Denouement (The Darkness Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

same outcome. He tentatively stretched out a hand at his left side and felt a smooth, hard surface under his fingertips. Repeating the same on his right side had the same results and it was then that the sick realization dawned on him. He was in a box. He was in a fucking box! Beating his hands on the lid, he tore his lips apart. The tape had been removed, but it’d left behind a sticky film that ripped a layer of skin off when he finally managed to pry his lips open.
    Blood dribbled down his chin as he beat harder on the lid and croaked out at scream. “Help! Somebody, please help me!” I’m going to die here. I’m going to die in this fucking box.
    On the other side of the box, the man grinned at Jeffrey’s feeble attempts to call for help.
    Cocking his elbow back, he raised the hammer and brought it down on the final nail in a staggering blow. Ignoring the frantic beating from inside the box, he stood and brushed the dust off the knees of his black pants.
    Giving the lid a couple hard raps, he called out, “You’re all set in there. Be seein’ ya.” Chuckling at his own words, he turned to stroll away. Pulling the small packet of matches from his pocket he struck the flame, pausing to stare in awe at the mesmerizing orange and red glow. With a happy sigh, he tossed the flame over his shoulder, lighting the box on fire. Without another look behind him or a thought of the gut-wrenching screams, he disappeared into the inky blackness of the night.

CHAPTER FOUR

    N ora Thornton finished brushing her son Caleb’s hair after his bath and leaned down to cuddle him close for a hug. At two years-old, he may not have that new baby smell anymore but the way he snuggled into her neck was something she cherished. Looking over at the bubble-filled tub, she smiled as Hope splashed and giggled happily at the small rubber ducky in her hands.
    Hope wasn’t her biological daughter, but that didn’t mean she loved her any less. When Gabe, Brady and Theo had rescued her from an unspeakable situation the same day they rescued her son Caleb from his kidnapper’s, Nora had known right then that it was fate. Hope was meant to be hers and she always would be.
    Setting Caleb on the ground, she watched him for a few seconds while he tottered, gaining his footing and then gave him a gentle nudge to get him going out the door. “Greta!” she called out. “Incoming!” She knew Greta was already in Caleb’s room, turning down his Cars sleigh bed and getting his favorite books lined up for story time before bed. Straining her ears, she turned her attention back to Hope after hearing Caleb’s happy laugh and Greta announcing it was time to start their engines. Caleb loved trying to repeat those words every night even though from him, it came out more sound like “Time ta sparf our iiingines!”
    Nora watched Hope splash in the water for a few more minutes. She was such a beautiful baby already, when she reached her teenage years, she was going to break more than a few hearts with her dark hair and eyes that changed between green and hazel. The love she had for Hope filled her, she was proud that she’d been able to rescue her from what would have surely been an unimaginable life.
    It was hard to believe that two years had passed since her now husband Gabe and her best friend Theo along with some help from a Sheriff friend of theirs had dismantled the Black Market kidnapping ring that had been terrorizing their small town. Women and babies had been going missing for months before they had finally put an end to it all. Unfortunately, not everyone had the miraculous outcome that she’d had with Caleb’s rescue. Her dear friend, Sydney had been a victim as well. Only they had been too late to rescue her precious daughter, Sophie before she had been sold.
    The crushing devastation of losing her child in such a way had broken Sydney, the loss too unbearable to recover from. She’d been forced to move away from Norton Springs, unable to