Couch Potato Man just shrugged, still shivering.

Natty and I spent a few minutes securing the men into chairs. The duct tape came in handy, and I couldn’t resist using a small square on each man’s mouth. They looked like cartoon characters with so much tape and the cords holding them in place. The man who’d come in with the woman was silently furious. I knew he was a guy to watch out for. Hopefully this would go the way I planned. Otherwise he would be an issue later. Men like that never forget and never forgive. Not only had I screwed up his little operation, I had embarrassed him in front of his comrades. He watched me and calculated what he could do to me later.

The woman was unconscious on the couch, and there was no way she was faking it, so we left the shack and hustled up the trail that Couch Potato Man had told me about.

The walk gave me a few minutes to think. Couch Potato Man had said to follow the trail, but he wasn’t clear about exactly what we’d find. That was never a good plan to follow in a situation like this, but I had no choice. I hated the idea of losing Bailey Mae more than anything.

After almost four hundred yards and a steeper than expected incline, I started to understand more of what Couch Potato Man was talking about. I almost ran right past it, hidden in the side of the hill. Instead, I skidded to a stop on the icy path and stared as Natty moved in beside me.

He mumbled, “What the . . . ?”

“Exactly,” was all I could say as I stood mesmerized.

An entrance to a subterranean complex sat before us. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I stepped forward and touched the black steel frame around the matching door. It was built solidly into the side of the hill. A bunker, just like Couch Potato Man had told me about. Freezing temperatures are helpful like that.

I paused, considering what could lie beyond the door. More important, I wondered who could be waiting beyond the door. That was a question I should have asked the freezing Couch Potato Man, but I was learning as I went. I had to admit my mistakes.

The door was ajar just a crack. This was where the armed couple had come from. I shoved it open and stood back with the gun in my hand. There was a strong odor of unwashed flesh coming from the dimly lit corridor carved directly from the rock.

Natty said, “I guess he was telling the truth.” He reached up and ran his finger across the rough walls.