Perilous Read Online Free PDF Page A

weapon. He nudged Sara in the back with his gun. “Up. Go.”
    Sara gripped the ladder, her face chalky. She started upward, and Jaci saw the streaks of tears on her cheeks.
    “Claber.”
    An authoritative voice behind them made all of them turn, except for Sara, who hurried up the ladder and disappeared into the attic.
    “Yes, Boss?” the big-necked man grunted.
    “I’ll take it from here.”
    It was the man Jaci had noticed outside. The smaller man with the penetrating gaze. He eyed them with a strange curiosity.
    The big man, Claber, nodded, casting one last glance at the girls. His mustache twitched, and he grinned. “Take a rest, ladies. Maybe tonight you’ll have company.” His heavy footsteps clunked down the hall.
    “No company today, girls,” the boss man said, turning his hard, cold eyes on Jaci and Amanda. “This is my house, and I’m in charge. Do exactly what I tell you, and I won’t hurt you.”
    A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I don’t know about Claber, though. He’ll be in charge of you most of the time. Up, now. Go on.”
    Jaci and Amanda climbed up the squeaky wooden ladder after Sara.
    The boss man folded it up and slammed the door shut, leaving them in the dark, musty attic. Jaci heard him slide the bolt into place.
    A small amount of light drifted in from a round window, catching dust particles in its beams. A few muslin sacks lay on the wooden floor.
    Amanda shuddered, one hand under her shirt, toying with the necklace again. “I know what that creep has in mind, and if he dares come near me, I’ll poke his eyes out.”
    Jaci clenched her fists together, feeling tense and ready to snap. “Amanda, you’re just as scared as the rest of us.”
    Amanda looked at her. “No, I’m not.”
    Sara wandered over to the window, no bigger than her face, and dusted it off with her sleeve.
    “This is not good,” Jaci whimpered. A hard lump formed in her stomach. Thoughts of her family, Seth, Callie, flashed through her mind. She forced them away. “I knew something bad was going to happen.”
    “What?” Amanda turned on her. “What do you mean, you knew? And you didn’t do anything? Then I guess that makes this all your fault.”
    “Shut up, Amanda,” Sara snapped. “If it weren’t for you, we’d have called the police and been fine.”
    Again the anger rose inside Jaci. It was so easy to feel anger. It gave her something else to focus on. “Sara’s right. It’s your fault we’re here.” There. She’d said it.
    “My fault?” Amanda said, her eyes widening. “It was Callie who shrieked and attracted their attention!”
    “Don’t you even try to put this on Callie,” said Jaci.
    “Callie screamed because they dragged you into the store, Amanda,” Sara said. “Did you want us to just walk away and leave you?”
    “You’re the runner,” Amanda retorted. “Why didn’t you run for help? You could’ve saved us all.”
    “Oh, so it’s everyone’s fault except yours, huh?” Jaci jumped to Sara’s defense.
    “Did you call 911?” Amanda demanded. “That’s what you were supposed to do at the phone. I was keeping watch for you guys. Did you even call?”
    “I—” The blood drained from Jaci’s face. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She remembered now how she had dropped the phone without dialing anything.
    The brief moment of silence was enough to cool the atmosphere. “Fighting won’t help anything,” Sara said, her voice empty again. She turned back to the window and drew in a shuddering breath.
    Jaci turned to Sara, her anger fading in a rush of guilt. “You’re right. Sorry.” I’m sorry, Callie. So sorry. Tears formed in her eyes, and she didn’t brush them away.
    Sara sank to the floor beneath the window. “If we’re lucky, we’ll make it out alive.”
    “Let’s get some sleep,” Jaci said. “We’ll think better when we wake up.”
    “No way,” said Amanda. “We’ve got to figure out how to get out, now . There’s no time to sleep. What