“They weren’t from the town. On a hunch, your hunch, I went up to the Lake Ozarks police station and used their computers. I got a list of names of all missing persons in the surrounding areas for those months and years. These ones fit. All three of them are integrators.”
“Oh shit.”
“Exactly.”
Those poor men. I felt sick for James, Robert, and George. The only woman had been Rose Ann, and we had to find Chav. I couldn’t have her be the second.
Sheriff Taylor looked as sick as I felt. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“Yes, actually.” I told him about Rose Ann, and how Judah’s disappearance tied in with her and the other victims.
The sheriff took notes diligently. My opinion of him changed rapidly as I watched him work his job. “Okay, tomorrow I’ll make some calls.”
“Thanks, Sheriff Taylor.” I smiled. “I’m going to grab the bathroom if it’s open.” After Elbert’s stink bomb, I’d forgotten I needed to pee, and my bladder was giving me a painful reminder.
He raised his eyebrow at me. “I don’t think you should be left alone until this gets solved. Your ability puts you in a lot of danger.”
“It’s the bathroom,” I told him.
“That’s not what I mean, Ms. Haddock.”
“I’ll be fine,” I told him. Famous last words.
The minute I came out of the bathroom to the deserted hallway, I heard a clicking noise.
A flash of my attacker tapping his fingernails together struck me suddenly. I knew who he was. Fuck. I thought I might even know why.
Before I could really think it out, I felt a sting on my butt, like a bee sting but worse.
I was out before I hit the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I AWOKE DISORIENTED. I saw bars and straw. Was I having another vision?
Then I remembered. Someone hit me. Again! Now, why hadn’t I seen that coming? The back of my head hurt like a bitch. I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell I was.
“No, no, no,” I repeated when it dawned on me I was at the hunters’ place, caged like an animal. Now that I was actually here, I found I was in one of those Morton buildings.
The ones that were like really big garages people stored stuff in.
I guess I was now “stuff.”
I drew my knees to my chest. My silk dress had a tear up the side, my pantyhose was ruined, and one of my shoes had made it into the cage with me, but my other was missing. “This can’t be happening.”
I crawled to the edge of the cage and shook the door. It had a thick padlock on the outside. I gave it a jerk. Nothing happened. Why would it? How in the world had I gotten myself into this mess?
I’d been stupid and let my guard down, that’s how. But how could I possibly know that having to pee would be my downfall?
“Who’s there?” I heard someone whisper.
I turned toward the voice and saw another cage about ten feet away. The woman wore jeans and a red blouse; it was hard to see what she looked like otherwise since she was lying on her side with her back turned.
“Hello,” I called. “Are you all right?”
“Sunny?” She knew me. When she turned over, I saw I knew her as well.
“Sheila?”
“Oh, God,” she groaned.
“Are you hurt?” I certainly didn’t like the woman, but it didn’t mean I had to be unkind. Besides, we were both in the same boat without a paddle.
“No. I’m not hurt.”
“Sunny?” I heard another voice ask. “Is that really you?”
I had to gather myself before I could talk. I couldn’t see her, but I was overcome with elation at hearing her voice. She really was alive! Not a gut feeling, not a crazy vision. She was alive and within shouting distance. I hadn’t realized how locked down my emotions had been since I’d gotten her text. Now that I knew Chav was okay, or at least not dead, I choked back a sob. “Chav! Oh, God, Chav. You’re alive. Are you hurt?”
“Yes.” Her voice was shaky. “But not terrible. My arm is broken, and I’m pretty sure my left leg is as well.”
There was more she wasn’t telling me, I could hear it in her voice, but I didn’t press. We had to figure a way out of this mess before dealing with the trauma of it.
“Could we cut the reunion short,” Sheila snapped. “We need to figure out how to get out of here before we are all dead meat.”
Bitch. “Are the hunters here?”
“No.” Sheila sniffled. “The keepers. Five of them. The hunters won’t be back until the week of the full moon.”
