by Maegan Abel
Andre didn’t look away from me as I took small sips of the water. I wanted to tip back the remainder of the bottle quickly but my throat was swollen, either from his attack or from the fire—possibly both. I ignored him and stared at my feet, using one hand to help keep my balance since my back hurt too bad to lean against anything. When I finished the water, I glanced back at Andre, catching his raised eyebrow. I didn’t know what he was thinking and I was sure I didn’t want to.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, though I knew I wouldn’t get a straight answer. How often do criminals reveal their plans? The answer depended on the intelligence of the criminal and Jake was almost as smart as they came. He’d underestimated my love for Conner but he wouldn’t make that mistake again. I would have to be very, very careful from here on out.
Jake shook his head without a word and I knew escape wasn’t an option at the moment. The weight of the realization was crushing and I let it push me slowly back to the floor of the van.
I wasn’t able to sleep anymore, though I wished for the oblivion of unconsciousness more than once as the van jostled along the highway. Sometimes, I stared at the blank face of the man whose life I’d ended, and other times, I studied the two passengers trapped in this hell with me. It had taken me longer than it should have to realize we had several things in common. While one was younger than me and the other was probably four or five years older, we all had dark hair, light skin, blue eyes, and from what I could tell, neither of them could be much taller than me.
We stopped again for gas somewhere in what looked like desert, but I didn’t even ask to get out of the van. I knew they wouldn’t let me out of their sight again, but it didn’t matter anyway. As horrifying and embarrassing as it was, my legs had gone from painful to tingling to numb and I’d lost feeling in more than just those extremities. I hadn’t realized it until I’d smelled it and looked down to see the wetness on my pants.
“Hey.” I didn’t react to the sound of Andre’s voice, pretending I didn’t hear him as I kept still on the floor of the van. I wasn’t paying attention to time anymore so I had no idea how long I’d been laying there. The van had been crawling along a bumpy road for what felt like hours based off the pain shooing through my back with each and every small movement.
“Don’t make me come back there.”
“Don’t bother,” I mumbled just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the tires. Maybe if I pissed him off enough, he’d just kill me quickly. I should be so lucky.
The van slowed to a stop and I realized just how close I might be to my fate as both front doors opened. I heard footsteps crunching against dry earth moving away from the van and I shifted, trying to push myself back to a sitting position.
“Where are they going?” The older of the girls asked as we all tried to listen to the men’s voices. They were arguing about something. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them.
“The driver is on the phone,” the younger girl said, crawling closer to where I was near the middle of the van as she looked out the windshield.
“We should try to run while they’re distracted,” the older said, scrambling toward the handles of the doors on the back.
It wasn’t a good idea to run without knowing where we were. I wasn’t watching this time and I didn’t know if there was anywhere to even hide. Plus, while they could run, I might not be able walk. But maybe this was their only chance.
“They’re coming,” the younger hissed, scrambling back to her spot with the other girl. I leaned my shoulder against the wall of the van opposite the sliding door, gritting my teeth as I pulled my legs up toward my body.
The door slid open and I cringed as Jake’s face appeared. He looked at all three of us while I watched him carefully from the corner of my eye. He’d threatened me back at the gas station and I knew Jake well enough to know my defiance wasn’t something he’d take lightly.
When I’d first arrived in Vegas, I’d been trying to find a way to earn money. After being caught and found by my family through street performing, I had eliminated it as a way to make ends meet. It was tough being on my own that young but I’d learned how to handle myself while on the west coast.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t learned enough.
One offer was all it took. It seemed like a simple enough task and the amount of money I could make was more than I’d thought. The job did include dancing but not the kind I was used to and definitely with less clothing than I was comfortable with at first, but I’d learned how to put that aside. As with everything else in my past, I shoved it into a box and it couldn’t hurt me from there. Things just continued to escalate until I reached a point where I couldn’t see a way out anymore. I felt trapped.
Jake was high in the ranks of the business, but he was more of an enforcer. He kept us all in line and I’d not only seen his anger but I’d been on the receiving end of it more than once. I’d been stupid to think the deal Tish made would protect me forever. I knew more than I should, but I thought, somewhat naively, since they let me walk, they knew I wasn’t stupid enough to tell.
Now, I was paying for it. But I’d gotten Conner out.
That thought almost made me smile.
“We have a few things to take care of. You are going to sit tight and stay quiet. Got it?” Jake said, speaking to all three of us but only looking at me. I nodded automatically, unsure why. If I pushed, he’d kill me. But unlike Andre, who seemed to be more about instant gratification, Jake was smart. He’d draw it out, make my death a lesson to keep the other two in line. Maybe that was what he was planning anyway.
He slammed the door shut again and I listened to the sound of his footsteps crunching as he walked away. I couldn’t see where he went but once I could no longer hear them, I turned to face the others. They were both staring at me and I tried not to let how uncomfortable I was with their scrutiny show. Finally, the younger climbed closer to me.
“Can you feel anything at all?” she asked, settling in near my feet.
