AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He passed her the bag of nails. “Do this with the other buckets while I fan out and work on the first line of protection. This will be our second ring of defense.”
“I’m still not understanding.”
“We’ll dig holes around the cabin at the most logical places where someone might approach. Drop these inside, cover each hole with a layer of pine needles and leaves over thin twigs. When a foot goes in, it’s not coming back out—at least not without a lengthy process and a lot of pain. Even if he works free before we get there, he’ll be slowed from the injury.”
We.Funny how one word could speed that tickle in her stomach.“Amazing.”
“Untwisted bed springs work as spikes, too.” He tore the duct tape with his teeth. A hank of hair fell over his brow, and he could have been the boy building a rocket out of his mama’s Corning Ware.
She started to reach to brush aside his stray lock of hair.
He jammed the completed bucket trap in her hand as if he wanted space between them. “Here. You try now.”
Why was he being so brusque? Hadn’t he spent the past days trying to convince her to stay? Of course that was before he found out what she’d been hiding. She would have known how to break the tension eleven years ago. Now she wasn’t so certain.
Mary Elise hopped up to sit in the back of the SUV. She set to work on a second bucket while Daniel hefted out rope, fishing wire and a bag of electronics that looked as if they should have been gifts for the boys.
Wind rustled through the trees, shaking loose a shower of pine needles in the widening silence between them. Where had the guy gone who’d kissed her on the porch? She should be relieved. This Daniel offered fewer complications.
“Where did you learn all of this?”
“Survival training. Study. It’s…wise to stay up-to-date.” He kept his eyes off her and on the unloading. “There are countless options. But we have to adapt to the situation and means available. The traditional pit takes forever to dig and then you’ve wasted time on one line of defense.”
The reality of it all washed over her again. He was arming for battle when he should be swimming or breaking in the new Zelda game with the boys, prepping for Thanksgiving.
“We’re going to use the Malaysian Hawk on the main path in. A log strung high, attached to a trip wire. On the two minor trails in, I’ll string Jivaro Catapults using this.”
He slid a canoe paddle out of the back. One swift move brought it down on his knee to snap off the handle. “The paddle will be fixed inside a twisted-tight rope tied to a tree limb. Foliage and moss is thick enough here to cover. A stick trigger sets this sucker to spin fast and hard enough to crack ribs. If he finds us before we can nail him with traditional evidence, we’ll be ready.”
Thatweword again. Strange how it stirred the same strange mix of hope and trepidation as the traps.
No more passive roles, she reminded herself. Except, thinking about all those maybes with Danny scared her hair straight.
Danny’s determined strides down the main road took him farther away from her. No surprise, her eyes devoured the look of him. She accepted the attraction, yet in a day full of revelations a final realization settled.
She might not know about tomorrow. And while she felt safer, she knew better than ever to underestimate Kent again. All she could control were her decisions in the here and now. She was through running from experiencing life. She intended to make full use of that bed at the first opportunity.
* * *
Sunrise splintered through the bulletproof panes, Danny hooked a foot on the rung of the bar stool. He clicked through computer keys, logging on to the green screen that signified secured communications with Max.
Reaching for his coffee mug, Daniel kept his back to Mary Elise. A power nap, cold shower and two PBJs had recharged him, not enough to face Mary Elise just yet, however. Watching her sleep was like torture and a massive distraction.
At least the security preparations had worked her into an exhausted sleep through the night. Guilt nicked, but Mary Elise at her pit bull most persistent hadn’t been budging. Of course she’d been right in asserting they would work faster together.
He glanced at the second laptop sitting alongside, this one set up with security monitors. He’d rigged two video cameras on opposite corners of the cabin, as well as setting alarms on his three major traps, alarms sending radio pulses back to his computer.
His credit card bill would be astronomical next month, but when it came to Mary Elise, his peace of mind was priceless.
“Come on, come on, come on, Max.” Daniel watched for incoming mail. He’d passed along seven possibilities for underworld types who worked the Savannah area. All fit the profile and description in Mary Elise’s initial police report.
The fact that no one followed the far-too-easy trail a year ago turned his vision red. And why hadn’t anyone questioned the number of McRaes in the Savannah PD signing off on Mary Elise’s reports?
Red turned scarlet.
Daniel channeled his anger into productivity, best line of defense for Mary Elise. Any second now he hoped Max would fill in the next block with his feedback on McRae’s overseas bank accounts.
The mail icon flashed. Anticipation chugged.