That was over two weeks away. What did they have planned for us until then? Did I really want to know? If Chav was any indication, I didn’t want to know. It dawned on me that Sheila seemed to know an awful lot about what was going on here. How long had she been caged? I’d just seen her two days ago so it couldn’t have been longer than that. “Do you know where we are?”
“Goddamn you ask a lot of questions,” she grumbled.
She did know where we were. “You’re honey.”
“You’re nuts.”
Great, nice to know even when faced with imminent death, Sheila would be a bitch to the end. “No. Honey. As in, ‘how do you want your eggs, honey’? You had the red ledger with the three previous hunts, before Judah’s that is.”
“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
Liar! “You’ve been taking money to give these hunters a few cheap thrills at the expense of your own people.”
Sheila moaned. “Someone kill me now and put me out of my misery.”
“All in favor of that idea, say aye,” Chavvah said.
I raised my hand. “Aye.” I moved around the cage, trying to get to a place where I could see her. No luck. Judah growled at the cage door. I guess he was attached to me and not the town. It comforted me to have him near, though it would have been more comforting if he was solid, and on two legs, with a pair of opposable thumbs. Because, then not only would his presence be a comfort, it would also be helpful. Helpful would have been real good. What would have been really helpful was if he could have brought Babe with him. He would be frantic right now.
The double doors of the building slid open. Two guys walked in wearing coveralls and carrying rifles slung over their shoulders. Sheila had been right; they weren’t the hunters from my vision.
“Three for the price of one,” the first guy said. He had a thick mustache growing down over his top lip.
The other guy had a big scar on his right cheek. He looked the meaner of the two. “I think our bonus just got bigger,” Scarface added.
“I’m not an animal!” I screamed. They needed to stop talking like we didn’t exist.
Like Sheila, Chavvah, and I weren’t real.
Mustache guy laughed. “Like we haven’t heard that one before.”
Great, they thought I was a therian. Boy, were they going to be surprised when the full moon came around and I remained upright. They threw chunks of raw meat into our cages along with bottled water. I would have pondered the mixed message there if I hadn’t been trying to hold down the vomit rising in the back of my throat.
I yelled at the top of my lungs, “You bastards!”
They laughed, then Scarface pulled out a pistol. It reminded me of Ruth’s gun, but the barrel was longer. Oh, how I wished I had that gun now.
Abruptly, he aimed the pistol at me and pulled the trigger. It made a slight whooshing noise, and I felt a sting. The same kind of sting that I’d felt in my ass before I’d been kidnapped.
I looked down and saw a feathered dart hanging from my shoulder. He’d done it so quickly, I hadn’t even had time to react. Within a few seconds, I’d passed out.
I woke up some time later. I had no clue how long I’d been out. The lights were still on in the building, which told me absolutely nothing. My body felt off—sluggish and violated.
I slurred my words. “They shot me with a tranquilizer gun.�
�
“No shit, Sherlock,” Sheila said. “Why do you think I’m keeping my mouth shut?
Because I like it here?”
“How long have I been out?”
“Nearly a day and a half,” Chav said. “Jesus, Sunny. You had me really upset.”
“Weak-ass human,” Sheila muttered.
A day and a half? So, I’d been gone from town at least two days. Babel would be out of his mind. “Do you have to be so unpleasant?”
She snorted derisively. “I really do.”
Bi-otch to the tenth degree! “Are those guys coming back?”
“Do I look like a crystal ball to you?” She turned her back to me. “Just leave me be, will you?”
“Sunny, just quit talking to her.” Ah, practical Chav.
We’d gotten ourselves into a fix. Even with the information I’d given the sheriff, I didn’t think there was any way for them to find me. Well, screw this. I’d be damned if I was going to wait around for Tweedle-Dangerous and Tweedle-Deranged to come back and shoot me again. I was a Cali girl. I had mad skills.
