Lillian Duncan - Until Death Do Us Part (11 page)

CHAPTER 29

Billy’s eyes popped open.
Theresa. Please God keep her safe. You know I can’t live without her.
He knew nothing more than when this had started—and no closer to finding his beloved wife.

He sat up on the edge of the sofa and flexed his arm.

Still sore but the pain was less than yesterday. They’d left the bandage off for the night. He inspected it. The wound looked good. Clean, no more seepage and no signs of infection.

“Monroe, where are you?”

No answer.

Billy charged
through the house as if he were the proverbial bull in the china store. His anxiety grew with each step. Where was Monroe? He’d slept much longer than he’d wanted to. It was almost noon.

Had to be the
pain pills.

He walked to the refrigerator and
pulled out a package of cheese along with two bottles of water. Quick and good for him. The protein would keep up his energy. He slit the package open with a knife and walked over to the dining room table.

The kidnapper’s phone rang. He rushed over and flipped it open. “What?”

“Good morning to you. How’s the arm feeling today?”

Billy gritted his teeth. “Fine.”

“Did you take care of that little favor I needed done?”

“I did. Now, where’s my wife?”

“I’m going to have to verify that you took care of my problem.”

His gaze fell to a picture on the floor.
He leaned down, picked it up and dropped it back on the table with the other photos.

“I told you I did it and I did.
My word is my bond.”

The man had the nerve to laugh.
“Good, then there won’t be a problem. Your wife
should
be back home safe and sound by nightfall.” A pause. “But I’m not sure if the same can be said for your friend. It might be a good idea to retrace your steps from yesterday. You really should find him—quickly.”

“What—”
Billy looked at the phone. The call had been disconnected.

How had they managed to take Dylan without him hearing a thing?
He couldn’t have been sleeping that soundly—even with the drugs. He walked to the kitchen door and looked in the garage. His SUV was gone. Dylan had gone somewhere.

But where?

He walked back into the kitchen and downed the first bottle of water, then broke off another piece of the cheese and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he picked the photo back up.

He stared at it.

The cheese stuck in his throat. He coughed and forced it down. Picked up the second bottle of water and drained it. His heart raced as he stared at the picture. How could he have missed it the night before?

Apparently, Dylan hadn’t missed
it.

****

Sweat dripped down Dylan’s face.

He’d lost all sense of time. He might have been stuck in the tub for twenty minutes or twenty hours for all
he knew. The snakes glided on him and around him as if were a tree stump rather than a living breathing person.

But no bites—so far.

He planted his feet firmly on the bottom of the tub and pushed upward with all due deliberate speed. Inch by agonizing inch. He held his breath as if that might stop the snakes from deciding to attack him.

With his hands tied behind him, it made it very awkward. He needed to get a firm grasp of the top of the tub so it would anchor him. But he hadn’t reach
ed that point yet.

His arms and shoulders ached from the odd position. His legs were cramping but he didn’t dare try to relieve the pain.

Several inches later he lifted a foot to try and get a better position. As he set it back down, he felt the snake underneath the foot, heard the warning rattle, and then felt the pain.

He bit his lip and moaned,
but kept his foot steady. No quick moves. No matter what. He twisted the foot and placed it down in a different spot. Very slowly and very carefully. After assuring himself there was no snake under his foot he let it come to rest. He felt the snake slither across his foot.

He waited for another bite but it didn’t come.

But one bite was more than enough depending on how much venom the snake had squirted while he bit him. His ankle throbbed. Was that a burning sensation or just the pain from the bite?

Didn’t matter.

He had to get out of here. If the snake had injected him with venom, he only had a short window of time to get medical help. He shifted his weight and himself upwards several more inches.

Warning rattles.

They didn’t like his quick movements.

He scraped his hands on the surface of the tub and moved them upwards, hoping there were no snakes
behind him, but he still couldn’t find the top of the tub. He slid his feet backwards and pushed upwards, yet again.

He let out his breath. Finally, his fingers curled around
the edge of the top.

