Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(76)

An emergency weather alert appeared on Morgan’s phone screen. “The entire area is on a flash flood watch. People in low-lying areas are being encouraged to go to shelters.” She was glad her house was on high ground.

“Oh, no.” He stopped the Jeep. The Scarlet River coursed over the bridge that led out to the main road. “It’s too deep to drive through.” Hooking one arm behind the passenger seat, he backed up and turned the vehicle around. The Jeep surged forward.

Morgan grabbed the armrest. Water sprayed from the tires as the Jeep roared through a puddle.

Lance turned on the defroster to clear fog from the inside of the windshield. “I’ve been to the falls dozens of times. I didn’t know there was a cave there.”

“Me either,” said Morgan, though she had not been there in some years. Steep stairs and sheer rock drop-offs were not child friendly. Railings couldn’t be high enough to safely contain Sophie.

Lance looped through the neighborhood and left via the back exit. Morgan held her breath as they approached the second bridge, but it had been built higher. Water lapped at the edges, but the swell was still several feet below the road as they drove across. The trees on both sides of the road swayed. The ground was saturated from the recent heavy rains. Trees would go down tonight, hopefully not on them.

“There’s the lake.” But Morgan hardly recognized the normally placid water. Wind gusts had whipped its surface into white caps. “Oh, my God. The lake is everywhere.”

Four inches of water covered the parking lot.

“That’s not the lake.” Lance drove past the lake toward the falls, where the ground was higher. “That’s the Deer River.”

The parking area for the Scarlet Falls overlook was on high ground. Lance drove up the gravel road and parked the Jeep at the top. There were a few dozen cars in the lot, but they all looked empty. “People must have moved their cars here in case of flooding. It’s the highest elevation in the township.”

Morgan recognized Rylee’s old sedan and squinted out the Jeep’s windows. “Rylee is here.”

“Let’s go find her. Are you ready?” Lance stuffed a flashlight into a cargo pocket on his pants. “Do you want to wait in the Jeep?”

“No.” She tugged her waterproof jacket over her Glock. “It’s only rain, right?”

But as she stepped out of the vehicle, the fierceness of the driving torrent hit her full in the face. She leaned into the wind. The first observation deck wasn’t visible from the parking area. Foliage and trees blocked the view. Six wooden steps led to a wooden walkway, which made a sharp right turn around a stand of mature trees and ended at the first observation deck. On the other side of the platform, staircases that descended to the ground-level deck had been built to follow the natural contours of the rocks.

Lightning streaked across the sky. The crack of thunder followed right on its heels. The storm was on top of them.

On the third step, Lance leaned back and shouted over the storm. “Rylee said the cave was at the bottom of the falls. We’ll have to take the steps down. I hope he’s on this side of the water.”

Morgan kept one hand on the railing as they went up the steps to the walkway. She glanced over the edge and got her first view of the falls.

The waterfall was spewing twice its normal volume. Her gaze dropped to the ravine below. Large boulders filled the center of the ravine. Normally, the water flowed and eddied around them. But the water had risen so high that only the very tops of the boulders were visible. She scanned the bottom for a cave and saw a small opening at the base of the ravine wall, on the other side of the water. If the flooding continued at the current rate, it wouldn’t take long for it to rise above the cave’s entrance.

Anyone inside would drown.

Water slicked the wooden treads, and the wind whipped branches in her face. She slipped. By the time she caught her balance, the more athletic, better-coordinated Lance had moved a half dozen strides ahead of her. She rushed up the last few steps onto the landing, to be stopped by Lance’s hand.

Tina and Rylee stood in the far corner of the observation deck, drenched from the rain, eyes wide with terror as a man pointed a gun in their faces.





Chapter Thirty-One

Evan woke to the sound of thunder echoing in the small ravine. Rylee had brought him a real blanket. He pulled it up to his chin, but his teeth continued to chatter and the shiver that ran through him rattled his bones. His mouth and lips were dry, his skin was hot, and his arm throbbed. His fever was spiking again.

He reached for his water bottle. How long had it been since Rylee was here? The rain seemed to be going on forever, and the sky had been overcast all day. He had no idea what time it was or how much time had passed since she’d left.

Opening a protein bar, he forced himself to eat it, even though chewing nauseated him. But the protein would help him heal, as if that were possible. Once the food was in his belly, he swallowed more ibuprofen tablets.

A noise outside caught his attention. Had he heard voices? He tried to sit up, but dizziness forced him right back down to the ground.

Shit.

He should have taken the ibuprofen earlier. He waited a few more minutes for his head to stop spinning. Then he drained the bottle of water and opened a new one. He sipped every few minutes. He’d learned the hard way not to chug the water. Slow and steady worked best.