Page 94 of Fatal Thrill

“Aww.” Dalton startled her then clucked a couple times as if she were a stupid child. “I see Jon’s been filling your head withbullshit.”

Her stomach dropped and she forced herself not to touch her abdomen.Show nofear.

Rising with caution, she faced him, his body nothing but a dark shadow. “You have the cross, let usgo.”

He laughed, the sound echoing off the ceiling. “The cross is a nice bonus, but what I really want is to see Jon’s face when I fillet the meat from yourbones.”

Talk about bullshit. She would never let that happen. “I told you, Jon isn’t here. It’s just me and a couple girlfriends who are trying to help me get Finnback.”

He raised a hand and pointed at her. “That’s cute, you trying to protecthim.”

“All I want is to walk out of here with mybrother.”

A light flicked on. Dalton held a flashlight in hishand.

At least it wasn’t thebat.

“Neither you nor your brother are going anywhere.” He pointed the beam toward the spot near where Jaya had been lying. “Except beside the rest ofthem.”

As the light illuminated two towering stalagmites next to the far wall, Jaya sucked in a sharpbreath.

Bones.

Dozens ofthem.

Finn gagged and Jaya stumbled back a foot, her heel catching on a broken piece ofrock.

She caught herself on the cave wall, swallowed, and forced herself to walk back in front of Finn to shield him. “Jon said the FBI found your little graveyard.” She could barely get the words out.Please let them be animal bones. “You’ve been living in Good Hope, not here,so…?”

“That was years ago when they took away my toys.” An evil gleam burned in his eyes as the flashlight arced back to her. “And every month last year, I made a little trip back to my old hunting grounds. I just couldn’t stayaway.”

Oh god. She was going to puke.Keep him talking. Find a weapon. “What is wrong with you? Kids? That’ssick.”

One shoulder shrugged. “Easy pickins. These more recent acquisitions were runaways, just walking beside the highway or at one of the rest stops, desperate for some stranger to pick them up and take them on down the road to a happierlife.”

He made it sound like he’d done a communityservice.

I hate you with every cell in my body. She took another small step, placing her foot next to a stalactite that had broken off from the ceiling. “My friends will have called the cops and they’ll know all about your…” She waved a hand, unable to say the words. “You better run while youcan.”

His head tweaked half an inch to the right as if he heard something. He listened, and she did too, straining to hear anything over the sound of rushingwater.

Dalton looked back at her and smiled. Only then did she remember the missing tooth he had on the bottom row, giving him the look of a jack-o’-lantern in the dim light. “He’shere!”

Jon?Hope screamed through her system, dulling all her aches andpains.

Distract him!“No one is here but us.” She licked her chapped lips. “Tell me about the kids. Why did you start killingagain?”

His smile faded, his eyes zeroing in on her face. “Startagain?I neverstopped.”

Another wave of disgusted horror hit her. “How did you frame Jon’sdad?”

“He didn’t tellyou?”

She shook her head, wondering how fast she could drop down, grab the weapon beside her foot, and hit him before he could reachher.

Doubtful she could get in a hit before he jumped her, kicked her, or whatever he might do, but she had a baby to save and her brother as well. She couldn’t rely on hoping Jon had foundher.

Search and rescue…this is what Ido.