We trudge through the woods for what feels like hours, but is only minutes. I’ve quit trying to figure out where we are or howI would recognize this place. It’s like Stone’s forest, damp, but even more dark, more desolate.
Soon, we are brought up to a large warehouse, and it feels incongruent to be in the middle of the dark woods. Guards walk around the perimeter, and when they spot us, static erupts like a gunshot over their walkie-talkies.
My kindly escort murmurs to me. “Come. You will rest here.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Kami and Jacinda. They are moving to the left, and I panic, wondering where they are headed. I dig my sneakers into the muddy ground, shouting behind my gag.
His hands press into my arm, and I wince, bending to his will. “Do not make me hurt you, señorita. Please. I do not want to.”
I mumble around the restriction in my throat. He looks behind him and pulls down the cloth. I lick my dry lips. “Then tell me where they’re going,” I plead.
His sigh is deep, and he stops, whispering to me, making sure his voice doesn’t travel. “They will go to the other building. They will rest there. They will be fed and taken care of.”
There’s something behind his words, something more he wants to tell me, but I can’t figure it out. I nod, watching them be led away. I want to call out to them, but I don’t want to scare them. I have to keep calm. “Okay.”
I let him lead me on. We enter through an open door, and surprisingly, the inside resembles nothing like what I thought it would. It looks well-organized. The bottom floor is filled with chairs; a living room of sorts. Men are sitting around, and they stop to stare at me. Their perusal adds to the nerves racking my body. I’m led up a set of stairs, and when I trip, my captor keeps me steady.
“You will stay in your room and I will send Cara to help you.”
“Help me with what?” I frantically ask, looking around. This mansion, of sorts, with over 15 men loitering around, is like some bizarre dream. It’s beautiful inside. The floor is gleaming wood, and smells like lemons and furniture polish. Swiveling my head, I clock six doors down the long hallway.
As if I didn’t speak, he continues down the hallway until we are standing in front of a set of wooden double doors. He turns the knob, and we enter a massive bedroom. A gigantic bed is in the center against the wall, the sheets are pristine white, and it looks comfortable, but I blanch when I see the headboard. Handles and chains are hanging from them. Normally, I would be intrigued, but not when I have no idea why I’m here. Sex slavery? Kidnapping? Everything is running through my head at such a fast pace that I can’t focus on much more than not having a full-blown panic attack. I look around. No windows. The room is bare. No dresser. No closet. There is a toilet in the corner and a sink. I swallow. There is no privacy. I look up and feel my heart race. There are cameras in all four corners of the room. Jesus Christ.
The tugs at my hands bring me back from the brink of a meltdown, and I look behind me as he uses a scissor to cut through the zip ties that kept my hands behind my back. “Please do not try to escape. There are twenty men who will shoot you on sight if you try to escape. Don’t fight it. You will wait for Cara and then El Jefe will come.”
El Jefe.The name perks me up. It’s the name of a stinky-breathed man.
“Who’s El Jefe?”
He pauses, and I feel his fingers tremble. Whoever this El Jefe is, this man is clearly intimidated by him.
Finished with my wrists, he tucks the plastic ties in his pocket. I rub my wrists, blood rushes into my fingers, tingling.
“I will send Cara in.” With that, he leaves. I don’t know his name or even if I’ll see him again.
Suddenly, I realize the situation we’re in. I wonder what if Kamilah and Jacinda are alright. Are they in similar rooms? They are after me, so it’s my fault they are being hurt like this. Tears leak down my face. I’ll be sold, or raped, or killed. I’ll never see Valentina again, or my father, my brothers, or my friends. And Stone. Slumping on the bed, I close my eyes, tears leaking out. I think about him. I love him. I love the crazy, moody bastard, and I’m god knows where, unable to tell him.
∗ Brutes.The boss doesn’t like his things getting damaged.
Chapter 73
Crouching low in the bushes outside the warehouse structure in the middle of an obscure part of the woods, I wait. My body is armed. My gun is loaded. My knives are ready.
It took us two hours to travel from our location to Hamilton, NY. After making an educated guess, Riggs felt confident that whoever had Camryn and her friends would try to transport the women to Canada. Once they cross the border, finding them may become nearly impossible.
We split up, with Zeke and Caleb heading to the Oneida compound, and Rhodes, along with Scout and Linc, heading to the Essex location in case we miscalculated and Los Mestizos were taking Camryn, Jacinda Cortez-Brown, and Kamilah Friar there. Riggs was confident that El Jefe was in a wooded compound 30 minutes outside the main town.
I look over at Onyx. He’s dressed similarly, in fatigues and camouflage paint, with all his tactical weapons attached to his person, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. Riggs decided to stay close to the clubhouse. I had a strong suspicion that Hadrian was well aware of what was happening and was a part of Camryn’s kidnapping.
Using my binoculars, I scan the terrain and commit to memory what I see. Using my military training to make a quick assessment, I log the four men on the perimeter. Armed. Not enough to protect El Jefe, not nearly enough, but that’s his mistake in thinking he was safe here.
The main structure features ten windows with reflective panels, making it impossible to see inside. From the blueprints that Riggs was able to locate. The farmhouse isn’t new. The warehouse is new and was approved as a storage facility for forestry equipment. Cranes and other heavy machinery, but it’s clearly a home of some sort. Beyond the warehouse is the farmhouse. After watching for the last hour, multiple cars are parked in front of it. I check. Unoccupied. Onyx signals me and turns to him, nodding when he confirms what I just noticed. The same van, visible on the security feed, is parked off to the side. She’s there. My woman is there. Rage has settled in my body, simmering. I’ve calmed down enough to focus on what I need to do.
After Riggs, Onyx, Jace, and Silas, I watched the last of the video. Riggs went to his warehouse and returned with weapons.
Jace agreed to stay behind in case the women somehow found their way back,
Before I left, he warned me. “Bring her back and then stay the fuck away from her. If our friendship means anything to you, you stay away from her.”
His warning grates, pisses me off. I can’t agree to leave her alone. From the moment I touched her, the moment she let me taste her, let me bury myself inside her, I’ve abandoned the ability to keep away.
