by Evie Harper
When Jake’s laugh dies away, he turns to his side on the bed with his elbow bent and hand to his head. Staring my way, he says, “We need to talk about today, Lil.” The seriousness in his tone gets my attention right away. A question jumps to the front of my mind and I can’t believe I never asked Jake this before.
“Jake, where are we? What country are we in?
He doesn’t miss a beat and answers me straight away, “we’re in Columbia, South America.”
Oh, my God, South America. But I haven’t heard any accents. How can that be? “But no one has an accent?”
“Marco started his empire in the United States over a decade ago. He moved it over here because the people are easier bought for their silence. However, he recruits his guards in the United States. When he sends guards out to find new women, he found they trust English speaking Americans much more over the ones with accents.”
The depths of evil Marco has is limitless. He’s a monster and unfortunately a smart one at that. Jake gains my attention again with his serious tone.
“I know where we are Lil but I have no idea where we are going. And when we arrive, I don’t know what to expect, but I know it won’t be long before we will get separated. I will need to be shown around and introduced to the other guards. At the first opportunity, I will start disabling guards and have my team move in.”
My body chooses this inappropriate moment to start heating at his military speak. Imagining Jake storming the grounds, his gun firing, killing the bad guys. His muscles rippling with the vibration of the gun. Oh, God, so hot. I shake my head, trying to snap myself out of my fantasy.
“Lil? Did you hear me?”
My thoughts clear and I notice Jake is standing in front of me. I nod, and I’m sure a guilty look is on my face.
Jake’s lips lift into a smirk as he continues to speak, “I need you to watch out for tense moments, guards on their radios, yelling or becoming agitated. It will point out to you that we are not far off. At that time, I need you to get somewhere safe, and if Em is near you, take her with you. Can you do that for me?”
Em, Hearing Jake’s nickname for his sister again causes my heart to trip over itself. “I will, Jake. I’ll make sure to keep Emily safe.”
Jake stares into my eyes. “I know you will, my little spitfire,” he replies and winks at me.
He encircles me in his arms. I go willingly, resting my head on his chest right under his chin. We stay like this for a long moment.
Eventually, Jake kisses my temple and whispers, “I have to go get ready. Collection guards have a uniform for when they travel with Marco.”
I nod and begin to step back, but Jake stops me by threading his fingers through my hair and bringing my chin up to look into his eyes. They penetrate mine before he claims my lips in a possessive, loving kiss. It almost feels like a goodbye.
“The next time I see you, Lil, Davis will be with me, and it will be to collect you.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll be ready.” I give Jake my best, ‘let’s do this smile.’
“I love you, Lil,” Jake softly says. He then places a quick, soft kiss on my lips. “Please be extra safe today. For me to exist, I need you alive and in my arms, because living with this ache would kill me.”
Damn, he’s good. I jump up and throw my body at him, wrapping him up in my legs and arms.
“I promise, Jake, I will try my hardest to stay safe.” Jake sucks on my neck, kisses me in the same place, puts me on my feet, and then leaves the room.
Sometime later, and a lot of pacing from me, my door opens and Davis and Jake walk in. Both wearing black suits, white dress shirts, and black sunglasses.
“Did I just fall into a Men in Black movie?” I say sarcastically.
Standing behind Davis, Jake gives me a heart stopping smile while Davis whistles and says, “Looking good, Lil—”
Jake cuts Davis off before he can finish. “Davis, are we clear?”
Davis sighs and says, “Fuck, all right, hold your horses.”
He places a finger to his ear and speaks, “Darren, we clear?”
Davis smiles and rubs his hands together. “Must be our lucky day. The dicks aren’t tailing Marco for once. He’s arriving in ten minutes. The first car will be Marco’s guards, then Marco and Darren, then me and Lily, then you will be tailing, Jake.”
Jake gives him a quick nod.
“Let’s go,” Davis says, grinning as he leaves the room.
I go to take a step and then stiffen. Suddenly, I feel like I have to leap over a huge hole in the ground. This was the last place I saw Sash alive, hugged her, and talked to her. My body starts to shake. Davis is out the door first, but Jake stops and looks over at me. He sees my face and comes to me.
“Lil, it will be okay.”
I shake my head, trying to talk past the lump in my throat. “This is the last place I saw my sister, spoke to her, and held her. If I leave here, I’m leaving her behind,” I lips tremble while I try to hold my tears back.
“Baby,” Jake breathes out. He hugs me tightly, and I cry into his jacket, never wanting to let him go.
Jake whispers into my ear, “She’s in your heart, Lil, not in this Godforsaken place, and she’s home in Australia.”
I nod, knowing he’s right. I wipe my face quickly and walk out of the room, Jake’s right behind me all the way. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Davis grips my upper arm and walks me out the front door.
I spot two shiny, black cars parked right beside each other. They look like the same cars that brought me and Sasha here.
Davis opens a back door to one of the cars and orders, “Get in, Lily,”
I get in, fighting my body’s instinct to glance once more time at Jake, but I know right now we need to be careful. We’ve already pushed our luck this morning.
I look out the car window and focus on Jake as he heads toward the car beside mine. The window’s tinted so I can’t see him when he gets in.
