Free Unstoppable by Laura Griffin Page B

light.
    Gage eased back a fraction and Kelsey let out a breath. She was still clinging to him, gripping his T-shirt in her fists. Something hard dug into her neck and her back.
    “You okay?”
    “Uh-huh.” She managed to let go of him.
    “That was close,” he said, and the utter calm in his voice sounded unnatural. Her feet were frozen in place. Her heart hammered.
    “Come on.” He took her hand and tugged. “Let’s get out of here before it happens again.”
    Numbly, she took a step forward and pushed off the wall. She paused for a second and turned around but it was too dark to see what she’d felt.
    “There could be more, Kels. We need to move it.”
    “Wait.” She curled her fingers around something straight and wooden. She pulled her other hand free and groped around. “I think I found a ladder.”
    Gage pushed up the grate and moved it aside, then swiped away the camo netting. He climbed out of the hole and reached a hand down for Kelsey.
    “Careful. That last rung is a bigger stretch.”
    She hoisted herself up onto the ground and brushed the hair from her eyes.
    Gage glanced around, on alert for even the slightest noise. Whatever traffic was moving through here, he didn’t want Kelsey anywhere near it.
    He stood up and pulled her to her feet. It was dark out but not as dark as in the tunnel, and he was able to get his bearings from the shadow of the ridge to the west of them. They were southeast of the big boulder. He still hadn’t laid eyes on the supposed “mine” entrance, but he guessed it was tucked into the nearby canyon wall.
    “What is this, some sort of ventilation hole?”
    Gage replaced the grate and the netting. “Air. People. Guess anything can move through it.”
    He took her arm and led her toward the spot where he’d parked the pickup. He chose his steps carefully, wanting to avoid another uncovered hole. Beside him, she was limping slightly, and he knew her fall had been worse than she’d admitted.
    “You think Dylan found this place?”
    He heard the dread in her voice. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t candy coat it for her. “Yes.”
    The word hung over them as they trekked back to the boulder. “I found something interesting, too, while I was looking for you. There was a big delivery truck parked near the entrance to the tunnel.”
    “Did anyone see you?”
    “Don’t know. The truck was empty but there might have been a security cam.”
    “How do you know it was empty?”
    “Cargo door was up. No one in the cab.” Gage stopped and looked around. A few more paces and he stopped again. He studied the shadows. He consulted the compass on his watch. He pulled out his penlight and beamed it around uselessly.
    “Well, fuck me.”
    Kelsey moved closer. “What now?”
    “They stole my truck.”
    She halted beside him. “You can’t be serious.”
    “I’m completely serious.”
    Gage did a three-sixty but it was no use. He knew where he’d parked the damn thing. They’d fucking boosted his pickup.
    He took a few steps toward the boulder and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
    “This has to be a mistake. Maybe—”
    “Shh!” He jerked her down beside him as he pulled out his SIG.
    “What?”
    “Quiet.” He eased close to her, until his mouth was nearly touching her ear. “Two men, about fifty yards east of us. Walking this way.”
    Rat-tat-tat-tat!
    He hauled Kelsey behind the nearest boulder, then whirled in the direction of the gunfire. A muzzle flashed, maybe eighty yards south.
    Two shooters directly south. And two men approaching from the east, probably armed.
    Another staccato of bullets, and Kelsey yelped beside him.
    “Oh, my God, Gage! ” She crouched in a tight little ball against the rock.
    He rested his arms on top of the boulder and peered over it. Another muzzle flash, about fifty yards out.
    “Why don’t you shoot back ?”
    “That’ll give away our location,” he said. “Their aim’s all over the place. I don’t think