Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

The dragging of chains sounded loud in the claustrophobic space. She wished she could see. It was so very dark that it was like being confined in the pit of Hell. She couldn’t move but knew there was something behind her and it wasn’t a wall. She dreaded to think what it was.

Dank was all about her, and the most pervading cold she had ever felt in her life. Even so, she was alive, and for that she could only be eternally grateful.

When silence settled once more, Vanessa glanced around her. Tipping her head back, she looked above her head. She knew she was lying down on something; it appeared in some sort of confined space. It smelled of mould and was full of dust and cobwebs. When she saw nothing but blackness, she wriggled around a bit only to gasp when something bit painfully into her hip. Shifting again to ease the discomfort, she edged toward the empty space above her head. By shuffling and wriggling around she could strain against the cruel bonds and peer into the small room beyond.

She was shocked when her gaze immediately fell upon a small, frail creature crouched on the floor against the far wall. Her hair was wild, her clothing, dirty and unkempt. What was most disturbing was the terrified look on the young woman’s familiar face. Vanessa wanted to call out to her, if only to let her know she was not alone but had no idea where their captor was. She couldn’t see him in the small square space. More importantly, she couldn’t hear him either, but he had been there a moment ago, if only to move Jemima onto the floor.

Sick with dread for the moment he would return, Vanessa remained silent and watched to see what their captor did when he returned.

Justin and his men walked quietly through the church. The rood screen, chancery, small ante-room at the back of the altar, and kitchen beyond all proved empty.

“There is a door at the far end that might lead somewhere,” Niall whispered. It wasn’t through reverence, but fear of discovery.

While they suspected the vicar wouldn’t object to them searching for a kidnap victim in the church, they didn’t want to alert Reuben to their presence should he be in the building.

“There is nothing in here,” Angus murmured, brushing dust off his fingers as he closed the door to the store cupboard at the back of the kitchen.

“Let’s try the other end of the building then,” Oliver suggested.

Justin, angered by his defeat, scoured every nook and cranny for sign of something, anything, being dislodged or disturbed. By the time they reached the door Niall stood beside they were all tense and on edge.

Justin removed his gun and tried the handle to the door. It opened easily and without making a sound. To his surprise, beyond it was a narrow stone staircase which led down into an open maw of darkness which could only be described as disturbing.

Motioning everyone to use signals from now on, he slowly crept down the stairs. His brows rose when he reached the bottom and found a series of small rooms which together formed a large and aged crypt. It quickly became evident that the rooms were occupied by affluent families who had once inhabited the area. The names of the relations were scattered on plaques around the door but which of the skeletons within was which was anybody’s guess.

Slowly, carefully, the men began to walk through the rooms.

Justin prayed he wouldn’t find the bodies of the missing in one of those tiny spaces, especially Vanessa. She was around here, though. He could feel her nearby. It was just a matter of time now before he knew one way or the other whether she was still alive.

Walking through the crypt was one of the most horrifying moments of his life. He knew that at any given moment, his life could be tipped on its head, and he could be slammed with the news that he had lost the love of his life. He knew now that Vanessa was, indeed, his soul mate. It was why he felt constantly drawn to her, was reluctant to leave her, and wanted to know everything about her. His life, indeed he, would never be the same again if he lost her.

Please, God, please let her still be alive, he prayed.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement in the room at the far end of the narrow corridor. Justin froze, and pointed to it when Niall looked at him. Silently, they crept forward only to stop again when someone – a man – passed the doorway again. He appeared to be dragging something.

Justin hoped to God it wasn’t Vanessa.

Once his colleagues had joined him, Justin peered into the room. His heart lurched when he saw that several of the crypts had been disturbed. Inside one was a body; the head of which was clearly visible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the skeletal head of a corpse. This person, hopefully, was very much still alive. To the right of her was Reuben, standing over someone who was kicking out at him.

“Stop right there, Reuben,” Justin growled as he stormed into the room swiftly followed by his colleagues. They all trained their guns on the kidnapper.

Reuben whirled around and let out a terrified squeak, his eyes wide with horror. Having seemingly forgotten about the bound woman on the floor behind him, he tried to step back, away from the men who had just arrived only to stumble and painfully slam his head into the stone wall behind him.

“I hope that hurt,” Niall grunted.

Justin took advantage of Reuben’s temporary distraction to launch himself across the room and take the man down in a flying tackle. Unfortunately, Reuben was far stronger than he appeared, and began to throw punches that struck heavily. The kidnapper’s panic fuelled his wildly flinging fists, which rained down on anybody who ventured near, especially Justin, who tried desperately to subdue the man. Until Niall pointed his gun to Reuben’s head, and cocked it. The loud click made Reuben freeze.

“Move one more time, throw one more punch, and I swear to God I will cut you down where you stand,” Niall growled.

Justin pushed out from beneath him. He stood, but rather than put some distance between them, he lifted his hand and slammed a heavy fist into the side of Reuben’s head. Everyone watched Reuben slide to the floor without a murmur.

Justin glared at his colleagues. “Tie the bastard up,” he growled.

He turned around when Oliver and Callum ran across the room and knelt on the floor to help the woman now crying noisily.

“Are you Geraldine?” Justin gasped when his gaze fell on the dazed woman Reuben had just dragged across the room.

The woman nodded. She winced when Oliver slowly removed the tight cloth that cut into her mouth. Once she was free, she swallowed several times before she tried to speak.