Konrad

by Ashers, LeAnn

  Until now, her almost getting kidnapped and her being promised to someone was beyond the realms of possibility. I never dreamed that this would happen.

  It kills me inside knowing the fear she had. He was someone that we knew and he was always around. There is that betrayal on top of that; she will look at people different now.

  That’s heartbreaking.

  I do hope that she’s young enough and that she will forget it, but I know Lynn will make sure she will get through this and I’ll be right there with her.

  “MOMMY!” Michaela screams at the top of her lungs.

  Lynn jumps out of her seat and is through the door in a second. Michaela is sitting up looking around for Lynn.

  She lets out a deep breath when she sees Lynn. “I’m here, baby, you okay?” she asks.

  Michaela settles her head back on Tristan’s chest. He tugs the blanket up and holds her tighter.

  His jaw is clenched. I know he is beyond pissed. “I was scared you were taken. I’m going to go back to sleep now.” She tucks her hand under her chin, her eyes closing.

  Tristan puts his hand on the back of her head like she’s a small child. Lynn sits down next to Tristan and she leans her head back against the back of the couch. I know she’s exhausted.

  “We’re going to go. Call me with updates, please, or if you need me.” I bend over and give her another hug, lingering a few extra seconds.

  It’s engrained in me to protect my sister and my niece. I have protected Lynn for as long as I can remember. I would get in trouble so the eyes would be off of her and on me.

  Vinny did the same thing for Danny, Danny did the same for me, and I did it for Lynn. That’s how we survived.

  I shut the door gently behind me so I don’t wake Michaela. I stare off into the field. “This breaks my heart,” I tell Konrad.

  He looks just as sad as I do. “Darlin’, it’s fucking heartbreaking, but she is strong, like her mom and her aunt.” He takes my hand and tugs me to his chest, hugging me. “But let’s go kick some ass.” At his words, I grin ear to ear. “Let’s.”

  Time to have some fun.

  * * *

  Etta

  We’re getting geared up here at the compound; we are making a straight shot there.

  The quietness surrounding us is astounding. We’re all mentally preparing ourselves for what we are going to see.

  I have heard rumors my whole life of what to expect, but I am deathly afraid to come face to face with it.

  My fear is nothing compared to what those girls are suffering, what they have been through and are probably still going through.

  I won’t let the fear get to me; they deserve my strength.

  Konrad tightens my bulletproof vest straps on my sides, making sure it’s fastened securely.

  The prospect is bringing the medical van for everyone who needs medical care. Konrad insists on driving me.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, his eyes studying my face to make sure I’m not lying.

  When I was telling the guys what that place is, they had to know what they could possibly come face to face with.

  Vinny and Danny are coming also. They added onto what I told them, letting them know what they heard.

  My brothers are riding with me. They want to be close after all of the shit has been happening.

  I can’t wrap my head around the fact that after all these years, they are still trying to fuck with our lives.

  They have no regard for women and children. My brothers were being groomed to be the next generation of fucked up men, but they left. They broke the cycle.

  I know I won’t stop until all of these fuckers are dead, in hell, where they belong.

  6

  Konrad

  The drive there is fucking killing me. Etta is shaking in the seat next to me and that shit alone is fucking with my head.

  I reach over and take ahold of her hand, fucking hating the feeling of her hand shaking in mine.

  Vinny and Danny are looking out of the window deep in thought in the back seat.

  What the fuck is going on here? What the fuck are we stepping into that has all three of them fucking terrified?

  What has that haunted look on their faces? I know my brothers are feeling the exact same thing.

  It’s going to be fucking bad.

  * * *

  Etta

  We pull over on the side of the road, out of the way, so we can sneak around the house.

  We don’t want to give them time to hurt the girls, try to kill them to silence them, use them as hostages.

  “Etta.” I look over to Konrad. He takes my hand and pulls me to the side away from everyone.

  He lets out a deep breath. “Darlin’, you don’t have to be brave right now. Stay with me. I will keep you safe, but please don’t force yourself. I know you're scared; it’s okay to be scared, honey,” he says, soft enough for only me to hear.

  I close my eyes, his words affecting me right now. I was trying with every fiber of my being to be strong, be tough.

  Dealing with other cults is one thing, but when it’s the one you grow up in? It’s different. PTSD is something I fight with.

  “You’ll be with me?” I repeat, being vulnerable.

  His jaw clenches, and he cups my face softly, tenderly. “Darlin’, I will protect you, always.”

  His words are like a balm. They soothe an achy part of my heart. He takes my hand and we walk together into the woods. My brothers are standing on my free side.

  Lane and Kyle are walking in front of the group, leading everyone. Prospects are at the vans and we will call them when it’s time for them to come pick up the girls.

  The house comes into view. It’s huge enough to fit quite a few people and right in the middle of the yard is a woman, naked, chained to a pole. I can see her moving.

  “Fuck is that?” Lane asks.

  “A woman,” I answer. I pick up my gun, throwing the strap over my shoulder, my protective instincts kicking in.

  I am ready to protect these women. I am ready to take them out of this fucked up life.

