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“My name’s Aurora. I was kidnapped and brought here. I’m pregnant,” I said, thinking, how the hell did one have a conversation in a place like this?
“My name’s Aimee. I’ve been here roughly two months. I’ve been marking days. Can you get me out?” she whispered.
“I’ll try. It took me ages to pick my own locks,” I replied quietly.
Nervously, I crouched down and began working on the lock. All the while, my spine tingled as if somebody stood behind me. Several times I almost jumped out of my skin, convinced someone was here, but there wasn’t. My fear was going against me. The lock finally clicked, and I opened the door. Aimee struggled towards me, her ankle chain stretching to its max.
“Can you get me out?”
“Fingers crossed. Tell me where we are,” I said, crouching and working on her cuff.
“The guy is a cop. A bad one. He took me two months ago, and there were other women here. They disappeared, one two weeks ago and another last week. Asshole calls us his harem. Aurora, I don’t know what happened to the other girls… I can only guess,” Aimee looked at me with tears in her eyes. The horror behind them spoke of what had transpired to her. I didn’t ask, didn’t dare because, at the moment, we needed to disappear.
Today it was me being strong, leading the escape. Last time, it had been Casey. How life changed in such a short time. I worked quietly as Aimee kept watch over my shoulder. That shiver never faded, and I felt a sense of urgency. Just as the ankle cuff clicked open, everything went pitch-black. Aimee’s hand shot out and grabbed mine.
“It’s okay. Asshole does this to increase fear. It also means we’ve got a couple of hours before he comes down,” she whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“At night time, he switches everything off to scare us. We often hear noises too, but there’s nobody there. There are some sort of speakers, I think. When it’s morning, he turns the lights back on with a blast of a horn. It is frightening and disorientating. He does it on purpose. Can you get us out of here?”
Shit, it was hard enough picking the locks when I had light. In the pitch-black darkness, I sincerely doubted it. But if we stayed, what would happen? There wasn’t much choice. Aimee kept a tight grasp on me as we felt our way to the stairs. Several times we stumbled, and twice Aimee lost her grip when we fell, and I had to remain still until she found me again.
The steps proved just as dangerous because we tripped up them three times. Aimee cursed as much as I did, and I was happy to see her spirit hadn’t been broken. I banged into the door with my face, and we both froze, waiting for movement, but none came.
Quietly, I searched for the lock with my fingertips and, finding it, inserted the hairpin inside. Long, torturous minutes ticked past, and I gave up hope the lock would ever tumble when it opened with a loud click. Aimee clutched my shoulder tightly as we held our breath for someone to shout a warning, but nothing. I opened the door, creaked slightly, and blinked into the moonlight-filled room.
I entered the shabby kitchen, keeping Aimee behind me. Aimee was weak from being imprisoned, and not for the first time, I wished I was Casey. Hell, she’d have killed the asshole by now. I moved silently forward, spying an exit, and tested the handle. Locked. No surprise. I motioned for Aimee to check around and find a key while I bent with my trusted pin and began working.
Moments later, Aimee touched my shoulder and handed me a key. Sighing in relief, I shoved it in, and the lock turned. I yanked the door open and yelped as a screeching alarm echoed through the house. Without hesitation, Aimee and I took off for the treeline as a light appeared above us.
Chapter Eleven.
Aurora
Aimee and I hit the treeline and crashed through the bushes. Our primary aim was to put as much distance between the house and us as possible. Neither of us knew where we were heading. Fuck, we didn’t even know where we were. There were towering trees surrounding us, and I guessed we were in the mountains somewhere. Where, though, was a good question. Shouting erupted from behind us, and loud cursing as the asshole tracked us.
He may have strength, but we had full-blown fear. The further we ran, the more distant his voice got, but we weren’t particularly fit. And Aimee was weak from her incarceration. After a while, I motioned for Aimee to settle down behind a massive bush as we regained our breath. Our panting would have given away where we were, so it would be easier and safer to have control of our breathing. We’d hear him coming then.
It also made sense to stop our headless flight and try to find our bearings. In the distance, I spotted car headlights. I judged the distance to be about five miles, but those two pinpricks stood out like a beacon. My stomach clenched with hunger, and I rubbed it, hoping and praying my baby was okay.
“We have to head in that direction.” I peered up at the dark sky and picked two stars. “See that configuration? Aimee, keep them on our left. We’ll move forward quietly and slowly. If you see something that can be used as a weapon, grab it. If he gets close, whack him.”
Aimee nodded, and we climbed to our feet. We kept up a steady pace for what seemed a couple of hours but was probably only one. Slowly, we noticed the sound of running water nearby and headed towards it. After stumbling down the bank, we drank greedily. For me, it was the first drink since I’d been kidnapped. I finally got a chance to examine Aimee and was shocked.
The poor girl was filthy dirty but clearly beautiful. Aimee had short, cropped brown hair and big hazel eyes. Her mouth was a cupid’s bow, and her skin flawless, apart from the bruises marring it. Aimee was underweight and looked like a stiff wind could blow her over. But there was a fire in her eyes he hadn’t broken.
“Not what you thought?” Aimee spoke, and I chuckled dryly.
“Don’t know what I expected, honey. But if we can reach the road safely, do you have somewhere to go home?” I inquired.
“No, that’s why the motherfucker’s clever. I worked at a bank, but with no family to worry about my disappearance. Hell, I doubt anyone at work bothered to call me in for being missing. And if they did, he’d intercept and lose the report or bury it. The other two women worked at a diner and bar, and they have a high turnover of staff. So, their disappearances would have gone unnoticed, too,” Aimee replied bitterly.
“When we get out of here, I have a huge fucking family who’ll take you under their wing, honey. Shhh,” I said as I heard a twig snap. “Hide!”
Aimee moved soundlessly away, and I watched to cover her. I picked up the small but strong stick I’d found and crouched as low to the ground as I could. Another snap made shivers run down my back, and then a hand grasped my neck and swung me around. A blow to my face caused me to stumble, but I kept my balance because the grip was now around my throat.
I stared into a face that I shouldn’t be seeing.
