It tore me apart to know Catalina might be right over that wall. My soul reached out for her, a deep yearning. Did she sense me here? Feel that something was different? I’d never been someone who believed in soul mates before, but I felt tied to Catalina, as though we were joined by some invisible bond. I wanted her to sense I was here and take strength in the knowledge I hadn’t given up on her.
It was important I didn’t get myself killed trying to free her. If that happened, all hope would be lost for her. Maybe she would find a way to free herself, eventually, but she had no family, and the only home she’d ever known had just burned to the ground. Besides, it wasn’t as though she’d have been able to go back to the compound, not when my father was still alive. He’d have marched her straight back to Torres.
Anger rose up inside me at the knowledge I wasn’t far from Torres either. I remembered how he’d touched Catalina in front of me, how he’d done it to both hurt me and claim ownership of her. How much more had he touched her now? How much farther had he taken things? Asking myself those questions wouldn’t achieve anything. No one could change the things that had happened. I needed to fix my sights firmly on how I would get Catalina out of there, and worry about everything else later.
I drove slowly, hoping I wasn’t drawing any attention to myself. I turned down the next block, the road running parallel to the side of the house. Though it was hard to tell from my position, there seemed to be some kind of large glass structure at the back of the property.
Maybe that could be a point of weakness when it came to getting inside? I frowned and kept going, plugging the thought into my head. Glass was weaker than brick, but it was also loud when it broke. Could I do something to mask the sound? My plan of causing a distraction back at the compound had worked. Would I be able to do something similar here in order to get access to the house?
Of course, getting access would only be half of the problem. Torres was bound to have men inside who would be armed and more than happy to shoot a trespasser, especially when they saw who it was. And even if I did manage to get past both Torres and his men, I’d need to find Catalina and hope she was all right.
However hard this was going to be, and with limited chance of success, I didn’t have a choice. I’d die before I walked away from here without Catalina.
There was a good chance that was exactly what would happen.
I turned right, taking the road behind the property, staying alert for any signs of possible weaknesses in the wall, or areas that might give me an advantage. I spotted cameras mounted on metal plates on the walls. Security cameras. In one place, ivy had grown up over the top of one of the metal plates. In another, a tree on the edge of the sidewalk dangled its branches over the top of the wall.
I touched my hand to the spot where I had a couple of the bundles of hundred-dollar bills hidden beneath my shirt. The money wasn’t much, but it would be enough to get us a room for a few weeks and food in our bellies. I wondered if there was anything I could buy that would help me get her freed. More ammunition for Paul’s gun would probably come in useful. A knife I could hide in my shoe in case of hand to hand combat. I felt like I was going into a warzone, but it was only me against Torres’s army.
I kept driving, leaving the property and Catalina behind. I felt wretched, knowing I was leaving Catalina there, but I didn’t have a choice for the moment. I’d need to wait for the cover of night before I could make a move. That was okay. It would give me time to plan and prepare.
Chapter Nineteen
I stared at Deanna in horror then lowered my voice, not wanting Kimmie to overhear me. She was in the bathroom and the shower was running, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t standing on the other side of the door, her ear pressed to the wood. I didn’t trust her in the slightest. Grace was in her usual position on the bed, with her sheet pulled up over her head. I didn’t know if she was listening or not, but Grace was like a shell of a girl, and I didn’t think it mattered either way.
“We have to find a way to get out of here. He’s going to destroy us. Each and every one of us.”
Her eyes shone as she stared back at me in earnest. “Do you think I haven’t thought of that? I’ve been here for over a year, maybe even two by now—I’ve lost track. I’d do anything to break free, but it’s impossible. There are two locked doors between us and the rest of the house, and the men are always armed. How are we supposed to get past all of that?”
We were in a city here. This wasn’t like the compound where it was surrounded by nothing but trees.
“If we can get past the men and out of the house, surely there will be people around who will help us?”
“You mean we’d be dragging other innocent people into our mess, and most likely getting them killed, too?”
I fell silent, feeling the truth of her words in my heart. But wasn’t that fear keeping us prisoner?
“Aren’t our lives worth as much as anyone else’s? Of course I don’t want to get anyone else killed, but we’re not the ones doing the killing. It’s men like Torres and his friends, who are just allowed to do whatever they want and get away with it, because we’re too frightened of them and what they might do if we stand up to them.”
I wanted to suggest that we’d be able to go to the police, but I remembered how well that turned out the last time. Did Torres have a hold over the local police here? Had he bought his way into their protection? It wouldn’t have surprised me if he had, but surely not all police officers were bad? There must be some good ones out there.
Torres would break me if I didn’t get free. Had that been his plan when he’d bought my virginity? Had he planned to make my first time so filled with violence that I’d be traumatized for him every time after? Only Angel had ruined those plans. Angel had made sex something that was wonderful and intense and filled with pleasure, especially at the right hands. No wonder Torres had been so angry.
Deanna glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice to a whisper. “She’ll tell him if she thinks we’re up to something. She won’t want to leave here. She’s obsessed with him.”
