by Elle James
“BUD/S. Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. I’m a Navy SEAL.” He cleared his throat. “Or I was. I left active duty a few days ago.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him, though he looked sincere. “Where am I?” she said, continuing to whisper.
“In my cabin, outside of Eagle Rock.”
The black-nosed animal slipped beneath the man’s elbow and lay on the bed beside her.
The man smiled and rubbed a hand over the dog’s head. “This is Grunt, also recently released from active duty. You can thank him for finding you.”
She stared at the dog. He had one bright black eye. A jagged scar sliced over the dog’s face and his other eye. That eyelid was forever closed, appearing to be sewn shut. “Does he bite?” she asked, forcing the words past her vocal cords, tired of whispering. The croaking sound was worse.
“Please, drink this. You’ve had a fever. The liquid will help your body recover from it.” He held the cup and straw toward her again.
She shrank back. “How do I know it’s not drugged?”
His brow formed a V. “Drugged?” He looked down at the cup. “Why would I drug you?” When he glanced back up, his frown deepened. “Is that what happened to you? Someone drugged you?”
She nodded.
He put his lips to the straw and drank from it. “There. If it’s drugged, I’ll be drugged too.”
She stared at the cup again, her mouth so dry she felt as if Death Valley had taken up residence on her tongue.
“Look, if I’d wanted to hurt you,” he said. “I could have done it while you were out for the past twenty-four hours.” He shoved the cup in front of her. “If you like, you can have Grunt taste it, too. I promise, it’s just water.”
She tried to sit up but fell back against the pillow.
Talon set the cup on the nightstand, slipped an arm around her and helped her into a sitting position, stacking several pillows behind her then laying her back against them.
Once she was positioned, he handed her the cup.
She held it for several seconds. The water inside looked so wet and inviting she couldn’t resist another moment. Reggie drank until the cup was empty, and sucking through the straw made a loud, empty sound.
Talon, or Sam, chuckled. “Want more?”
She wiped her hand across her mouth. Her lips were chapped, and her hand shook. She realized she was weaker than she thought. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let the water settle in her empty belly. “What do you want with me?”
He laughed. “To get you well enough to tell me what the heck happened. And now that you’re my assignment, I need to see that it doesn’t happen again.”
“Assignment?” She shook her head and lifted her eyelids. “What do you mean…assignment?”
“I just started working for an organization called the Brotherhood Protectors. My boss, Hank Patterson, and I are former Navy SEALs. He hired me to do personal security work. You know, like bodyguard, private investigation, or whatever is needed.” He raised his hands, palms up. “Since I found you in the river, he’s taken your case and assigned me to figure it out. That is, if you want me to help.”
Her head spun. “Look, Talon—Sam—whoever you are, how do I know you don’t work for him?”
“Call me Sam,” he said. “By him, I assume you’re referring to The Master?”
Her eyes rounded, and that fear rippled through her again, making her cold all over. “You know him?”
Shaking his head, Sam pulled the sheet and a quilt up over her. “No, but you mentioned him when you were delirious with fever. Is he the one who hurt you?”
She nodded.
“Do you know who he is?” Sam asked.
She shook her head. “No. He wore a mask. I never saw his face.”
Sam frowned. “That will make it more difficult to track him down.”
“Why would you help me?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You don’t even know me.”
“Well, for one, my boss just made you my assignment.” He glanced down at the dog. “And Grunt likes you. I’m told dogs are good judges of character.” He scratched behind the German Shepherd’s ear. “Right, Grunt?”
“Grunt?” She snorted softly. “That’s his name?”
The dog barked, startling her, sending a shiver of terror through her. She shrank away from Grunt. A flash of déjà vu rippled across her memory. Dogs had barked as they’d chased her to the edge of a cliff.
Sam touched the dog’s head. “Grunt,” he said in a stern voice. To her, he said, “Are you okay? Grunt didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No,” she said, holding up her hand. “He d-didn’t s-scare me,” she lied. “It’s just…” Reggie swallowed hard with her suddenly dry throat. “Could I have more water?”
He hurried to the faucet in the kitchenette on the other side of the one-room cabin, filled the cup and returned, handing her the cup and straw.
She drank, thinking back over what had happened that had led to him finding her in the river. As she remembered, the terror of her escape washed over her. She trembled all over, and her hand shook so hard, she spilled water on the quilt.
Sam took the cup from her and set it on the nightstand. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here.”
When she continued to shake, he eased over to sit on the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. “I promise, I won’t hurt you. And I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”
He held her stiff body for a long moment. When she didn’t relax, he leaned back and looked into her eyes. “Is my holding you making you uncomfortable? If it is, I’ll let go.” He shifted his body, loosening his hold around her.
She shook her head and leaned into him. “No. It’s just… Oh, sweet Jesus. I’m free. I can’t believe I got away.” All the horror of captivity threatened to overwhelm her. The trembling increased until she realized she was crying. Sobs wracked her body and left her wrung out and weak.
The arms around her were loose enough she could get away easily, but strong enough to make her feel protected for the first time since she’d been abducted.
