Page 41 of Colorado K-9 Rescue

H ead pounding, Mckenna tried to sit up. Nausea hit her and she paused, her eyes having trouble opening. That bastard had hit her hard, but as far as she could tell, he wasn’t here now. Was he close by? Or had he left so that he could come back at night to finish his plan?

Luckily, he hadn’t noticed that her hands weren’t tied.

That she was just pretending by holding her arms behind her back.

There was a bottle of water sitting close to her with a straw to help her drink if her arms were still bound.

Mckenna was tempted. Her lips were dry and cracking from the heat.

Sweat dripped down her face as the old building had very little airflow.

She could feel that she was dehydrated, but she didn’t dare take a drink.

Who knew what Keith had laced the water with this time.

GHB again, or even something worse. Reaching for the bottle, Mckenna poured about half out. It wouldn’t hurt to make him think she’d drank some.

She managed to sit up all the way, cursing herself for her moment of stubbornness and deciding that she would be the one to find the cabin. As if Evan or anyone in law enforcement with a brain couldn’t have found it.

Stop being hard on yourself and think about how you’re going to get out of here. You escaped once, you can do it again.

Closing her eyes, she waited for the feeling of nausea to go away. What she wouldn’t give right now to have Evan wrap his arms around her. Tell her everything was okay. And then spend another night with him. And another and another.

She had to keep going. This time it wasn’t only for her or her family—it was for Evan too.

With her eyes closed, she’d listened for footsteps, the door creaking, something to let her know that Keith was around.

She hadn’t heard anything, so she took a chance and put her arms in front of her, massaging her forearms that were sore from her holding them behind her back, pretending to be tied.

A groan made her pause. Was Keith here? Was he back?

She stared around the room and spotted Rex.

Keith hadn’t taken him yet to enact his plan, so maybe she had time.

His face looked like a raw hamburger. While Mckenna had been knocked out, Keith had probably taken his frustration out on Rex.

She had to get out of here and get help, but the room was closed tight.

Lily had talked about a small opening they had managed to squeeze through and get to the window from where Mckenna had escaped long ago.

She remembered seeing Autumn’s shirt still hanging there.

It gave Mckenna strength to fight, get out of here and make sure Keith never harmed anyone again.

Mckenna worked her way around the room, dark from a lack of windows, but some bits of sun shining in through slats in the wood.

She had to find the spot Lily had told her about.

Mckenna’s fingertips were becoming raw from trying to find an opening.

Some wood slivers poked her, and one even went under a fingernail, but she didn’t care. She didn’t let the pain stop her.

Finally, after thinking that they were in another room in this mining camp building, she found a spot that was loose.

The board was hanging by one nail but had been propped back up.

Too easy? Another trap? Part of the crazy catch and release thing?

She gently pried it back. The hole would be tight, but Mckenna thought she could fit.

Lily and Autumn had been a little smaller than her.

She was about ready to slide through when a noise stopped her.

A wheezing sound came from Rex. Was he even conscious?

His chin was resting on his chest. Mckenna went over to him.

She gently untied his ropes. She was still uncertain if he was Keith’s partner, but there was no way he could harm her now.

He probably wouldn’t even be able to walk.

Even if she made it through the hole in the side and out the window and was able to open the door from the outside, she couldn’t help him out.

Mckenna knew she was strong, but not strong enough to help him up the hillside and back to her vehicle.

She would at least untie him to see if she could make him a little more comfortable and then see if she could get back to her vehicle.

I’ll release you again and catch you, over and over.

His words echoed in her mind. There was a good chance Keith was waiting.

He’d enjoy the chase, but this time she had an advantage—she wasn’t drugged.

Now she was even more certain that the water contained GHB and Keith was trying to make it easy to catch her again.

As she took one rope off, Rex stirred.

He couldn’t really control his head, but he managed to open one eye and stare at Mckenna. “Forget about me. Save yourself.”

If Mckenna hadn’t been so close to Rex, she might not have been able to hear him. “Don’t waste your energy. I’m going to get out of here. I’ll get help. I promise.”

“It’s…a…trap.” Rex wheezed harder.

“How do you know? Are you working with him?”

“No, I’m not working with him,” Rex answered. “He killed Toby and then tased me. I tried fighting back, but he got the upper hand while I was down from the shock.”

“Save your energy,” Mckenna said, but then she realized this could be her one chance to get some answers. “I do have one more question.”

“What?” he asked, this time a little more clearly.

“If you’re not working with Keith, then why have you been following me? It was you, wasn’t it?”

Rex nodded his head yes. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Mckenna could tell it was hard for him to talk, but she wanted answers. She needed answers. “You did scare me, why did you do it?”

“I always knew Toby was set up. My brother wouldn’t have done that to you.

He wouldn’t have hurt a fly, but I didn’t know who had taken you.

” Rex stopped, catching his breath, and then continued.

“We just wanted to clear Toby’s name. He might have been out on probation, but he’d lost his life too in a sense.

Those years in prison changed him. When he first went in, he thought someone would figure it out.

