Aftershock (22 page)

He might be playing possum.

She retreated, deciding to look for a stick to poke him with
first. As she stepped backward, an ominous click sounded. She went still, her
heart racing. The thick smell of decay assaulted her senses.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Jeb.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

J
EB
MUST
HAVE
TAKEN
A
CUE
from Garrett and
hidden in the dead pile.

Bits of rotten flesh clung to his hair and clothes. Dark smears
marred his weathered face. There were maggots...ugh. Maggots squirming in the
grime, dropping off his shoulders. The stench was atrocious.

Lauren turned to run, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Mickey rose from the prone position, blocking her escape route
by throwing his big arms around her waist. She struggled to break free, kicking
wildly, but he held tight. Jeb limped forward like a zombie, dragging one leg
behind him.

Grinning, he pointed his gun at her head.

Lauren stopped fighting. Mickey panted against her ear, making
her gag with his fetid breath. Although his stomach was soft and doughy against
her back, the arm locked around her waist felt very strong. His grip was
impenetrable.

Jeb loped closer, raining maggots on his gore-stained boots.
She tried not to inhale as he aligned his face with hers.

When he brought the barrel to her temple, she cringed in
terror. Pulse pounding, she held her breath and waited for him to shoot her.

Was this the end?

Lauren didn’t want to go like this. She had unfinished business
with Garrett. There were issues to resolve. Her father had died without any last
words, without tearful goodbyes or heartfelt explanations. So much had been left
unsaid. It wasn’t fair! She refused to let Jeb take her life before she’d
decided her future.

Jeb’s dark eyes glittered with malice as he pressed the metal
into her skull. “Boom,” he whispered.

Mickey laughed like a loon, his chest rising against her back,
chains scraping across the trunk of the car. Unable to go without oxygen any
longer, she inhaled sharply, choking on the thick odor of decomposition.

Garrett appeared on the other side of the car. He moved warily,
with his hands raised to show he was unarmed. He spared one glance for Lauren.
Their eyes connected for a split second, communicating a wealth of emotion.

She understood then that he’d die for her.

Smothering a sob, she cursed herself for doubting him. Garrett
hadn’t lost his temper and strangled Mickey. If she’d trusted him and talked
things out, instead of avoiding her feelings, she wouldn’t be in this
predicament.

“What do you want?” Garrett asked Jeb.

“The key,” he replied.

Garrett had been carrying the key to Mickey’s padlock in his
front pocket. She didn’t know if he still had it on him. She also wasn’t sure
why Jeb would bother to free Mickey. Maybe he needed his help to climb the
escape ladder.

“Let her go and I’ll give it to you,” Garrett said.

“Are we negotiating?” Jeb asked Mickey. “I wasn’t aware we were
negotiating.”

“We ain’t negotiating, fuckface,” Mickey clarified. “Just give
us the key.”

Lauren’s chest tightened with panic. “Don’t do it,” she said,
her eyes wide. “He’ll kill you as soon as you do.”

Garrett kept his focus on Jeb. “I’ll give you the key when you
let her go.”

“Fuck you,” Jeb said, digging the barrel against her temple.
“Hand me the fucking key, and move real slow, or I’ll waste her right now. Then,
after I wipe her brains off my trigger finger, I’ll shoot you.”

His jaw clenched at the threat. Garrett didn’t like it, but he
complied. Taking the key from his pocket, he placed it on the top of the
car.

Jeb fisted a hand in her hair, keeping the gun at her head.
“Get it,” he said to Mickey.

Mickey removed his arm from Lauren’s waist and fumbled for the
key. Garrett couldn’t do anything to stop them. He stared at Jeb, and Jeb stared
back at him as Mickey picked up the key and unlocked himself.

When Mickey was free, he sighed with relief, rubbing his chafed
neck.

Jeb didn’t ease his grip on Lauren’s hair. “We’re going up the
ladder,” he told Garrett. “You stay back and don’t interfere. She’s climbing out
first, then me, and then Mickey. If you cooperate, I won’t kill her.”

“No,” she pleaded, her mind racing. She couldn’t let Jeb and
Mickey take her to another location. Once they were outside, she’d be useless to
them. She didn’t fool herself into believing this would end well.

