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“Grace? Bodyguard Grace?”
“That’s the one.”
“She’s here?” Cate looked around.
“She and Jenna went back to the lodge to call Wade for us, but despite us insisting they stay away, I’m sure they’ll be back knowing them as I do.”
Chapter Forty-One
Samanthastucktotheshadows as she made her way to the door she and Gavin had used to sneak out of the party a few days earlier. If it was open, she could get in there and rescue the ladies being held inside. Vanessa had mentioned a library as the means for entering the private rooms in the house, but she hadn’t known the code to open the dormitory door. She’d claimed Brittany had memorized it, so if Sam needed to find her. With the size of the estate, it would be a challenge, but she had to try.
She climbed a set of spiral stairs to the second floor and spotted a guard at one of the doors. It had to be where Mason was keeping Brittany. What other reason would he have for guarding the door? She needed a distraction. How could she get the guard to leave the room. An idea came to her, and she hurried back outside and tossed pebbles at the window. A man tried to open the window, but it didn’t budge. She hurried back inside and hid in a closet with a view of the door. If things went as she hoped, the guard would barrel outside to find out who was throwing the rocks. It would be even better if the man at the window went with him.
But why did Mason have another man in the room with Brittany? Her stomach roiled when it hit her. Vanessa had said that Emmaline was too marry tonight. Could that be where she was being kept?
A prayer fell rose from her heart asking God to spare Emmaline from what was planned for her that evening. Even as the prayer rose, she knew she was too late, so she asked the Lord to give Emmaline the strength to endure what had happened and to heal her psyche from the trauma she’d endured.
When the guard ran through the door, she hurried up the stairs and bounded into the room. The man was frozen in place dressed only in a pair of boxers. Samantha gestured for a teary eyed Emmaline to come to her. “Do you have a robe?”
The girl pointed to the attached bathroom, and Sam grabbed the silk robe from the back of it and helped Emmaline put it on. “Let’s get out of here.”
Thesoundoflaughterbroke through the silence of the evening, and Gavin looked up to see Mason holding a gun to Grayson’s head. “Ah, sweet Cate, your eldest brother isn’t so tough when faced with a bullet to his brain. Why don’t you be a doll, and come on over here? Dennis wouldn’t be happy if I let his pet escape.”
Fire exploded in Gavin’s veins. The situation was untenable. He was helpless. If he did anything other than stand still, his brother would die. If he did nothing, this creep would get his hands on his sister again.
“Let’s all walk slowly back to the bunker. Once your safely locked up, you boys can talk all you want. Of course, I’ll be taking Cate with me. She was going to make a nice man a wonderful bride, but now that she’s managed to annoy me, she’ll be nothing more than a toy to be passed around among our most loyal members. That should be a suitable punishment. Don’t you think so?”
The thought of anyone putting their hands on his baby sister made his skin crawl and had him longing to reach for his Glock.
“Cate, do me a favor, dear, get your brother’s pistol and bring it over to me. Keep it pointed at the ground like a good girl.”
Cate did as she was told, and Gavin thought he might explode with rage. A movement up on the knoll caught his eye, but he didn’t turn that way. If help was nearby, he didn’t want to alert Mason to their presence.
“March along, boys. We don’t have all night. Brittany and Katarina have waited long enough for their husband to join them in our chambers.”
The thought nauseated him. No woman should have to endure the presence of this snake in their lives.
“I do appreciate the ten million dollars you donated, boys. It was a generous contribution, but I feared their might be strings attached, so I’ve been watching for your return.”
They walked a few more yards before he spoke again. “I’d truly hoped you could be persuaded that serving a purpose greater than yourselves was worthwhile and that you might join me doing God’s work, but it’s obvious from your actions tonight that you cannot be trusted to choose the righteous path.”
They reached a set of stairs leading down to a steel door, and before Gavin could start down the steps, Mason kicked him in the kidneys sending him flying down ahead of the others. “You should be glad I’m letting you take some of Cate’s punishment. But know this, I’m only doing so to keep her beauty intact. I wouldn’t want to damage that adorably freckled face of hers.”
MasonsmiledatGavin’sprone form. This was more fun that he’d had in ages. It might not be a bad thing to have Warden out of the picture for the evening. If he’d been around, Mason would’ve assigned him to dole out punishment, but it was far more enjoyable to do so himself.
Cate remained covered with her brother’s jacket. A situation that needed to be remedied posthaste. He couldn’t let her feel she had any dignity left. He also needed to find out how Dennis had let her escape, but first he had to get the boys into lockup. He gave Grayson a shove. Then grabbed Cate and held the gun under her chin. Controlling the tiny woman was easier than holding onto Grayson, and he knew both boys would do anything to protect their sister.
“Walk.” Gavin got to his feet and limped beside his brother who held the steel door open for him. Once they were all inside, Mason noticed Samantha’s cell door was open and sucked in a sharp breath. Warden. It had to have been him. He’d pay for the trouble he’d caused.
“Get in.” He waved with his free hand to the room where he’d kept Gavin’s girlfriend. Grayson and Gavin followed his orders as expected and he shut the door behind them and waited for the lock to engage. Then he turned his attention back to the prize and tore the jacket from her tiny frame and drank her in with his eyes. “You’ve been a naughty girl, Cate. And you’ll pay the price for your insolence. But first you need to take a little nap.” He tapped the side of syringe, shot some of the drug into air, and then injected the remainder into her vein.
He grabbed her wrist and drug her to the next cell. When the door swung open, he frowned at Dennis sitting on the cot with his head in his hands. “Care to explain how it is that I found this little slip of a thing out wandering around the property while you’re sitting in her cell?”
Chapter Forty-Two
Samanthaprayedforahedge of protection as she helped Emmaline through the woods toward the fence line where she’d caught Gavin trying to break and enter weeks earlier. There were weak spots in the fence she’d noticed when checking out drone activity. If she could find one of them now, they could escape the property without climbing it and getting snagged on the barbed wire along the top.
When they reached the fence, a cloud covered the moon making it impossible to see clearly. She had a general sense of where her uncle’s tree stand was. One of the weakest spots in the fence was in line with it, so if she could get them there, she could get Emmaline to safety. Sam yelped as she stepped on a rock. Moving barefoot through the woods was dangerous. Thankfully, rattlesnakes and copperheads didn’t often come out at night, but plenty of other creatures made the forest their home and moved about in the darkness. The screech of an owl punctuated the thought.
