Page 88 of Shallow Remains

Who was she? How did she know about the passkey? “I-it’s in my desk.”

“Where? Here?”

Oh, shit. “No,” she gasped out. “At the cottage.”

“Willow’s cottage?”

How did— “Yes,” she whispered, heart racing. Who was it? How had she gotten in without tripping the alarm?

“You better not be lying.” Something hard clamped around her wrists, trapping them together at the small of her back. Blind and bound, there was nothing she could do to defend herself.

On instinct, she dropped to the ground and lashed out with a foot, but caught only air.

She reared her foot back and tried again. Yelped when something hard slammed into her stomach.

Maddy curled up tight to protect her vulnerable middle, fighting for air. A rough hand seized her hair through the hood and wrenched upward. She staggered to her feet, fear and the burn across her scalp forcing tears into her eyes.

“Walk,” that hard voice commanded.

Maddy wrenched to the side, but the woman held her fast, cuffing Maddy across the side of the head.

She stumbled as the woman forced her forward. The music continued, growing fainter and fainter.

Maddy dimly heard the door shut behind them. Her wool socks skidded along the wet wooden planks outside as she tried to dig her heels in, unable to get traction.

All too soon the planks gave way to cold, unforgiving concrete. A moment later she was shoved forward hard between the shoulder blades.

Maddy tripped. Something hard across her pelvis broke her fall with bruising force. She winced, tried to regain her balance, then another blow to the middle of her back knocked her forward.

She toppled over, her chest and chin hitting something hard. A second later her legs were thrown over the edge too. Something slammed shut overhead with a hard whump.

Maddy twisted onto her back and tried to sit up. The top of her head slammed into an immovable surface. She crouched in the cramped space, her breath sawing in and out, amplified by the hood.

A car door slammed, rocking her. Then an engine started, and she finally understood the gravity of her situation.

She was trapped in the trunk of a car.

FORTY-FIVE

Maddy’s heart pounded in terror as she bumped around in the trunk while the vehicle raced along, she assumed heading for Willow’s cottage. She still had no idea who had taken her, or why. All this for a passkey that happened to be on her thumb drive?

She was terrified she would die once she handed it over.

They drove for at least ten minutes, seemed to climb uphill for most of it before the car slowed and made one final turn. It continued for only another few seconds, then turned and stopped. The engine cut.

Maddy sucked in a shaky breath, drawing her knees up tight for maximum leverage as she prepared to fight for her life.

The trunk lock popped. The moment she felt the swish of cool air rush in she twisted and drove her feet up hard. Her soles connected, a low oof telling her she’d hit her target. She threw her legs over the edge of the trunk, wrenched her torso upright, ready to run for it.

A hard blow across the side of the head knocked her back.

Disoriented and struggling to breathe through the pain, she barely resisted when the woman seized her bound wrists and hauled her backward. Maddy cried out, scrambled to keep up, forced to stay close to relieve the painful pressure on her shoulder joints. She fell.

“Get up,” the woman snarled, jerking her to her feet.

Maddy swayed a second, stumbled as she was dragged sideways. Her foot hit something hollow that sounded like wood. She fell hard, unable to throw out her hands to break her fall. Pain shot through her hip.

“I said, get up,” the voice snapped, yanking harder on her wrists.