by Adele Huxley
Penny loathed the moments after revealing this part of her life to someone new. It hadn’t happened often, but it was almost as though she could feel the seismic shift in their opinion. And she didn’t even tell him all the trouble with her family after she’d returned. It was best to get ahead of the conversation before it moved to a place she didn’t want to deal with.
“Anyway, that’s how Miah knows me. For a few years now, I’ve worked as a sort of pseudo therapist to people who have gone through similar situations. Basically, I’m a friendly fucked up face who they can talk to.”
“Miah was kidnapped by his girlfriend?”
Penny hoped the dead-eyed look she gave wasn’t obscured by the dark. “His girlfriend was held hostage for several weeks. Surely you heard about that in the news a few years ago.”
Phoenix shrugged and shook his head, shifting his weight to the other foot. “All those stories kinda blend together.”
It was true, but harsh. It made her realize very few people probably remembered what happened to her. “So, anyway. I spent some time with them, with Dani.”
“He said you disappeared?”
The tears welled inexplicably in her eyes, pricking the corners and threatening to fall. She was thankful for the shadows. “It got a little too… real. It wasn’t that long after my own experience.” She sniffed and coughed to hide the hitch in her voice. “I wasn’t the shiny, well-adjusted human being you have before you,” she chuckled, quickly wiping the corner of her eye.
He didn’t laugh. He didn’t speak. She expected him to declare bullshit and storm away. With all the lies she’d fed him over the past week, it’s not like she could’ve blamed him. What she didn’t expect was how much that thought hurt. Before she could consider what that all actually meant, he pulled her tightly against his chest.
Penny wanted to push away from Phoenix’s embrace. Comfort came with a tinge of condescension and pity. But she eased into it, softening her tense muscles. When they pulled away, she was grateful to see a distinct lack of sorrow in his gaze. In fact, his expression was almost as hard as when he dragged her away from the others.
“You still haven’t told me why you were sent here in the first place?”
Everything she’d said up to this point was the complete truth. Maybe the truth was a little manipulative, pulling at the heart strings of a protective man, but it was all fact. Her kidnap, her life, it was all there in front of him. But now, even though every part of her didn’t want to, she had to lie.
“I honestly don’t know. They sent me here and said someone would get in touch while with more details.” He held her gaze, eyes flicking back and forth between hers. “It’s not the sort of job where you can say no. They point, you go.”
Phoenix wasn’t buying it. His lack of response, negative or positive, was making her uneasy. She bristled and pulled away from him completely. The rescue team would be there any minute anyway.
“Listen! If you don’t believe me, then—” She didn’t have a chance to finish.
Phoenix roughly grabbed her shoulders and dipped his head, lips swallowing her growing indignation. Shock froze her to the spot, keeping her from even pushing away in protest. A warmth spread through her chest. Embarrassingly, she even heard a tiny moan deep in her throat. Before she could make more of a fool of herself, he broke the kiss. He kept his forehead pressed against hers, gazes locked.
“What was that for?” she whispered.
“There are some things you can’t fake,” he replied as he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. “I had to know for sure.”
The comment stole her breath away. She blinked up into his eyes as if seeing him for the first time.
She’d been drawn to him from the very beginning. At first, she’d told herself it was because he’d be an easy source of information. He was exactly the kind of guy who spills everything while lounging in bed. But it was becoming harder to deny her attraction. Their connection extended further than simple intelligence gathering.
A ripple of voices rose at the far end of the barn, shattering the moment.
“We better get back,” he muttered. He threaded his fingers between hers and led the way to their holding cell.
Chapter 10
Penny felt her opportunity to come clean slipping away with every step they took. As they rounded the corner to where the others were tied up, it became clear the shouts weren’t related to the guards returning. It was enough to set off their anxiety. They had to make it to the pen before they caught them out.
Still, she wanted to pull him back, stop before the moment passed. She could tell him everything now and not hurt him any more than she already had. But every footstep, each stride toward their holding pen, she couldn’t find the strength.
Maybe he’s the spy, she thought, almost hoping for it to be true so her deception could be justified.
They swiftly ducked into the open door of the old stall and froze. The difference in light from out in the main barn compared to the small space was surprising. No one spoke. No one moved. Penny thought they might’ve slipped into the wrong one, unintentionally scaring the shit out of another group of people. It was only when Hadley coughed did they both relax.
“Christ,” Hunter cursed at their feet. “It's just them. Where’d you two run off to?”
“Just needed to sort some things out,” Phoenix replied. “How’s it going?”
Hunter groaned as he stood. Penny’s eyes were adjusting to the light. She noticed a soft glint of something metal in his hand. “Good. Got the girls free with this. It’s like cutting with a soft stick of butter, but better than nothing.”
Phoenix nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before dropping it. “Great. We’ll get these two if you want to take Hadley and Rebel. How’s the gunshot wound?”
“Just a scratch,” Hunter responded.