Sweat dripped down his neck.
He took a moment to catch his breath and braced himself for the next move. Another snake darted across his foot but then it stopped.

Dylan waited for it to move on
, but it didn’t.

It became a battle of the wills.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them willing to give up their position.

The snake bite pulsed wi
th pain. Dylan imagined the venom moving its toxicity through his body. Damaging body tissue and organs along the way.

When it became apparent the snake wasn’t moving anytime soon, Dylan decided he’d
need to take a chance. He debated with himself which would be the best way. One quick move or a slow gradual move? Both methods had advantages and drawbacks.

After a quic
k prayer, Dylan readied himself. A quick move it would be. It had more of a chance of startling the snake, but less time to allow him to strike again.

He clenched his tied-up hands around the edge of the tub.
His leg muscles tensed. The snake rattled a warning which he ignored. Using his hands and arms to stabilize himself as best he could, he lifted up his feet hoping to dislodge the snake.

Another rattle and then a sharp pain near his ankle.

Instant burning.

Ignoring it, he kicked outward and then swung his legs upwards and over the edge of the tub.
More angry rattles, but he was out of the tub. He stumbled forward. Both snake bites throbbed, but the new bite was intense with burning. That bite had to have been full of venom.

No time to mess around.

His only hope to surviving was that whoever had knocked him out was long gone. Otherwise, he’d never see Reggie again. His feet were still tied, but he was able to take tiny baby steps. From memory he moved out of the room that had been his prison and into the larger room.

The hissing and rattling stayed in the room.

No movement, no breathing, nobody.

Using his feet the way a blind man used a cane, he felt his way through the basement
. It seemed to take forever and with each passing minute the burning in his leg moved higher. Finally, his found the bottom step.

Deciding the quickest and safest way to get up the steps when his hands and feet were both tied was to sit down and move up step by step. He sat down on the steps.

Footsteps above him stopped him from moving upwards.

They were back.

CHAP
TER 30

Your will not mine.

Dylan prayed the simple words and waited. There was no way he could get anywhere and hide, considering he was still blindfolded and tied-up. It had taken every ounce of his energy to make it to the steps.

God would take care of him, He always did.

More footsteps over head. Heavy footsteps moving slowly and carefully. Whoever it was must be a big man or woman. His heart filled with hope. The door creaked open.

“Hey, Monroe. What are you doing sitting down on the job?”

Dylan smiled. “I’m a little tied up at the moment. About time you show up.” His body sagged against the steps. “Need a little help here, brother.”

“You got it.” 

The stairs shook with the weight of Billy Clyde as he walked down. He pulled off Dylan’s blindfold and then started untying his hands. Dylan blinked several times willing his eyes to focus. “I think Theresa was here. Found something that looked like a hair thingie that was probably hers. It’s in the other room in the bathtub.” His hands were free and Dylan set about untying his feet.

Billy Clyde rushed past him.

“Be careful. There’s rattlesnakes in the tub. Maybe outside the tub, too.”

Billy Clyde stopped and looked back at him. “Are you okay?”

“Fine except for a couple of snake bites.”

Billy Clyde shook his head. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

Dylan had no intention of moving. His leg burned and he was exhausted, physically and emotionally.
Thank you.

Two minutes later, Billy Clyde walked back toward him, stuffing the hair ribbon in his pocket. “
Ok, I’ll carry you up the steps. Already called, a chopper should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

“I can—”

“No, you can’t. The less you move around the less the venom moves through your body. I’ll carry you.”

“Don’t be ridic—”

As he spoke the words, Billy Clyde scooped him up as if he were a baby. No one spoke as he huffed and puffed their way up the steps and out of the house. Billy Clyde laid Dylan on a grassy hill with his legs sloping downward.

Billy Clyde looked down at him and shook his head. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You were shot. I thought you needed to rest.”

“Well, believe me. Carrying you up those steps isn’t what I call rest.”

The two men stared at each other for a moment before laughing. Billy Clyde produced a knife and sliced through Dylan’s pants, revealing several bright red spots.

“I thought you said you had two bites.”

“That’s all I felt. How’d you find me?”

