Chapter 9
DORI
Xander stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I don’t have your bracelet.”
The truth rolls through me. I’m not likely to get out of this situation. “Did you see one on me when I was brought in?”
“No. It was dark.” His brows knit together. “Why do you need it?”
“Um… It’s a keepsake from my boyfriend.” I coil further into myself.
“Well, sorry, Red. I don’t have it.” He nudges me. “Relieve yourself, or you’re going to be waiting for hours.”
“Do you mind turning around?”
“You didn’t need to ask. I was planning on it.”
I study him. He seems to be on the kinder side of my captors.
He probably won’t hurt me.
I decide I better take care of business, even if I am dehydrated. Me and my chains make it to the disgusting toilet, and I wait for Xander to turn around.
I try to think of ways to escape as I relieve myself, hovering over the bowl so I don’t touch the grime on the seat. Without the bracelet, I don’t see how I’m going to get out of this mess. Xander’s my only hope.
Once I’m done, I scan the room. “Is there any place I can wash my hands?”
He huffs a laugh and turns to me. “You’re better off not washing them.”
“Yeah, right.” I nod. “Where is this place?”
“That’s not how this goes.” His blue eyes roam over my face. “If you want me to help you, start talking.”
“It sounds to me like you already have plenty of information about me.”
“I only know what the two women said while we were in our meeting.”
“Remind me of what that is. The drugs they gave me have my mind fuzzy.”
He tugs on my chains, bringing me closer to him. “Your name is Dori, and your brother is an FBI agent. Any other details about you were left out of the conversation.”
The bathroom door forcefully swings inward. We both freeze. Mort stalks in and gets right next to us.
He glares at Xander. “What’s the problem in here?”
“She won’t take a piss. I was getting ready to ‘encourage’ her a little.” Xander’s thick accent is back.
Mort tips his head and takes the chains from Xander. He turns to me, and one side of his lips curls up in an evil smile.
He pulls the restraints, and I stumble into his chest. “Do you need us to show you who’s boss, pretty little thing?”
I try to step away, but he has his hand in my hair before I can and yanks back. His stale, hot breath skims my cheeks as he dives in and tries to take me in a kiss.
Adrenaline shoots through me. I jerk my knee up and miss contact with his balls. Instead, I hit him in the thigh.
He smacks my face with the back of his hand, the sound cracking in the air.
Fuck, that hurt .
He pulls my hair back harder. “You stupid bitch! They warned me about?—”
“Mort, stop.” Xander pushes Mort away from me. “She can’t be bruised and swollen.”
He growls and glares at me like he wants to torture me slowly and meticulously. “Finish up with her and take her back to her room.”
He storms out the bathroom door, cussing as he leaves. I run my thumb over the corner of my mouth, wiping away a trickle of blood.
Xander spins to me, his eyes wild and dark. “Are you asking to get killed?”
“No, but I wasn’t going to let him kiss me.” I shudder, and my stomach rolls.
“Attacking him is only going to create bigger problems.”
“Then he can kill me. It would be better than having his hands all over me.”
“Fuck if you aren’t a defiant little firecracker.” Xander’s eyes twinkle in satisfaction even though his tone is full of annoyance. “Watch yourself, Red. I can only help you so much.”
“I can’t promise anything. If he gets near me again, I’ll try to gouge his eyes out.”
Xander rolls his eyes and releases a breath of exasperation. “You’re pushing it. I can’t be with you every time he’s around, so stop before you get hurt.”
“I’ve never been one to do as I’m told. At least not when I can get away with it.” My heart bottoms out with my words. “That's why I’m here. I’m in this situation because I don’t listen to people when I should.”
“What does that mean?”
I deflate into myself. “My boyfriend told me not to do anything that could put me in danger. I thought he was being overprotective or missing me, so I dismissed his warning.”
“Why would he tell you that? ”
I peer into Xander’s eyes. Can I trust him? Something like kindness circles in his gaze, telling me I can.
