Ashes, Ashes, They All Fall Dead (30 page)

Frustration welled up inside Matt as he followed orders and headed down the path, farther and farther from their car. There had to be some way to get that rifle. Hargrove was no match for him in a fight. All he needed was to get one solid punch in, but the older man was too far away.

“Turn right.”

Matt did as directed, but he kept his steps slow, stalling for time while he tried to think of some way out of this mess that didn’t involve getting Tessa or himself killed.

She tugged on the front of his shirt.

He glanced down in question.

“Casey’s on the phone,” she whispered.

He grinned. That was his girl, always thinking. He blinked, once, to let her know he understood.

The faint sound of sirens floated through the trees.
Yes.
Casey was sending help.

“Keep moving.”

The unconcerned tone in Hargrove’s voice sent a chill through Matt. Hargrove wasn’t worried about the sirens. Why not?

The path ended, spilling them out into the clearing where they’d seen Ginger. But there was no sign of her now. The mouth of the mine yawned dark and open in front of them. Matt stopped. There was no way he was going inside. He’d be signing their death warrants.

“Keep moving.”

Matt looked down at Tessa. “How badly are you hurt? Can you stand?” he whispered.

“I think the bullet just grazed me. Hurts like hell, but I don’t feel faint or anything.”

“I’m going to stand you up. When I rush the gunman, run.”

“No way. Don’t even think about it. He’ll kill you.”

The rifle boomed. Matt clutched Tessa against his chest. Dirt shot up in front of his feet.

“Next one goes right between her eyes. Now move. Get into the mine. Now!”

Matt sprinted into the mine with Tessa in his arms.

He expected the bite of a bullet in his back, but it didn’t come. When he reached a curve in the wall, he ducked around it and carefully set Tessa on her feet.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“I think so.”

Matt leaned around the curve in the wall. Hargrove hadn’t moved. He stood in the clearing and raised the end of his rifle, aiming at a spot above the entrance to the mine.

“What’s he doing?” Tessa whispered.

“No clue.”

The sirens were so loud now they had to have reached the part of the road where Matt had parked the car. So why wasn’t Hargrove running, hiding?

Because he’d planned this all along. He’d intended to lure Tessa up here, not realizing she didn’t have her memory and it would take so long to figure out where exactly
here
was. Hargrove had it all planned, down to the last detail. And how did Hargrove kill his victims? Not with bullets.

With fire.

Shit.
Matt would bet his life Hargrove had the entrance rigged to blow.

Matt scooped Tessa back into his arms and took off running down the tunnel.

Behind him, the rifle boomed. Seconds later a blast of heat exploded into the mine. A deep rumbling sound echoed through the tunnels and the walls began to shake. A deluge of rock and dust poured down, blocking out the light.

Unable to see, Matt slammed into the wall and fell backward.

Tessa screamed.

The mineshaft collapsed around them.

Chapter Fourteen

M
ATT COUGHED AND
spit out a mouthful of dust. Damn Hargrove. The explosion he’d set off had collapsed the entrance and sealed them inside the mine. Matt coughed several more times, until he could breathe without choking. He shoved some rocks off of him. Part of the ceiling must have come down, but the main part of the tunnel was intact. He knew that because otherwise they’d already be dead.

Oh, God. No. Tessa.

“Tessa? Where are you? Tessa?”

A weak cough sounded not far ahead of him. “Here.” She coughed again. “I’m okay.”

He scrambled across the rocks toward the sound of her voice. When his fingers touched her leg, he sent up a silent prayer of thanks. He pulled himself through the rubble until he could sit up. Then he lifted her and placed her on his lap.

“Matt, please, quit squeezing me so hard. I’m really okay.”

“Sorry.” He loosened his hold, but only a little. “Nothing’s broken? You’re sure?”

“I’m regretting not having a piece of strawberry pie right about now, but other than that, I’m wonderful.”

He laughed and hugged her again. “You’ve still got your sense of humor, so that’s saying something.”

He fumbled in the dark and pulled his computer tablet out of his pocket. He ran his hands across the screen and the light came on.

