Dangerous Designs Read online

  ***

  Storey was beyond pissed and had jumped completely into terror. Something had gone majorly wrong in her world. And she didn't know how to reverse it. Initially anger had held the fear in check, only now it clogged her throat and clouded her vision. She'd gone from being warm and cozy on top of her bed to this dark hole with a chill settling into her bones. The thought of being stuck in this blackness forever kept shudders creeping up and down her spine. Please, let this not be the end of her world.

  The world had to be out there somewhere. No direction appeared to be a better bet than another. She couldn't just stand still forever.

  "Hello? Is someone there?"

  Storey spun around, excited relief blasting through her. "Help! Hello? Can someone hear me?"

  "Hang on. I'm coming."

  Oh thank God. She was saved! Storey couldn't believe it. Someone must have heard her screams. As soon as thoughts of a rescue slid into her mind, she realized how much worse her situation could have been. Her sleeping attire was usually a camisole and matching shorts. To think she'd almost changed for bed.

  The darkness in front of her lightened. Storey pivoted to see a slice of sunlight opening up behind her. The slice widened, highlighting the old worn plank floor. Weird. Dashing to the doorway open just enough for her to slip through, she blinked in the bright light. The sun crested the mountain top. It was morning? How long had she been in there?

  She turned to look at her rescuer.

  Eric.

  His lopsided grin flashed, that killer look of pure bad boy. Like he'd just come off a hot night. She gulped. The goose bumps on her arms had to be from the cool mountain air.

  "Hey, Storey. What the hell were you doing in there?"

  "In where?"

  Storey spun around and studied the door. It didn't look like the one in her picture. In fact, it looked like an ordinary plain old door. Wood, some kind of cut moulding running around the edge and a standard issue round door knob. The door attached to a large front wall of some kind. No name identified the purpose or location. Stripped of paint and worn, the whole thing had an abandoned look to it.

  "Where am I?" Puzzled, she backed to see what the door attached to. "What is this place?"

  "It's an abandoned mine entrance."

  She spun around. "It's what?"

  Eric pointed out the landmarks. "This is the trailer entrance to the old Bankhead mine. Remember, it closed down a few years back?"

  "How did you know? I thought you were new?" she murmured with a sidelong glance. That she could actually keep a conversation going was a freakin’ miracle. So what if it was a mine entrance? What she really wanted to know was how the hell she managed to get inside.

  "If you never knew about it, how did you get inside?"

  Trying for nonchalance she didn't feel, Storey went for simplicity. "I fell down a hole, ended up in the mine."

  A long slow whistle escaped his lips, his eyes widened in shock. "Wow. Good thing I found you when I did. You could have been stuck in there forever."

  Oh, God. He was right. A shudder worked up her legs giving them to the consistency of noodles. And as much as she wanted to bolt from this place, she knew she had to have answers. Otherwise, what would stop her from ending up here again? She needed to go back in - with the door open for light.

  "Come on, let's go home." Eric faced the wide gravel road overgrown by bushes and weeds.

  Storey glanced from the door to the road then back to the door. She had to know. "Just a second."

  A few quick steps and she had her hand on the doorknob before she could talk herself out of it. It wouldn't open. She frowned and spun back to Eric. "Did you lock it again?"

  "Lock what?" He walked back and tested the door himself. It wouldn't open. "No. I didn't. At least, I didn't think so."

  "Freaky," she murmured. The door was old and rusty. Eric stood off to one side, hands on his hips glaring at her. Had he'd locked it to stop her from going back inside? Then again, why not just say so? Or maybe he'd locked it accidentally.

  "Are you coming?"

  "Yeah, "she said with one long last look at the door.

  She'd explore later. When Eric wasn't around. And when she had a flashlight.

  Something beyond weird was going on and she needed to know what it was.