Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“How, Gavin? Years had passed. Decades. I’d hired private detectives right after Roger disappeared with Daniel. Initially they traced him to Las Vegas, where his family lives, and then they lost him. It was believed his family had helped Roger gain a new identity, though that was never proved.”
“That’s why we lived there,” Gavin murmured. “Even though I was born here.” A muscle jumped in Gavin’s jaw, and he peeked out from the place they were hiding. “There’s a large cabinet of some kind over there,” he said, nodding in the direction of the wall that was now close enough to see in the dark. “We go there next.”
She and Mirabelle nodded, and when the lights went out again and two more numbers were shouted, they sprinted behind the cabinet, pressed their backs against the wall, and sat down.
“There’s a room over there,” Mirabelle said, gesturing toward the place where Sienna could now see a soft light emanating from beneath what looked like a door. “There aren’t any windows or exits inside, though.”
The lights remained on, but no gunshot sounded.
“It’s our best choice,” Sienna said. Because Danny had obliterated all their other options for cover. “We need to crawl to the door.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Mirabelle asked.
They raised their heads in unison when they heard the faraway echo of footsteps overhead. Danny was somewhere, but he wasn’t in that room. It might be a trap, but it might lead to a way out. And at the moment, it was the only possibility. “Let’s go.”
They crawled quickly to the door, pushed it open, and ducked inside. It was another large room, what appeared to have once been the industrial-size kitchen. There were still long steel counters on one side and open ducts where appliances had been. Sienna looked up. At least there was nowhere from which Danny could shoot them.
Both Gavin and Sienna immediately rushed to the door on the opposite side of the room, Gavin holding up the large cylindrical lock with a combination code. He leaned closer and peered at it. “It’s a number-code lock, requiring five digits,” he said. He jiggled it, but there was no give on the lock, and he dropped it.
“So we’re meant to use some unknown number code to exit this door?” she asked, looking around for a place to start.
“It appears so,” he muttered, using his hands to feel around the door. With a look of frustration, he dropped his arms. He stood there for a minute and then brought his foot up, kicking the door. It shook but didn’t give. He kicked at it several more times, yelling in frustration as the lock held soundly. He was breathing hard, his jaw clenching. “Fuck.”
“I found a box,” Mirabelle said from where she was standing at one of the counters against the wall.
She was holding a plain metal box with a key lock holding it closed. Mirabelle shook it gently, and whatever contents were inside slid from side to side.
Gavin took it from her and examined it, turning it upside down. “We don’t have time for stupid games. I’m going to smash this lock on the ground.”
Sienna put her hand on his forearm. “Wait, what if whatever’s inside is breakable or . . . gets ruined in some way?”
Gavin looked around. “Fine. Is there something we can use to pry this open?”
Sienna walked to one of the long counters and leaned over so she could see behind it. It was bolted to the wall. Great.
“I think it’s worth spending a few minutes looking for the key,” Mirabelle said. “If Danny locked us in this room, then the key’s here somewhere.”
Gavin stared at her for a moment, placing the box down on the counter.
“Tell me all of it, Mom, from the beginning, but fast. I need to understand what we’re dealing with.”
Mirabelle leaned back against the counter as though she needed it to hold her up. Maybe in some ways it was also a relief, to off-load the weight that had been resting on her shoulders for so long.
“Wait,” Sienna said. “Help me push that”—she pointed to a metal cabinet—“in front of the door we entered through. At least that way we know he can’t surprise us.” They could go back that way and stay in the large, open area, but that was where they were sitting ducks. He had the advantage of darkness and higher ground.
“Good idea.” She and Gavin first examined every side of the cabinet, opening the doors and running their hands over the inside, but there was nothing to find. They pushed the heavy object in front of the door and returned to Mirabelle. She took in what seemed to be a fortifying breath of air. “I met your father,” she began, “Roger Hastings, when he was sent by his family to open a new casino here in Reno. Long story short, he wooed me. I’d lost my parents young, was hungry for love, validation . . . stability, a family. Anyway, we married quickly. I was already pregnant with Danny. And things fell apart very soon after Roger fouled up the opening of the casino in every way possible. He hit me for the first time when Danny was four. That’s also when he began isolating me from my friends.”