by Dale Mayer
Her voice hoarse, she called out, “Help. Please help.”
More silence.
And she waited. Please let that not be Colin sneaking in to test her. A man popped his face around the doorway. She heard his startled exclamation, followed by the appearance of a second man.
She didn’t recognize either of them. She stared at both terrified and yet filled with hope. “Please untie me,” she begged. “Help me get away before he gets back.”
The men rushed to her side, one going to her hands, the other moving toward her feet. The man at her hands studied her face as he worked to untie her bindings and asked, “Who the hell did this to you?”
She stared up at him. “Colin Fisher. He’s the man who tied me up.”
He froze, then went back to her bindings.
She knew her mind was fuzzy, but it didn’t make any sense that they had broken into an apartment and didn’t know whose it was. Unless they were casing the joint. But then why stick around now? “Did you not know who lived here when you broke in?”
The first man shot her a hard glance and asked, “How do you know we broke in?”
She was about to answer, but her hands were freed then, and her arms fell to the bed. She cried out as pain screamed up them to her shoulders. The man grabbed her arms and gave them a good shake before massaging them.
“Take it easy,” he said. “If your arms have been like this for a long time, it’ll hurt like crazy to move them.”
She gasped, unable to stop the tears in her eyes. “You’re not kidding. I’ve been like this since this morning when he left. But he’s kept me tied up off and on for two days now.”
“Any idea where he’s gone?”
“To meet his friends. The ones he keeps threatening me with.”
The second man at her feet finally released her legs. He worked the bottom of her calves and the soles of her feet and ankles, massaging them as he slowly moved her legs up and down, bending her knees.
The pain coursing through her made it impossible to speak. When she could, she said, “Colin told me he knew men who would buy women like me.”
“Like you?” the man nearest her asked.
She shot him a confused look. “I presumed he meant any women that crossed him because I wasn’t giving him what he wanted.”
The man stopped and stared down at her. “Did he rape you?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been out of it most of the time. I don’t think so, but he gave me an ultimatum. He said if I didn’t agree to submit, he’d sell me to these men.”
“Still rape. No matter which way you cut it.” He bent down and picked her up in his arms, carrying her out to the living room. “And he likely planned to sell you regardless. He would get something for himself and terrorize you even more.”
She didn’t know if she should clutch him or try to run away. Once he placed her in a chair, she realized how rubbery her legs were, as well as her arms.
He continued massaging her legs and feet, getting the blood moving once again.
She gave him a wobbly smile and said, “Thank you.” She glanced at the door. “We really need to get the hell out of here.”
“Tell us more about Colin,” the first man said. “We can’t let him do this again.”
She shook her head, as if clearing it. “I’m a nurse. He said he worked part-time as an orderly. He kept asking me out, and I refused. After that it was just a nightmare, as if I was already his girlfriend and just being difficult. He kept stalking me. He finally caught me in the cafeteria, and I sat and had coffee with him.”
“Did you call the police, report the stalking?” the second man asked.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “I was hoping he’d stop then. But I don’t remember anything after having coffee.” She stared at the strangers. “Who the hell are you guys anyway? Not that I’m not grateful. I really want to get out of here.” She glanced around, not even giving them a chance to answer and asked, “Is my purse here?”
“I’ll look,” the second man said.
The first man stopped massaging and gently put her foot on the floor.
“Thank you. I’m Alina Chambers,” she whispered. “Who are you?”
“I’m Logan, and my buddy is Harrison. We work for a Texas private security company.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “You’re lucky we showed up to check out this apartment for a potential problem.”
She stared at him blankly. “I’m sure this makes sense to you, but it doesn’t to me.” She pushed her hands down on the chair and struggled to her feet. “I have to leave before he gets back. Where are my shoes and purse? I can call the cops, but I’m afraid he’ll get bail and be out on the streets after me in no time.”
She took a couple steps and had to hang on to the wall for support. “How can I be so weak?”
“Did he give you any drugs?” Logan asked at her side, putting an arm around her shoulders to support her. He helped her to the front door and pointed to a set of women’s boots on the floor. “Those yours?”
“Yes,” she cried gratefully. He bent down and lifted first one foot and then the other. Using his back for support, she stepped into her boots.
She felt better already. What was it about having boots that gave her a little more security and self-confidence?
“Logan?” Harrison’s voice came from the other room. “You need to see what I found.”
Logan straightened and patted her on the shoulder. “Stay here at the door. Let me see what he discovered.”
She leaned against the wall next to the front door, wondering if she could go outside. Surely it was a whole lot safer than being inside. But she really wanted her purse. She waited a long moment, then struggled toward where the men had disappeared. She found them in the kitchen.
At her arrival, Logan turned and asked, “Are any of these yours?” On the table was an assortment of purses.
Shocked, she could feel herself swaying. She clung to the counter as she studied the neat rows and counted fifteen of them. Her bones turned to rubber, and all the heat drained from her body. She whispered, “How many women has he done this to?” She took a deep breath and nodded to the purse on the far end. Even her joy at seeing it didn’t begin to wipe out the enormity of what they’d found. “The burgundy leather one at the far end looks like mine.”
