She took a shaky breath. One thing she knew. The only way to help Billy was to help herself. That meant she had to escape.

She reached the barrier at the entrance, made from scraps of wood, and peered through the narrow cracks. It was dark outside, faint rays coming from distant overhead lighting that illuminated an open area surrounded by chain-link fencing. She grabbed one of the wooden boards and frantically started tugging, trying to rip it off.

She just needed a hole big enough to squeeze through, but the boards were nailed together from the outside, and the task was daunting. She could do it, she was sure, but it was going to take time, and she had a bad feeling she didn’t have much of that left.

The sound of a vehicle engine grinding up the mountain came from somewhere outside. Tires rolled over the muddy ground and came to a stop out in front. The engine paused, then went silent. Her heart beat faster as the car door opened and a man got out. She prayed it was one of the workmen, someone who would help her if she cried out. But it was Saturday, and she hadn’t heard any heavy equipment moving around.

She took a last look through the tiny crack. Egan.

Her heart jerked. She glanced wildly around, searching for something to use as a weapon. Perhaps there was something in the makeshift room with the mattress, but this part of the tunnel was empty.

Adrenalin pumped through her as footsteps began to move toward the entrance to the mine. Ellie retreated into the darkness, her pulse hammering in her ears. The sound of rusty hinges was unmistakable. Egan had fashioned a door out of the scrap wood, disguising it as part of the barricade. As the door swung open, a spot of faint, yellow light flooded into the tunnel.

Ellie retreated farther into the darkness. She could see Egan’s silhouette, see he was holding the handle of an old-fashioned kerosene lantern, lighting the way ahead of him.

Ellie braced herself against the wall and began moving sideways through the darkness, praying she would find something she could use against him. Instead, she found a pile of rocks that partially blocked the way. Beyond it was an opening that led deeper into the mine.

The memory of being half-buried in the old dirt fort sent a crushing wave of terror into her chest. No way could she could go deeper into the blackness that left her paralyzed and barely able to function.

Ellie picked up a rock and gripped it in her hand, but as the light from the kerosene lantern grew closer, her feet refused to move backward.