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“Sutton?”
“In the flesh. I’m guessing your legs are numb.” I fell backwards onto my ass and rubbed my limbs as pins and needles prickled them. The girls around me were also free, and it was then that I spotted an armed man dressed all in black at the door. I flinched slightly.
“He’s one of ours,” Sutton explained. “Let me help you to your feet. We have to leave.” She held her hands out, and I managed to stand on wobbly legs.
I watched as young faces turned to each other in terror. “How can I help?”
“Just reassure everyone that we’re friends. But we have to movenow.”
I walked as quickly as my feet would allow and helped gather the other prisoners. “I know these people,” I murmured in as soothing of a voice as I could muster. “They’re here to get us the hell out of here.” I slipped my arm around two of them and nodded for the others to follow Sutton.
Sutton hurried out of the room, down the hall, and out of the building. Fragrant, delicious, untainted air greeted me as I stepped into the night. I urged the other girls forward, then exhaustion buckled my legs, and I plummeted to the ground. I couldn’t stand.
“Giselle!” Sutton crouched down next to me. “Can you get up?”
“I’m trying.” I struggled to get my feet under me, until finally, with Sutton’s support, I was back up. I mentally swore for needing a very pregnant woman’s assistance. This had to be hard on her.
“I’m going to help you to the van. It’s just up ahead.” Sutton slipped an arm around my waist while I used her for balance.
I glanced up and saw the girls climb into a dark-colored van. Hobbling as fast as I could, I was the last one in, needing the man in black to help me aboard before he closed the doors.
Suddenly, panic ripped through me, and I attentively sat onto the van’s bench. We weren’t out of danger yet, and even if Sutton had found us, Donovan would never stop searching for me.
The engine purred to life, and Sutton crawled from the front passenger seat to the back.
“Hi everyone.” She knelt on the carpeted floor. “My name is Sutton and I’m a friend of Giselle’s.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “We’re taking you somewhere safe where you can have a shower, clean clothes, and food. After you get some sleep, I’ll talk to each of you to see if you want to return to your home, or if there’s a safer place I can offer you.”
“What if the bad people find us again?” A blonde with big brown eyes wiped her runny nose.
“I promise you they won’t. If you were safe with your family, then we’ll help you return. You won’t be in any more danger.”
I grimaced, wondering how Sutton could guarantee that, but then I remembered Ashkov dropping on the stage. Once I was alone with Sutton, I would ply her with a million questions before I broke down and sobbed. I would cry from relief that Sutton found us and misery because Zayne wasn’t with her. Somehow, I had almost convinced myself that he had lived, but if he had, he would have been with Sutton tonight, and I would be in his lap instead of the back of a van with nine other females.
“We have a long drive, but …” Sutton leaned over to an ice chest I hadn’t spotted when I’d climbed in. “I have Gatorade, sandwiches, chips, and even some chocolate chip cookies.”
The small space filled with excited voices, and my heart squeezed with Sutton’s thoughtfulness.
Sutton remained on the floor next to me as we all ate silently. I wasn’t sure about the other girls, but I struggled to understand everything in order.
I finally settled on one thread as the most important. “Do you know where my sister, Ashley, is?”
A pained expression twisted Sutton’s face. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t.”
My heart sank. Maybe she was still at my parents’ home, but that wasn’t any better of a fate. “I saw Ashkov on the stage.” I ensured my voice was low enough that the other girls couldn’t overhear our conversation.
Sutton nodded, nibbling at her cookie.
“What happened?” I took a drink of my orange Gatorade, grateful she had brought something to parch the desert in my throat.
Sutton popped a chip in her mouth and shook her head.
“You don’t know, or you’re not going to say?”
She placed a finger over her lips. “Leave it alone for now. I realize you have questions, but I can’t safely disclose any information here,” she whispered.
“Is he dead? Just give me that, please.” My voice sounded whiny even to my own ears, but I was desperate to learn if that fucker lived. If he did, I would be hiding for the rest of my life.
Sutton stared at her black boots, then looked up at me. “I’m not sure. I slipped through the back entrance to get to you and the others, but that’s all I have.” Her blue eyes filled with concern as she pressed her lips into a thin line.
