Despite the late hour, traffic inched through the city.
Jose drove in silence. His tattooed hands held firmly to the steering wheel. Arden couldn’t help but wonder how many people he had kidnapped and/or killed. The man was in his late thirties and was skinny with very lean, hard muscles. His face was ugly and his coal-black eyes were deep pits of lust, violence, and despair. The AC blasted cold air against his face. He breathed steadily, having faced death before.
They headed down a few country roads. The moon was full on the clear sky. They pulled onto the single-line road with a few McMansions. The road led them to a long, straight driveway that faced the mansion they sought.
Jose pulled up to the long black gate. Mounted on a tall post, a camera looked down on them. There was a small intercom box nearby the driver side window.
Jose pressed the button and waited.
The intercom buzzed. A man’s voice projected from the grate. “Go ahead.”
Jose said a few codewords that Arden didn’t understand.
The intercom went silent.
Arden felt anxiety across her chest. Her breathing quickened.
Suddenly, the gate clicked. Its little motor hummed. The gate slid open. Arden gave silent thanks as they pulled onto the property.
Jose proceed to drive his van towards the vine-covered mansion.
It was the only structure on the far-reaching manicured lawn. Mowed in a checked pattern, the grass was a bowling green.
Kovac’s shoulders was as rigid as a wood board. The white mask hid her expression. She kept her gun and camera hidden. There was no badge for this mission. She felt naked without it.
Lamps lined the brick road.
Ground lights cast their golden rays across flower beds and sculpted bushes.
The images the detectives had taken days prior failed to capture the scope of the mansion. It was three stories tall and extremely wide. The windows had a wooden frame that were carved with different animals. A long line of pillars ran across the front and supported a grandiose balcony. The mansion’s double doors were arched with copper doorknobs and gargoyle heads on their faces.
Two unmasked men wearing suits and earpieces stood by the entrance.
They saw the van approaching and put out their hands.
Jose rolled to a stop. He rolled the window down.
The two guards peeked inside.
One said, “They started an hour and a half ago.”
“I got held up,” Jose said.
The guard looked down on him. “Well, you can’t go inside dressed like that.”
Dawkins kept his pistol tucked away underneath the flap of his blazer. He kept it pointed at Jose.
The guard turned to him. “And who are you?”
Jose answered for him. “They’re my special guests.”
“You never said you were bringing anyone.”
“Look at them,” Jose insisted.
The other guard walked over the back of the van and opened up the door.
He shined a light at Arden and Joe. They recoiled in the light and tried their best to look distraught. It wasn’t far off from the tension they felt.
The guard cursed. He looked at the guard standing next to the driver’s window. “It’s them.”
“Who?”
“The ones that have been hunting down our guys.”
“I thought we already dealt with them?”
Jose answered. “They’re my gifts to you. My guests help me find them,” he said, referring to Dawkins and Kovac.
The guard by the window put a finger on his earpiece. “We’ve got some unexpected visitors. They got the rogues… Okay. Will do.”
The guard by the window said to Jose, “You and the masks can come in. We’ll take care of the prisoners.”
Not wanting to appear more suspicious, the detectives and Jose got out.
The guards frisked them, but Kovac and Dawkins had already left their weapons inside the car. The guards took their phones though.
They followed the guard into the house.
Arden and Joe were left to improvise.
The second guard hopped into the van’s driver seat.
The guard talked into his earpiece. “We have two coming down your way.”
As the van rolled around a small road beside the mansion, Arden peeked through the mansion’s windows and saw elegantly-decorated rooms with warm lights and wonderful leather furniture. Unlike the orchard where there was debauchery at every turn, there was no one. This party was a ghost town. Sickening doubts came to Arden’s mind.
The guard looked into the rearview and watched Arden. “I hope you enjoy the party.”
He parked behind the house. There was a large open area with a dozen parked vehicles.
A few more men in suits approached.
They opened the door.
Cautious, Joe went out first. Arden lagged behind. The guard grabbed her arm and forced her to walk faster.
The guards spoke first. “What did they say we should do with them?”
“Put them with the others.”
Meanwhile, a guard patted Arden and Joe down. Arden and Joe stayed quiet and still. They tested the binds on their wrists and thought they were solid. Seeing the captives were not a threat, the guard opened up a small back door of the mansion. It led to the same hall as the kitchen. Arden heard chefs yelling and metal clanging from down the hall. The floor was glossy tile and the walls were white. It was more like the employees’ area at a hotel than a home. The two guards escorted them to a wide elevator and pushed the button for the basement.
It dinged after a moment.
Arden and Joe stepped into a corridor painted with murals depicting wonderful meadows. The chilly air made goosebumps rise on Arden’s flesh. She trailed a step behind Joe and headed to the end of the hall. One guard stood in front of them. One guard stood behind. The guard in front stopped in front of a door labeled “Family Swim.” He gave Arden and Joe a sinister grin and unlocked it.
