We skirted the edges of the garage to the door since the power was still off and we’d managed to come back into the house without any flashlights. We had no idea if Hunter might be hiding under a vehicle or somewhere else in the vastspace.
Ellion walked quickly to my bedroom. Chandler and Griffin’s voices coming from my room gave us the confidence to move freely. The furniture was as I’d leftit.
“I don’t think it’s been moved. He’s still inthere.”
Griffin turned to me. “We know. He’s been yelling at us through thewall.”
“Well, now what?” I crossed my arms. “I’m telling you, he’s going to be really pissed when we open that door. I hurt him prettybadly.”
“I’ll kill you, you vicious bitch.” Hunter’s muffled voice came through thedoor.
I swung my arms out and shrugged as if to say, “See?”
Chandler sighed. “Okay, Griffin, stand guard. Ellion and Linda, go get rope. I’ll go get theTaser.”
We complied with his requests after a smartass salute on my part. Ellion led me to a utility closet in the garage. He maneuvered around the house in complete darkness with noproblem.
“Have you had some sort of stealth training?” Iasked.
“Yes, I’ve had about every training you can imagine.” He grabbed several lengths of rope and a couple more flashlights before we returned to the littlebedroom.
Chandler met us at the door. “You ready?” he asked Griffin as we entered. Griffin had already moved all the furniture except thearmoire.
“We’re going to open the door now.” Griffin raised his voice so Hunter could hear him clearly. “We have a gun on you, but we have no desire to shoot you. We also have a Taser aimed at you. We’re going to tie you up and take you into the kitchen to questionyou.”
The closet wassilent.
“I'll take your silence as acquiescence. We’re opening the door now. Don’t make us shootyou.”
Ellion handed me a gun and he held the Taser pointed at the door. Griffin and Chandler dragged the armoire out of the way. Griffin held three fingers up, and Ellion nodded. He counted to three silently and then opened thedoor.
Hunter was passed out on the closet floor. Chandler shined the light on him, and his face looked worse thanever.
Griffin hissed through his teeth. “How’d you do that?” The scars on his face seemed more prominent next to the raw, red skin onHunter’s.
I realized I’d stopped seeing his scars when I looked athim.
“He ruined dinner. So I, uh, hit him in the face with a blazing hot skillet.” I adopted an innocent expression. “It seemed fitting, given what he did toyou.”
Griffin stared at me, his expression unreadable. He blinked a couple of times and then turned back to the closet to tie Hunter up. When his hands were bound, the guys hoisted him to his feet, and Hunter came to with ayell.
“Yeah, you’re going to be in a lot of pain,” Griffin said. “It doesn’t get better for a very longtime.”
They frog marched Hunter toward the living room. Once they had him sitting in a kitchen chair near the fire, they tied himsecurely.
“What did you do to the generator?” Chandlerasked.
Hunter’s head rolled back on his neck, and he laughed. “I’m not telling you,” hesaid.
“I can put that skillet back on the fire, you know,” I said. “I’m not afraid to hurt youagain.”
Ellion touch my arm, and I pulledback.
“Hunter,” he said. “If you tell us how to fix it safely, as soon as we return I’ll put some aloe on your burn. I don’t think it’s third degree since it didn’t char, but it could be. I also have some colloidal silver I can put on it to preventinfection.”
Stepping forward again, I got in Hunter’s face. “If you don’t help them, or if they come back injured, I’ll burn the other side of your face. I promise you that.” I prayed he believed me because no way could I do thatagain.
Tears leaked out of his eye. I was surprised he wasn’t crying out from the pain. Burns generally come with the worst pain a person can endure. He finally agreed and explained to Ellion how to fix the generator. Ellion and Chandler went to the shed while Griffin and I questionedHunter.
