Danger at the Border by Terri Reed Read Free Book Online Page B

full of men with guns apparently revived what little faith Tessa had absorbed.
    By the time the vehicle came to a jerking halt, Tessa’s body felt bruised and sore. Doors opened. Hands grabbed her by the feet and dragged her along the floor of the van before tipping her upright so her feet were on solid ground. The sunlight filtering in through the burlap material assaulted her eyes. The humming noise was louder here.
    “Take them to the holding cell.”
    She didn’t like the idea of that, but at least she and Jeff would be together. She wanted to believe that together they would find a way out of this.
    An unseen man led her forward. Gravel crunched beneath their feet. She heard the squeak of a door hinge. The bag was removed from her head. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. She was standing in front of the open door of a wooden toolshed.
    “Go in.” The man at her side was young, maybe twenty, with long, stringy hair and dull brown eyes. He didn’t look like a killer.
    “Please, help us,” Tessa pleaded in a low voice.
    “Go in,” the young man repeated more firmly this time before his now-fearful gaze darted past Tessa. “Hurry.”
    Following his gaze, Tessa saw a big, burly man with a ragged scar down one side of his face shove Jeff, who still wore a bag over his head, toward them. The burly man did look like a killer. Or at least what she imagined one to look like, but she’d never faced one before, so she really didn’t know. Hysteria danced at the edges of her mind. A chill chased down her spine. She hung on to her self-control by a thread.
    The younger man pushed Tessa. She stumbled into the shed.
    “Get in there,” the burly man barked as he thrust Jeff inside.
    Jeff fell to the floor. The door slammed shut. For a moment, the young man peeked through the small window in the door before disappearing from view. A side window provided light but no air to the dank space.
    “Tessa?” Jeff got to his knees.
    “Here.” She went to him. “Stay down for a sec. Let me try to get the hood undone.” She turned her back to him. Her bound hand fumbled with the hood but she managed to work it up and off his head.
    When she turned around to look at him, she gasped. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A bruise formed on his cheek. “You’re hurt.”
    “Not bad.” He got his feet beneath him and walked to the window. “We’re in some sort of compound.”
    She joined him and peered out. Two buildings were visible. Several young men walked by.
    “We need to get untied,” Jeff said. “Turn around and let me get those ropes off you.”
    She felt his hands tugging at the knot holding her wrists together. She winced as the rough material cut into her flesh. Then the bonds loosened enough that she could wiggle her hands free. “You did it.”
    She hurried to untie the rope wound around his wrists. The knot was stubborn, but she prevailed. The rope dropped away.
    “Good job.” Jeff moved to inspect the door, the walls.
    Rubbing her wrists, she said, “How long do you think they’ll keep us here?”
    “No telling. I’m not sure why they are keeping us alive.”
    “We’re going to die, aren’t we?” She hated the panic rising in her voice.
    He moved to her side and cupped her cheek. “We’ll find a way out of here. God expects me to do all I can and trust the rest to Him.”
    His words were reassuring. But the dread in her middle didn’t lessen one bit. She searched his eyes and saw the same certainty reflected back at her—they were trapped in a four-by-six shed with no way out. Escape was their only option. But how?
    * * *
    Jeff kept watch out the window. One of the two visible buildings appeared to be the mess hall. Several young men came out carrying plates of food. His mouth watered, and his stomach cramped.
    He inspected the hinges of the door for the umpteenth time. There was no way to pry the hinges apart from the inside without some sort of knife. His had been taken when