Oh, who was I kidding? I was in a cage with a bottle of water, some yucky raw meat, a torn dress, and one shoe. Looking around, I couldn’t see anything helpful or potentially deadly to use as a weapon. Judah stood near a post about five feet from my cage. He barked. So not helpful.
“Would you consider going back to town and just dragging everyone’s ass here for a rescue? That’d be really great.”
He growled. Awesome, the spirit was getting pissy with me.
“What?”
“Who are you talking to, Haddock?” Sheila asked. I ignored her.
I watched Judah jump up on the post, and I moved over and craned my neck to see what he was getting excited about. There was a hook sticking out of the backside.
On it were some keys.
I reached through the bars; my arms were short the hook by three feet. Sheila’s cage was even farther from the pole than mine was, and considering Chav was injured and out of sight, I didn’t think she would have a chance at getting to the keys. Quickly, I started formulating a plan. Not a very good one, mind you, but at it was better than waiting for an untimely death.
With purpose, I stripped off my torn pantyhose and started stretching them.
“What are you doing?” Sheila asked.
Oh, so now she wanted to talk? I ignored her.
Picking up one two-inch black pump, I pounded the heel against the ground. It loosened. I worked it back and forth with my hands.
“You’re going to get yourself tranqed again,” Sheila said.
“If you can’t be constructive,” I told her, wiggling the heel as the nail in it slowly gave. “Then just shut the hell up. I don’t need a critique from the peanut gallery.”
“Shut up, Sheila!” Chav yelled.
Sheila screeched her frustration but finally stopped talking.
I tied one end of the pantyhose around the space between the sole and the spike. I swung it around, and the shoe stayed attached to the hose. Woot! One small step for womankind. If MacGyver could blow up a bridge with chewing gum and aluminum foil, I could get a nail off a post only a short distance away.
I stuck my arm through the bars again, this time with hose and shoe in tow. I swung them out and fell short of the pole and nowhere near the hook and keys.
Shoot! Where was the chewing gum and foil when you needed it? I tried again.
The shoe hit metal with a thunk.
At least I hit the pole that time. Encouraging.
“What are you doing?” Sheila asked again.
I screwed my lips into the right position to throw again. It always worked when I played darts. It was all about getting the mouth set just right. I swung the pantyhose wide, and the shoe careened around the pole about a foot beneath the keys. “Shit.”
“Sunny!”
“There’s a set of keys over there, for shit’s sake. I’m trying to get them.”
“What can I do to help?”
Oh sure, now she wanted to help.
I swung the shoe higher and harder, then let it go. It flew up and caught on the hook. “Yes!” I gave the pantyhose a slight tug. The shoe was stuck on the hook. “Damn it.”
I tugged again. A slight tearing sound made my heart beat harder and louder. The damn shoe was stuck, and the nylons were ripping.
Fuck!
I yanked again, harder this time, putting all my strength into the pull.
The shoe flew off the hook, sending the keys to the ground and me to my ass.
“You almost had it,” Sheila said with enthusiasm.
Sure, now she was all about the Sunny-lovin’.
I reeled in the makeshift grappling hook. If I could get the shoe to the other side of the keys, I might be able to drag them in.
The bay doors slid open again.
“Sunny,” Chavvah hissed.
Sheila dropped to the floor and balled herself in the corner of her cage.
I didn’t need the warning. I stuffed the shoe and hose under my dress and sat down. They didn’t know I was awake yet. So, I leaned against the bars and pretended to be unconscious. I didn’t want to take a chance they’d shoot me again.
Next, I silently prayed they wouldn’t notice the keys were no longer where they were supposed to be.
No such luck.
“How’d these get on the ground?” one of the guys asked. I didn’t peek to see which one.
Insert inward groan. Ugh. I could hear the shuffle of feet getting closer to the cage.
“This one’s still out? Damn, usually it don’t affect them but a couple of hours.”
“She still alive?”
