“No one would hear Lily scream,” Kyle finished, voice rough.
Heather flinched.
“The storms are coming,” Kyle added. “The weather will work against us even more. Now is the time to be out there.”
Jason Marsh had titled his head. His eyes were on the map.
“It wouldn’t just be an outdoor spot,” Cadence continued. She walked through the small room, her body sliding through the line of chairs. Her gaze met each officer’s, held, then moved to the next. “She’s not out in the open. She’s in a contained spot, in a place that the perp can control.”
“Like a cabin?” Heather said as a furrow appeared between her brows. “But we’ve been searching them…”
“What about a cave?” Jason Marsh asked. He rose from his seat. Headed toward the map.
A cave?
Marsh tapped the map. A location about twenty miles away from Lily’s abduction site. “Most outsiders don’t even realize we got the caves up here.”
Kyle sure as hell hadn’t known about them. And he’d been to this town before. He’d searched, and never learned about them.
Marsh rolled his shoulders as he studied the map. “The caves have been used plenty over the years. Indians used ’em for some rituals, Confederate soldiers hid in them and stored weapons in there. Hell, the story goes that even some of Jesse James’s men stayed in them once, when they were running from the law. The caves stretch for miles and miles. The areas I know about, anyway.”
Miles and miles. “You’re taking me to those caves.” Because from what Kyle was hearing, they sounded like the perfect spot for the killer.
Marsh scratched his chin. “You wouldn’t have to worry about hunters finding her in those caves. Hell, you wouldn’t have to worry about animals getting to her, either. Not in there.”
“The caves are dangerous,” James said, stepping forward with a hard shake of his head. “There was a cave-in there a few years back. Geologists said the whole place could collapse at any moment. Sending men in there—”
“I’ll take the risk,” Kyle said. No hesitation.
“So will I,” Cadence added. He’d known she would say that.
James exhaled and gave a slow nod.
“And I’ll lead you.” Marsh had straightened his shoulders. “I’ll show you the area, and if Lily is there, we’ll find her.”
Damn straight they would, but Kyle wasn’t about to let the task force lose focus. He pointed to the map once more. “Anniston, you keep a team searching near the south ridge area. Officer Crenshaw, you keep interviewing the folks from Striker’s. Someone knows something, someone saw something.”
They would all keep working. And they would find Lily.
I just want to find her alive.
“How come tourists aren’t flooding to these caves?” Cadence asked Jason as they headed deeper into the woods and toward the entrance to the caves.
Kyle kept steady pace with them, not about to be left behind. He knew Cadence was worried about him, but he had this.
He finally f**king had this.
I’m going to find you. He was going to find the man who’d taken Lily—the same bastard he believed had taken his sister, and he would make the guy pay.
Cadence had asked him, Who were you killing? In his dreams—his nightmares—there was one person Kyle killed again and again. The man who took Maria.
“Captain was right about the caves being dangerous. We had some geologists come in a few years ago. They did some tests, said it wasn’t safe for folks.” Jason came to a stop before a heavy slab of stone. “Up in Kentucky, they have Mammoth Caves. Mammoth stretches for over a hundred miles.”
Kyle damn well hoped the caves in Paradox weren’t as vast. If they were, more than just three folks needed to be out there.
“How far do the caves stretch here?” Cadence asked as she approached the slab.
As Kyle got closer, he realized there was darkness behind the slab. Twisting vines, grass, and what looked like a dark window.
The entrance to the caves.
“At least fifty miles, according to the geologist.” Jason pulled a flashlight from his backpack. They’d all taken the time to stock up some packs before they left the station. “But most of the tunnels are unstable, so they didn’t go too far down them. Just estimated.” He glanced back at Kyle and Cadence. “They were from Auburn University. They measured for days, then said we needed to keep folks away, that it was too dangerous inside.”
Yet they were all about to head right into the window of darkness.
Jason eyed them both. “Guess I should’ve asked sooner, but have you two ever explored caves before?”
Kyle stared back at him. “A time or two.” More than that, but they didn’t need to go over his history right then.
“So I guess you don’t have any problem with tight spaces, huh, Agent McKenzie?” Jason asked.
“No, I don’t, Officer Marsh.”
Jason gave him a hard smile. “Actually, it’s Detective.”
The guy was getting on his damn nerves. And if he sent one more longing glance toward Cadence when they had a f**king job to do—
Cadence rolled her shoulders. “Let’s get moving.”
Jason offered him a faint smile. “At least you left your suit behind. Good thinking.”
Screw off. Kyle headed forward, the hiking boots he’d picked up helping him to move easily over the rougher terrain.
Then it was Jason’s turn to hurry to keep up with him and Cadence.
Sunlight trickled just inside the cave’s interior, showing them a long, narrow tunnel.
“Like I said,” Jason murmured, “I hope you don’t mind tight spaces.”
Kyle glanced at Cadence. Had she flinched?
No, not her…
Had she?
Cadence reached into her pack and pulled out a small light. The light was attached to a length of elastic. She slipped the elastic band onto her head, then adjusted the strap so it fit securely. The black strap blended with her hair, and she hit the button on the front to illuminate her way. “Let’s stop wasting time, boys. Jason, take us to the areas you know first.”
No, Cadence didn’t sound afraid. He’d seen her stare down killers. She rarely ever felt fear.
That he knew of.
Jason took the lead, heading forward in the tunnel. Silence followed as they trekked deeper into the darkness.
Soon Kyle saw more openings, twisting paths leading from the main tunnel. Heavy stalactites sprouted from the ceiling, while thick stalagmites grew from the bottom, some nearly meeting in places.