Logan picked it up, opened it and gave it to her. “Your wallet is still in there.”
“Where did you find these?” she cried out, going through her wallet and purse in relief.
Harrison pointed to cupboard above the fridge. “They were up there in a box.”
Leaning against the kitchen counter, she quickly went through hers. “My apartment and car keys, wallet, money, and even credit cards are all still in here.” She reached up a hand to wipe her forehead. “That’s a relief. What do we do about all those?” She pointed to the remaining ones. “If a woman has gone missing for every purse here …”
The two men exchanged hard glances.
“We have to call the police,” she said reluctantly. “He has to be stopped.”
Logan glanced at her and asked, “Do you live in Boston?”
Her eyes grew wild. “Boston? I’m in Boston?” She shook her head. “No, I live in Somerville and work at the university hospital there.”
“That’s, what? A half hour from here?”
She gave a quick nod, then covered her mouth with her hands.
Logan lifted her arm.
She glanced down to see the swelling at the top of her shoulder. “So he did drug me.” She watched his face as he nodded.
“Looks like it. And it doesn’t look like your system appreciated it either.” He glanced at Harrison. “She needs a hospital.”
“And we should contact Levi.”
“Who’s Levi?” Alina asked, now suspicious about any newcomers in her life.
“Our boss,” Logan told her.
“They were right about the trafficking ring,” Harrison said.
“Crap,” Alina said. “I thought he was just using that as a threat.”
Logan pointed at the line of purses. “I highly doubt this is a purse-snatching problem.”
She started to shake, and then tears sprang to her eyes. She turned and leaned on the counter, feeling her breath whooshing out of her body. “Oh, my God! How close did I come to ending up like these poor women?”
“Damn close I’d say.” Logan stayed at her side, gently rubbing her shoulders and back. He turned to Harrison. “Want to call Levi from the other room?” He turned to her, bending down to study her face.
She gave him a wan smile and said, “I’m okay. Honest, I’ll be fine.”
He nodded. “You are now. Do you have any idea how long ago Colin left and when he’s supposed to be back?”
“He said a couple hours.” She closed her eyes, trying to think. Time seemed so unreal. “I’m not sure how long ago that was. I was lying there, figuring out how to get free. This is the first time he’s ever left me alone.”
“You sure he didn’t touch you?”
She stared at him with tears growing in her eyes. “How am I supposed to know? If he drugged me, how would I even…” And she started to cry.
He turned her into his arms and held her close. “Take it easy. You’ve been through a huge ordeal, but you’re safe now.”
She shook her head, her tears dripping onto his shirt, and mumbled, “How can you say that? We’re still in this place where I was held captive. You haven’t caught the bad guy yet. And I highly doubt you’ll do so now. But I can’t let him go free.”
“You don’t have much trust in the legal system, do you?”
She shook her head. “I’m a nurse, and had worked in one of the poorer areas in town. It was incredible the amount of repeat people we saw. Abused women, gang fights, and rape victims.” She shook her head. “The world’s a mess out there.”
For Alina, snuggling in close to the big and strong man at her side for the moment was a heady experience. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and clung.
He held her tighter. “It’s going to be okay. Harrison and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She lifted her head and stared up at him. He dwarfed her five feet four; she guessed he had to be at least six feet four. She was small-boned and lean, and he was the opposite—an easy 240 pounds. She shook her head.
“Let me take you to the hospital,” he said. “Get you checked over.”
“Then I’ll be in the system, and that’s not a happy place to be.”
“Trust,” he said firmly. “You need to trust.”
She gave him a weak smile. “For all I know, you are two of the men Colin was talking about.”
Logan shifted and grabbed his wallet from his back pocket. “I can fix that right now. He pulled out his Legendary Security ID for her to see. “I was also in the military for ten years. I’m not into beating, hurting, or trafficking women.” He smiled. “And I like teddy bears, birthday cake, and suntanning by the pool.”
She blinked. “What does any of that have to do with trafficking?”
“All I’m saying is, I have a much softer side. Just a normal man. I’m not a monster.”
She understood. That was exactly what Colin was—a monster. She glanced at the purses. “Why would he keep these? Should I see if I know any of the women he may have taken before me?”
Hope was in his voice when he said, “Actually that’s not a bad idea.” He led her to the kitchen table and helped her to sit down on one of the chairs. “We’ll do this methodically.”
He opened the first purse, pulled out a driver’s license, took a good look at the name and face, then snapped a picture with his phone, before handing it to her. “Looks like the money is gone and so are the credit cards. Just driver’s licenses left inside.”
“Laura Resnick,” she said out loud. “No, I don’t know her.” She put the ID into the wallet, back into the purse, closed it and set it off to the side. They went through the others, and she didn’t know anybody; neither did he recognize any faces or names. When it came to the last purse, he opened it up and said, “This is Cecily.”
