Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
“Gavin. Gavin.”
The voice was echoing like he was walking through a tunnel. He couldn’t figure out who was calling his name.
And fucking everything hurt, especially his head.
“Gavin!”
He realized it was his mom. Forcing his eyes open, he winced at the bright overhead light.
The light faded a bit and he saw his mom leaning over him.
“Oh, honey! You need to wake up, please. Sadie’s been taken.”
He bolted upright and his head felt like someone was nailing railroad spikes into his skull. He gripped it with both hands and groaned. “What happened? Where’s Sadie?”
“Son, she was taken,” his dad said. “We’ve been trying to wake you for an hour.”
He breathed through the pain in his head which ebbed away after what felt like an eternity, but worry for Sadie made him push through it.
He looked at his dad. There was a hole in his shirt sleeve and dried blood. “You were shot?”
“So were you,” he said. “And your uncle August, but he’s okay.”
His dad offered his hand and rose to his feet, pulling Gavin with him. His head swam for a moment and he touched his temple where it was particularly tender. “Ouch, damn it. I got shot in the head?”
“Sniper,” Ryan said, coming into the room that Gavin recognized as the family room of Midas’s home. “We followed the trajectory of the bullets and found evidence of where he was hiding. Outside Whisper Creek, a half mile from here.”
“Damn, that’s some shot,” Gavin said. “Was Sadie shot? What happened?”
He was trying not to panic. His head hurt as his natural healing was working to fix the wound, but it wasn’t working as fast as he would have liked. If he shifted, he’d be able to heal immediately, but then he wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone for several hours.
“I’ve got the footage here. We don’t know who took her, but we’re assuming it was Hawthorne or whoever of Brent’s people he’s working with.”
Gavin had to blink to clear his vision when he stared at the tablet screen. He saw the security camera footage from the side of the house. He saw himself running down the side of the house and turning the corner. The footage switched to the back of the house and he saw himself get shot and hit the ground like a ragdoll.
“There was some kind of disturbance?” Gavin said. “The alarms went off?”
“Yeah, masked people purposely triggered the security cameras at the furthest point from here to get our team as far away as possible. You were shot first, then when Sadie ran out to you, she called for help and your dad and uncle were shot, then Sadie was taken.”
Something covered with leaves seemed to rise from the ground and grab Sadie, then disappear with her.
“What the hell was that?”
“A person wearing a cloak that perfectly mimicked the forest floor,” Ryan said. He gave the tablet to Gavin to rewatch the scene where his mate was taken from him when she came to his rescue. “I’ve never seen anything like it, frankly.”
“It has to be Hawthorne,” Gavin said. He rewound the footage for a third time and watched it in slow motion. “We were told he’s the best shifter hunter in the world. Who else could get through all our security systems and not only abduct Sadie but get her back out of our territory without triggering any other alarms?”
“I’m sorry, Gavin,” Ryan said. “Our team is with Midas trying to figure out how to find her. They’re in the conference room.”
His mom hugged him. “Maybe we should call Aeryn?”
“Why?” his dad asked.
“Well, the vampires have resources we don’t. They might be able to help find Sadie.”
“I’m willing to try anything,” Gavin said. “Call her.”
His mom smiled at him and lifted her phone from her pocket. He and his dad left the family room and headed toward the conference room.
“There you are!” Vaughn said as he came out of the conference room, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “I’ve got a lead.”
Sadie woke up with a raging headache, a pain in her neck, and her fingers numb. She couldn’t remember anything for a long moment as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight that streamed from above somewhere.
Once her eyes adjusted, she saw she was in a room that appeared to be mid-construction and was tied with a rough rope to a support beam in the center. The floor was concrete and covered with debris.
She tilted her head up and could see that the ceiling of the room was missing and letting in the sunlight, and she was able to see another floor above her in what appeared to be some kind of high-rise building. She had no idea where she was though. There weren’t any buildings like this in Whisper Creek.
She didn’t have to think too hard to know who took her: Victor Hawthorne, the shifter hunter.
An image popped into her mind of Gavin lying in blood with a head wound.
Her eyes stung with tears. Was he okay? He was a strong male, surely he’d survived. She concentrated on her wolf for a moment, thinking about how much she cared about Gavin and how happy he made her. He was the most important person in the world to her, and she didn’t want anything to happen to him.
She felt the connection to him and breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. Hopeful that since she was able to feel him still, it meant he was alive.
Testing the rope that bound her wrists, she felt the scratch of the material but couldn’t pull her hands free. As she pulled a little harder on the rope, she heard the sound of men talking and she froze, focusing on listening.
“Absolutely no one touches her,” a male said, his voice ringing with annoyance. “She’s my property until I secure a client for her.”
“If they’re going to kill her anyway, what does it matter if we have a little fun first?” another male asked. There were sounds of others agreeing with him.
Sadie’s skin prickled in wariness. They were talking about hurting her? For fun? What the hell!
Looking around frantically at the debris strewn in the room, she saw pieces of wood, plastic, and cardboard, and piles of bricks.
“I said no,” the first male said. “Anyone touches her, and I’ll have another hide to add to my collection.”
“The payday better be fucking amazing,” another male said.
“Don’t worry about that,” the first one said. “She’s an albino. They’re incredibly rare. Oh, speaking of clients, here’s one calling now. Yes, Mr. Oslow, it’s nice to hear from you. I have the most incredible, rare trophy.”
Sadie listened to who she suspected was Victor telling his client all about her beautiful white coat and how she’d make a stunning addition to his collection. She wanted to scream for help, but she knew if she made any noise, someone could come check on her and then she’d be in even more trouble than she currently was. At least she was alone for the moment.
And she didn’t need to waste a single second of it.
She wiggled the rope down the support beam by pushing down with her hands, and then she angled her legs out and carefully moved a pile of wood. Something dark among the light pieces of wood appeared and she wiggled herself along the steel beam until she could touch it with her shoes. She managed to support herself on her elbows, grasp the dark object between her feet, and bring it to herself by bending her knees. As the object was pulled free, a few pieces of wood cascaded down to the floor and she froze, worried it had made too much noise.
When she didn’t hear footsteps coming her way, she wiggled to a seated position and inspected the dark object. It was a jagged piece of rebar about an inch in diameter and a foot wide. It had been cut haphazardly, leaving it rough on one side.
Would this work? Could she use the jagged side to cut the rope tying her to the beam?
Listening to Victor talk about whether or not the client wanted her delivered dead or alive, Sadie knew she had to get free. She was sure Gavin was trying to find her, but she couldn’t sit around and wait to be rescued. She needed to rescue herself.
It took some effort, but she managed to position the rebar against the rope and hold it steady with her knees. She sawed back and forth with all her strength, the sharp, uneven edges biting into the rough fibers. She didn’t think it was going to work, but after several passes over the end of the rebar, the rope began to fray. Once it started fraying, it happened more with each pass. Her arms ached from the effort, but she pushed on.
After what felt like an eternity, the strands of the rope had separated enough that it loosened around her wrists and she was able to wiggle her hands free. Slipping from the rope, she picked up the rebar and rose to her feet.
She hurried to a pile of debris and ducked behind it, then looked around the room more closely to get her bearings. She spotted a ladder in the far corner that led up to the next floor.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she settled her flying pulse and listened intently. She could hear Victor talking and the sound of people milling around outside the room, but no footsteps sounded drawing near.
This was her chance to get out of the room and to higher ground and then hopefully…freedom.