The Runaway Pastor's Wife (49 page)

Grady made his way over to Elliot’s side. “But
he was gracious enough to make a few phone calls and before I knew it, the
whole thing just disappeared.” He cocked his head to look at Elliot. “After
that, he took me under his wing. Helped me get back on my feet. Now and then he
gave me an assignment or two, and I was always more than happy to comply.”

“Like the son I never had.” Elliot laughed,
tossing a glance toward Michael.

“Amazing, actually,” Grady continued. “I’ve
lived a good life, had a successful career. Then you showed up in
Tulsa
,
spilling your guts about your mysterious ‘dilemma.’ I may not be a rocket
scientist, but I figured it out almost immediately. I knew it had to be Elliot
who was putting the screws to you. Nobody else ever intimidated you except for
him. And hey, for the record, I felt for you, big guy. But you want to know
something? Believe it or not, I’ve never been a member of the Michael Dean Fan
Club.

“You always got all the breaks. From the day I
met you, you always had it easy. With grades, with women, with
baseball . . . My
whole life
—even since I was a little
snot-nosed kid—all I ever wanted to do was play professional baseball. It was
all I ever dreamed of. But when the scouts came to our games, they never saw
me
play. Why? Because their eyes were always glued to you. They fell all over
themselves to get a piece of the mighty Michael Dean. I sat on the bench and
watched my dreams vaporize.”

“But Grady—”

“—and then you married Amelia and it got even
easier for you, didn’t it?” Grady droned on, strolling to lean against the
front of the Hummer. “Big baseball celebrity marries wealthy Congressman’s
daughter. But poor Amelia—she was just a pawn in your little game plan, wasn’t
she? Like everyone else who ever crossed your path. And then your precious
Sports
Page
empire came along. Never mind that it was handed to you on a silver
platter. See what I mean? It was just one break after another, your whole
entire life! And you know what? With all those breaks, with all those doors
that kept swinging wide open for you, you never gave
anybody
else so
much as a thought. You never cared about anything or anyone other than
yourself. It never mattered
who
you trampled over, did it?”

“Grady—”

“How very interesting to find you here with
Annie, of all people. Who knew? After you ripped her heart out and stomped all
over it way back when, she’s the
last
person I’d expect you to be
shacked up with here in your hideaway love nest.”

Grady turned his gaze to Annie. “You were such a
fool for him, Annie. All those years I stood by and watched you. How could you
be so stupid? Couldn’t you see that you were just another one of his
conquests?”

“Stop it, Grady!” She looked helplessly at Max.
He refused to look at her.

Grady burst into laughter. “Why? Am I embarrassing
you in front of your kid? It didn’t
used
to embarrass you, now did it?
You
lived
with this scum bag, Annie. And everybody knew it! Not exactly
the image of a good little preacher’s wife, now is it?”

“SHUT UP! I beg you, Grady. For God’s sake, this
is my son!”

A smirk drawn across on his face, he cocked his
head at Max. “I bet you didn’t know your mother was a tramp, did you?”

An explosion ripped through the air. The
windshield of the Hummer shattered. Standing in the doorway with a rifle aimed
at the intruders, Doc Wilkins yelled at Michael and Annie. “Get in here!
Hurry!”

Below them, Max wasted no time. With uncommon
strength, he reared his elbows into the stomachs of his surprised captors,
knocking the wind out of them. He was up the stairs before they knew what
happened.

Michael and Annie pulled him into the cabin with
them, slamming the door and bolting it.

Through the door they could hear Elliot
shouting. “Stop them! Surround the cabin! Don’t let them get away!”

Michael panted. “We have to get out of here.
We’ve got to get away from them!”

“Annie, go open the door to the utility room,”
Doc ordered, handing the rifle to Max. “Max, get the flashlight over there on
the counter. Hurry!”

Annie opened the door as Doc burrowed Michael
under his good arm, hurrying him toward the back of the cabin. “I think I know
a way out. Follow me! Hurry!”

They rushed through the utility room and opened
the inside door to the garage.

“We can’t drive out of here!” Michael blasted.
“They’ll kill us before we even back out!”

"We’re not driving out,” Doc answered.
“Max, hold him up for me.”

Max stared hard at Doc before moving to take his
place under Michael’s arm. The doctor rushed toward the side of the garage
where a large worktable stood on an old braided rug. “Annie, help me get this
moved.” They shoved the table off the rug, clay pots and garden tools clanging
off onto the floor. Doc threw back the rug, revealing a large trap door.

“What is this?” Annie cried.

Doc lifted the door. “It’s an old mine shaft.
The garage was built over it. Christine’s dad and I used to hunt together years
ago and we used this shaft to get out into the woods instead of climbing down
the mountain. Max, hand your mother the flashlight. Annie, you go ahead and
we’ll send Michael down next. Let’s go, let’s go!”

They awkwardly made the descent into the dark
hole below them. Before following the rest of them, Doc reached for a shovel
leaning in the corner of the garage. He swung it above him, knocking the
overhead light bulb out of its socket. Satisfied with the pitch black cover of
darkness, he slipped into the shaft, pulling the door shut above him.

