Page 37 of Colorado K-9 Rescue

P art of Mckenna still wanted to run. She could get help. Come back with law enforcement, but she’d have to drive a good distance away and if someone was in trouble, then she was leaving them. She made herself stop. Listen. Look around. There didn’t seem to be anyone else nearby.

The cry of help shattered the air again.

Mckenna remembered calling for help too.

Once she came out of the haze of the drugs and realized what a remote location she was being held in, she’d stopped yelling and started looking for a way out.

That memory hit her clearly. Mckenna couldn’t bring herself to leave someone, but the voice sounded like a male and that concerned her.

Although, this far away, she couldn’t hear for sure.

Gazing around, Mckenna realized she could use the aspens with the curvy trunks to help conceal her.

If she approached the mining camp cabin from that direction, then maybe she could see in a window and discover who was inside.

Telling herself that after this, she would never investigate things on her own, Mckenna forced herself to move and follow her plan.

The hillside was steep leading to the aspen trees.

Probably why an avalanche happened. It was incredible that the mining camp building itself hadn’t been destroyed by an avalanche years ago.

Of course, that could be why this part of the ghost town was hidden.

Plus, the smell of rotten eggs meant that gold had never been found, or if it had, it would have been in very little quantities.

That explained why not many people knew of the place.

The trees waved in a breeze that picked up, making rustling noises with their leaves. The edges were starting to turn a slight gold color. It wouldn’t be long before this grove of trees would be part of the fall beauty. Unfortunately, the trees were also witnesses to horrible crimes.

Mckenna leaned up against a trunk and listened again. The cries for help had died down. She hadn’t heard or sensed the presence of anyone else here other than the person inside the building.

Just take a quick peek in the window, see who’s there and then get the heck out of here. You can do this.

Mckenna took a deep breath and continued down the path that led to the old building.

The window Lily, Autumn and she had escaped out of was on the other side.

There were a couple of old windows at the front of the building.

Where had she been kept? The room she remembered was dark.

She didn’t remember windows, but maybe the kidnapper had boarded them up.

Stepping up to the old window, she glanced inside. What she saw made her catch her breath. The old glass made things distorted, sort of like looking through a bad kaleidoscope.

Mckenna went over to the other window to get a better view, but she still couldn’t see well. All she could make out was that there was a person in a chair and they were tied up.

She pulled her phone out and, to her amazement, it had one bar.

Enough to get a message out. Hitting Evan’s contact, she typed in a message and hit Send, hoping that she had enough reception to send a message to him.

Then she stepped inside, the door creaking as she took in a room that had been a part of her nightmares for years.

Her body shook, but now that she was inside, the shaking wasn’t just from fear—anger and rage also filled her.

How dare someone do this to her? To other girls?

To anyone at all? They’d taken away her innocence as well as Lily’s and the worst act of all was taking Autumn’s life.

She surveyed the room, turning around slowly, peering into the shadows when she heard a moan.

Walking through a narrow hall, she found a closed door.

Open it? If it was a trap, this would be the time she’d be the most vulnerable.

But the anger and determination to face her fear now pushed her forward.

Mckenna turned the knob and let the door swing back, the hinges creaking.

She remembered how Evan had her stand to the side at Penny Gardner’s house, so she did the same thing.

Waiting.

Nothing.

Her breathing was short and fast. Her heart pounded.

Fear was creeping in, ready to take over.

Slowly, she peered around the corner and saw the man tied to a chair.

Blood trailed down his face and his head lolled to the side.

The part of his face Mckenna could see revealed a black eye almost swollen shut.

Sensing Mckenna, the man turned his head the other way and stared at her with his better eye. “Mckenna? What are you doing here? Help me. We have to get out of here. He’ll be back any minute.”

“Rex?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Mckenna strode forward and, finding the ropes that tied Rex’s hands, began to undo them first. “Who did this?”

Rex screwed up his face. He was in serious pain. “Keith Warren.”

“Toby’s PO?”

“The one and only.”

“I don’t understand,” Mckenna said, stopping her work on the ropes. She barely knew Keith Warren, but would a probation officer do this? Or was Rex setting her up? Should she trust him?

“Keith moved away from this area when we were kids, but he’d come back to visit. He’s a sick and twisted person. Please, untie me and I’ll explain it all.”

“Okay,” Mckenna said, still uncertain. She needed to change tactics.

She didn’t know whom to believe anymore.

Why would Keith kidnap her? And Lily and Autumn?

He didn’t know anyone around here that well.

What made him come back and target this community?

Her fingers were shaking as Mckenna went back to undoing the ropes that tied Rex’s hands behind his back.

The knots were beginning to loosen when Mckenna realized Rex had a terrified expression. He was about ready to say something when a jolt of electricity shocked Mckenna. She fell back, her body thumping to the dusty floor.

“Hello, Mckenna. I missed you.”

Keith.

She struggled to get to her feet, but her body wasn’t responding. Keith hit her with another jolt from a stun gun and she dropped again. He wouldn’t get the best of her. Ever. Mckenna refused to give in as she worked to move again, but he nailed her with electricity once more.

“This is what I don’t like about stun guns,” Keith said. “They really don’t incapacitate people well enough.”

Mckenna didn’t answer. She had to stay calm. She’d escaped once and she could do it again. For now, she’d pretend like she couldn’t move. If nothing else, it was so he wouldn’t shock her again. Why hadn’t she left when she had the chance? What about Mocha?

What about Evan? She’d never told him how much she cared…or loved him. Would she get the chance? Who knew, but she’d fight hard to see him again. She had to be smart for now and play Keith’s game. But would he release her now that she knew his identity? More likely he’d never let her go.

Keith crouched down, putting his face close to hers. His breath reeked of cigarettes mixed with a stench of body odor, but Mckenna refused to turn away. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of intimidating her. He started tying her hands together.

“What’s wrong? Nothing to say? Where’s your FBI boyfriend now? You two had a great night last night. I enjoyed watching.”

Mckenna’s stomach churned. Had he really seen them? Was that why Mocha was barking? Evan probably didn’t want to tell her if he’d noticed anything in the yard. Why hadn’t he told her? Or maybe he didn’t see anything.

Keith continued. “I don’t know if I like that tattoo or not, though.” He pulled her shirt up a little, staring at her side. “Too bad you covered up your scars. I rather liked them.”

It was hard not to answer him. To tell him there was a special place in hell for people like him, but for now, Mckenna stayed quiet, biding her time. He was having so much fun goading her, she could tell he wasn’t making the knots as tight as he should.

“Well,” Keith said, standing, “that should hold you for now. I need a little time to get my plan in action. I’ll have to be careful, but if I do this right, Rex over there will take the blame.”

Mckenna wondered how he was going to do that.

As if reading her thoughts, Keith said, “He’s a bit beat up, but after we play our game of catch and release over and over, I think you might be a little beat up too.

I’m thinking through a scenario where you fought him, so he has defensive wounds all over him.

And you almost escaped. Almost. But then he caught you and killed you.

I’ll make sure your FBI lover finds Rex with the murder weapon.

Meanwhile, I have a job offer in Wyoming.

I hear it can be a remote place to live.

Not many people up there. Just the way I like it. ”

Keith walked out the door. “Don’t go anywhere. Not yet.”