  This is what I am meant to do. It’s time to show this fucking cult that no matter how much they abuse us, women are unstoppable. We may bend, but we don’t fucking break.

  It’s time to show them that years ago we fractured them, but this time? It’s time to end it completely.

  When they hear my name, I want them to shake in fear.

  I look at Konrad, nodding, letting him know I’m good.

  Lane raises his hand, motioning for some of the guys to run through the woods to the back of the house so no one escapes.

  We all stand in wait, all of us watching the women roll on the ground trying to get comfortable. She tries to roll over but the way she is chained doesn’t allow for that to happen.

  Lane looks at his phone. “They’re in place.”

  We all take off running. “Danny, unchain her!” I tell my brother. I don't want to leave her outside by herself.

  She looks at us in horror. I’m sure it’s a scary sight to see all of us running straight toward her.

  We can’t stop though. Danny splits off and goes to her, taking off his shirt so he can cover her.

  Konrad puts his arm in front of me, stopping me as Kyle kicks in the door. We are hit with a sickening stench. The smell of feces and piss is overpowering.

  As we step inside of the house, we see a woman is lying chained on top of a small coffee table, her head and her legs on the floor. The only thing supporting her is the small table in the middle. I know she is in agony.

  “Fuck!” Wilder yells and runs over to help her.

  We all split up. Me, Vinny, and Konrad run upstairs with some other guys with us. I stop in the first room I see, where there is cage after cage smashed together just big enough for someone small to sit inside.

  The most horrific part—there are people inside.

  The women are backed as far as they can go. “Who are you?” one of the women asks, he
r voice cracking.

  “We are from Hope House. I am Etta. We are getting you out of here.” I rein back my emotions.

  That’s when the bathroom door opens and a huge man steps into the room. Konrad lifts his gun, hitting him hard in the face and knocking him out. “We need to keep him alive,” Konrad informs me.

  I walk over to the cages and they all have locks on them. “Fuck, I need some cutters.”

  I look at the caged women. Their eyes are huge, their faces are hollow from not getting enough food and they’re all naked. “I will be back. I’m going to locate all of the other girls,” I let them know.

  The one who spoke earlier says, “There are a few new girls under the house. The secret doorway is in the office behind the bookshelf.”

  I leave the light on. Konrad walks in front of me and I grip the back of his shirt so we stay close together.

  I turn in to the next bedroom, where a woman is lying on the bed motionless, her eyes looking at us without any life.

  The next room is filled with cages once more—woman after woman piled on top of each other.

  We did not bring enough vans; this is more than I ever expected. “Konrad, this is so bad. We need to call in some reinforcements,” I tell him.

  He nods. “Let’s go find Lane and Kyle.”

  We find them in one of the rooms upstairs trying to break open some of the cages. “We need more vans and medical. I think we need to call in the girls for extra help,” I tell them.

  “I was just thinking that, but I don’t fucking understand why there is no one here but the one fucker you found?” Lane questions.

  I shrug my shoulder, thinking the same thing. “One of the girls mentioned a basement.” I look over at one of the girls in a cage beside us. I take the cutters off of the floor, tearing off the lock and pulling it open.

  She slowly crawls out. I know her body is killing her from being in the same position for so long.

  My heart breaks, knowing what happens here, but seeing it? They are in fucking cages for a dog the size of a golden retriever. They are starved and I can see how abused they are. They are forced to lie in their own shit and piss.

  This is the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. I try to make myself numb to it.

  Lane hands me a blanket and I wrap it around her. The woman closes her eyes at that. She slowly moves to the bed and sits on the edge. “Thank you. Are you here to move us?” she asks. She isn’t looking at us.

  “No, sweetheart, we are here from Hope House.”

  She gasps and looks at me. “Etta?” she questions.

  I nod. “That’s me.”

  She starts sobbing, clutching the blanket to her, and I don’t know what to do. I’m scared to touch her.

  “I tried to contact you and I got into trouble. That’s how I got here. Most of the girls here are here for the very same thing.”

  I look at the guys, all of us hurt to our core that they wanted our help but this happened to them instead.

  “You are going to get out of here. We’re going to take care of you,” I tell her softly.

  She sniffs and I smile at her. “We need to tell the house mom to move everyone out of the main house so we can move these girls in,” I tell one of the prospects who helps out at Hope House. He nods and walks out of the room to do just that.

  Konrad takes the cutters. He moves into the next room and I join, with the blankets. Ten cages in the next room—snap, snap, snap. The wild eyes of the women inside show they’re scared out of their minds.

  “I am with Hope House. I am Etta.” Once they hear my name they start sobbing. It hits me like a ton of bricks that my name gives them comfort. They know I am here for them and I will get them to safety.

  “Thank you so much,” one of the younger girls sobs. She’s around sixteen or seventeen. She moves to hug me, and Konrad reaches out, taking her hand. She gasps in pain.

  She is missing two fingers. It looks like they were cut off and her hand is healing horribly. “Prospect, put her in the medical van. I need to get antibiotics in her, ASAP.”

  Her eyes tear at that. “Something for the pain too?” she asks so softly, afraid.

  Konrad gently lets her hand go. “Yes, sweetheart.”