I knew she was talking about Kimmie.
“Then maybe she should be happy about us escaping. It would leave him for her alone.”
She snorted. “Not for long. Even if we managed to get out of here—which I highly doubt we’re going to be able to—and then manage to not get caught again, he’s only going to replace us with other girls. There are always more to take our place.”
Anger solidified inside me. This wasn’t right. None of this was. Not our situation now, or that of the women back at the compound, or me being sold when I was only a child. All of these women, including Kimmie, who was probably only so messed up because of how Torres had treated her, deserved a chance at a real life. I was sick of men with money controlling everything. It was time it stopped.
A veil lifted from my face, and for the first time in my life I was seeing things clearly. Women weren’t objects to be owned and used. We were as much human beings as the men. We might not have money or power, or have people afraid of us, but we were still important in our own lives. Our feelings still meant something.
I took my newfound knowledge and lodged it firmly inside me. Would I be willing to die for what I believed? If I died while I was trying to escape, I would never see Angelo again. That would be it for me. I’d just... stop existing.
I couldn’t really get my head around that. But if I took down Elliot Torres with me and stopped him hurting any more girls, wouldn’t my death be worth it?
I took a deep, shuddery breath.
Deanna frowned at me. “What are you thinking?”
“This event he has tonight, he’ll want us all there, won’t he?”
She nodded. “I expect so. He normally does.”
A flash of a memory of the last time filled my head. The table set, me pushing cutlery out of the way as he bent me over the surface. “There were knives on the table...”
“No, Catalina,” she
hissed. “They have guns. The minute you tried anything, they’d shoot you.”
“But I might be able to stab him first. A knife in the throat, or through his eyeball to his brain, might be enough to take him down.”
“And if it isn’t? What if he survives and you end up dead? Then it all would have been for nothing.”
“At least I’ll have tried.”
She fixed me with her dark gaze. “You’re right, and you’re more likely to succeed if I help you.”
“You’d do that?”
“Then it’ll be two of us against however many of the men there are.”
A little voice spoke up from behind us. “Three. There will be three of us. I’ll do whatever I can, too.”
Grace.
“Are you sure?” I asked her.
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
“What about her?” I said, jerking my head toward the closed bathroom door. Behind the wood, the water continued to thunder into the tub.
“She can’t know. She’ll tell Torres everything.”
I nodded, agreeing, but the thought of cutting her out still twisted inside me uneasily. What would we do if we were somehow able to get one up on Torres and the other men? Just leave her here? The way Kimmie acted wasn’t her fault. It was the result of spending so much time at the hands of Torres. Or at least that was what I assumed. I didn’t know what kind of person she’d been before she’d arrived here.
But no matter what Kimmie had been like before, she didn’t deserve to be locked down in a room and abused.
“Listen, they won’t be expecting this from us, okay? That’s one of the advantages we’ve got.”
Deanna twisted her lips. “One of? You make it sound like we have more.”
“We do,” I said, warming to my subject. “We can also get these men into vulnerable positions—something they’d never allow if we were male. If we can get their pants around their ankles, they’re not going to be able to run after us right away. And if we can get them to lose their weapons, even better. I’ll make the first move. Just ensure that you’re in a good position to attack and run when I do.”
“I’m scared,” whispered Grace.
“Yeah. Me, too.” I gave her a tight smile. “But I’d rather be scared for this short amount of time than spend the rest of my life frightened every day.”
I looked around at the other two, and they both nodded in agreement.
Inside the bathroom, the shower turned off.
“She can’t know,” I reminded them “Not even a little bit. She’ll warn him if she finds out.”
Chapter Twenty
I found a motel room as close to the address as possible. I’d have liked to be closer, but it was an expensive neighborhood, and the motel trade didn’t cater for those kinds of people. I paid in cash for one night’s stay, though I didn’t know if I’d ever get around to sleeping in the bed. If things went well, and I was able to find Catalina, I doubted we’d be hanging around for long. Unless I was also able to kill Elliot Torres and all of his men, too, we’d be on the run again.
I was aware my chances of that happening were minuscule. Yes, I’d managed to kill everyone back at the compound, but that was because they’d trusted me, at least in part. I was supposed to be there. That was the only reason I’d been able to walk up to them and put bullets in their heads. I wondered if anyone had discovered the compound burned to the ground yet, and if any of the bodies had survived. I doubted anyone who’d worked there would report the fire. The first people to arrive would most likely be customers, and again, I highly doubted any of them would report the place to the authorities. It wasn’t as though they’d want to be questioned about what they were doing there either—I doubted they’d want to risk their wives and families being notified. Perhaps they’d place an anonymous call, but I expected most of them would just get in their cars, drive away, and pretend like they hadn’t seen anything.
I’d make my move after dark, but first I needed to make sure I was prepared. My plan was to go over the wall at the back of the property, using the overhanging branches of the tree on the sidewalk to obscure myself from the cameras. Once I was over the wall, I’d need to break the glass of the structure on the back of the house to get access. I hoped it wouldn’t be alarmed, but I doubted my luck would take me that far. I’d be lucky if I wasn’t shot just climbing over the wall.
