BooksBarbecue
Back Less than Dead Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  4. DEDICATION
  5. CONTENTS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Alena wished she could drive a knee up into his groin, but her ankles were bound tight. All she could do was twist her face away from him and shove one shoulder into his chest, hoping he got the idea.

He released her and let her fall back against the wall.

“Your boyfriend was here looking for you, in case you’re interested. You know—the weird guy with the funny glasses. He stopped by a few minutes ago—that’s why I thought I’d better check on you—but you look okay to me.”

She turned her back to him and nodded to her bound wrists.

“Sorry,” he said. He walked to the wall and looked up; he squatted down a little and leaped, grabbing the ledge and pulling himself smoothly up out of the pit and onto the barn floor. “By the way, your boyfriend had one of your dogs with him. A three-legged dog and a blind man—what’s the deal with you and cripples anyway? If you ask me, a woman like you could do better—but hey, it’s none of my business.”

He dusted himself off and looked down at her. “Look, if it means anything to you, this is nothing personal. You just stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, that’s all. You’ll stay here for another couple of hours. Things happened kind of fast tonight, and I need time to figure out what to do with you next. Might as well get some sleep—there sure isn’t much else to do.”

He stepped to the side and lifted one end of the threshing floor, swinging it over and down until only a small opening remained—then he stopped and stuck his head inside. “One more thing,” he said. “That piece of tape over your mouth is supposed to keep you quiet. If I ever hear you trying to make noise like that again, I’ll have to kill you—understand?”

She nodded.

He dropped the floor into place with a resounding thud.

Alena covered her face against the dust again. She heard the sound of dirt being scattered over the planks above her, and the pit grew darker as the penetrating shafts of light became thinner and fewer. She heard the sound of receding footsteps, then the groaning squeak of the door, and then silence.

Her legs gave way and she sank to the floor.