Ball & Chain (Cut & Run 8)

“Lefty, why?”

“Given no time to think it through, he’d go with his dominant side. He’d choose left.”

Ty raised an eyebrow, and Deuce shined the light toward his chest so they could see each other.

Deuce nodded. “Trust me. Go left.”

Ty picked the left passage and they hurried down it, trying to be silent and listen. Water dripped, and some unidentifiable banging sound echoed in the distance. It could have been the pipes of the old house, or someone moving on the main level above them, or even the Snake Eaters down here searching.

When they reached another intersection, the space opened up. It looked as if they were nearing an older part of the house, or maybe even tunnels that predated the mansion. Ty instructed Deuce to shine a light on the stone, and when he did, they stared at it with matching frowns. There was a jagged line of mismatched masonry. The bottom half was smooth, gray stone, worn with time and put together with such precision and skill that no mortar had been used. The top was a mixture of darker rock and brick and mortar.

“This looks like ruins from that castle,” Deuce said, running his hand over the bottom half of the stone.

“Oh God. If this was part of the castle complex, these tunnels could go all over the island. Livi said there were lava tubes and caves. They would have used those to connect these things.”

Deuce put a hand over his mouth, shaking his head.

A wave of desperation and fury swept over Ty. He was completely powerless to do anything to help his brother, or any of the people he loved, right now. He had rarely experienced that kind of helplessness, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. “Nick couldn’t have taken them far in the time he was down here; they have to be close.”

“What if they got tired or impatient? What if something scared them and they moved?”

“I’ll get her back, Deacon. I swear to you.”

Deuce just nodded, still covering his mouth.

A voice echoed off the damp walls, and Ty grabbed Deuce’s shoulder and pushed him against the wall, flattening himself beside his brother at the corner of the intersection.

“Should have been marking these f**king walls!” someone was saying.

“We’re never getting out of here,” another voice commented, sounding calm and collected despite his prophecy of doom.

The echoes made it impossible to tell, but Ty thought it sounded like English and Frost.

He whistled low to get their attention. Their shuffling footsteps halted, and everything went silent. A light played over the walls.

“Identify yourself,” English finally called.

“It’s Grady.” Ty didn’t step into sight, though. He handed his gun to Deuce and put his finger to his lips. Deuce nodded. “Did you find her?”

“No. We didn’t realize how f**king big these tunnels were down here,” English answered. “Thank Christ you’re here, though, do you know where we are?”

“Yeah, I can lead you out.” Ty put one hand out into the passage to let them know where he was, then carefully stepped out into the light of their flashlights. The three remaining Snake Eaters all looked relieved to see him. None of them made an untoward move, but then, he hadn’t told them where they were yet so it didn’t ease Ty’s suspicions.

“We’ll help you keep looking for her,” Frost offered.

Ty nodded, both grateful and still wary. He pointed the way he’d come. “We’re a straight shot from the stairs up. That way. If you need to get out. Small spaces, man.” He patted his chest, then held his breath, waiting to see if they’d make a move or if they were on the up-and-up.

English came forward, his light aimed toward the ground. “Got anything to mark it with when we come back this way?”

Ty breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to be turning his back on these men anytime soon, especially not with one arm out of commission, but at least for now they’d passed his test. He bent and picked up a small rock, marking on the wall with it. It made a faint chalky line on the stone. Ty did it again harder, trying to make sure they’d see it.

“I can’t go back up those stairs,” English said to Frost and Park. He indicated his massive shoulders and arms. “I damn near got stuck coming down them. Maybe we can find an exit on this level.”

“The kitchen has an exit,” Deuce said. He turned his flashlight back on and handed Ty his gun. English and Frost both jumped when he spoke, then calmed immediately when they realized it was him. Riddle Park didn’t seem surprised, though. He was hanging back, probably for the same reasons Deuce had been. Ty met English’s eyes, shrugging.

“I hear you, man,” English said. “Can’t be too careful.”

“Especially since Kline . . .” Frost glanced from Ty to Deuce.

“This was her first run with the company,” Park told them. “She wasn’t us.”

English was nodding. “She’s on me and I’ll take responsibility for that. If you don’t want to trust us, I don’t blame you. But these f**kers killed Hardin, and he was our brother. We want this. We’ve got your back on this, Sidewinder.”

Ty stared into his eyes and saw nothing but truth and anger and pain. “I’m sorry for your loss. He died protecting five young lives. Man’s a hero.”

“Yes he is.”

Ty filled them in on what they’d learned, and where they should be searching for Amelia and the other children.

“What about bringing O’Flaherty down here?” Frost asked. “Can’t he lead us to them? Is he okay?”

Ty winced, hesitant to admit he had knocked their only solid lead unconscious during a fit of anger. “He was wounded, but when he wakes he’ll be the first one down here searching. The problem is he said he was going so fast, he’s not sure he knows where they are. He also said he gave the oldest boy a gun, so we need to be careful.”

“Are there any more Tangos to be worried about here?” Frost asked.

“We don’t know. Fraser’s alive,” Ty answered. “So we’ll get it out of him. But we have to assume someone else was leading this thing. To be able to reach your girl and turn her, it couldn’t be a local in charge.”

“Guys,” Deuce said, his voice shaking. “Can we please find my baby girl?”

Ty gripped Deuce’s shoulder and squeezed. “We’ll stick together, when we come to a split, we’ll divide into groups. Cover more ground that way.”