Tessa looked up at him with a huge grin. “I knew those brains of yours would come in handy one day.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, I think. But we can do better than the light from the screen.” He pressed some buttons on the side, activating the LED flashlight he’d once told her about, and turning off the screen to conserve power. He shone the light around them, confirming what he’d thought. The basic tunnel was still holding, but a good chunk of ceiling had rained down on them. If any of the larger rocks had hit either of them on the head . . . he shuddered and forced that thought away. They’d both been incredibly lucky.

He set the computer against the wall, then gently lifted Tessa off his lap and set her on the ground.

“How bad is your side?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I’m afraid to look.”

“Don’t,” he said. “You’re just getting in my way craning your neck like that. Lie down.”

She huffed impatiently and laid her head back against the ground.

Matt pulled the bottom of her shirt out of her pants and slid it up her flat belly until he reached the spot of blood he’d seen earlier. He let out a deep breath of relief. “It went through and through. It just passed through the fat on your side.”

She punched him in the arm. Hard. “I am not fat.”

He rubbed his arm and frowned at her. “I didn’t say you were fat. Everyone has fat.”

“You don’t,” she grumbled. “And I hate you for it.”

“As sweet as ever, so you aren’t seriously hurt. But we should still bind the wound to keep it as clean as possible.”

He pulled his shirt out of his pants and used a rock to punch a hole in the bottom. He tore a wide strip off and wrapped it around her waist. She winced as he pulled it tight.

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

She pushed him back and he helped her sit up.

“I don’t suppose that computer of yours can tell us how to get out of here?” she asked.

He pressed the screen again. “Nope. No service in here. Looks like I can’t Google ‘how to get out of an abandoned coal mine with a demented killer outside.’”

She laughed. “Only you could make a joke at a time like this.” She checked her phone. “Mine doesn’t have service either. But I imagine all we have to do is stay where we are. Those sirens were close. They have to have heard the shots, and the collapse. They’re probably outside right now, pulling the rocks away. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

T
WO HOURS LATER,
Tessa wasn’t feeling anywhere near as enthusiastic about being rescued as she had been earlier. They didn’t hear noises to indicate any digging was going on. And the amount of dust in the air was making it more and more difficult to breathe. She and Matt had both taken off their suit jackets in spite of the chill in the tunnel so they could hold them against their mouths like respirators. They’d used the sleeves to tie the jackets across their noses and mouths to filter the air.

Matt stood and stretched his legs for the dozenth time. Tessa would have liked to join him, but even though her paltry wound wasn’t that bad, it hurt like crazy every time she moved.

He tugged his jacket down from his mouth. “Now do you agree we need to move deeper into the tunnel? The air is only getting worse.”

She shook her head “no” and pulled her jacket down too. “No. If we do that, they may not find us. We could get lost. We need to stay where we are.”

“If they were digging us out, we’d have heard something by now.”

“I’m sure they’ve just called one of the local mining companies to send out an expert. They probably want to make sure they know how to move all that rock without compromising the integrity of the tunnel.”

“I don’t think so. They’ve had plenty of time to get an expert up here by now. The active mines aren’t that far away.”

“Then they’re looking for another old tunnel that leads into this mine. They’re going to find another entrance they can use to get us out.”

He coughed. “Maybe.” He didn’t sound convinced.

She coughed and waved at the dust in the air. “Okay, okay. You win. But we need to mark our path somehow so we can come back here if we need to. I don’t want to end up lost down in these tunnels. Unless you have another fancy app on that computer of yours that can keep track of where we are and create a map as we go.”

He raised his brow. “Sounds like a great app. Remind me to work on that once we get out of here.”

“I’m guessing that’s a no. Help me up. Please.” She held out her hand and he gently pulled her to her feet.

She drew in a sharp breath when the movement tugged on her side.

He steadied her and kept his hands on her shoulders until she was able to breathe normally again.

“I’m okay now. Sort of. You can let go.”

He didn’t seem to believe her. He let go of one of her shoulders but kept a hand on the other one until she took two steps away from him, forcing him to drop his hand.

