The low hum of an engine and the unmistakable sounds of a vehicle crunching its way over a rocky path sent her heart into a Kentucky Derby race. Together, she and Emerson froze like the proverbial deer, unsure which way to scamper to safety. Even as a pair of headlights came closer into view, Addis felt rooted to her spot.

The crackling sound of brush behind them finally galvanized Addis out of her stiffened state of inaction, and she clutched onto Em, her fingernails digging in as they shuffled sideways until they’d scooted off the far end of the porch. Keeping to the house, they edged their way to the back.

Suddenly, Addis’s left foot dipped into a small indentation in the ground, and she fell, inadvertently dragging Emerson down with her. When she tried to rise back to her feet, her hand disappeared into nothingness, and she realized there was a crawlway beneath the cabin. Leaning close, she cupped her hands around Em’s ears, and whispered, ‘Under the house.’

Emerson jerked back, expelling her breath in one crackling gasp. ‘No, I can’t, Ad. Snakes.’

‘We have to. It’ll be okay; it’s too cold for snakes right now.’ And even if it wasn’t, they’d be safer there than facing the alternative.

With the sound of the car drawing closer and the headlights casting just enough of a glow to outline the forest beyond, Emerson moaned but agreed, performing the sign of the cross before interlocking her fingers with Addis’s.

Addis couldn’t tell who squeezed tighter. ‘Together,’ they whispered through scratchy throats as they crawled beneath the cabin.

‘Ouch. Something’s poking me.’ The sounds of a second vehicle bumping down the road shifted Addis’s attention away from the pile of sharp sticks jabbing into her.

Too soon the engine shut off, and a car door opened and closed on the second vehicle. It wasn’t until the voice of their kidnapper, muffled but distinct, trickled down through the floor that Addis realized she could hear the individuals inside.

‘Why couldn’t you just let me handle it?’ Addis could barely hear, but she was sure she didn’t recognize that voice.

‘What the hell are you doing here, Alex?’ The man’s voice sounded more frightened than angry.

The outside temperature had nothing on the ice that flooded Addis’s insides at the other person’s response, and not only because the two people inside were discussing her parents’ brutal murders.

No. The horror came from realizing that Alex was female. A woman was responsible for the staggering nightmare that had become her life.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Saturday, October 5