“The kidnappers told me I should retrace my steps and hurry if I wanted to see you alive.”
Billy Clyde sat down beside him in the grass. “Said they had to verify that I’d done the favor. That’s what they called it—a favor. I commit a felony and probably treason and they called it a favor. Anyway, they said they’d verify it and that Theresa would be home by nightfall.”

“Do you believe them?”

“I don’t know what to believe.”

“Shouldn’t you like put a tourniquet on my leg or suck out the venom or something?”

“That’s just in movies. It doesn’t work all that well in real life. The best thing is for you to lie still until we can get some anti-venom in you.”

Dy
lan nodded, too tired to talk. As his head hit the grass, he took a deep breath. “If I don’t make it, buddy, tell Reggie I love her.”

“You’re going to make it. Just hang on a few more minutes and that chopper will be here.”

****

Reggie pulled
into Billy and Theresa’s drive.

It always surprised her how well it had been
camouflaged to look like a dirt path that led into the woods. The first time Dylan brought her here, she’d thought he was lost. But it had been her that had been so lost in so many different ways and now she had a wonderful life.

Not perfect but wonderful nevertheless.

She stepped out and waded through the knee-high weeds to the hidden intercom. She hit the button and waited.

No response.

Again and again, she hit the button.

Finally, she entered the code and the bushes slid back revealing a drive.
She shook her head. Billy really was a genius. She jumped back in her car and drove through the gate. In the rearview mirror, she watched as it slid back in place.

She drove up to the attached garage. The door stood open revealing the fact there were no vehicles. Between Theresa and Billy, they owned three that were kept in the garage.

And none of them were there.

She pulled in the garage
but before she could open the door. A low growl stopped her from moving. She looked over. Four pairs of eyes stared back at her. The dogs.

Billy never let the dogs loose.
Unless there was a reason.

Billy had taught her how to deal with the dogs. Dylan preferred to ignore them, but she loved them. And they were as sweet as could be, when they weren’t on guard duty.

“Patches, Snappy. Relax.” Her voice was firm and calm. The way Billy had taught her.             

Recognizing her as friend, t
he growling stopped and the dogs jumped up on the car window to greet her. She rolled down the window and let them kiss her hand.

She
stepped out of her car. Bending down, she petted both dogs for a few moments. Then, put them back to work. “Go watch.”

Both dogs came to attention. Looked at her for a moment,
and then ran through the open garage door leading to the back yard.

She tried the door leading to the kitchen. It was unlocked. A chill ra
n down her spine. “Billy. Theresa. Dylan.”

No answer.

Ignoring her racing pulse, she walked into the kitchen. Messy but nothing alarming. Then she moved into the dining room. Pictures were strewn all over the table. Walking over, she picked up several.

Her pulse moved up several notches.

Very odd pictures. Just pictures of the same street over and over from different locations and viewpoints but they were all the same street. She tore herself away from the pictures and moved into the living room.

A rumpled blanket lay
on the sofa. Her gaze moved to the coffee table and her racing heart thudded to a stop. Bandages and blood. Her knees wobbled and she sat on the sofa, staring at the blood-soaked bandages.

Who was hurt? Not that it mattered. She didn’t want any of them to be hurt. Why wasn’t anyone answering her phone calls?
Where was everybody? Her breathing turned ragged. She recognized the signs of panic and an anxiety attack.

She took slow deliberate breaths and prayed for calmness.

She forced herself to stand. He knees still shook as she walked toward the back of the house. Her eyes widened as she stared at the bathroom door. The wooden frame broken. Someone had broken down the door.

She could
imagine who that was.

Tears filled her eyes. Why hadn’t Dylan brought her with him? She could have helped.

She walked into the room. Bandages, scissors, surgical tape. And blood on the floor. Someone had been hurt but the one thing missing was yellow crime tape. Whatever was going on, Dylan and Billy were taking care of it on their own. Of course. That’s the only way they knew how to operate. On their own.

But
always, thankfully, with God’s help.

Reggie looked around the disheveled room. It looked as if they needed God’s help—desperately.