“Whatever you do, don’t let Michael get away,”
Elliot stormed. “I don’t care about the others. We’ll take care of them later.
Just bring me Michael!”

Still wheezing, Gus popped open the back of the
Hummer. A large narrow box held a small arsenal of rifles.

Marcus shoved a rifle at Grady. “Take one.
They’re all loaded. Should be plenty of ammunition in these babies. You go
around that way. Gus, you go the other way. Mr. Thomas and I will check out the
house.”

Gus and Grady took off in separate directions,
circling the cabin. Marcus led the way as he and the congressman carefully
rushed up the stairs, their guns aimed dead ahead. They backed up against the rough
logs on either side of the front door. Marcus signaled his intent to kick the
door open. Elliot moved away, inching along the wall.

Marcus shoved his foot against the door with all
his might, screaming out in pain as it held intact. He moved back against the
wall wincing from the pain shooting through his leg.

Elliot pushed him aside. “Can’t you do anything
right?” he growled while aiming his shotgun at the door. He fired a single
shot, splintering the entire handle off the door.

They moved inside, their rifles sweeping the
scope of the room for any movement. Nothing. Marcus tiptoed toward the hall.
Elliot headed past the kitchen toward the back of the house. With each step he
grew angrier. He would not accept the possibility that his prey had escaped. He
passed through the utility room, opening the door that led into the garage. He
fumbled with the switch, cursing when no light came on. He stepped into the
windowless garage, seeing only the dim outline of Michael’s Escalade. Yet, he
was sure they had somehow slipped away. He stepped back, scanning the utility
room. He pulled open a closet in search of a flashlight. Reaching for the mag
light, he flicked the switch. Nothing.

He cursed again, hurling the heavy flashlight at
Michael’s windshield and turned back.

“Marcus! Where are you?”

“In here, boss. There’s no one here.”

“They must have escaped outside somehow. There—”
He pointed to the French doors opening out onto the large balcony. “Look out
there!”

They scrambled to unlock the doors then thrust
them open. The biting wind blew the doors wide open. They peered over the
balcony but saw nothing but the bright mountain landscape and the sharp decline
beneath them, a winter wonderland masking trees and brush in a blinding white
mass.

Annie stepped onto the cold damp ground, careful
to light their descent with her flashlight. At the bottom of the stairs an open
landing spread around her. She reached up to help Michael off the last step
feeling his gasping breaths against her hair. Max hopped down, helping her set
Michael on the ground. Doc moved quickly, reaching for a lantern hanging from a
hook in the rough log beam on the low ceiling above them. He dug in his pocket
for matches and lit the wick. A soft glow mushroomed through their hideout.

“There. At least we can see where we are.” He
rubbed his hands together and looked around.

“Will we be safe here, Doc?” Annie whispered.

“Only for a moment. If they find that door up
top, we’ll be sitting ducks. Can’t risk it. We’ll take a moment to catch our
breath then keep moving.” He knelt beside Michael. “You okay?”

Michael shuddered, still trying to catch his
breath. He nodded. “Where does this lead? We can’t just waltz out in the open,
y’know.”

Doc turned around and pointed down a dark
tunnel. “That leads on down the side of the mountain. Empties out onto an open
cave that’s tucked under a sizable overhang. It’s well covered so they won’t
find it right away.”

Annie moved close to Max and tried to put her
arm around him. He avoided her embrace by bending over to stretch out his legs.

“We better get moving,” he muttered.

“Max, how about you carry that lantern for us,”
Doc asked. “I’ll bring up the rear with the flashlight.”

“Sure.” Max swapped the flashlight for the dusty
old lantern. They followed his lead down the gradually descending slope of the
tunnel.

Annie breathed a silent prayer.
Oh God,
please help us. Protect us from those men. And from Grady.

Though it seemed like an eternity, their journey
through the tunnel ended in less than twenty minutes. Doc brushed away the
cobwebs and debris from the rustic door and tried to unlock it. The stubborn
latch held tight.

Max moved closer. “Here, let me try.” He handed
the lantern to Doc and gave the latch a shove. No luck. Max took a deep breath
and tried again. This time the rickety old handle broke free. He turned around
to face the others. “Now what?”

“Let me take a look.” Doc handed the lantern
back to Max. He leaned against the door pressuring it slightly to open. The
blast of cold air took his breath away. Annie stood behind him, watching as he
stepped out to observe the landscape outside. The echo of a distance voice
froze them in place. No way to tell which direction it came from.

He pulled back inside. “I think they’re still a
good distance above us,” he whispered. “But once we’re outside, no talking.” He
motioned for them to follow, holding his index finger against his lips warning
them again to keep silent.

One by one they stepped out of the tunnel into
the open cavern. The wind whipped through the exposed cave, sending tremors up
Annie’s back.

Doc motioned for them to sit down. Max hunkered
down in a corner, wrapping his jacket tighter around him. Annie helped Michael
inch down the earthen wall. The overgrown brush hid them safely from sight. She
stood close to Doc, wishing his courage would somehow rub off on her.