As they strode to the far end to free the quiet couple, Penny noticed Miah on the floor in front of the two young girls. They were crying softly, their whispered conversation impossible to hear even this close. She simultaneously felt pity and anger toward them. They shouldn’t be in this terrible situation, but falling apart wouldn't help. This can always get worse, she thought, her jaw gritting. If this little bit breaks them, what will happen to them later?
Phoenix dove straight into undoing the last couple’s bindings. She wasn’t much help, hanging back and eavesdropping on the conversation around her.
Hunter knelt at Hadley’s feet and approached as if she were an unpredictable animal. “You okay?”
“Better than your face,” she laughed.
He bent and began sawing at the rope. “You already said that.”
“Did I? Well, I’ll get back to you when I think of something better.”
“Thanks for this,” Rebel smiled.
There was a pause in the conversation, as if Hunter were struggling with something. He stopped sawing for a moment. “I’m sorry about Rhett.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” she replied without an ounce of worry in her voice.
“I know, I mean…”
“He’s absolutely fine,” she insisted. “But thank you.”
Phoenix glanced back and met Penny’s eyes in the dark. Clearly, he’d been listening in on the conversation as well. There was no accusation in his gaze, but her cheeks immediately flushed with shame. It’s not that she wanted to keep it from Rebel, but what could she possibly tell her? She was obviously handling the situation well enough. Any new information might rock that balance.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Penny heard herself say.
It was like the air had been sucked right out of the room. A few pairs of eyes stared at her, most of them unfriendly. For a moment, she’d forgotten what a pariah she’d become. After a few beats of silence, everyone returned to their tasks.
Figuring Phoenix had a handle on everything, Penny stood and crept toward the door of their pen. It was amazing how claustrophobic and trapped she felt now she was unti
ed. A part of her wondered if all that behavioral training and therapy had made it easier for her to cope with captivity than the others. Now that she was able to move around freely, the restriction of staying within the barn was worse.
There was no way of knowing exactly how many people were trapped alongside them. But figuring there were at least two filled buses, she had to assume somewhere close to sixty or seventy athletes under one roof. Why? Why did all this happen in the first place?
And what now? They must want money. Why go to all this trouble if it isn’t for money? Publicity? Have we been caught up in some PR stunt? Maybe the bus driver was an actor and went down on purpose. But what about Hunter’s injuries?
Her mind whirred. Question after question flitted through without answer. She heard someone approach from behind but didn’t bother turning.
“We might have a little problem,” Phoenix whispered into her ear.
Her eyes slid shut as a pleasant shiver rolled down her spine. She savored the feeling before turning back into the pen. “What’s going on?”
“Rebel wants to free the others. All the others.”
Penny was surprised Phoenix had connected enough dots to see what a bad idea that could be. He shifted beside her, almost unconsciously blocking the exit as the tall blonde approached.
“What are you doing?” she whispered when Penny didn’t get out of her way. “The more people we can free, the faster we can get out of here.”
Penny held firm. “And then what?”
Rebel staggered back a step and blinked to Phoenix. “What do you mean? Then we walk out of here.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“It’s not a—Zabe, come on,” she scoffed, deciding Phoenix was a weak link she could bend. “This is crazy.”
He straightened and crossed his arms. “You should hear her out, at least.”
Before Penny could begin to explain, Hadley was at Rebel’s side, all aggressive and pushy. “I told you she was a little piece of shit traitor.”
“Why did they kidnap us?” Penny blurted out. No one replied. “Exactly. You have no idea. And neither do I. That’s not good.”
“Oh, what the fuck do you know?” Hadley snapped with a wave of her hand.
They were being too loud, too rambunctious compared to the rest of the barn. They’d draw attention to themselves if she didn’t find a way of calming it all down. Penny opened her mouth to explain further when Miah and Phoenix jumped in to defend her at the same time.
“She knows what she’s talking about,” Miah said from behind.
“Will you two just listen?” Phoenix snapped.
Penny waited a few heartbeats to ensure no one was going to protest further. “In situations like this, we can only make decisions based on what we know.”
“Which isn’t a whole lot,” Phoenix added.
“Exactly. We know they want us alive, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of saving people from the burning barn. We know this was an organized attack.”
Hadley rose to her full height, pushing past Rebel’s shoulder to get in Penny’s face. “Like the shit we linked you to before we left? Shit like that?”
Penny gritted her teeth to keep from rising to the provocation. “You didn’t link me to anything.”
“The fuck we didn’t. Come on, get out of my way. I’m done with this. I want off this fucked up carnival ride.”
A stand-off developed between two sides. Phoenix, Penny, and Miah blocked the exit while Rebel and Hadley tried to barge through. Hunter hung back to the side undecided while the remaining prisoners looked fearfully on.
“That’s the other thing we know for sure. If any of us tries to escape out there, we’re as good as dead.”
“There’s more of us than there is of them,” said Rebel.
“We don’t know that,” Miah replied with a shake of his head. “Who knows how many people there are here. Or even where here is.”
Hadley scoffed loudly. “Come on. We walked for like, twenty minutes. The Lodge is that way, town is… I dunno, that way,” she pointed.