“Cecily Turner?” She snatched it out of his hand. “Oh, my God! I know her. She works at the same hospital I do. She worked in the kitchen area. She delivered all the meals to the patients.”
He glanced over at her and said, “Two of you from the same hospital?”
She looked up and winced. “Hunting ground?”
“None of the other names mean anything to you from the hospital?”
She shook her head. “No, but that doesn’t mean much. Typically hundreds of people staff a hospital. The fact that I even know Cecily is mostly because her name is so unique.”
Then Harrison walked into the kitchen and said, “Levi wants confirmation the purses are fifteen separate women. He wants copies of the IDs.”
Logan held up his phone and said, “I got photos of all of them. I’ll send them right now.”
Harrison nodded. “Good. He said to wait to see if this Colin guy returns. If he does, call the cops. And if he doesn’t, after a few hours call them anyway.”
She listened to the conversation, her gaze going from one to the other.
Harrison explained, “This is only one of five addresses we have for the four men we’re tracking. No way to know what else we might find at this point.”
“Four men,” Alina asked cautiously. “Not even sure I want to know about that. Any chance those are the same ones Colin threatened me with?”
“Do you know their names?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t say.”
*
Logan studied her face, still shocked at finding her when they broke into the apartment. He could easily cover his tracks for making the illegal entry as he would tell the police they heard something very suspicious, like her crying for help. No doubt she had been a victim in all this. And she was still damn shaky, but they had to determine what she might know that could be of help, anything she had to offer. He shook his head. “This address is obviously of some importance. Did you hear him mention any names? Addresses? Dates? Anything to help track down these men?”
“No, he hardly spoke.” She stared up at him, her light-blue eyes gone dark. “All part of the same trafficking ring.” She glanced around and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m getting a real chill, so please can I leave now?”
“Where would you go?”
“Home,” she said.
“How do you expect to get there? I presume your vehicle is still at the hospital as that’s the last place you remember.”
Harrison spoke up. “I’ll see if a missing report has been filed for you.”
“I doubt it. I live alone. My rent’s paid up, and I was due for four days off anyway.” She turned toward them. “I wonder if Colin knew that.”
“We have to assume he had inside information, like your schedule.”
“In the hospital, lots of people talk,” she said.
Logan heard a sound. He put his finger to his lips, motioned to Harrison, who raced quietly to the front door and stepped behind it, in case it was Colin. Logan motioned for Alina to duck behind the end of the counter, giving Colin a second or two before seeing her. Allowing Logan and Harrison time to nab him.
Alina closed her eyes and held her breath.
Logan stood just inside the bedroom, out of sight.
A key was put into the lock, then the door popped open. “Goddammit,” the stranger said. “I know I locked this stupid door.” He stepped in and slammed the door hard, glancing at the kitchen and froze when he caught sight of Alina. “Goddamn bitch. How the hell did you get free?”
When he started toward her, Harrison grabbed him from behind, put him in a choke hold and dropped him to his knees.
Logan stepped in front of the man, putting up a barrier between him and Alina, his fist out and ready.
“I got him,” Harrison said with a snarl. “A nasty
piece of shit, trafficking young women.”
Colin glared at Logan, but he deliberately closed his mouth and kept it shut.
Harrison forced Colin to his feet, and Logan grabbed the wire strips from his back pocket, tying Colin’s hands together and twisting the wire extra tight. It wouldn’t stop him from running away, but it would from getting his hands free. Logan pointed to the purses on the table and said, “Care to explain?”
Colin glared at him, a snarl on his lips, that look in his eye … and the tensing of his neck muscles, like a bulldog ready to attack—only held back against his will.
The man’s attitude held something vicious, yet he was an average-looking male with short brown hair and nothing assuming about his features. Logan could have walked past him on the street and would never have known he was anything other than normal. Which was exactly what made him so easy to hide from the authorities. Women wouldn’t recognize the monster within. Neither would they remember him when asked.
Harrison dropped him on a kitchen chair where Alina still stood. She gasped and backed away to the other side of the room.
Colin sneered. “Stupid bitch. Do you think this will let you off the hook? Like hell! I already handed over your details. They’ll get you whether it’s here or in your house.”
Logan reached over and grabbed Alina before she went to pieces. He tucked her up close and said, “Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to scare you.”
She turned terrified eyes to Logan and murmured, “But what if he’s right?”
Logan turned to study the man. Harrison fished through Colin’s pockets, pulling out his phone and ID.
Colin didn’t fight. He sat there nonchalantly, as if he had some sort of a security system, and the men didn’t know what surprise he had planned for them.
And shit like that always worried Logan. Because too often these assholes did have tricks up their sleeves. He reached for Colin’s cell and checked through the contacts from the recent phone calls. He pulled out his own phone and called Levi.
When Levi answered, Logan said, “We have Colin Fisher here. I got a cell, and a bunch of names and numbers.” He ran through the man’s contacts. “The last two calls were to a Roma Chandler.”
