There might be other guards down there, out of Lou’s line of sight, but no matter. The flames of his determination were fanned by what he saw just in front of the man below him. Cap and George, neither of them moving, were dangling from a ceiling support on thick chains, their feet barely touching the floor. Even in the dim light, it was easy to see that they had been viciously beaten. Their heads hung down lifelessly.

At that moment, the gunman, tall and blond, with a square-set jaw, glanced up. He moved directly beneath the opening of the hatch, blinking to clear his vision.

Lou clenched his teeth.

He said a silent prayer for God to watch over Emily.

Then he jumped.

Chapter 51

CHAPTER 51

Falling prey to his own disbelief, the guard was late in reacting to the movement above him. Silently, arms flailing, Lou plunged fifteen feet chest first, like a sky-jumper in free fall. Below him, he could see the confusion and hesitation in the young man’s face. Just before they collided, he thought he recognized him from Chester’s cornfield.

“What the—?”

The guard’s words were cut short when Lou, head turned to one side, hit him like a cannonball. Lou’s knees slammed into his midchest. An older man might have had his sternum or collarbones snap, but the blond was solid and fit. He went crashing over backwards with Lou on top. His hefty pistol clattered away.

Lou’s breath exploded out of him, and his right elbow hit with numbing force. His body momentarily went limp from the pain, and he rolled to his side. He was relieved to see there were no other guards. From where he lay, it seemed as if his sudden appearance hadn’t registered with either Cap or George. In fact, he wasn’t even certain George was breathing.

“Cap, can you hear me?” he said in a harsh whisper. “It’s Lou.”

A moan and movement of the fighter’s head were the response.

The men were suspended from a beam by a single heavy chain, secured by a padlock.

To Lou’s right, the stunned guard was groaning and struggling to roll over. He kept pressing against his ears with his huge hands, perhaps trying to muffle the continued explosions in his head. With any luck, the man was out of commission.

Lou crawled to his friends and cringed. Cap’s eyes were nearly lost within mounds of swollen bruises. There were cuts on his cheeks and arms, and his lips were split and caked with dried blood. Chester’s thugs had accomplished what no opponent in the ring had ever been able to do.

“What took you so long?” Cap rasped, his words thick and barely discernible.

“I’m going to get you guys out of here,” Lou said. “Just hang in there.”

“Very funny,” Cap managed.