by A. L Long
“Yeah, well, neither was her getting away. I couldn’t risk her telling everyone what she saw,” Marlow replied.
“I didn’t see anything, you stupid troll of a man. I didn’t have to. I know all about the girls. You both disgust me.”
I was so angry that I didn’t realize what I was saying until it was too late. Sebastian had his hand on my arm gripping it so tightly, I thought that he was going to rip it from my body. “You little cunt,” he growled. “You played me, but what I don’t understand is why.”
Ripping the dress from my body, he took hold of it and began searching the material. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he took hold of my necklace and twisted it around my neck, causing my airway to be constricted. With his teeth clenched together, he asked, “Where the fuck is it?”
Unable to breath, I pointed to the barrette in my hair; it was where Peter had planted the microphone, which was no larger than the tip of a pencil eraser. Sebastian pulled it from my hair, taking several strands with it, and threw it to the floor, where he placed his heel over it and crushed it.
This was not how it was supposed to be. Even though I gave myself away, the guys should have been here already. I couldn’t let Sebastian know that I was affected by this. Even when his hand landed across my face, I knew I needed to remain strong.
Still half dazed, I heard Walter talking to someone on the phone. The only words I managed to hear were ‘girls and away’ before he hung up the receiver. Moments later, a large man who looked like he hadn’t taken a shower in months appeared at the door. Walter walked up to me and placed his hand on my cheek, the same one that Sebastian had slapped minutes before. “You shouldn’t have run away,” he said before looking at the large man. “Put her with the others and get the van ready.”
The large man slung me over his shoulder like I was nothing. I had never felt more humiliated in my life. The way he looked at my bare breasts, I thought for sure that he was going to eat me alive. And now to have him take me away, who knew what he was going to do?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ash
I knew the minute her hidden microphone went dead that something went wrong. We were still ten minutes out and running out of time. Hawk laid on the gas, but with the traffic, he could only do so much to hurry. There was one upside to this mess: Lou was there letting us know what was going on. Even though he couldn’t get close enough without being seen, at least he would be able to tell us if anyone left.
Trying hard to keep my composure, I looked to Peter for some answers. “So what now?”
“We will need to stick to the plan. We were ready for this. Not every plan is going to be one hundred percent on target. There are going to be some bumps along the way. That is why there is always a back-up plan,” Peter assured me as he pulled his cell from his pocket.
“Lou. Hewitt. Do you have eyes on Juliette?” Peter asked in a commanding voice, putting Lou on speaker so I and the rest of the guys could hear.
“That’s a negative, Peter. There’s no way to look inside the house from here and besides, all the curtains are drawn. Unless you want me to knock on the door and ask, there is no way to know what is going on inside,” Lou responded.
“Is there a way you can get inside without being noticed?” I asked. The only way Lou was going to make sure that Juliette was okay was to get inside the house.
“Give me a minute,” Lou advised as the phone line went silent.
I had never felt so helpless. If I thought jumping out of the van and running to where Juliette was would help, I would have done it in a heartbeat. My patience was slowly beginning to dwindle and was being replaced by tension.
All of us were sitting in the van waiting in anticipation for Lou to get back on the line. Hawk was driving like a madman and getting the finger from everyone that he cut off. With a crackle of the speaker, Lou finally came back on.
“I wasn’t able to see anything, guys. There wasn’t even a crack between the curtains that I could peek through,” Lou reported. “Our only option is for me to go inside.”
“Negative, Lou. We should be there in five. Keep us posted if you see any movement,” Peter ordered.
Peter was right. The last thing that we needed was for Lou to get caught inside the house. Before Peter could hang up, Lou exclaimed, “Peter, a van just pulled out front. Something is going down.”
“Sit tight, Lou, we are almost there,” Peter ordered.
“You got it, boss, but you better hurry.”
With the new information Lou had just shared with us, we knew that our window of opportunity was closing. There was only one reason a van would be at the mansion: it was to transport the women, and that meant Juliette too. Stepping on the gas, we were just out of Manhattan when the worst thing possible happened. The road that we needed to take was blocked by a three car pile up. We knew that it was going to be hours before this mess would be cleaned up. Hawk looked in the side mirror hoping that he could back out of the mess, but even that was a no-go. There were cars stopped behind us at least two blocks deep. Making my way to the front of the van, I looked through the windshield to see if I could find a way out of here. Scanning our surroundings, it was then that I noticed an officer speaking to the driver of an SUV at the front of the line closest to the accident. If we could get the police officer to divert the traffic around the block, then we could get past the accident and be on our way.
Opening the door to the van, I jumped out and headed toward the officer. Running between the cars, I finally made it to where the officer was still chatting with the driver. Leave it to a beautiful woman to distract him. It wasn’t that I blamed him, it was that I needed his attention. Tapping him on the shoulder since he obviously didn’t see me standing next to him, I motioned him away from the gorgeous driver.
