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No…it was footsteps. Rapidly approaching footsteps. Andin their wake, the bouncing glare of a flashlight beam.
“Drop the knife and get on your knees!”
Derik. It was Derik. Somehow, he’d found his way back toher. Maybe he’d come to the same conclusion she had…that Samson’s endgame wasto take place in these mines.
She felt something bump into her and she didn’t even tryto stop herself from falling down. When her chest hit the floor, all she wastruly aware of was how difficult it was to breathe and the feeling of bloodleaving her body—not just from both her forearms, but now also from a spot onher left cheek as her face struck the rock floor.
She heard the skirmish just behind her. She heard Samsoncry out, heard Derik hiss and then curse. The last thing she heard was whatsounded like a meaty thud, like a steak being slapped down on a butcher’sblock.
After that, things went quiet. She was pretty sure sheheard Derik say her name a single time, shaky and weak.
“Morgan?”
She opened her mouth to answer, to tell him that she wasokay. But before a single word escaped her lips, she felt herself falling backinto that place where memories of her parents waited for her…for better or forworse.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Voices and sluggish movement. That was everything thatmade up Morgan’s world for a brief moment in time.
Morgan knew she was walking. She was aware of her musclesworking, of her knees bending and carrying her back through the tunnels. Butthere were also arms and hands helping her along. Several different sets, fromwhat she could tell.
“Derik?” she asked as she opened her still-stinging eyesto the tunnels. Everything was still dark, still a work of rough rock and theoccasional alcove with partially used candles.
“Yeah, I’m here,” he said from behind her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. You?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer. Hell, she felt almost tootired to think about it. So in the end, the answer she gave was: “I’m bleeding.And I can’t see.”
“Do you need to stop?”
She actually chuckled at this. “No,” she said. “Get methe hell out of here.”
The combination of knowing that she was headed out of themines and that Derik was there made it a bit easier to breathe. Her sensesstarted to come back to her and before too long, she was pretty sure she couldsmell and even taste fresh air somewhere up ahead. As her thoughts became lessmuddied, hundreds of questions presented themselves.
“Derik?” she asked, still not quite sure where he was inproximity to her.
“Yes?”
“Where’s Samson?”
“He’s cuffed and about ten feet ahead of us. There arethree other officers here. Can you…can you really not see?”
“No. Just murky shapes. He threw something in my eyes.”
“And cut you up pretty bad, too. But we bandaged them upas well as we could.”
“Yeah, how did you find—”
“Save your breath,” he said. “Wait until we’re out of here,okay?”
That sounded like a great idea. She continued trying to testher vision and though it seemed to be getting a bit better, the darkness andjostling of several different flashlights made it hard to focus. It was hard totell, but it felt like she was being supported by two sets of arms on eitherside of her. As the blurry gray shapes became a bit more defined, she turnedher head, looking for Derik. She found him, staring at her with worried eyes asthey made their way out of the mines. She could hear the rest of the officerstalking up ahead.
But she didn’t hear Samson, and she wasn’t sure how to feelabout that.
The feel and smell of fresh air increased and afterseveral more moments, they came to a stop. She peered ahead and saw that theyhad come to the entrance to the mines. Though, in the time since she’d entered earlier,someone had torn much of the barricade down. A gorgeous, clear night waited onthe other side of the now mostly opened blockage.