He asked his lawyer to get a PI and keep working on his case, but his lawyer dropped him and told him to serve his time.

He’d get out on good behavior. So that’s what he did. ”

“So why follow me?”

“Because the day Toby ran into you and spoke with you, we watched you leave. Toby started freaking out. He’d just seen Keith.

He knew if Keith had spotted him talking to you, he’d be in big trouble.

Maybe even have to go back to prison. I told him that Keith hadn’t seen him, but we watched you leave and then Keith started following you… ”

Rex stopped speaking, gasping for air. Mckenna figured he wouldn’t be able to continue talking, but then he took a deep breath and spoke up again.

“We started wondering if there was any way Keith had done this. I mean it was a leap, I suppose, but it was the first lead we’d had.

Then the next day those girls were taken, and I heard about the one dying.

I knew that Toby would be the number one suspect.

” Rex attempted to inhale and groaned in pain, but then continued.

“When the FBI agent showed up with Keith to question us, I knew I had to catch Keith following you. I had to do something because this time, with the death involved, Toby would go to prison much longer. Maybe even life. I didn’t think he’d survive.

I had to do something. I was desperate. Especially because Keith would be happy to lock Toby up again.

He’s that kind of person. Vindictive. That’s probably why he took those girls after Toby was released. He wanted payback.”

“For what?”

“He sometimes hung out with Penny Gardner. I think he had a major crush on her. The little prick even barged in once during a, uh, you know, a moment. Flew into a jealous rage. I’d always suspected him of setting up Toby but could never prove it.”

“What else do you remember about him? When he lived here?” Mckenna asked.

“He was a weird, loner type. I thought if I kept following you, I’d see him again.

Find a pattern of sorts and start gathering evidence against him.

I know, you don’t have to say it, dumb idea, but we were desperate.

We were tired of people harassing us and Toby wanted a life.

He wanted to move away, which would be difficult due to his probation.

I still couldn’t believe that the judge made Keith the PO for Toby.

Toby even told the judge there was a conflict of interest, but I guess the probation office is short-staffed, so it didn’t matter. ”

Rex took short, ragged breaths. Mckenna felt bad asking him to talk, but she needed to know the truth. The next time Keith returned, he’d probably kill them.

Mckenna could tell talking was taking a toll on Rex. She was able to undo the ropes around his hands and started working on the ones around his feet that tied him to the chair. “When did you know for sure that it was Keith?”

“First, I found old pictures from one of the parties at Penny’s house.

It was the night you went missing. I didn’t remember him being there.

I don’t think Penny knew he was there, but then again, I didn’t remember much from that night.

We were all drinking a good amount. But when I found the pictures with Keith in the background, I called him.

I told him what I had and that we needed to meet.

I wanted to hear his version of the story.

Toby and I had planned on secretly recording the conversation.

Keith wanted those pictures. I could tell.

I figured I would try to get him to confess to what he did and give him the photos.

I had better ones at home, but I didn’t tell him about those.

I was keeping those for evidence. But my plan backfired on us.

He met us down by a tree, out of sight of the parking lot.

That should have been our first clue that he wasn’t going to talk.

He shot Toby and before I could get away, he nailed me with the Taser. ”

“You didn’t go armed?” Mckenna asked.

“I did, but everything happened so fast I couldn’t pull my gun.”

“I’m so sorry, Rex. I’m sorry about Toby and everything. I know it’s been hard and I’m going to make it up to you by helping you escape.”

“Get out of here,” Rex said again, through harsh breaths.

“I’ll leave once I get these off. It gives you more of a chance if Keith comes back.”

Rex gave a laugh that created a little bit of a coughing fit. Mckenna thought he might have a punctured lung. “I don’t have a chance. Save yourself. It looks like you found an opening in the side of the wall or something. Go. It’s what Toby would want too.”

“I think Toby would want me to try to save you too,” Mckenna said, changing her mind about leaving Rex behind.

He had tried to stop Keith. He’d done what he could and Mckenna didn’t know how, but she’d get him to a safe place where he could hide until she could get help.

If she left him here, Keith would certainly kill him since he’d already killed Autumn and Toby.

She’d heard an agent say once that when someone killed, it became easier to do it again.

Mckenna believed that statement—especially with Keith.

She had to get Rex out of here. The final rope came undone, Mckenna’s fingers were raw and bleeding from both searching for the hole in the wall and undoing the rope.

She was about to go back to the loose board, slide it back and slip through, when she heard the front door creak, its hinges giving a warning.

“I told you. You should have left,” Rex said.

Mckenna knew he was right, but she’d made her decision.

And she was done with this. Done with the nightmare and feeling afraid.

If she was going to see Evan again, she had to be brave, face her fears and make Keith pay for everything.

Instead of slipping through the hole, Mckenna pulled and pried the piece of wood.

The rotten board popped off, a nail still stuck in it.

“Perfect,” Mckenna said.

“What are you doing?” Rex asked. “Get out of here.”

Mckenna ignored him, gripping the board behind her. Keith Warren was going to pay for everything he’d done.