Davis gets into the driver’s seat in my car.
“All right, Lily, get comfortable. This is going to be a long drive,” he states, looking at me through the rear-view mirror.
I’m curious, so I ask, “How long?”
“About four hours.” Davis surprises me by answering me.
Since he’s answering my questions, I ask, “And where are we now?” Davis turns in his seat and looks at me. By the crease on his forehead above his sunglasses, it appears he’s narrowing his eyes at me. I know I’m asking him something I already know, but I am wondering just how honest Davis will be with me.
“Why so talkative, Lily?” He drags my name out.
I shrug, “I just want to know what country I’m in; that’s all.”
He smirks and says, “Won’t matter anyway. You’ll be locked away so tight, no one will ever find you, and you will never find a way out.” He gives me his obnoxious smile.
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard all this. Now, where are we?”
“You don’t disappoint in the attitude department, do you. We’re in Colombia at the moment,” he finally replies honestly. I decide to push for more answers.
“So where are we going then?”
Davis presses in his earpiece and says, “Ready, open the gates.”
He looks at me through the visor and says, “Now, you shut up and enjoy the drive.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Into the Jungle
Almost two hours into the drive, the cars break off to the side of the road. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and all I can see is a long stretch of road in front of us and on each side is miles of jungle.
“Jake, are we clear? Nothing behind us?” Davis nods and then speaks again, “No tails, clear the path.” Davis looks ahead, and a man gets out of the first car. He walks into the forest and starts pulling branches back, and I see it: a dirt road. Oh, dear God, we're going into the jungle.
Once the dirt road gets cleared, we all drive through, then stop again. No one from the front cars gets out,
so I look behind me and see Jake get out and cover the spot. He jumps back into the car. At hearing Davis voice, I turn back to the front.
“All covered up. Let’s go.” And with that, the cars start driving along the jungle’s bumpy dirt road.
I wonder how this sedan is going to go, but the further we get into the jungle, the more I can feel the road stays the same—flat, with small bumps; it’s mostly smooth and hazard free, as if gets used all the time. Which it probably does considering the amount of times Marco talked about coming and going, plus the parties and each woman coming back at different times. This road is probably busier than that highway we were just on.
I glance out the window and see nothing except thick jungle. Oh, God. We are in the middle of nowhere. Escape would surely mean death of cold nights, starvation, not to mention the dangerous animals that would be out there.
After what I consider almost two hours of driving through the wilderness, I notice the jungle starts thinning out, and we arrive at a clearing. There’s a tall barbed wire fence that stretches on for miles. We stop just near it, and I search out the windows, trying to see what’s going on.
“Why did we stop?” I ask.
“Simply waiting for the gate to open. Won’t be long now and you will be home.” I shudder at his words. This will never be my home.
Up ahead, a man wearing khaki pants, jacket, and boots opens a large metal gate. It’s square with gaps in-between the metal bars. He swings up a big latch, and it opens. It’s a long gate so we have to wait until he walks it all the way back so the cars can fit through.
The first car starts making its way through and we follow behind. I examine a building up ahead; it’s a big brown house, nowhere near as great as the mansion we left today. This one looks like it’s made out of trees and painted a dark brown. It appears to be a two-storey house, simple with lights all around the outside that makes it seem inviting.
The cars brake in front of the building, all four cars side by side. Davis and the guards exit the cars, while a guard opens Marco’s door, and he steps out. He’s on his phone. Glancing over to my car, he nods to someone.
My door opens and I see Jake. I smile instantly, but his expression stays blank. He steps back waiting for me to exit the car.
I wipe the smile from my face as I emerge from the car. The first thing that hits me is the thick, humid air; it envelopes me, and almost instantly, a trickle of sweat creeps down my neck. I don’t know how Jake is coping in his black suit, but if it were me, I would be trying to rip off all those clothes.
Jake leads me to the house, not touching me at all. We walk through the open front door, and as soon as we enter, the air-conditioning cools my skin.
The door closes behind us. I look back and find Davis. He walks around me and Jake, and we start following him. On our way through, I quickly take in my surroundings. On the right, I find a large lounge room filled with a long, white, L-shaped lounge, a large TV, and a round white rug. There are floor to ceiling windows through the whole lounge room, no curtains or blinds, just an open view of green trees and plants—the jungle at its purest. There is one set of stairs leading to the upstairs area and two exits leading from the room, one I am now walking through. To my left is a dining room with a large, thick wooden square table with twelve seats.
Davis leads us down a long hallway. The hall opens up to a large room at the back of the house, and again all the windows are floor to ceiling. From the front of the house, you would think there is no way to see inside, but most of this house is glass windows instead of walls. The room is huge. It’s as long as the dining room and lounge combined, and there is a desk in the left corner with two black leather lounges, and a coffee table to my right. This must be Marco’s office in this house.
“I don’t give a fuck. He killed one of my collection pieces. I want him found and fucking skinned alive. Then I’ll replace her with one of his daughters. That bastard cost me a lot of money.” At Marco’s words, Jake’s and my backs go straight at the same time.
One of the girls is dead? No!
