“Let’s go.”
Clara glanced at me. “Where are we going?”
Fear simmered in her eyes and she appeared reluctant to leave the safety of the building.
“It’s not safe here. We need to move.”
I didn’t know what we’d find outside, and I didn’t have a way to contact Xavier. My cellphone had been confiscated—standard procedure, you understand—before they allowed us inside.
Keeping Clara close, hugged to my side and a little behind me, I pushed on the door leading outside. The bin where all the cell phones had been standing was knocked over on the ground. Dozens of abandoned cell phones littered the ground.
“See if you can find my phone.” I needed to get word out to Xavier that this whole thing had gone to shit.
Standing guard over Clara while she searched, I peered through the darkness toward the other buildings. There were too many to search, but Wu’s children had to be inside one, or two, of them. It would make sense to keep the boys and girls separate.
Fuck my life.
I couldn’t return with only one of them.
Think!
“Found it!” Clara lifted my phone triumphantly.
“Shh…” We didn’t need to attract attention.
“Sorry.” She lowered her voice. “What now?” She searched the small parking lot and I followed her gaze. Our ride had disappeared in the chaos. Then I saw what I needed.
A worn path in the dirt.
I took my phone from her and hit the flashlight to examine the ground. Deep boot imprints intermingled with smaller footprints. They led toward the back buildings.
We were sitting ducks outside. Anyone could take us out, but I betted on everyone running. Whoever Carson hired for security needed to be fired, but from the absence of any guards, he clearly only had security for himself. I had taken those men out.
I headed toward the outbuildings.
“What are you doing?” Clara kept her voice down and hunched beside me.
“I need to get Malee and Maceo.”
“Who?”
“Carson’s slave and that boy.”
She gave me a look.
“I’ll explain later.” Gripping her hand, I picked up our pace. She kept right by my side.
We stopped at the first building. Locked.
Shit.
I gave three sharp kicks and busted through the lock. The door opened on a dark interior with long rows of fenced cages. About a dozen girls backed away and huddled in the corners.
“Oh my God!” Clara reached for one of the cages and tugged at a lock.
I pulled her hand back. “We need to find Malee.”
“But…”
I thrust out my phone. “Call Xavier. He’ll take care of this, but we don’t have time to free them.”
She took the cell phone with a shaky hand, but didn’t hesitate to punch in the numbers to the burner phone Xavier set up for contingencies. While she told him what happened, I searched the cages.
But I didn’t find Malee.
Clara trailed behind me snippets of her conversation with Xavier reached my ears. I waved for her to follow me and ignored the desperate faces looking out from the cages.
You can’t save them all.
But damn if I didn’t want to try.
Xavier and his team would have to handle it. Wu’s children’s lives, and by extension, mine, were on the line.
“Let’s keep going.”
Clara kept the phone next to her ear as her head swiveled back and forth, looking for Wu’s daughter. There was something oddly fulfilling about having Clara work beside me, rather than serving beneath me. We were a team, and that did strange things to my head and my heart.
I had so much more to lose than a few days ago.
We exited the first building and moved on to the next.
This one held cages of boys.
Unlike the girls, they came to the front of their cells, fingers clawing through the wire chain links. Their defiant eyes stared with lethal menace and hatred. While we didn’t have time for it, I knew there was only one way to truly save those other girls.
“Clara!”
“Yes?”
“Look along the wall for the keys.”
She didn’t hesitate.
I spoke to the boys in English and then in Thai. “We’re here to free you.”
Their angry expressions hardened, not with fear but mistrust. I didn’t have time for that shit. As I raced down the cages, I called out Maceo’s name, and told the boys they needed to save the girls in the other building.
“How far out?” I turned to Clara.
“Ten minutes.”
I had ten minutes to locate Malee and Maceo before Xavier’s extraction team arrived. A contingency they prepared to get Clara and I out if things went south. I planned to add two more people to that count.
As for the others? I didn’t know what to do about them.
One of the boys spoke to me in English.
“You’re looking for Maceo?” He had to be seventeen or eighteen because his body had begun to take on the bulky muscles of a man. But looking into his eyes, I didn’t see a boy. A saw someone forced to grow up far too soon.
“Yes!”
“Did he survive his fight?”
“Yes.” At the crestfallen look on his face, I rushed to reassure him. “They both did. I stopped it.”
“You?”
“Where is Maceo?”
“They take us to the infirmary after a fight.” What did these boys do while waiting for their next battle? Did they talk to one another? Or did they retreat into themselves, refusing to forge friendships in such a desolate place?
Deep-seated anger stirred within me at the hell these boys had been subjected to, and I itched to do something to help them.
“Found it!” Clara called out.
“Bring it here.” I looked to the boy. “Free as many as you can, and don’t you dare forget the girls in the next building. Protect them.”
When Clara arrived, I took the key and waited for the boy to acknowledge what I said. When he gave a cautious nod, I unlocked his cell and placed the key in his hand.
“What’s your name?”
“Marcus.”