They’d rape her and leave her for dead.

“Oh yes,” Jeb said, smiling at Garrett. He moved the barrel
from her temple to her cheek, brushing it over her trembling lips. “You climb
with us, and keep that pretty mouth shut, or I’ll shoot everyone down here
before we go.”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as he pushed her
forward, releasing her hair. Mickey grasped her upper arm and directed her
toward the rope ladder. Jeb limped along behind them, his gun raised.

Garrett moved around the car as they passed, shielding his body
with the vehicle. He didn’t trust Jeb not to take a shot at him.

Lauren wanted to scream for Garrett to help her. She wanted to
scream at him to duck down before Jeb opened fire. She didn’t know what to do.
If she put up a fight, Garrett would try to save her, and they’d both die.

Her progress was impeded by her muddled thoughts. The fact that
she was looking back at Garrett instead of watching where she was going didn’t
help. She stumbled and fell to her knees, crying out.

Mickey jerked her upright, shoving her the last few feet.

“Climb,” Jeb said when they got to the rope ladder.

Garrett didn’t attempt to follow. He stayed behind the car and
watched from a safe distance.

Lauren hesitated, moistening her lips. She was afraid of
heights, but she didn’t want to show any fear. When they reached the top, Jeb
might use it against her. She could imagine him throwing her over the side of
the structure.

“Go,” Jeb shouted over his shoulder. Mickey held the ladder
while Jeb kept his weapon ready, searching the shadows.

She grasped the rope with both hands and put her foot in the
first rung. It wasn’t easy to navigate because the ladder wouldn’t stay still.
Mickey did his best to steady the swaying motion as she ascended the first two
steps.

Lauren went as slowly as possible, buying time.

“Move your sweet ass!” Jeb prodded her buttocks with his
gun.

For the next few minutes, she focused on ascending the ladder,
step by step. Owen had worn a harness when he’d made the climb; Lauren didn’t
have that luxury. If she fell, that was it. She’d prefer cracking her head open
to whatever horrors Jeb had in store, but she had no choice. She couldn’t risk
the lives of anyone else.

So she cooperated, making steady progress.

When she reached the top, she held on tight and didn’t look
down. Her head was spinning from vertigo.

Swallowing hard, she studied the narrow crevice above her. How
could she get through? Letting go of the ladder was unfathomable. Her arms were
already shaking from exertion, the muscles straining in protest. She’d have to
use what was left of her upper-body strength to pull herself up and out.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried to channel
Dune.
She must not fear. Fear was the
mind-killer. She’d let it pass over her and through her.

Before she could chicken out, she ascended another step, her
pulse skyrocketing. Letting go of the rope with one hand, she gripped the edge
of the crevice, pressing her cheek against the concrete.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

With a strangled sound of terror, she let go with the other
hand and straightened her legs, surging forward. When she stuck her head through
the crack, sunlight singed her eyes, disorienting her.

Panting, she rested her stomach on the crevice, half in, half
out.

Another problem arose. What was going to keep her from falling
down
outside?
The collapsed walls were steep,
inviting a plunge to the death.

“Move, bitch!”

Jeb started shaking the end of the ladder, trying to hurry her
along.

Lauren felt the top rungs slap against her thighs, almost
dislodging her from her perch. She reached for the rope Owen had used to descend
the outside of the structure. When she had a tight grip on it, she forced the
rest of her body through the space.

Gasping for breath, she rolled onto her belly and peered down
into the crevice.

“Stay right there,” Jeb warned. “If you run, I’ll kill
everybody down here.”

While she watched, Jeb and Mickey argued over the ladder. Then
they argued over the gun. Jeb won on both counts. Shoving the barrel in his
waistband, he told Mickey to hold the fucking ladder and shut the fuck up.

She could only stare, heart in her throat, as he began to
climb.

* * *

P
ENNY
HEARD
L
AUREN
scream from inside the RV.

Motioning for Cadence to stay with Cruz, she opened the door.
Garrett was there, his eyes dark with fear.

“Get on the radio,” he said quietly. “Go now, before they see
you!”