“It hurts. I can move them but they’re either numb or they hurt,” I said, my voice still rough. I was so dehydrated, I wasn’t sure how I had any moisture in my throat to speak.
“Can I…?” she trailed off, gesturing at my back. I narrowed my eyes, skeptical. “My older brother is in college studying to be a physical therapist. I’m planning to do the same thing and he’s been using me to help him study. I mean, I don’t know a lot yet, but…” She shrugged.
I didn’t want her help. I didn’t want anyone’s help, actually, but there was something so innocent in this girl’s face. She’d helped me keep Conner safe and then held the other girl back so I could get him out. She didn’t know me, but she was willing to jump in then and seemed to genuinely care.
She helped me reposition, as much as I hated letting her, until I was laying on my stomach. Taking her time, she gently pulled my shirt up to expose my back. I heard a gasp, but it came from further toward the back of the van.
“What happened?” the younger asked.
I turned my face toward her before I spoke, watching her study whatever my back looked like. “The driver kicked me.” I didn’t turn my head further, not wanting to see the damage.
“But the boy?”
“Was hiding,” I answered simply. I couldn’t guarantee Conner was found and back with Zane, but I’d done everything I could in the moment to ensure they could find each other. I felt my throat tightening as I thought about them together. They needed one another and I hoped the police had found Conner and contacted Zane.
“Is he your son?” she asked, her fingers moving along my back. I nodded, cringing as she pressed down against a spot. “Sorry.”
“We need to run while we have a chance,” the older girl said, drawing our attention. She was standing, bent over so she could look out the front window.
I heard the footsteps at the same time as the other girls. We froze for a moment before the younger girl helped me back to a sitting position. She stayed b
eside me as the older girl crouched in a back corner.
Andre flung the door open, his face covered in dirt and sweat as Jake appeared over his shoulder. They barely glanced at us as they hefted Dom’s body out of the van. I covered my mouth to keep from retching as they struggled with his weight. They didn’t speak before they slammed the door again, leaving us alone as we realized just what they were doing.
“Oh, God. We need to go. Now,” the older girl said, toeing the line of becoming hysterical.
“She can’t run,” the younger said, pointing at me. I shook my head but the older spoke before I could.
“She’s not our problem!”
“Listen, you need a plan. All I can see when they open the door is empty, flat land. There’s nowhere to hide, nobody around, it’s suicide to run now. You know we’re in the middle of nowhere. They’re disposing of a body. You need to wait—”
“No!” She cut me off. “You want us to wait because you can’t go with us. It’s not our problem! You’re not our problem!” She climbed past us toward the front of the van.
“No. Jenny, don’t do this. She has a point,” the younger girl said, trying to grab for her.
“They’re distracted. They’re looking the other way. If we climb out the driver’s side, they’ll never see us. There are some trees…” she said, shoving the door open quietly. She glanced back at us. “Are you coming?” she asked the younger girl.
“They’ll kill you if they catch you running. There’s no one around to stop them,” I warned, not wanting to see these two die needlessly but unable to tell them it wasn’t worth it to try. Living might be more painful than death.
Before the younger girl made a decision, the older girl squeaked and bolted out the door. We heard her footsteps but yelling took over. They’d spotted her. The door was yanked open again and Jake’s expression was murderous as he grabbed the younger girl by the hair. We clung to each other as he yanked us both toward the open door. She stood but as soon as my weight hit my legs, I crumpled to the ground with a cry.
“Fuck!” Jake said as he stared down at the haphazard splay of my legs, realizing he’d done more damage than he’d apparently intended with his kick. A series of pops echoed across the flatness of the land so many times, I couldn’t tell exactly how many shots had been fired.
“Don’t move,” Jake said, darting toward the front of the van but staying where he could see us. I heard Andre’s steps as he ran, the sound echoing almost as harshly as the gunshots.
“We need to get out of here, that was too loud and I think there are hiking trails over that way,” Andre said quietly, eyeing us as Jake swore again.
“She’s useless to us like this,” Jake finally said, gesturing toward me as Andre stepped closer. I could feel my body trembling as my mind came to terms with the fact that I was seconds away from death. I refused to cry or beg. I would die with dignity—or whatever dignity I had in soiled sweats without the ability to even kneel or stand.
“Don’t,” the girl beside me whimpered. “It might only be temporary.” I opened my eyes as she looked up at them, clearly shocked she had their attention. “If…if there’s swelling on her spine, it could just be spinal shock. When the swelling goes down, she’ll regain full function.”
“We need to go,” Andre said, clearly getting nervous as he glanced around. I didn’t dare look up or around.
“You don’t want to lose another of us today,” the girl said firmly, surprising me. She’d built momentum from not being told off for speaking. “At least give her a chance to heal before you decide.”
“Put her in the van,” Jake said. “Carefully,” he added when Andre grabbed my arm roughly. “We need to get to the checkpoint. We can decide what to do with her there.”
The girl helped me settle in again once Andre put me in the van. We leaned together, quietly bonding over the loss of life we’d already witnessed and the new determination to make it through this hell together.
