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As we exit the room, a man in a suit approaches, his face a mask of seriousness. Getting detained by the feds even for a little while will seriously hinder our ability to find Grace. There have been no reports of a woman being picked up and taken to a hospital along the routes from North Carolina, and that means she’s possibly still out in the elements. It’s cold as hell around here, making this a life or death, time-sensitive matter.
The man in the suit nods at Kid as he pauses in front of us. “Get what you need?”
“As much as he has,” Kid responds.
“Text me what you have,” the fed says as he walks past us into the room.
“My rights have been violated by those men!” Greg Fintler roars.
“What men?” the fed asks just before closing himself into the room.
The SWAT guy looks stunned. Honestly, I’d probably have the same shocked expression on my face if I hadn’t spent years training myself to keep my emotions locked down.
Legend walks out of the other room, wiping blood from his hands on a t-shirt that doesn’t belong to him.
“He’s a sick fuck, but he doesn’t know anything about Grace. His son lost her somewhere.”
“We received lots of calls out here over the years. These guys go at each other’s throats. We haven’t had any since the mother died,” the SWAT guy explains.
“So what are you thinking?” Kid asks, and my stomach sours even more because I can read the sheriff deputy’s thoughts before he speaks to them.
“There’s a chance Junior has Grace somewhere hidden for himself.”
“Martin will get that information out of him,” Kid says as he calls out for the team to leave. “We’ll start aerial searches along the highway and backroads from here. I’ll reach out to Blackbridge and see if they have the manpower to start back in North Carolina. We’ll meet in the middle.”
“She was drugged,” I remind him. “It’ll be more beneficial if we start on either border of Nebraska. She wouldn’t have woken up any earlier than that.”
Kid nods, agreeing with my reasoning.
“Shit, you guys are good,” the SWAT guy says with awe in his voice. “Any chance you’re hiring?”
Kid shakes his head as we file out of the house. Finding her is still a long shot, but at least we have enough information to narrow down the search.
I can’t help the pain in my chest of getting so close and still coming up empty-handed.
Chapter 8
Grace
“You can get in willingly, or I can make you,” the man seethes, his warm breath on my face, making me gag.
I try to turn my face away, but his meaty hand reaches out, pinching my face.
I thought the blindfold was going to help me. I assumed that having it over my eyes preventing me from seeing his face would increase my chances of survival.
Shortly after the dinner conversation I overheard yesterday, that security was ripped from my face because he wanted me to witness just how compliant his partner was. I was forced to watch the man take his wife in the most brutal ways I’ve ever witnessed. Each time I looked away, he hurt her more. When he finally finished after what seemed like hours of him fucking her, each grunt and forward thrust of his hips marked with a litany of degrading words, she was left broken and bloody, whimpering softly like she knew if she complained, he would only hurt her more.
He went to sleep shortly after, and she took her frustrations out on me. I’ll feel the damage from her kicks in my ribs for weeks. She cried the entire time she hurt me, but other than the cries of pain I couldn’t hold in, I didn’t make a sound.
The man seemed pleased when he woke and saw the damage she’d left behind on my naked body, but then he repeated what he did to her the night before due to frustration with the weather. The rainstorm that rolled in prevented them from following through with their plans last night, meaning I’ve endured another night of the woman hurting me because she wouldn’t survive if she stood up to him.
I’ve tried to feel sorry for her. If she truly is one of his victims and has been conditioned to live the way she has, that’s unconscionable. But at the same time, she has the freedom to leave the house and run from him. She was alone when she found me on that gravel road. I can’t wrap my head around her having those freedoms and staying.
“I’m losing my patience,” he growls, spittle from his mouth landing on my cheek. “Get in.”
I’m shaking all over, the tremble deep in my bones and uncontrollable, my legs refusing to work, my muscles locking up in fear.
They plan to kill me and lay my body out on campus. I hate that I even overheard them planning this earlier. Knowing you’re going to die is a hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Having to wait for it to happen, and be a willing participant is too much for my mind to handle.