“And you’re confident enough you’re willing to go out in sub-zero temps, in the snow, in the dark?” Penny asked.
That small reminder was enough to take the wind right out of her argument. She continued with her point while it sunk in how screwed they actually were.
“The best thing we can do is sit tight and at least wait until morning. If we can see, we have a better shot at escaping. And, now we’re untied, we have the element of surprise.”
Interestingly, the person she had the hardest time convincing was Rebel. Hadley had a wide selfish streak that was easily reasoned with. That was easy to deal with.
“We should at least untie everyone else,” Rebel insisted.
“Can you trust them? Can you be sure they won’t do something stupid to draw attention to us?” Phoenix asked, already knowing the answer.
Rebel crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
Phoenix gave her shoulder a comforting rub. “I know.” Penny straightened, surprised by how much jealousy that single bit of contact evoked.
It took a while, but between their convincing arguments and exhaustion settling in, the whole group agreed to hold off until morning. Just to be safe, they returned to their spots before going to sleep. If the guards checked on them in the night, it wouldn’t be good to draw any attention to their new-found freedom.
Phoenix lifted his arm as he and Penny lowered themselves to the floor.
She hesitated, staring at his offer of comfort and warmth like it was a weapon. “We can’t.”
“Just for a bit,” he replied with a shrug.
“What if we fall asleep?”
He gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. “I hate to tell you, but I’ve never really gotten much sleep when you’re around.” She looked up with a frown as he settled the rough wool blanket over them as best he could. He leaned closer to whisper, “You snore.”
The warm breath on her cheek sent a shiver through her body she hoped he's assume was from the cold. Phoenix wrapped her tightly against his body. As she eased her head against his chest, the solid and comforting beat of his heart, there was still a part of her resisting.
This isn’t good. This is no. good. whatsoever.
Not only had she gone and caught some serious feelings for one of the possible targets, but she was letting him get dangerously close, closer than she’d ever let anyone get since… well… since the last time. As much as she tried to deny it, Phoenix was a liability. A moment might come very soon where she’d have to make a split-second decision. Emotions got in the way of judgment.
But in the dark of night, in the cold of captivity, it’s hard to deny comfort regardless of where it comes from.
“Just for a couple minutes,” she mumbled as her eyes closed.
Chapter 11
The air is warm. The sand feels nice when I plunge my fingers deep in, cool and soft. Shadows dance across my closed eyelids and all I feel is an overwhelming sense of peace and happiness. The steady sound of the surf hitting the shore threatens to lull me to sleep, but I resist.
I sit up on my elbows and look around. I’m on a pristine, white beach under a green umbrella. The sun has moved, shadowing more of my belongings than me. I notice there’s an towel to my left, but I’m not worried it’s empty. In fact, I expect it to be empty. She said she’d be right back. Her book is there, the orange bookmark sticking out from the middle of the pages.
I scan the horizon, squinting into the bright sun. There’s no one around, not a soul. The world could be completely barren if I didn’t know any better. I push all the way up to sitting and rest my elbows on my knees. The sand is sticking to my skin, but I don’t find it irritating for some reason. Nothing is irritating. I’m at peace.
It’s only when I see her head pop up from the water does that sense of contentment ripple. She smooths her h
air back with one hand. It’s longer, past her shoulders. When she turns to face me, I can clearly see the differences in her eye colors. Although she’s at least fifty feet away, I can see the glint of blue in one, green in the other. She smiles and the serenity I was feeling tears a little more.
It’s not her fault. It’s mine. She’s not the bringer of discontent. She waves. I wave back. She motions for me to join her in the water and as much as I want to, I feel frozen to the spot. I’m afraid if I do, I’ll drown. No. In fact, I know I will.
She waves again, giving the water a little playful slap. I smile at her.
She opens her mouth and a horrible scream escapes. My insides jump, urging me to flee. I can’t make sense of it. She looks happy. She’s smiling. There’s no one around. Why is she screaming? What is happening?
STOP SCREAMING!
It wasn’t the scream that woke Phoenix but Penny jerking awake beside him. It took him a second to shake off the vivid imagery from his dream and realize he’d incorporated the sound into his unconscious. The petite blonde girl to his left was yelling for the guards and completely ignoring the rest of the group.
“What are you doing?” Hunter hissed.
“Shut the fuck up!” Hadley whispered.
Even the guy at her side didn’t seem able to break through. He was leaning over to her, murmuring and trying to talk her down.
“Help me! I want to talk to someone! Someone! I need someone!”
Penny looked at him with wide eyes. A vision of her in the water struck him, her dark hair slicked back. Although he should’ve known better, he half-expected that scream to come out when she opened her mouth to speak.
“We have to get back into position ”
Phoenix’s gaze drifted over the others in the pen. Miah was on his knees, cautiously crawling toward the panicked girl with a careful hand outstretched. The two young girls directly across from them were crying, hugging each other.
Judging from the faint light, they were only a few minutes away from proper dawn. The day would grow brighter with each passing second. He pushed to a crouched position and waved to everyone with both hands.