Chapter Thirteen
Fighting Monsters
The sound of the door sliding open jarred me awake again. I groaned as pain bit at me from what seemed like everywhere. My head ached, my throat was on fire, my eyes felt dried out, and my back and shoulders throbbed.
Andre reached for me and as much as I wanted to flinch away, I held myself still, allowing him to lift me from the van. Discreetly, I shifted my eyes to take in our surroundings. It was evening and we were somewhere off the main road again. I could see a trail of dust coming from the direction I assumed the van had traveled but nothing but trees beyond it. A squat house that didn’t look like much more than a rickety shed was close by and Andre headed that way, his heavy steps jarring my body as he moved. The second I showed any pain, Andre smiled. I pretended not to see, not to know what that smile was saying, but I had to swallow back bile.
Things were only going to get worse.
I’d been wrong when I’d said the house wasn’t more than a shed. It was clearly made to seem that way as a cover. As Andre toted me through the door and down the stairs, I glanced back at the younger girl, who was followed by Jake. A light buzzed to life and a large basement came into view. We were in an open area with a small kitchen and living room setup. Two men grinned over at us, catcalling as I ignored them in favor of trying to figure out an exit. There was only one door to the right and that was the direction Andre headed. He jostled me as he reached for the handle and I hissed in a breath as his forearm made direct contact with what I was sure must have been a massive bruise on my back.
Andre chuckled as he walked through the door. There were dirty mattresses lining the walls and about half a dozen women who kept their heads down, doing their best not to look at us as we entered. I fought back any reaction, knowing Andre was waiting for one. There were no windows and the wall and door we’d come through seemed thick enough to be soundproof. There was another doorway but all I could see was the edge of a tub from my angle. He walked over to the nearest empty mattress, depositing me none too gently onto the worn fabric, causing me to yelp in pain. I heard a small squeal from the doorway and looked as the girl stumbled, clearly having been shoved by Jake.
“I’m going to call and check in,” Jake said, heading toward the door.
“Sounds good. I’m going to make sure these two are comfortable.” The shudder that ran through me was painful as the door slammed shut behind Jake.
Andre’s eyes slid over me before turning to the girl. She stepped back as he started toward her, but the obvious fear was exactly what Andre was going for. He was feeding off it like the monster he truly was. I knew his type, knew just what he would do to her, and the knowledge made me nauseous. It would happen to her. There was no way out right now, possibly ever, and there was no way I could stop it.
But it didn’t have to be him.
There were monsters in this industry and Andre was one of them. Sadly, this girl would find out the same way I had. But that didn’t mean her first encounter had to be with one. I was well aware no one else in the room would help her. In all honesty, if it weren’t for the way she’d stood up for me, I probably wouldn’t either.
“Hey!” I said, ignoring the pain in my back as I shoved myself up to a sitting position. I wasn’t really thinking of a plan, just of getting his attention.
I looked around me, knowing I had nothing to throw because they wouldn’t leave anything that could be used as a weapon in here. They were smarter than that. I felt the pump of adrenaline and shoved myself to the side, trying to drag my useless legs forward, but it would take too long. He grabbed her by the arms and she screamed, begging him to let her go. I looked down again, desperate to find a way to help her. My eyes landed on my shoes and though they weren’t heels and couldn’t do any serious damage, especially from this distance, they were something.
Grabbing the leg of my pants, I yanked the shoes off one at a time. Stabilizing my body with one hand, I aimed and chucked the first with everything I had, nailing him in the back of his right
shoulder. He turned slowly and I let the second fly, timing it perfectly. It struck him in the face before he could stop it.
I could actually see the moment I became the target.
I knew I should have felt fear, but all I felt was relief as he stalked toward me. This girl had saved my life, whatever was left of it, and if repaying her meant showing her how to handle this hell, that was what I’d do.
“What? You’d rather go for fear than fight? Seems pretty fitting for a pussy,” I goaded. “I’m not sure you even have the dick to follow through with what you were planning.”
He was moving before I finished speaking, barreling toward me in a way that had me wondering whether he’d end up killing me before I could help the girl out. I wanted to help her. I didn’t want her to be alone in this.
He grabbed my hair and my already tender scalp screamed in protest. Normally, this was the point when I would shut down. I would withdraw into whatever peace I could find within my own mind to avoid the events about to happen. The last thing I would ever do was fight, refusing to give him the excitement he wanted.
But, today, I fought.
I used every bit of my strength, the adrenaline still kicking through my veins, as I tried everything to keep him from succeeding. I knew it wouldn’t work. Even if I had full use of my legs, he would still get what he wanted in the end. That wasn’t the point. The point was to wear him down. Either injure or exhaust him so he would leave the girl alone.
After only a few minutes, he had both of my wrists pinned over my head in one of his hands as the other struggled to remove my pants from my immobile lower half. It was proving to be a task because my legs were nothing but dead weight. When he swore in frustration, I couldn’t help the snarky, taunting laugh that escaped. It wasn’t until his elbow landed on my sternum, his forearm crushing against my throat, I truly started to feel panic.