“We need your assistance. My name is Ash Jacobs and I work for an elite security company known as Jagged Edge,” I began, pulling my ID from my pocket. “If you could divert this traffic around the block, we could get by.”
The officer looked at me like I was feeding him a bunch of shit, giving me one of those ‘Fuck off’ looks. “Look… Mr. Jacobs of Jagged Edge Security…” he mocked as he lifted my ID to look at the name. “I don’t give a rat’s ass who you work for, this traffic isn’t going anywhere until this accident is cleared up.”
I could feel my body begin to tighten at his arrogance. I was so close to popping him one. If it wasn’t for Peter coming up behind me, I would have done just that. Holding me back, Peter looked to the officer and confirmed what I tried to tell him. “Officer Benson,” Peter began as he looked to his name badge. “Just like you, we are trying to do our jobs. Saving lives is our number one priority, as I'm sure it is yours as well. All we are asking is that you divert the traffic around the block. Besides, with the cars out of the way, the paramedics would have better access in getting to the victims and out of here quickly.”
I didn’t know what it was about Peter, but he always managed to talk people into doing things they wouldn’t normally do. By the time we got back to the van, the traffic was diverted and we were on our way. This was a setback that we didn’t need. Not only were we now taking a detour, it just added an additional ten minutes to reach to the mansion. Hawk took every shortcut that he could think of to get us there quicker, but even then, it only delayed our arrival more. It seemed like no matter how hard we tried, this mission was beginning to look like it was jinxed.
When we were finally able to get to the main road that would take us to the mansion, Peter’s cell rang. It was Lou. All of us took a deep breath, hoping it wasn’t the news that we were too late.
“What do you have for me, Lou?” Peter asked reluctantly.
“The girls were just loaded into the van and they are getting ready to head out. Need to know your ETA,” Lou admitted.
“We are less than five minutes away,” Peter confirmed.
“Well, you better make it two, because the driver and his buddy just
got in the van,” Lou stated.
“Shit, can you detain them?” Peter asked.
“I’ll do what I can,” Lou replied.
With only two minutes to get there, Hawk laid on the gas and the van took off like there was a turbo boost behind his foot.
Reaching the house, we barely made it in time to see the van turn from the main drive onto the road we were currently on. With a quick turn of the wheel, Hawk made a one-eighty, managing to keep the van on the road without driving into the ditch. Keeping our distance, we followed them for about ten miles until they made a turn to the left and pulled up to an old empty warehouse. There was no one else around as we slowed up and waited. The only reason for the stop would be to make an exchange for the girls. Losing my patience, I turned to Peter and asked, “What are we waiting for? Let’s get the girls and get out of here.”
“Don’t you want this kind of thing to stop? If we don’t let the exchange happen, we will never know who is behind this,” Peter stated as he placed his hand on my shoulder, knowing just how I felt. “Look, Ash, I know how bad you want Juliette out of that van, but we have to wait, at least until they get here. Then we will move in.”
I knew Peter was right. I wanted to get all the scumbags involved. As long as we got to them before the girls got out of the van, I knew she would be okay. Taking my place towards the front of the van, I watched and waited for someone to show up. About twenty minutes passed and there was still no sign of anyone. It was then that we figured out that we had been taken. Someone should have been here by now.
Pulling his cell from his pocket, Peter dialed Lou, who was still back at the house. “Lou, I think we got scammed. Is there any movement at the house?” Peter questioned, concerned that they may have made the wrong move.
“Nothing, Peter. Nobody has gone in or come out,” Lou confessed.
Things just weren’t making sense. It was then that Peter advised, “Guys, I think we’ve just been played. Hawk, you know what to do.”
Hawk was in motion and within seconds he had the van angled sideways so that the other van had nowhere to go. Sliding the back door open, Peter jumped out with Sly, Cop, and I close behind. Hawk and Ryan also exited the van. We were all armed and ready to fire when the driver and his sidekick opened their doors with their hands held high above their heads. It was like they had planned this whole thing. I kept my gun pointed at the driver, while Sly had his on the other guy.
Peter was already heading to the other side of the van to open the door. I could hear the door slide with a loud “Shit, motherfucker,” comment coming from Peter. It was then that I knew they were either badly hurt or dead. Unable to hold back, I rounded the front of the van to see for myself. Peter had backed away from the van a few steps and was walking in circles while running his hand through his hair. I knew it was bad. Looking inside the van, there was nothing, it was empty. I didn’t know if I was relieved or pissed off. I guess I was more pissed, because I took the guy that Sly was watching and threw him up against the side of the van.
With gritted teeth and fury, I demanded, “Where the fuck is she?” I couldn’t wait for him to answer, The shit grin on his face was enough for me. With one blow to his face, his nose was broken and the blood started spilling.
“You broke my fucking nose,” the man claimed.
Holding him by the collar, I looked straight into his eyes and asked again, “Where?”