“I’m going to see if I can find some smaller, broken rocks we can use like chalk to mark the tunnels. I’ll be right back.” He covered his mouth and nose again, then headed back toward what used to be the mouth of the tunnel, taking his computer/flashlight with him.

Tessa tried not to panic when the light faded around a curve in the tunnel and she could no longer see her hand in front of her face. She’d never been afraid of the dark, but the idea of being stuck underground, in the dark, by herself, was already starting to creep her out.

After what seemed like an eternity had passed, the distant light from Matt’s computer bounced down the tunnel toward her. She relaxed against the wall and wiped a shaking hand across her brow. She smiled up at him.

“It’s about time. I was beginning to think you’d found a way out and left me all alone.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m not leaving you all alone.”

She froze. The voice behind the light wasn’t Matt’s.

It was Hargrove’s.

M
ATT CONTORTED HIS
body, desperately trying to work his handcuffed arms over his rear so he could pull his legs through and get his hands in front of him. This was one of the few times when having long legs was a curse. A few more tries that practically pulled his arms out of their sockets and he finally managed it. Next task, pulling the Taser darts out of his chest. They’d gone right through his shirt.

He cursed as he pulled each dart free. Hargrove had fired the Taser before Matt could even react. Then he’d stood over Matt with the rifle, as if he wanted to make sure Matt saw him before he headed back down the tunnel to where Matt had left Tessa.

The damn maniac could have fired the rifle instead of the Taser. The fact that he hadn’t had Matt’s blood running cold. Hargrove hadn’t fired that rifle so he wouldn’t alert Tessa. He was playing with them, enjoying the chase. He’d planned this all along. That’s why he wasn’t worried about the sirens; he had an escape route.

Matt scrambled to his feet, wincing and pressing his chest where the darts had been. He was careful to keep facing the same direction in which he’d fallen, because he knew Hargrove had gone down a tunnel off to his right, based on how the light had bounced against the walls. Now, in the pitch black, Matt couldn’t risk getting turned around or he’d get hopelessly lost and wouldn’t be able to help Tessa.

He ran his left hand along the wall to guide him and crept forward, while sending up a silent prayer that he would find Tessa before Hargrove did.

A
SOB ESCAPED
Tessa’s clenched lips in spite of her best efforts to hold it back. Hargrove was playing some kind of sick game. He’d told her to run, and laughed when she took off in an unsteady gait, clutching her side.

Her lungs were burning from sucking in the dank air. And she’d run down a tunnel that was a dead end. In front of her was a mountain of rock that sealed off any hope of getting through. She knew the rock wall was there because she’d run right into it. She had a goose egg-sized bump on her forehead to prove it.

She turned around. There was no help for it. She had to go back and hope there was another tunnel she could escape through that she hadn’t found on her way down this one. She’d been running her hand on the left wall of the tunnel. Now, as she headed back, she felt down the other side, praying an opening would appear so she could get away from Hargrove or Hoffman or whatever the hell he was calling himself.

She certainly wasn’t going to think of him as her father.

A few minutes later she almost fell as her hand met empty space. Another tunnel. And just in time, because the light from Matt’s stolen computer was bouncing around a corner. Hargrove was close, too close. What had he done to Matt to get that computer from him?

Oh, Matt, please be alive. Please be alive.

In another few seconds the light would reach her. She hurried down the narrow side tunnel, using her hands on both sides this time to feel her way along the wall.

T
HE RUSH OF
cool, clean air across Matt’s arms told him about the ventilation shaft before he saw the patch of lighter gray up ahead. He tugged the coat down from his face and gratefully sucked his first deep breath since the mouth of the tunnel had collapsed. He hurried forward, finally able to make out the sides of the tunnel as he got closer to the light source.

When he reached the part of the tunnel directly underneath the ventilation shaft, he paused to look up the shaft to see if there was anyone above. A tiny sliver of blue sky ruthlessly teased him with the promise of a freedom that wasn’t within his grasp. He was tempted to call out, in case anyone was outside searching for them, but without knowing where Tessa and Hargrove were, he couldn’t risk making any noise. If she was somewhere nearby, hiding, and he called out, he’d bring the killer right to her.