The door opened to a room with a large, drained swimming pool and diving board. Wearing swimming trunks, people of all ages were bound around the pool and the walls of the room. Their wrists were placed in wall shackles. Some faced forward. Some faced backward. They had bruises, scabs, and bite marks on their starved bodies. The people were high out of their minds. There was no one in the room but the thirty-plus slaves.
Bile climbed to the back of Arden’s throat. She swallowed it down and silently prayed, having never seen something so horrifying.
One guard led her and Joe toward the end of the pool. The guard stood behind them. “What do you see?”
Joe boiled in rage.
Arden trembled. She glanced over and saw the other guard listening to something in his earpiece and grabbing large scissors from a small table of tools.
The guard standing behind Arden answered his own question. “I see flesh. Meat.” He sniffed Arden’s hair. “Not unlike you.”
Keeping her eyes straight ahead, Arden began to slowly loosen the wrist binds.
The second guard held the scissors and walked toward them. He placed the scissors at the bottom of Arden’s shirt. The cold metal kissed her skin. The guard began to cut upward, tracing her spine until the shirt split open. He cut from her short sleeves to her neck, allowing for the total removal of her top.
Arden glanced over at Joe. He glanced back as the other guard nibbled on his neck.
The guard behind Arden started to cut open the back of Arden’s pants.
Arden nodded ever so slightly at Joe.
He blinked.
They started to loosen their binds.
He blinked a second time.
The guard behind him requested the scissors.
He blinked a third time.
Arden and Joe slipped their binds.
In the same motion, Arden slammed her heel backwards into the guard’s nose.
Joe, as he twisted back, grabbed the guard on him and flung him and the guard into the
shallow end of the pool.
Arden punched the side of the dazed man’s head while Joe pummeled the other guard.
The moment she had an opening, Arden yanked out the man’s earpiece and tossed it away.
The guard jabbed at her with the scissors.
Arden sidestepped and struck the man in the nose.
He let out a cry. The scissors dropped from his hand. Arden stepped on them and kicked them back. They skidded across the tile and flew into the pool.
Joe heard the clacking noise, grabbed them, and finished off the guard he was beating.
Meanwhile, Arden beat on the guard she was fighting. She took no pleasure as she jabbed him over and over with her fists. She pushed him back to the wall and hit him in the groin. The man’s eyes went wide as a shadow approached behind her. Arden twisted back, seeing Joe.
“No--!” The guard screamed as Joe pushed Arden aside and jammed the scissors into his body over and over again.
Before Arden could process what was happening, the guard was dead.
Joe breathed heavily with his neck slightly hunched, making him look more beast than man. Blood was splattered across his right hand, shirt, and even beard. Joe opened the flaps of the man’s blazer and pulled out a 1911 pistol. He already had the other guard’s pistol clipped to his belt.
Arden spoke softly. “Joe, wait.”
Joe turned back to her, enraged. “There are kids in that pool, Arden.”
Arden looked back at the drugged captives. They were so out of it, they didn’t even react to the violence. Some of them were young. Very young.
Joe clicked off the weapon’s safety.
“The plan, Joe,” Arden said painfully. “Kovac and Dawkins are expecting us to--”
“Arden,” Joe barked, cutting her off. He extended the gun, already having a second. “Let’s end this.”
Arden bit deep into her lip.
Joe waited for her response.
Not now, the soft voice said in Arden’s thoughts.
Joe waited. Not getting a response, he said, “You want to wait for God. Suit yourself.”
He grabbed a few knives off the tool table.
“Joe, we need to do this together. Please.”
“I’m sorry, Arden. I can’t.” With a few knives tucked into his belt, he quickly headed out the door.
Arden cast down her gaze. Blood leaked through the tile and rolled around the tips of her shoes. Setting her jaw, she took off the man’s blazer and put it around her bare torso. She frisked the man, hoping to find keys to the captives. He didn’t have any. She jogged over to the pool and took the small ladder down to the dead guard. She checked his pockets. No keys.
“Lord,” Arden mumbled.
Someone groaned.
Arden quickly looked up and saw a familiar-looking girl. Her hands were bound by metal shackles and stretched high above her head. She recognized her dirty face.
Arden approached her. “Scarlet?”
The eleven-year-old glanced up at her with heavy-lidded eyes. “Mom?”
“No,” Arden said softly. “Do you remember me? I tried to save you.”
Scarlet Gales shook her head.
“What did they do to you?” Arden asked, in awe that the girl was alive.
“They…” She looked down at her shameful swimsuit.
Arden felt tears welling up. “I’m sorry I wasn’t…” she caught herself before she got too emotional. “I’m going to get you out, okay?” She turned back to the other little boys and girls in the pool. “Jesus help me.”
The sound of the door opening caused Arden to freeze.
Footsteps neared the edge of the pool.
Arden whispered. “Joe, we--”
She stopped talking as she saw the four figures wearing Roman-style masks and tailored suits. Three guards flanked their left and four flanked their right. They aimed their weapons at Arden.
Arden felt her heart drop into her stomach.
