Page 92 of Glimmer in the Darkness

She plopped down on a tree root jutting from the hillside. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know for sure.”

“Best guess.”

He shook his head. “Let’s just see what we find. Take out your phone, would you?”

She did, and he navigated to the map, then tipped it to face her. “If anything happens to me. If you hear gunshots or… or whatever. If you think there’s any danger, I want you to run.” He pointed to the map. “The road’s here. Your car”—he pressed the screen and saved the location—“is about here.” He scrolled out and indicated a spot halfway between where they were and the car. “You should have service around here. Call 911 as soon as you can, and keep going until you reach your car and get out of here.”

Her lips were set in a grim line, and for a moment he thought she’d argue. But she only nodded and took the phone. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either.” He kissed her forehead. “We’re doing this to save Ella.”

She wrapped her arms around his middle and looked up. “I want to save Ella, James. But I don’t want to sacrifice you to do it. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.”

She tried to tug him down, seemed to want another kiss, but he backed away. He needed to focus, and not on her. “I’ll probably be right back. Just sit tight.”

And he started climbing.

The going was slow. The closer James got to the boulders that formed the cave, the steeper the way. It wasn’t as bad as the cliff he and Cassidy had climbed the other day, but it was bad enough. It was no wonder nobody else had found this rock formation before. It was as if it’d been intentionally tucked away. Thick vegetation all around mostly hid the cavern from view. Steep hills on three sides and only a very twisted, winding path on the fourth. This had been the perfect hiding space until Cassidy and James had exposed it.

He was banking on the fact that the kidnapper wouldn’t have a backup plan. And that he was arrogant. And, probably, the biggest issue was that James had no other ideas. Maybe nothing but blind hope had brought him back here today.

He couldn’t let himself worry about what would happen next. One step at a time. Go with me, Lord. Protect Cassidy. Save Ella.

He crept up the hill, though it would’ve been faster to take the trail, and paused on the back side of the rock that made up one wall of the cave.

He listened, heard nothing. Crept closer to the opening. Paused to listen again.

Heard… whimpering.

Ella? Was it her?

He inched closer to the entrance, pausing every few feet to listen. The sound of crying carried from inside.

He reached the edge of the giant boulder and peered around it toward the entrance. Nobody at the mouth, but he couldn’t see inside from here.

Back against the stone, he strained to hear signs that there was somebody else in the cave. Heavy breathing, footsteps.

Nothing from the cave but Ella’s cries.

He stayed unmoving, listening.

Coming from the far side, he heard something different. The sound of movement in the forest. He looked back to where he’d left Cassidy, but it wasn’t coming from her. It was too loud to be almost any animal. Possible it was a black bear. More likely, it was a man. A man unafraid of giving himself away.

James peeked around the rock, and this time, focused on the path. Nothing.

He’d confirmed Ella was here. He needed to tell Cassidy to run and call the authorities. Would she leave as she’d promised? Or would she insist on staying to help him rescue Ella?

What should I do, Lord? Guide me.

He needed to see who he was up against. Then he’d tell Cassidy who it was and have her get help. He’d stay and, if he could rescue Ella, he would. Worst case scenario, assuming the killer didn’t find him and take him out, he’d be here when the police arrived. Either way, he wasn’t leaving this mountain without Ella.

He no longer heard footsteps. Had the killer stopped? Or had he seen James and simply quieted?

James headed to the back side of the stone outcropping, maneuvering around the smaller boulder that made up one of the rear walls of the cave. Dropping to his knees, he crept along the spot where Cassidy had been shot, peering at the gap in the stones that made up the passageway Cassy had come through. Hidden from here, he thought if he climbed up, he’d see the narrow opening. If only he were small enough to climb through.