Penny slipped outside and hurried toward the semi, her blood
pumping with adrenaline. She climbed into the front seat and picked up the CB.
In her other calls for assistance, she hadn’t mentioned her father. She’d been
prepared to use his name if someone answered, but stopped short of saying it on
the open airwaves.

At this point, her secret pregnancy didn’t matter. His public
image didn’t matter. They needed help and she’d try to get it, using whatever
means necessary.

“This is Penny Sandoval, daughter of Jorge Sandoval,” she said
into the receiver. “The mayor of Los Angeles,” she added, moistening her lips.
“I’m trapped with a group of people in a freeway collapse at the 8 and 163
interchange. Please respond. We desperately need help.” She wasn’t sure what was
happening outside, because she couldn’t see Lauren and Garrett, but she figured
it was serious. “We need an ambulance and...police officers. There are escaped
convicts down here with us. They have a gun.”

She ended the broadcast, fighting tears of anxiety. Her
father’s money and influence could gain them a quicker rescue. She should have
used his name from the start. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be looking
for her. He was probably worried sick, as Lauren had said. Penny had been so
focused on the baby, and the outrage she felt over being sent away, that she
hadn’t considered his side.

Her parents were wrong, but they loved her. And she missed
them.

Sniffling, she continued to search for a live voice on multiple
channels. Mickey and Lauren passed by with Jeb on their heels, pointing the gun
behind him. Penny gasped and ducked down, afraid he’d see her inside the semi.
When he didn’t shoot, she peeked over the dashboard, watching in horror as they
forced Lauren to climb the ladder.

Oh God.

Staying low, she pressed the button on the receiver again. “The
prisoners have taken a woman hostage. They already shot and almost killed a man.
Please send help. Please contact my father, Jorge Sandoval.”

Penny repeated the message on multiple channels, her voice
breaking. She felt helpless. She was terrified for Lauren. If she didn’t fall
and break her neck, Jeb and Mickey were going to kill her.

Or worse.

When Lauren reached the top and climbed through the crevice
safely, Penny made the sign of the cross, exhaling in relief. Jeb tucked the gun
in his pants and followed her up the rope. His injured leg slowed his progress,
but he looked determined.

Garrett opened the driver’s-side door, startling her. “Get
out.”

“What are you—”

He picked her up as though she weighed nothing and dumped her
on the ground next to the semi. “Go back to the RV,” he ordered, taking her
place in the driver’s seat. “Lock the door and stay down.” With that, he slammed
the door shut and started the engine.

Jeb turned his head toward the sound.

“Madre de Dios.”
Penny ran toward
the RV, pressing her hand to her soft, tender abdomen and praying that bullets
wouldn’t start flying until she was safe. When she got inside, she locked the
door behind her.

“What’s happening?” Cadence asked, sobbing.

Cruz was also bawling, which added to the stress and chaos.
Penny searched the interior of the motor home for some means of protection. “Get
down on the floor with the baby,” she said, rushing toward them.

The girl scrambled off the bed, Cruz in her arms. Moving
quickly, Penny pulled the mattress away from the corner and brought it over
their heads. Then she joined them under the flimsy shield, taking the baby from
Cady.

They cowered in the dark space, huddled together.

Cruz was still fussing, so Penny rocked him gently, murmuring
the Hail Mary in Spanish. Seconds later, gunshots rocketed through the
cavern.

* * *

G
ARRETT
COULDN
’
T
FUCKING
believe it.

Just moments after he walked away from Mickey—without stabbing
the motherfucker in his black heart—Lauren went over to visit him. He had no
idea why she’d headed in that direction, let alone why she’d edged close enough
to be captured.

What really stuck in his craw, though, was the fact that Jeb
had eluded him once again. And it was Garrett’s own damned fault! He hadn’t
bothered to check under the tarp when he’d swept the cavern. Who would be crazy
enough to hide under there, besides him? He hadn’t wanted to look at the
decomposing bodies, or relive those awful moments, which were as bad as his
worst experiences in Iraq.

When would he learn to deal with trauma, instead of avoiding
it?

He’d thought he was doing the right thing by leaving Mickey
unharmed. Garrett should have killed him in cold blood.