I went to a sporting goods store and bought some more ammo for the gun, and two flick knives. Violence was a part of me now, where it hadn’t been before. I was different, changed by what I’d done, but I didn’t regret it for a second. Maybe I’d feel differently in a week or a month, when Catalina was safe and it finally sank in that I’d murdered my own father, but right now all I felt was cold, righteous fury. The man serving behind the counter gave me a couple of curious looks. While I’d managed to stay clear of any blood spill or splatter, my clothes were greyed with ash and stank of smoke. There was no possibility he could have thought I was up to anything good, buying knives and bullets in my state, but my money was as green as anyone else’s, and it seemed people were more than happy to take it rather than ask any awkward questions. I left the store and went via the drive-through to get a burger and fries. I wasn’t hungry, but I needed to eat. I had to keep my strength up for Catalina. That was all that was important.
Taking my purchases back to the motel room, I let myself in and locked the door behind me. I didn’t think anyone from the compound would have followed me here—they were all dead—but still I couldn’t let my guard down. I might have been spotted driving by Torres’s place earlier, and he could have sent his men out to track down the car and find out who I was. I’d come too far to be taken down at the last minute.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d relaxed fully.
When I finished eating, I slipped the knives into places for easy access. Then I cleaned the gun and pocketed the ammo, first making sure there was a full clip in place.
Finally, I took up a position on a chair in the window, so I could watch for anyone who looked suspicious, and waited for nightfall.
Chapter Twenty-one
“It’s time, ladies. Your guests are waiting.”
I felt sick with nerves, my heart beating so hard and fast, I could feel it pounding through my entire body. I didn’t want to look at Deanna or Grace, worried about what I’d see in their eyes. I was concerned Deanna would shake her head and tell me she’d changed her mind, or Grace would back off and start to cry. I tried to pretend Kimmie wasn’t there, but I still felt guilty that we hadn’t let her in on our plan. She was going to be confused as hell when everything kicked off, and mentally I’d prepared myself for her taking Torres’s side. She couldn’t know. It was as simple as that. However bad I might feel, I couldn’t trust her.
We were all barefoot and wearing dresses carefully chosen for the evening. I’d told Deanna and Grace to pick something easy to run and climb in. While pants would have been far preferable, we didn’t have that option, so each of us had gone for short and close-fitted, rather than the longer, full skirts that were also an option.
My dress was white with spaghetti straps, and clung to every curve. The hem stopped only a couple of inches down my thighs. I had to wonder if Torres had bought it when he’d believed me to still be a virgin. The white would have made sense then.
Butterflies dived and weaved in my belly, and I clenched my fists to my side. I wasn’t a violent person, but I was going to need to find that fight deep inside me if I was going to do this. I had Deanna and Grace relying on me, too, and I couldn’t back out at the last minute. A single second of hesitation might get one of us killed.
Torres appeared relaxed and happy as he guided us up through the corridor and staircase, and into the house beyond. He offered us our choice of stiletto shoes again.
“I think I’d rather go bare-footed,” I dared to ask. “I feel so much more relaxed and comfortable like this. More... natural.”
I was thi
nking about what it would be like running in a pair of those heels.
But he pursed his lips and frowned. “No, Catalina. I like to see a woman’s legs presented properly, and there’s something about heels that makes a woman look one hundred percent sexier.” His gaze flicked down my body, appraising my bare legs, and then he bent and picked a pair of strappy silver stilettos from the collection. He ran his thumb down the insole and fingered the straps. It suddenly dawned on me that these were his shoes. Him not giving them to us to wear had nothing to do with us not using them to escape or as a weapon. They were never supposed to be ours. He was just using us as a way to display them.
“Here.” He crouched at my feet. “These will look perfect with your dress.”
I looked down at the top of his smooth, dark head, and wondered if now was the time. I could grab the back of his head and ram my knee up into it. But it wasn’t enough. It might give us a minute or two head start, but he’d quickly recover himself and come after us. I needed to do something more... permanent.
Needing to keep my balance, I placed my hand on his shoulder and lifted my foot for him to slip on the shoe. He did so gently, and I lifted my gaze from him, feeling awkward in this strangely intimate moment, to catch Kimmie glaring at me again. I wanted to growl at her, to pick up the other shoe and throw it at her, but I knew nothing I said or did would make any difference. She believed I was trying to steal Torres from her.
Maybe she’d finally be convinced that I wasn’t when I stuck him with a knife.
Torres strapped on the second pump and straightened.
“Perfect.” He gave me an appraising smile. “Now, I think we’ve kept our guests waiting long enough.”
I forced a tight smile in return, deliberately not meeting the gazes of the other women, who had all chosen shoes of their own and now stood several inches taller. I noted how Kimmie had worn a red dress, similar to the one I’d worn the previous time, even though the color clashed with her hair.
For Him: The Complete Series Page 45