Sam smoothed back her hair from her forehead and held her until she ran out of tears. Still, she leaned against him, soaking up his warmth and strength. When she finally pulled away, the cool air made her shiver.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her damp cheeks with the back of her hand.
“No need to be.” He shifted back to the chair beside the bed and waited for her to pull herself together. “When you’re ready, could you tell me what happened and why you want to be dead?”
She nodded, gathering her breath and the courage to share what she’d gone through. She had to. If she wanted to get the others out, she had to accept help. From what Sam had told her, he was there to help her. The women still being held captive needed help if they were to be freed, and soon. Before the Master discovered she hadn’t died in the fall over the cliff into the river. That didn’t give her much time to find him and the women he held captive below his house.
Only problem was, she didn’t know who he was. How could she find the man if she didn’t know his name and hadn’t seen his face? She’d been taken to his house unconscious, and she wasn’t sure how far downstream she’d gone before she’d washed ashore. She wasn’t even sure if she’d traversed one river or multiple rivers before she’d been discovered by Grunt and Sam.
All she knew was that she had to find the others and free them before the Master killed them. And he would, if he thought she was alive and looking for him.
She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes for a moment, wondering how much she should tell Sam and how much she could leave out. What she’d been subjected to was demoralizing and dehumanizing. For the sake of the others, Reggie couldn’t hold back what she had to say. If Sam was to help her, he had to know what kind of monster had held her captive.
Sam waited patiently for Reggie to open up and tell him what had happened that had led her naked, bruised and s
cratched on the shore of the river where he’d been fishing. Rage burned inside at the thought of anyone subjecting another human to the pain and humiliation of being held captive and without clothing. She had to have been desperate to make a break for it despite her lack of clothing or weapons to defend herself against a wild animal attack. She was lucky to be alive.
Reggie opened her eyes and glanced at him briefly before she began to talk in a clear, soft tone, reciting the facts of what had happened to her over the past couple of weeks.
“I was walking home from work in Bozeman, when I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned, someone flung a bag over my head and jammed a needle into my arm. I don’t remember anything from that moment until when I woke up in a cool, damp cell, completely naked with only a thin blanket. I was scared and called out. I was shocked at a number of female voices answering my questions in the pitch darkness.”
“You say females?” Sam frowned. “How many more of you were there?”
“Four, that I know of. Beth, Terri, Marly and Kayla.” She looked up at him. “I have to get them out. No human should be subjected to what we had to endure. The man used a cattle prod to make us stay in line. Any time we protested or talked loud enough he could hear us, he used that damned cattle prod, turned up to its highest voltage.” She rubbed her arm over what appeared to be burn marks, as if she’d been hit there on multiple occasions and didn’t want a repeat of the pain.
“He used a cattle prod on you and the other women?” Sam said slowly, anger simmering.
She nodded. “He treated us worse than animals.” Her lip curled up on one side. “If I ever get the chance, I’ll kill the bastard.”
The low, angry tone, filled with determination and anger, showed Reggie’s strength despite what had happened.
“What can you tell me about where he held you and the others hostage?” Sam gently encouraged.
“We were kept in tiny earthen cells in what must have been the root cellar of an old house. He took us upstairs into the big house when he wanted to…” she glanced down at her hands clasped together, “hurt us.”
Rage roiled in Sam’s gut. For Reggie’s sake, he refrained from cursing. He had to know everything in order to locate the house, the other women and the man who’d captured and incarcerated them.
“How did you get away?” he asked.
She gave a tremulous smile. “I dug my way out using the tin cup he’d given me to drink out of.” Reggie stared down at her dirty fingernails. “The house was built on the side of a hill. My cell was at the end, up against the side of the hill.”
“Wow.” He lifted her hand and stared down at her dirty fingernails. “You must have been terrified.”
She pulled her hand from his and curled her fingers into fists, more to hide the dirt than as a display of her anger at having been forcefully taken and abused. “I have to get the others out. If he thinks someone will come looking for them, he’ll kill them all and hide the bodies.”
Sam’s back stiffened. The thought of other women like Reggie trapped and tortured, made his stomach knot and his fists clench. “We can’t let that happen.”
Reggie nodded. “I won’t let it happen.” She tossed aside the quilt and scooted her legs to the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked.
“Going back.”
“You’re in no condition to hike up the side of a river. And you don’t know how far you drifted before you washed up on shore. The river could have joined another along the way. You could have been in the water for miles.”
“I can’t sit around waiting for my world to align,” she said. “Those women are in danger. The Master will hurt them because of me. He will take out his anger on them for letting me escape without alerting him.” She snorted. “Hell, he’s probably already done something to every one of them, lashing out in anger over my escape.” Her eyes filled with tears. “One of the women is a young mother. She just wants to go home to her little girl.” Reggie pushed to her bare feet, shivering in the cold. For a moment, she stood straight. Then her eyes rolled upward, and her face paled.
Sam reached out in time to keep her from falling to the floor. He lifted her in his arms, amazed at how light she was, even as deadweight. Gently, he laid her on the sheets and pulled the quilt over her body, tucking in the sides to keep her warm in the cool mountain air. “You need rest,” he said, quietly, though she didn’t hear. She’d passed out and lay as still as death.