“I don’t know. Check her.”
“You check her.”
Great, they were fighting over who was going to check my pulse. A few seconds later, I felt an arm brush against me when one of our captors reached through the bars. My pulse raced and I could feel the sweat running down my back as his fingers touched my neck.
Fight or flight, Sunny!
Since there was nowhere to go, I chose fight. I opened my eyes, grabbed his wrist with both hands, and yanked him with everything I had head-first into the metal bars.
He yelped as he dropped down to his knees.
I kept a hold of his arm and pushed it sideways until I could hear the snap, then swiveled on my ass and kicked him in the ribs. His body hunched over. It was Scarface. The guy who’d shot me. I wrapped the pantyhose around his neck before he could get his bearings, then pulled him, smashing his face into the bars again. I saw the butt of his pistol in the side holster at his waist. Thank heavens for adrenaline!
“Hey!” Mustache Man shouted. He was trying to grab Scarface’s feet and get him away from me.
Sheila had shifted into full-on therian, tall, large, hairy, long tail, and boobs. She roared her frustration while pounding at her bars of her cage.
I screamed as loud as I could, which stopped all activity. I leveled my gaze at the uninjured guard. “I will snap his fucking neck. I am stronger, faster, and will not hesitate. I will go all furry on his ass and eat his heart. Then after I will eat yours. Do you understand me?” Total bluff. But it got him to pause long enough for me to reach the tranquilizer gun.
I said a silent thanks to Ruth, as I pushed the slide forward, took the safety off, and shot him in the stomach. Not exactly where I’d been aiming, but it worked just the same. Mustache went down.
A flash of Scarface around the dinner table with a wife and two kids made me sick. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Bob. How can you even face your family when you go home at night?”
A bellow to rival any berserker resounded off the metal walls of the Morton building. At the entrance stood my blue-eyed Adonis. My coyote, my lover, my hero. “Babe!” My heart sang. He’d found me. I’d been impossible to find, but he’d found me.
Babel shifted, the fur on his body bristling out as his bones and muscles formed and reformed, causing his jeans and
shirt to rip at the seams. My incredible hunk.
His nose transformed to take on coyote-like length. He was broad, even taller than he usually was, and God, he was savagely beautiful.
I let go of the pantyhose and pistol. He howled an angry roar as he swooped down on my broken captor and threw him like a rag doll against the metal pole.
Quickly he descended on the cage door, beating at the lock with his fists trying to get to me.
“The keys are over there.” My voice sounded small even in my own ears. “Over there.” I pointed to the floor where they’d dropped.
When I was free of my prison, I threw my arms around him and cried. I’d been brave for as long as I could stand it, and now I just wanted to be held. “Oh, Babe. I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t believe it.”
I ran my fingers through the warm thickness of his fur. His body changed and shifted again under my touch until he turned back to human form. “You had me so scared,” he whispered.
“Uh, hellooo?” Sheila said. “I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment, but could someone get me out of this fucking cage?”
“Chavvah’s here,” I whispered with a ragged breath. “I haven’t seen her yet, but she’s alive.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
APPARENTLY, WE’D BEEN held in some kind of private hunting compound. Outside the
Morton building laid a vast expanse of wooded area with a road leading up a hill to the right. I wanted to know how Babel had found me, but the explanation could wait until we were safely out of there.
Chav looked godawful. She had bruises and cuts all over her face, and her left eye was swollen shut and damned near black in color. Her right arm was a mangled mess, confirming they’d broken it, and it was already setting wrong. The same with her legs and foot. They were twisted and bent at unnatural angles. What else had they done to her? Her chestnut-brown hair fell over her good eye, and I could see it was going to be a question for later. Much, much later.
Eager to leave, I searched for Babel’s truck.
“It’s up at the house.” He gestured towards the road.
“I’m out of here,” Sheila muttered and started off up the drive.
My Paranormal Valentine: A Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 79