“Well, Marcus, they’re your responsibility. There’s a team coming to take us out, but you’re going to have to help everyone until they get here. You’re on your own. Don’t forget the girls.”
“I won’t.” His chest puffed out with purpose.
I hesitated, knowing he couldn’t do it on his own, but I had my own agenda. Knowing nothing about him, but having a good idea how he wound up here, I did the next best thing.
“Is there anyone I can get a message to?”
“There’s no one who cares.” He shook his head then rolled his shoulders back. “Infirmary is the second building to the left. Out that door.”
Clara threaded her fingers with mine and pressed against me.
“Josh, we need to go.”
Without another word, we headed out the back door. The second building to the left was much smaller than the others. It didn’t have a lock. I lifted my weapon while Clara opened the door.
An examination table filled the center of the room and a row of cabinets lined the back wall. To the left, a large wire-link cage held a boy.
“Maceo!” I couldn’t believe it. I found him. “Where’s your sister?” Wu’s children attended exclusive private schools and had learned English from an early age.
“What do you want with my sister?”
There wasn’t time to search for a key, and I had a feeling whoever held it had fled with the others. I turned my gun on the lock, and Maceo brought his hands up, guarding his body. Ignoring him, I pulled the trigger and shot off the lock.
With a yank, I jerked it free and opened the cage.
“We have to hurry. Do you or do you not know where your sister is?”
“Who are you?”
“Your father sent me. Now, w
here is Malee?”
“That sick bastard kept her at the main house.”
“Show me.” I glanced down at his bare feet and hoped that wouldn’t slow us down.
With Clara tucked to my side, the three of us worked our way to the main house. Clara kept in contact with Xavier by phone while Maceo and I slipped between the shadows.
“I’ve seen them take her in there, but I don’t know where they keep her.” He pointed to a side door.
Shit, I didn’t want to have to search an entire house.
“Two minutes out,” Clara announced.
Our combined gaze turned to the night sky, seeking the lights of the helicopter which would take us from this place.
“Let’s go.”
“They want us to meet them at the parking lot.” Clara glanced toward the building where the fights had been held and pulled away from me.
There was no way she would leave my side. I still didn’t know if there were other guards roaming around.
I turned to Maceo. “Do you know how to use a gun?”
The teen shook his head.
“I do.” Clara spoke up.
“You?”
“Yes.” She pointed to the revolver I had shoved beneath the waistband of my pants next to my lower back. “I’m a really good shot. Give me that.”
“Are you sure?”
She spoke into the phone. “I’m giving you to a…” she hesitated, “…a friend.”
Maceo took the phone. “Hello?”
Clara waited for me to hand over the revolver, which I was grateful for. If she’d reached for it, she could’ve shot my ass off if her finger tripped the trigger.
“Why are they important to you?” She looked to Maceo who was speaking on the phone, asking the obvious question.
I hadn’t explained their connection with Wu. It was something I planned on explaining later, but I trusted Clara with all my secrets.
“Their father is a major player in Thailand, both a business mogul and mob boss. His daughter was the one I killed.”
Her eyes rounded. “Josh, you’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.” I gestured toward the door. “His sister is somewhere in there. Or at least I hope. I’m not leaving without them both.”
“I’ve got your back.”
The three of us entered the desolate mansion using what looked to be the servant’s entrance. We passed through a kitchen and a long hallway with a pantry and other storage closets.
“Where do you think she would be?” Clara held her gun with a steady hand, cupping her fist like a pro. Her finger stayed off the trigger. I’d have to ask her later how she knew about guns.
“Maceo, do you know?”
“I haven’t seen my sister since they kidnapped us except at the fights, but I know he keeps her in the house. The guards talk about…” His scowl deepened. “They talk about the things he makes her do.”
“Okay.” I thought it through.
Carson had been a total dick and control freak. He wouldn’t put her where he didn’t have easy access to the girl. I ruled out a continued search of the downstairs.
“Let’s move up.”
Not knowing the layout of the house, it would be difficult to search, and any minute that chopper would land. Xavier’s crew expected us to be in that parking lot and we weren’t going to be there.
“Do we spread out?” Clara asked.
“No fucking way. You stick by my side.”
We climbed the stairs, encountering no one. In fact, the entire house seemed abandoned.
A sweeping staircase led to a second level and I took a guess the master suite would be up there. We headed up.
Turning left, we ran across a series of guest rooms. Knowing the size of Carson’s ego, I turned everyone around to the opposite wing.
Jackpot!
We located the master suite, but there was no girl.
“Shit.” Where could she be?
Clara moved out in front of me, gun level, hands steady. She headed toward the bathroom.
“Hold up.” I didn’t want her going first.
Maceo stayed behind me, hovering at the door. Outside, the low whomp—whomp—whomp of an approaching helicopter made the air vibrate.
We walked into the ornate master bath. Maceo followed behind us. He clutched the phone in his hand, no longer speaking to whoever was on the other end. His cagey eyes swept back and forth. To either side, two doors led to what I assumed were walk-in closets.