When he saw my fist coming at him, he began to sing. “They are all still at the mansion. We were informed to just go, leave without them, and drive here.”
We didn’t have time for these losers, so Hawk grabbed a few long zip-ties and secured the men to the side mirrors, one on each side of the van. Once they were secure with no chance of escape, Peter made a quick call to the NYPD and let them know of the location.
When we began to drive off, the only thing I could think about was Juliette. I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to her, and I sure as shit could never forgive Peter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Juliette
After the beastly giant was ordered to get me something to cover myself, he ushered me down a sparsely lit staircase that led to the basement of the house. I could hear water dripping from somewhere, but I wasn’t sure where. The floor was wet and the walls were moist and covered in a black moss-like substance. Unable to really see anything, my eyes finally focused and I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were so many of them, and now I was among them.
I wasn’t sure how long they had been down here, but they all backed away from the cell door and huddled into the nearest corner. My body jumped as Mr. Giant slammed the cell door shut. Moving closer to the women, I was able to get a better look at them. They all looked like they hadn’t seen a shower for some time. It also looked like they weren’t getting the nutrition they needed either.
Trying to get some answers, I spoke in a soft voice and asked, “How long have you been here?”
One of the girls from the back stepped up and said, “It’s hard to say. Most of us haven’t seen light for days, maybe even months.”
The girl who spoke couldn’t have been more than eighteen. Matter of fact, a lot of them looked to be very young. Maybe even younger than her. Stepping closer to the group of girls, I said quietly, “My name is Juliette.”
The girls began to open up to me as they told me their names. Most of them were from Mexico, while the rest were from the States or brought here on a freight liner and held in a large cargo container. I couldn’t even imagine what these girls went through. The longer we talked, the more they got to know me. I told them about the men at Jagged Edge and our plan to get them out of here, at least until they found my wire.
It turned out that most of them were taken in broad daylight. The girls that weren’t were traded in exchange for debts that were impossible to repay. Each girl had a different story. There was even one girl, her name was Kimberly, who was a college student at UCLA working on her medical degree to become a pediatric doctor. She was taken right from the college campus when she was walking to the library. So many of them, each with a different story.
Walking over to the door, I examined the lock to see if maybe there was a way to work it open. As old as this house was, maybe the lock was old too, and I could somehow pry it open. I needed something to stick in the lock, but the way things looked there wasn’t anything sharp enough to use. Even a hairpin would be better than nothing. That was when I noticed that one of the girls had her hair pulled back in a bun, which meant she would be using hairpins to keep it in place. Walking up to where she was sitting, I looked down on her and asked, “Do you have a hairpin?”
Reaching behind her head, she removed one of her hairpins and handed it to me. I knew that there wasn’t much time before they would be coming back to get us. Manipulating the pin, I straightened it out enough that I could work both ends together to work the lock. When I heard voices, I knew I was too late, they were coming for us. Stepping away from the door, I needed to think of something fast before they showed up. Placing the hairpin in Kimberly’s hand, I crouched over and began to moan like death had taken over my body. If I couldn’t save myself, maybe I could at least save them.
When the men came into view, Mr. Giant was in front with another man following behind him. Looking over to me as he opened the door, he growled, “Get up, we’re taking you lovely ladies to your new home.”
When he grabbed me by the shirt, I looked at him and pleaded, “I can’t move, I think I am going to be sick,” as I continued to pull my body into a ball and moaned like I was in a lot of pain.
Mr. Giant must have believed me. His hands were around my body, carrying me out of the cell and back from where they came. I gave Kimberly a smile and hoped that she would have enough time to get out of the cell. I just hoped that I could keep my act up before they figured out that I was faking it.
When we got to the study, I was placed on the long sofa. Sebastian and Mr. Marlow weren’t in t
he room, which I thought was very odd. Pushing myself to a sitting position, I tried to look out of the double doors that were left open when the two he-men left. I was pretty confident that neither Sebastian nor Mr. Marlow were around, so I stood from the couch and hurried over to the window. Pulling back the dark curtains, I looked out over the drive to see if I could spot Lou in the black car. The drive was too long for me to see anything. I knew that the best thing I could do would be to try and get out of here. I had this terrible feeling that being left alone was not just dumb luck. The two goons that took me here were probably standing just outside the door, waiting for me to make a move.
Settling back on the couch, I decided to take my chances. Continuing with my act, I laid my head against the back of the couch and waited for Sebastian and Mr. Marlow to show up. Thinking they were never going to show, I heard what sounded like a car engine that needed a new muffler outside. Curious to see what it was doing out there, I headed to the window once again and drew back the curtains. Pulled up close to the door was a black van. My heart sank into my stomach as I watched the girls being loaded inside. I needed to do something. I couldn’t let this happen. Running to the doors leading out of the study, I was stopped abruptly by the smell of a man I would never forget. He was standing there with his goons, one either side of him like a pair of bookends.
