun. He could attempt to shoot before they shot first, but he didn’t want to risk Clara getting caught in the crossfire. Allina would be here soon. Perhaps it would be better to play along until then.
“Toss the keys on the floor.”
He did as he was instructed
