Page 43 of Defending Van

Reaching over, she hesitated for a second, then closed the woman’s eyes. Then she turned and ran. Locking the cage behind her, she took off for the bedroom door. All she had to do was get through the house and outside without anyone spotting her.

If she were seen, it was all over. Even if they hadn't seen her face when she was first brought here, they would know who she was as soon as they saw her. She couldn’t speak Japanese, so she couldn’t even tell anyone to keep their distance, although she had no idea what reason she’d give even if she could speak the language. She didn't even know how to get to an exterior door, or what she would find once she got outside. If she ran into people, she wouldn't be able to kill them as easily as she had the maid, although she still clutched the bloody knife in her hand.

But none of that mattered.

Living meant trying, so she tried to still the tremors rocking her body, opened the bedroom door, and stepped into the hall, praying like she’d never prayed before, that she could make this happen.

August 31st

10:17 A.M.

A screen sat on his lap, a tablet playing a movie, his program ran in the background, checking all the cameras set up. Yesterday, after he spoke with Falcon, he’d come back with more cameras—the reason he’d given for heading out for a bit—and spent the rest of the day installing them.

Of course, they still needed the footage, but what he really wanted was the address of the person who had bought Makayla. He was sure that was one of the two people Prey had been looking for, and he was already ninety percent sure he knew who the other head of Azure was.

Prey was doing everything on their side to find the address of her Japanese buyer, and he was doing what he could, too. Not that he could do much. Everyone else was occupied with their five remaining guests, and with the other rooms now also prepared, they were getting ready to rebuild their stock so they could go back into full business.

Last night, he hadn't been able to leave the building. He knew he should go to a motel and grab a few hours of sleep, but he couldn’t seem to make himself go.

This was the last place he’d been with Makayla. This was the only place he’d been with her and leaving here felt like completely leaving her behind. Prey had a team ready to go as soon as they had an address, and if he could figure out a way to go with them, he would, but if not, he trusted that they could get her out.

The problem was, Makayla didn't know that.

For all she knew, she was on her own, and it terrified him what she would do. There was zero chance she’d just sit there quietly and wait for rescue. She was going to fight, she was going to come up with some sort of plan to get herself out, and in doing so, she’d be putting herself in more danger.

The worst part was, he couldn’t even blame her for it. He’d been the one to tell her to fight smarter next time, keep her emotions out of it, and do whatever she needed to do to protect herself and live. Which he respected. He was proud of her for maintaining her spirit, but he couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that could happen to her.

She was so vulnerable, and⁠—

“Van!” Griffin’s voice echoed through the building. From the tone, it seemed that something was wrong, but he had no idea what. All the other women were safely tucked away. There was no chance that anyone could know he was undercover. The camera system was up and running, and the factory was pretty much fitted out now. There was nothing wrong as far as he could see.

“In here,” he called back, not shifting off the couch where he was sprawled.

“Of course you're watching a movie,” Griffin muttered when he stormed into the room a moment later.

Shrugging, he set the tablet down. “What else should I be doing?”

Growling, the other man reached out and snatched up the tablet sitting on the couch beside him. For a moment, it looked like Griffin was going to toss the electronic across the room as though it were personally responsible for whatever had him worked up, but the man didn't. Instead, his fingers curled tightly around it, tight enough that Van almost expected the man to snap it with his bare hands.

“Going to tell me what's got you all flustered?” he drawled in a tone he knew would irritate Griffin. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to frustrate the second in command of Azure for fun, it was just that everyone here expected him to be unconcerned about everything, distracted by whatever he was watching, and empty inside.

“The girl,” Griffin snarled.

“What girl?” he asked, but his stomach churned. Was it Makayla? She was the only one here who had caused trouble recently, but she was gone now, there was nothing she could have done that would have gotten back to Griffin. Was there?

“The crazy one who beat up Josh.”

A small snicker passed Griffin’s lips at the mention of Josh getting knocked out by Makayla. Because they didn't want to risk the cops getting involved, Josh hadn't been taken to a hospital, but they had cleaned him up and stitched his wounds. They were pretty sure Josh had been given a concussion, but he’d be all right, and even if he wasn't, Van didn't care. He’d deserved what he’d gotten and so much more.

“Makayla Adair,” he said, his voice completely calm, even as he was desperate to shake answers out of the other man and find out what the hell was going on with her.

“Yeah, that one.”

“She’s sold. Why is she our problem anymore?”

“Because of who bought her,” Griffin said through gritted teeth.

“No idea who bought her,” he reminded the man. It wasn’t their job to know who purchased the women. Of course, Van usually knew anyway, because he had reason to keep track of the buyers, but Griffin didn't know that. This time, he had a name, but everything he and Prey had done with the name and the bank account details hadn't led them to an address where Makayla could be being kept, and that was all he cared about.