  She lets the prospect take her out.

  “Fuck,” he cusses. I’m shaking with anger myself.

  We move to the next room. These have fucking cages stacked on top of each other. These are wooden cages with just one small hole to let in a small bit of light. “Fuck, please don’t tell me there are people in there.”

  These cages are super small. You’d have to lie down to get inside and they are long. They look like coffins.

  Konrad puts his hand on my shoulder, halting me. “I’ll do it.” He walks over and cuts off the lock, opening one of the doors.

  A woman screams from inside. I turn around and hide my face in Vinny’s chest, horrified.

  “I’m okay.” I pull away and walk over to the opening. “Hey honey, I am Etta. We are here to get you out of here.”

  She stops screaming. “Etta?” she asks.

  “We are going to have to pull you out by your legs if that’s okay?” I ask her.

  She sniffs. “Okay.” We pull her out and I don’t want to think about the massive splinters she’s getting right now.

  We put her on her feet and she tilts to the side. She blinks as she adjusts to the light.

  I can see cuts all over her body and she’s bleeding in random places. “There’s no one else in here. I got in trouble earlier.” She looks at me, studying me. “You’re really Etta?” she asks.

  I take the blanket from the prospect and wrap it around her. “Here you go, yes, I am Etta.”

  Her bottom lip trembles. “For a long time, I’ve dreamed of you coming to rescue us.”

  I tear up at that. I lean over and hug her tightly. “You’re safe now. You will never have to go back.”

  She sniffs and I let her cry. Konrad is hovering, unsure of what to do. “You’ll take her to one of the medical vans. Once we get everyone cleared out, I will be down,” Konrad tells the prospect.

  She lets me go and lets the prospect lead her out of the house.

  Lane is walking out, carrying a girl bridal-style. “Her legs are broken.”

  Fuck.

  “Let’s go into the basement.” Konrad takes my hand and we find the secret door. Vinny takes my other hand and we all walk down a huge flight of stairs together.

  Once we reach the bottom of the steps, I find the light switch and what I see will forever haunt me.

  Hanging from the walls is every single torture device made, blood caking the floor from God knows what.

  There are five wooden tables in the middle of the room. Five women are lying on them, tied spread eagle, blood coming from everywhere.

  The worst part are the names engraved on their skin—Jezebel, Lilith. Crosses burnt into their skin. There are crosses everywhere. The women are looking at us.

  “Who are you?” one of them asks, her beautiful blue eyes showing her fear.

  Konrad and Vinny are looking at the ground so the girls aren’t scared. “I am Etta. We are here to get you out of here.”

  One of the girls in the back hisses like she’s shocked. “Do you know Henry?” she rushes, trying to get loose.

  I walk over to her and I almost fall to the floor. I know right off the bat that this is Robert’s mom.

  She is alive, but she is in horrible shape and I can see the worst of her problems is she is completely starved.

  This is the worst case of malnutrition I have ever seen. “Are you Robert’s mom?” I ask.

  She nods, crying. “Yes, that’s my baby. Is he okay?”

  I unhook her and the guys free the other girls. “Yes he is. He’s at my home right now. He’s the reason we are here. We’ve been trying to find you.”

  She sobs and wails and clutches her fists to her chest, overcome with so much pain and emotion. “He is safe, he misses his mom and h
e’s going to be so excited to see you.” I try to make her feel better.

  “Can I carry you, ma’am?” Vinny asks, holding out a blanket for her. She nods and he wraps her up like a little mummy, lifting her off of the table.

  Konrad picks up another girl, and Aiden, Butcher, and Liam come in and get the rest. I walk in front of the guys, so ready to be out of there.

  The vans are pulled up close, and the guys lay the girls onto blankets on the ground and cover them with more so they don’t feel exposed.

  The girls are tagged by who is worst, and Konrad grabs a bag and gets to work, getting all of the girls set up with IVs.

  I am overwhelmed.

  There are around fifty girls, if not more.

  A bunch of vehicles pull up and I start to sigh with relief, thinking it’s the girls, but then I realize they couldn’t have gotten here this fast.

  “Get ready!” I yell and pick up my gun, looking through the scope.

  It’s the bishops. Now this is what I’m talking about.

  The girls start screaming, realizing who just pulled up. I move to stand in front of them and the guys join me. “Get out of the SUV, now!” I yell. Konrad moves next to me, angling his body slightly in front of mine.

  I take a deep breath, letting my nerves settle, because if we can capture them, this would be huge.

  They start to back up when one of the prospects in one of our SUVs pulls up behind them, blocking them in.

  “Lane, Kyle,” I call. They look at me. “They are some of the leaders—the bishops. The one in the driver’s seat is the one that belonged to our church.”

  They realize what my words mean. This means if we can capture them, we can get information and save so many more women.

  One by one we step together, closer and closer.

  I can see the fear on their faces as they look at the women on the ground and in our cars. They’re realizing how fucked they are.

  They were meant to fix these women, now they’re realizing we’re taking them all and the hell that is going to rain.

  Their thinking is wrong. Their hell is not that; it’s going to be us. They are going to pay on this earth and in the afterlife.