The cage rolled over, but his ruined body was stuck to it and went along for the short ride.

Charlene had injured something in the impact, maybe even broken a bone, but she'd worry about that later. She leapt off the cage, toward the corner where Ken had kicked the revolver.

Vivian's sense of self-preservation clearly outweighed her need to be with her dead family. She hurried out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. There was a beep on the other side.

Charlene picked up the gun and staggered back to the cage. She hadn't even thought about whether she'd be able to walk on her injured leg—she'd just done it. It was a little difficult to breathe, but not painful, so she suspected that she had bruised ribs rather than broken ones.

Her first task was to see if Ken was still a threat.

He was not. His body was no longer stuck to the cage, and he wasn't dead yet, but at least three different bones were visible and he was choking on his own blood. She wasn't going to waste a bullet putting him out of his misery.

She turned her attention to Gertie, who lay unmoving in the cage.

Blood had soaked through Gertie's pants on her upper thighs. If the cage had fallen straight down it would have shattered Gertie's legs, but despite the blood her injuries didn't seem horrific. No limbs appeared to be twisted. And as she watched carefully, she could see that Gertie was breathing. Though Charlene wasn't prepared to give her a clean bill of health quite yet, she was pretty sure that Gertie had just been knocked unconscious in the fall.

She went over to the door and tested the knob. Locked. There was a keypad next to the door, so she went back to Ken and crouched next to him.

"What's the code?" she asked.

He opened his mouth—barely—but no sound came out.

"Tell me the code or I'll break your fingers."

Though his mouth moved, she was pretty sure that even if she'd been able to hear what he was saying, it would not have been the combination.

Then his mouth stopped moving and his whole body went still.

Okay. They were locked in the basement. But Charlene had a gun. As soon as Vivian opened the door to check on them, she'd shoot her. No problem.

This assumed that Vivian did check on them.

If the basement was soundproofed, and her husband and son were dead, she might have no motive to check on them. At least not anytime soon.

Charlene suddenly became very much aware of how much blood had spilled from her neck onto her clothes.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Charlene began to feel dizzy. With the immediate danger over and the adrenaline no longer rocketing through her veins, the severity of her injuries was becoming clear.