“Arden Briar. My god, aren’t you just the thorn in my flesh,” one of the men in the masks said.
“Garold,” Arden replied. “How are you recovering since the car accident?”
Garold shrugged. “I’ve had better days.”
“Yeah…” Arden agreed, speaking through the fear that crippled her. Lord, you put me here. I’m trusting You to get me out.
Garold Grey gestured to the guards. They descended into the pool. Arden thought about running, but she didn’t want to get shot. Then again, getting shot might be a kinder fate.
The men grabbed Arden and slammed her to the floor.
Arden’s chin hit the tile. She bit her tongue and tasted copper.
They pulled off her blazer and painfully twisted her arms behind her back. One of them cuffed her and the other one removed her pants and shoes.
Garold and the other three masked men watched her.
One guard lifted Arden by the waist to another guard outside the pool. She wondered how many lives she had left at this point.
On her feet, she faced Garold from a foot away. He looked down at her bare body but was completely desensitized to it. “Do you believe in God, Arden?”
Trembling, Arden fought to stay brave. “I do.”
“Curse his name,” Garold said.
Arden set her jaw.
“Very well.” Garold glanced into the pool. “Get the girl, too. We’ll take them both up.”
Arden fumed. “What are you going to do to her?”
“Make her watch,” Garold said.
The guards gripped Arden’s biceps and made her walk ahead of the cultists. They chuckled at the stripes on Arden’s back. She glanced behind her and saw the men carrying Scarlet.
They marched her through the cold hallway. Every time she took a step, Arden thought about running. Death seemed easier than this. They loaded her into the elevator. She could feel the cultists breathing on the back of her exposed shoulders. The door opened and they led Arden through the kitchen. The chef watched her as they cooked impressive steaks and vegetables. Sharp spices assaulted her nose. The mouthwatering food reminded her of the hunger in her stomach.
They stepped into the residence hall. For the first time, the mansion actually looked like a home. There were massive paintings on the walls, along with elegant furniture made with dark, glossy wood. Arden eventually stepped into a massive ballroom. It was full of dozens of masked patrons engaged in quiet conversation. They all turned to Arden.
Arden stopped walking as the mass of people stared at her bare body. The guard behind her pushed her forward. Arden’s mouth made a line on her face as she started through the crowd. They parted before her. Some of them cursed at her. One with a mask only covering the upper half of her face spit on Arden. She kept an eye out for Dawkins or Kovac but didn’t have any luck. The ridicule worsened as she stepped deeper until everyone was screaming in her ear, calling her foul names and blaming her for the arrest of their friends. Eventually she reached the center of the marble-floored ballroom. The ceiling had a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The stage had three sets of six steps going up the sides and looked like a ziggurat. The top was about twelve feet wide with a five-foot long, three-feet wide wooden box on top. There were six men in robes standing behind it. Their golden masks each had a unique design. One had antlers bolted into the top of it. Another had a beard made of real hair. They watched as Arden was escorted to the box. The guards stayed at the bottom of the steps. They didn’t see Arden as a threat anymore.
Arden was forced to stop in front of the box. She looked down at the jeering crowd. In the far back corners of the room, she saw a cameraman filming her. It reminded her that all this began when investigating the Broken Roses film crew.
The elders each held up a hand. The crowd quieted down until the room was completely silent. One of the guards brought a chair up the stairs and put it down next to the altar. The chair had high legs and was made of dark wood. They placed Scarlet in the chair and told her not to move.
Arden looked at the people. Her teeth chattered. Her heart pounded. She felt a million times more vulnerable than when Master was whipping her.
She put what little faith she had left in the Lord and spoke out to the crowd. “You think you’re so crafty, huh?” Arden let out a frustrated chuckle. “God sees all of you and soon the whole world will, too. So, go ahead, cut out my heart or whatever you’re going to do. You can’t kill me. I know where I’m going after you steal my last breath. What about you? You that confident? C’mon. Speak up!”
The elder spoke up. “Lay down.”
Arden shouted to the ceiling. “Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful day! I can’t wait to see you face-to-face--”
Garold and three cultists with him grabbed Arden and slammed her down on the table. She gasped as it broke open the stitches on her back. Her blood spilled on the cold, smooth surface. They held down her wrists and ankles. Arden fought but was not successful.
“Thank you for saving my soul, Jesus!” she yelled desperately.
Garold kept her wrists tightly bound with both his hands. He said to her, “You think we’re going to kill you, Arden?”
She looked at him with a crazed smile on her face. There was a fire in her soul knowing that her life was coming to an end and it would be glorious on the other side. She remembered her dream from bunker and how she danced with her savior.
Behind his mask, Garold smiled back. “We have much greater plans for you than death.”
The first elder walked to Arden’s legs and unzipped the front of his robe. It fell in a heap around his ankles, exposing his fappy, aged skin to everyone in the room.
Arden’s smile fell away and the fire in her burned out.
Secrets Boxset: A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Collection Page 33
