He was still unconscious, but he was alive. For the moment. She looked up to find Gideon, Lila, and the teen watching. “Mr. Webb needs a hospital. We need to get out of here so we can call for help. Now.”
Gideon nodded. “That’s the new goal. Find a way out or a way to call for help.” He sucked in a breath and looked at Lila. “All right, let’s head back to the café and we’ll see if we can map out a plan.”
Maya gripped Del’s hand. “You and the others have this?”
“For now. We’ll come get you if we need you.”
“Okay. Good.” She nodded that she was ready, and they made their way out the door, only to run into Vance.
He stopped short. “Oh, hi.”
“Hey, man, everything okay?” Gideon asked.
“Uh, yeah. I mean not really. Just coming to see if I can get some more pain meds for Ellie. She’s still battling that migraine.”
“Let me take a look at her, Vance, please?” Maya asked.
He raked a hand over his head and sighed. “I would love that, but she’s convinced it will pass in the next few hours.” He shrugged. “She’s usually right, but this time has been intense, and it’s hard to watch her suffer like this.”
“I’ll come right now,” Maya said.
He hesitated. “No. She’s funny about that kind of thing. Let me ask her. I’ll get word to you if she agrees.”
Maya frowned. “All right, but please reassure her that I don’t mind.” She was worried it was more than a migraine, but unless the woman consented to an examination, Maya’s hands were tied. “Let me see what I can find. We’ve pooled our resources, and someone had some migraine meds they shared.” Desperate times called for desperate measures. “Tell me everything she’s allergic to.”
“Nothing. No foods, no meds, nothing.”
“All right, follow me.”
Once Vance had one dose of medicine for Ellie, they made their way back to the café and took their seats.
“So tell us about the tunnels,” Lila said.
“It looked like a cave initially,” Gideon said, “but once I got inside, I could see it was definitely man-made.” He looked around. “There was a maze of tunnels, and while it was hard to keep my sense of direction and stay oriented, I’m pretty sure one of them led this way.”
“Then there should be an entrance,” Maya said, “right? Or would it be an exit?”
“Guess it depends on which way you went in,” Lila said.
Maya laughed. “You know, when we were kids, we looked all over the place for anything that could be used to hide a treasure.”
“We didn’t go into the employee areas, though.”
“True, but I know some kids tried. I never was willing to break the rules.” She shrugged. “And now I’m glad, because obviously those who did so didn’t find anything either. But from what I remember they sure got in a bunch of trouble.”
Lila frowned. “You know, I think I may know what you’re looking for.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been here awhile and I’ve gone through every inch of this resort. I remember seeing a map-type thing tacked to one of the walls in the basement. I had no idea what it was and honestly didn’t think anything about it. Just figured it was someone’s weird art.”
“Where?” Maya asked.
Lila smiled. “You want me to show you?”
Gideon nodded. “Absolutely.”
Gideon and Maya followed Lila through the kitchen into a back hallway, and Gideon aimed himself toward the glass door at the end. “Let me take a look here first, will you? I’m curious to see if what I’m thinking is right.” He pushed the glass door open. “It’s a small alleyway where they dump the trash.” He pointed to the dumpster. Then stepped outside and let the frigid wind sweep over him. He shivered but ignored the cold while he took in the scenery. There was a small patio area surrounded by a brick wall. To his right, a wrought-iron gate was cracked open. Gideon walked to it and gave it a push. It swung out and he raised a brow.