“Malee?” Maceo called out. “Are you here?”
A muffled noise came from the door to our left. I wanted to shout at Maceo to wait, but he rushed the door and practically took it off its hinges as he flung it open.
As he crashed through, I followed. Chained to a wall, Malee knelt on a small pallet. Tears streaked her cheeks and I swallowed against the extensive bruising on her body. A quick glance around the room showed no clothing. I turned around.
“Clara, see if there’s anything she can wear.” Looking at Clara’s half-dressed state, I wanted her covered head to toe. No man would ever again look upon her as a naked slave. The thought churned my stomach.
“Of course.” Clara kept her gun up and searched the bathroom.
It occurred to me to tell her not to pick any of Carson’s clothes. I wanted none of his filth touching Malee, but I didn’t need to worry. Clara returned with a feminine looking floor length robe.
Maceo held his sister and they clutched each other as I went to the wall. No keys meant there was no way to get the manacles off her wrists, but that wasn’t a problem. I curled my fingers into a fist and punched at the wall. Of course, the chain had been bolted into a supporting two by four. Maceo got to his feet, and between the two of us, we yanked the anchoring bolts out by brute force.
I turned to Malee. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” she replied in perfect English.
The four of us exited the master suite and pulled up short at the sound of men moving on the floor below. I waved everyone back and took a look over the railing.
Chambers, Abrams, Bay, Chad, and two other men I didn’t know were decked out in black tactical gear and armed to the hilt. They swept the area below with their guns.
“Up here,” I called out.
“What the fuck, Davenport?” Chambers lowered his weapon. “What part of meet us at the rendezvous point did you not understand? And who the fuck was on the phone?”
“Whatever.” I gestured to Clara and the twins. “You’re going home.”
Maceo clutched his sister and she wept on his shoulder. I knew the horrors these children suffered at Carson’s hands, but they wouldn’t have suffered at all if Wu had simply given in to Carson’s demands and handed over his territory. Wu was as much at fault for what happened to his children as Carson.
His son had been turned into a killer and his daughter had been subjected to rape and worse.
In this, it was difficult to judge who was the bigger monster. Except to say, for the first time in a very long time, that man wasn’t me.
Chapter 52
Chambers and the others surrounded Clara and Wu’s children. I stayed right in front of Clara, protecting her as best I could. Chambers and his team led us out of the mansion to the waiting helicopter.
“We can’t take the kids.” Chambers shouted over the noise of the rotors.
“We’re not leaving them.”
“This isn’t a part of the plan.”
“Not your plan. Those two are coming with us.”
Chambers pursed his lips, but I wasn’t going to budge.
“It’s not up for discussion,” I said.
“We don’t have the weight allowance for two more.”
“Sure you do.” I glanced in the helicopter. There was seating for eight. Damn, he was right, then I had an idea. “Leave two of your guys behind.”
“Like hell I will.”
I pointed to the back buildings. “There’s about two dozen boys and girls back there who are
scared as shit and could use a little help. They have no one and nowhere to go. Send your guys to help them. Get them someplace safe.”
Chambers scratched the back of his head, then exchanged words with Abrams. The two of them stepped away, while Clara climbed into the helicopter with the twins.
After a short discussion and a call back to Xavier, Chambers spoke with his men. Chad, Bay, and the two new men set off at a jog toward the buildings.
“Get in,” Chambers said, “we’re taking you to the jet.”
“And what about them?”
“Xavier is working on it.”
Clara and Malee sat in the center seats. Malee’s brother put his arm around his sister and spoke into her ear. Clara glanced at me, kept her hands in her lap, and still had a grip on that revolver with perfect gun etiquette with her finger off the trigger.
I kept my head down and climbed on board. Chambers and Abrams followed and sat opposite the boy and girl. They leaned forward and helped the teens with the webbed restraints, making sure they were safe and secure. I did the same for Clara and slowly eased the revolver out of her hand and tucked it beneath my waistband.
She clutched my hand as the helicopter tilted forward and we took off. The deafening chop of the rotors made communication impossible, so I simply sat and held her hand.
We landed less than a half an hour later at the airport where a jet waited to take us back to Xavier’s island. Once clear of the helicopter, it lifted off again and headed back the way we had come. Chambers and Abrams stayed with us.
“Let’s get everyone on board.” Chambers tried ushering us onto the plane, but I shook my head.
“I need to make a phone call.”
“We need to get out of here.”
Wu made me memorize the number to a burner phone. He refused to allow me to program it into my contacts. With his assets, he would have a team prepped and ready to pick up his kids, but was it safe to wait here?
I altered my plans. Xavier may give me shit for it later, but I really didn’t give a damn. My conversation with Wu was short and to the point.
When I got on the plane, I checked in on the twins, making sure they were okay. The girl huddled beside her brother and refused to speak to anyone but him.
“We’re good,” Maceo said. “What happens now?”
Embracing Fate: A Captive Hearts Novel Page 40