I glimpse at Jake, expecting to see terror on his face; however, his expression remains blank, except his eyes; they looked pained.
Marco growls and turns quickly toward us. “Fucking incompetent pricks can’t even find one person.”
I decide to ask the question whether I’m supposed to speak or not, nothing mattered more than easing Jake’s pain or confirming what he is too terrified to hear. Either way, we needed to know.
“Who died?” I choked out.
Marco looks around his desk distracted and spits out, “Adanya.”
Jake’s shoulders slightly lower, only someone looking for his relieved stature would notice.
Tears sting my eyes. I may not have known these women well, but they were still human beings and they were just like me, trapped.
Marco glances up at us and freezes, his gaze fixated on my face. “Don’t worry, Lily. She will be replaced quickly. You will have another friend soon.” He waves his hand around like it’s nothing at all.
My mouth hangs wide open, a whole swarm of bees would have fit in there.
“You are so heartless.” My voice is thick with grief. “She was a human being, someone’s daughter, you bastard.”
“Ah, I see you have your fire back, wonderful. You got over your sister.”
My heart squeezes. I hate hearing her referred to from his disgusting, psychotic lips.
Marco's eyes examine my expression and his face twists and contorts into rage. “Remember who’s in charge here, Lily, and don’t think because I can’t mark you on the outside that I can’t ruin you on the inside.” He speaks low, his tone spiked with icy anger.
A slither of fear bleeds into my courage, and I clamp my mouth shut and lower my eyes to the ground. I know what he wants me to do. I have to remember Jake is here for a reason, and that reason is bigger than me telling Marco what a monster he is.
Going against every fibre in my body, which is screaming at me not to do this, I say, “Yes, sir.”
Out the corner of my eye, Jake’s white knuckled fist gets my attention.
“Good girl. I love that you are a quick learner, yet you still hold the fire in your eyes. We’re going to have some fun, you and I, over the coming years.” You wish, arsehole.
“Davis,” Marco speaks.
Davis steps forward in full minion mode.
“Show Lily to her room, and then show Jake around.”
Marco shoos us away and distractedly starts searching his desk again.
Davis once again leads us back up the hallway, through the lounge room and up the set of stairs. They twirl around once until we hit the next floor. At the top of the stairs, there is nothing but a long hallway with three bedroom doors on either side. At the end of the long hall is another floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Davis opens the door to a room on the left, right next to the glass window.
As I’m about to walk into the room, I check out the view from up here. All I see is miles of jungle, and an occasional glimpse of the barbed wire fence between the trees.
I enter the room and find it’s different to the one at the mansion, just as luxurious though, just in a woodsy and natural way. There’s a similar massive walk-in closet and bathroom, but the walls are dark brown. The flooring is wood with a large green rug in front of the bed. The bed has an oak frame with green covers. The windows aren’t floor to ceiling in this room, just one standard-sized window with green lace see-through curtains.
Davis speaks, “Jake, give me five. I need to go double check that Stevens is watching my post while I’m showing you around.”
Jake nods and Davis departs the room, leaving the door wide open. I go to the door and look down the hall, seeing only the back of Davis as he descends the stairs.
An arm winds around my middle, and I’m pulled back into the room. I know it’s Jake, so I don’t freak out. He holds me while he softly closes the door and turns me to him.
/> “Jesus, Lily, did you have to piss Marco off already?” Jake blows out a big breath and rubs the back of his neck. “You are going to give me a damn heart attack.”
I smirk and shrug. “I can’t help it. I’ve finally found my talent, and it’s to piss off evil arseholes.”
Jake grins and kisses my nose. “Well, no more today, baby. You’re gonna kill me before I even get you out of here.”
My smile drops. “I know. That was selfish of me. I promise, I am now on my best behaviour.” I throw up three fingers and give Jake my best scout’s honour promise.
Jake laughs and places me away from him. He puts distance between us in case anyone enters the room, but his grin is still ever present on his handsome face. “Damn, I can’t wait to get you home and spank you for that sass.”
Home. The only home I have is the farm, and there’s no way I could live on it now, not yet anyway. The memories would be too painful. So many things have been taken from me, and I just realised I have to add my family home to the list.
“I’m sorry, Lil. I shouldn’t have said that.” I shrug, trying to throw off how much his words affected me.
Jake steps to me and declares, “You have me, baby. We will find a new home together.”
I jump when we hear heavy footsteps walking up the hall.
Jake quickly whispers to me, “If you see Em, don’t tell her I’m here. I don’t want her change in attitude to alert anyone.”
I nod quickly. Making quick strides to the window, he leans back on the wall as if he’s been there casually waiting the whole time.
Davis opens and enters the room, “Okay, Jake, let’s get this boring-ass tour over with.”
Jake nods and follows Davis out of the room. Before he goes, he winks at me. I wish I could smile back, but the fear of what is about to happen holds my face captive.
Left alone in this new room, unsure of what to do, I decide to wash my face and clean the sweat from the back of my neck. Walking back into the room, I hear something through the walls. It’s muffled and hard to pick up what it is. I place my ear to the wall and listen. Someone is crying; it must be one of the women.