Sam stayed at her side until she woke a couple hours later. By then, her fever had broken, and her skin was cool to the touch.
“What happened?” she asked in a gravelly voice.
“You passed out.”
“I can’t…” she whispered, struggling to lift her head.
“You had a high fever for quite a while. Your body burned a lot of fuel it probably didn’t have to burn. You need to eat and regain your strength before you go looking for the others.” He hurried to the table where Sadie had left the pot of soup. The side of the pot was still warm. He found a bowl and ladle and dished out some of the fragrant, homemade chicken noodle soup.
A moan sounded from the bed as he carried the bowl to her side. “Up to eating something?”
Reggie’s eyes widened, and she inhaled deeply. “Oh, sweet Jesus, yes.”
He set the bowl on the nightstand and helped her sit up, packing several pillows behind her. When he had her propped up, he gathered the bowl, dipped the spoon into the soup and raised it to her lips.
“I can feed myself—” Reggie started.
Sam slipped the spoon into her open mouth.
Her chapped lips wrapped around the spoon. Her eyelids drooped, and another moan rose from her throat.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Better than okay. I don’t think I’ve tasted anything as good.” She looked up at him. “More, please?”
One spoonful at a time, he fed her the soup until he’d emptied the bowl.
By then, Reggie’s eyes were half-closed, and she leaned further back against the pillows. “I’m so tired.”
“You’ve been ill.” Sam rose, place the empty bowl in the sink and returned to the bed.
By then, Reggie had rolled onto her side and slid down a pillow to lay her head on the mattress.
“Rest.”
“But the others…” she whispered. “They’re in danger.”
“You won’t be any good to them as weak as you are.” Sam tucked the quilt around her and removed some of the pillows to allow her to rest her head on just one. “I’ll let Hank know what you told me. He can start the hunt for the house you escaped from.”
Reggie shook her head. “You can’t. It will alert him that someone is looking for him. He’ll kill them.”
Sam touched her hand, amazed at how soft her skin was. “Hank’s a smart man. He won’t jeopardize their safety. He’ll conduct a search on the down low.”
“The Master…” She cupped her cheeks in her palms and stared at the wall. “He’s smart. He targeted each of us, studying our habits, waiting until he knew no one would be watching before he made his move.”
“He might have gotten away with it in the past,” Sam’s jaw tightened, “but we will find him and put an end to his brand of terrorism.”
“Yes, please,” Reggie said, her eyelids slipping downward to cover her bright green eyes.
“Rest, Reggie.” Sam brushed his knuckles across her cheek, brushing a strand of her strawberry-blond hair back behind her ear. “Get your strength back. We have work to do.”
Chapter 5
Light shone through a glass window, edging past the slits of her eyelids, nudging Reggie awake. The bed was so soft, the sheets fresh and clean, and she was warm for the first time since she’d been taken. The scent of wood smoke gave her the feeling of being home, even though she knew she wasn’t.
She stretched and shoved her hair out of her face, feeling how dirty it was. She needed a shower, a chance to cleanse the dirt of th
e past couple of weeks off her skin. Would she ever feel clean again, after what she’d endured at the hands of the Master?
When she turned onto her side, a long pink tongue snaked out and licked her cheek.
The dog Sam had called Grunt sat beside the bed, his chin on the mattress. His tongue shot out again, his entire body wagging along with his long tail. The German Shepherd appeared to be smiling, if dogs really could smile.
Reggie reached out and scratched the dog behind the ears. When she rolled onto her back, she saw dark hair on the bed beside her.
Sam had fallen asleep with his butt in the chair beside the bed and his head on the mattress beside her hip.
She resisted the urge to touch the dark hair and feel the strands beneath her fingertips. This man had saved her life.
Grunt nudged her other hand, reminding her that he had been the one to find her. In her fevered mind, she’d thought Grunt was a wolf. As large as the German Shepherd was, he could be just as dangerous as a wolf.
Reggie smiled. The animal only wanted to be scratched behind the ear and possibly fed.
She glanced around the room illuminated dimly by the light finding its way through the windows on either side of the wooden door. There wasn’t much to the room, but it had everything one would need to live comfortably, from a small kitchenette with a stove, sink and refrigerator, to a rough-hewn table and chairs, a single brown leather sofa, a small closet and a bed. Reggie assumed the door in the corner led to a bathroom. She eased out from beneath the sheets and quilt and let her legs dangle over the opposite side of the bed from Sam. She didn’t want a repeat of the last time she’d attempted to get out of the bed. With Sam sleeping, he wouldn’t be there to catch her if she fell.
The thought of his large, capable hands catching her made her feel warm all over and in places she hadn’t expected to ever feel warm again. The thought of why made her cold all over again. The Master had used her and abused her in the worst possible ways. As he was doing to the other women held in captivity beneath his house. A shiver rippled across her skin. She felt dirty. Yes, she was dirty from running through the woods, falling into the river and lying on the muddy banks. The kind of dirty she knew wouldn’t wash off was the kind that would take years to overcome. Still, she wanted a shower, more than she wanted her next meal.