Against my better judgement, I take a chance and share more about myself. “I was being followed and threatened by someone. My boyfriend even had a security team on me.”
Xander takes a step back with rounded eyes. “Then how did they get you here?”
I groan. “I left the place I was supposed to be and got ambushed. They attacked my bodyguard and held a gun to my chest. They drugged me, and now I’m standing before you without a plan.”
“Why did they bring you here?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t figure out why or what they want from me. You probably know more about that than I do.”
He seems to consider something. “Tell me about your brother.”
An uneasy heat slithers through me. “What about him?”
Xander inches closer and scans my face. “Where is your brother’s headquarters?”
“I… I can’t say.” Maybe being honest with Xander could help. I’ve got nothing left to work with. “He’s trained me not to discuss it.”
Xander slowly nods. “So it’s true?”
“It is.” My heart pounds hard, and I pray I’m doing the right thing. “Can you help me?”
“Where’s your brother’s agency?”
“Colorado.”
“So you didn’t lie to me about where you’re from?”
“No.”
Xander’s eyes narrow. “And your brother’s headquarters are in Denver?”
“Yes.” I relax my stance. “How do you know so much about the FBI? Is that something Mort has you research?”
“I’m not on his side. I’m on yours.” Xander stalks to the door and pokes his head out, looking for something down the hallway. After a moment, he marches back to me. “You can trust me, Dori. Tell me everything so I can get you out of here.”
What is he trying to tell me?
Why would he want to help me?
My mind grasps onto an answer. “Are you working undercover?”
Water dripping from the shower head splashes rhythmically on the bathroom floor as a few seconds pass. Xander's chest rises and falls quicker than it did a minute ago. He opens his mouth but snaps it shut again.
He growls and then steps closer to me. “I am. Now, who’s your brother?”
Tears fill my eyes, and my shoulders round as I breathe easier. “Aiden Fisher. Do you know him?”
“No, but that helps.”
“Can you call him?”
“That’s not how this works.” Xander checks the time on his watch. “We only have a few more minutes, so tell me everything that could help.”
“Why can’t you call someone to come and save us?” I rush to him and grip his arms. “Help me understand.”
His gaze bounces around my face. “Because undercover work doesn’t go that way.”
“How does it go?”
“I gather intel and evidence. I hand it over to my contact on very limited days. And I’m not sure when those days are.”
“That makes no sense. How does that work?”
“It’s random. When I’m out running errands for Mort, my connection finds me, and we duck away for no more than ten minutes. I dump all the information I can during those meetings.”
“You mean to tell me you let girls get taken by these horrible people?” A new level of fear cascades over me. “Do you hurt these girls too?”
“No, I don’t touch them.” His expression tightens. “Like I told you earlier. The way I help isn’t so cut and dry. That’s why I try to get as much information as I can out of all of you.”
“How is that enough?”
“It’s not, but it’s better than nothing. If I can give the agency some details about these girls and where they were auctioned, then maybe we can find them.” He lowers his head. “I’m the only hope they’ve got.”
A puff of exasperation comes out with my laugh. “Some hope that is.”
“If I can help find one, I’m doing better than most.”
Mort’s voice barrels through the door. “What’s taking so long, Xander?”
“We’re coming out now. She couldn’t piss.” He tips his head toward the door. “Come on. We need to go.”
He takes my chains and leads me out the door and toward my room. We pass Mort in the hall, and his gaze travels down my body.
He licks his lips and whistles as I go by. “Just wait until we take you at the same time, and you’ll understand who owns you.”
A thick roll of nausea twists in my stomach. Now that I know Xander doesn’t have access to anyone unless they reach out to him, I can’t help but collapse into the hopelessness of it all.
A flash of burning energy strikes me and I glare at Mort. “You’ll never own me.”
He yanks my head back by my hair. “What’s it gonna take to get you to understand?”
I lean against the brick wall while trying to calm my nerves. I pushed Mort too far, and he’s about to snap.
“They have to find me.” I send telepathic messages to Jami.
Please get help and do it fast. If you don’t, we’ll never see each other again.
Sasha stirs next to me. “We’re lucky they haven’t drugged us today.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I’ve been drugged every day since I got here. They only let me have something to eat and drink. Then I get to use the bathroom before I’m out for the rest of the day.”
“Maybe they’re still going to.”
She sighs. “That could be, but I haven’t been awake this long since I’ve been here.”
My stomach hardens. Maybe they need us to be coherent so they can lead us to this auction I keep hearing about.
“That does it.” I rise to my feet and scan the area of my room. “It’s got to be somewhere.”
“What?”
“Something that will get us the fuck out of here.” I get to my knees and lift my mattress.
I reach under it and paw around. Nothing. My chest grows heavy.
“What are you doing?” Sasha whispers.
“I think I lost something when they put these cuffs on me. I’m looking for it.” Tears press on the backs of my eyes.
Do not cry, Dori. Be strong and brave.
I lay the bed down and crawl over the top, reaching between the wall and the mattress. Again, nothing .
I will not give up .
Sasha’s chain rattle. “What was it?”
“It’s a bracelet from my boyfriend.” I rest back on my heels. “If I could find it, he’d get us out of here.”
Just talking about Jami makes my heart reach for him. What must he be thinking? I get in child’s pose and hide from this situation. I let myself go to our new life together.
We were supposed to be celebrating my move to Miami. He had a surprise that he was excited to show me.
Will our life together ever be easy?
What if I’m not found?
The weight of it all takes me to a dark place.
What if we’re just not meant to be together? Every time we get close, something splits us apart.
My insides crack in half, and tears spill from my eyes. I roll to my side and curl into a ball.
None of this makes sense.
Sasha moves, causing the material between us flutter. “You have a boyfriend?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“What’s he like?”
I push myself up and rest against the wall, wiping the tears away. “He’s perfect. He’s patient with me. Kind and attentive. He’s my best friend.”
“I wish I had someone like that in my life.”
“We may as well get to know each other while we sit and wait for whatever they have in store for us.” I pause for a moment for her to respond. When she doesn’t, I prompt her. “Tell me about you, Sasha.”
She laughs, but it comes out as more of a sad resignation. “There’s not much to tell.”
“What’s your family like?”
“My family… You know how it goes.”
I nod, thinking about how distant I am from my family. I never thought Aiden and I would be this strained. Now Hunter’s mom has dragged him into this. I can only imagine the scolding Aiden would give me if he were here.
I force the thought loose. “What about your parents?”
After a moment, she sniffles. “My dad died when I was eleven. Since then, my mom has worked three jobs to get by.”
My heart aches for her. “I’m sorry. That has to be hard.”
There’s a long moment of silence.
Her words shake as she breaks the quiet. “I miss them.”
Instantly, my mind goes to Jami’s parents. “Yeah, me too.”
We take a second to sit with that. Will I ever see the people who matter again?
I glance up at the window. “Sasha, do you ever hear people outside?”
“No. I haven’t been awake much.”
I go limp. “Have you heard anything from outside the window?”
She seems to consider it for a second. “I heard one of those beeping alarms big trucks have that alert people they’re backing up.”
“Like a semi or a trash-removal truck?”
“Yeah. One of those.”
“When was that?”
“While you were in the bathroom.”
Chills scatter over my skin. Our dire situation falls into place. We’re being auctioned off soon. The alarm must have been on a moving truck. Maybe they were bringing more girls to store in the warehouse.
How many more of us are here?
Shit.
We’re running out of time.
Sasha cuts in and jerks me out of my panic. “How would a bracelet help get us out of here?”
“It’s special. ”
“Because it was from your boyfriend?”
“Not just because of that.”
“Are you sure it could help?”
Something about her tone makes me latch onto her question. “Sasha, have you seen my bracelet?”