Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
ROMANIA
My heart thumped hard when I woke in a dark space. I slowly sat up, which made my head spin a little.
“Careful,” someone said and then I felt a hand on my arm.
I gripped it, bending the fingers back.
“Shit. Stop. Please stop. I’m just trying to help.” The panic and fear in his voice was enough to get me to stop.
Dropping my hold, I cleared my throat to say, “Sorry.”
He huffed. “It’s okay. Bound to happen when waking up in the dark after being drugged. My name is Cal Berry. In here also is Jenny and Iola.”
They both gave me a quiet greeting.
“I’m Romania, but call me Rommy. Do you know where we are? How many are holding us and why they took us?”
Someone shifted around before Cal said, “Wouldn’t have a clue. I think there were three men who grabbed me. Jenny?”
“Three,” she answered.
“Iola?” Cal asked.
“Three,” she whispered. “Was it the same for you, Rommy?”
“One approached me, but there were more in the van. I couldn’t tell how many, though.” Blindly reaching out, I started to feel around me. Besides the company I had, there was nothing but steel. “We must be in some type of large container.”
“Or a coffin,” Cal said.
I shook my head. “It’s way too big for that.” I stood and found a wall. I wanted to guide myself around the area to see how much space we had, but before I did, I instructed, “Lift your fingers and tuck yourself in so I don’t step on you.”
“What are you doing?” Jenny asked. Her tone was deeper to Iola’s, so it was easy to differentiate.
“Checking what’s around us and to see if I can hear anything.” I pressed my ear to the wall I had my hands up against.
“I never even thought to do that. Do you hear anything?” Cal asked.
“Nothing yet.” I moved down and stopped to listen again. I did the same for all sides of the container. Either the steel had good insulation that kept all sounds out or nothing was happening outside close by.
I sat back down. “I can’t hear anything. You’re all from Melbourne, right?”
They agreed.
“I saw something on the news about people being kidnapped,” Iola said. “I just never thought—” She let out a choked sob, then wailed, “What are we going to do?”
Reaching out, I felt around for her hand and took it in mine as I scooted closer to hug her. “Don’t worry, okay? We’ll all get through this. We just have to pick the right moment to get us out of this situation.”
“When will that be?” Jenny asked.
“I’ll only know when the time comes. We’ll stay on guard, be good, and figure things out as we go. But most of all we need to do as they say until we can best them.”
“How do you sound… unfazed by this?” Cal questioned.
“I—” When our container moved, and a gasp escaped me while the other women screamed.
“What the fuck!” Cal yelled.
“Stay still. If I were to guess, we’re in a shipping container and we’re being placed on a boat.
Prepare for the landing, people,” I warned.
The metal walls groaned as we tilted, swaying gently from side to side.
A hollow clang echoed through the space, followed by a jarring thud that rattled my bones and made me grit my teeth.
Dust drifted from somewhere, tickling my nose. “Everyone okay?” I asked.
Jenny answered first, then Cal, and I gently squeezed Iola to me.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
Rubbing up and down her arm, I said, “I know. But we’ll get through this.”
“How can you be so sure?” Cal demanded, but again, before I could answer, the doors swung open.
We blinked at the light, hands up to protect our eyes. I quickly took in the people with me. Cal was a stunning man with the same dark brown hair as mine. He was the tallest out of us, and I was the shortest. Jenny and Iola were nearly the same height and had blonde hair and blue eyes.
“Up and out. Now,” a masked man ordered while pointing his gun at us.
I helped Iola and Jenny up as Cal climbed to his feet. Together, we shuffled outside.
My breath caught.
Surrounding us were more shipping containers and the evening sky.
“In,” he ordered, pointing to a bigger container.
Should I ask questions?
“What is this?” Cal suddenly demanded. He got hit in the back of the head and let out a pained sound.
“Quiet.”
Another masked man opened the doors to the bigger container and waited for us to enter. I jolted when the doors slammed behind us and spun to see we were trapped once more.
“Rommy,” Cal called.
Turning, I gaped at the number of people huddled at the other end. We could only see them because of the dim torch hanging from the ceiling.
There were a few scattered blankets, but that was about it.
Moving forward, I asked, “Are you all from Australia?”
Some called out New South Wales, others Tasmania, and Queensland, Brisbane, Western Australia… all over the country.
We must have been the last to be picked up.
My stomach tightened at all the fearful gazes.
“Is there a plan?” I asked. “What happens if we need food or the toilet?”
A woman told us, “They take us to the bathroom, but we’re only allowed to use the toilet and we’re heavily guarded.”
“Not everyone goes at the same time,” another woman said. “They take us in smaller groups.”
A guy shifted on his feet as he said, “Minimal food and water so far. Enough to keep us in the shape we’re in.”
“I heard them talking about our buyers,” another new woman explained as she rubbed her hands nervously together.
The guy next to her nodded. “We were taken to be sold off to the highest bidder unless we already have someone who’s willing to pay a large amount up front.”
What the fuck?
Buyers?
People still did that?
How did they get away with shit like this?
Goddamn it.
No. I had to stay calm. I had to think.
“Okay. Like I said, we’ll just have to wait for the right time to get us out of this situation. No one will be sold if I have anything to do with it,” I said.
“Are you a cop?” someone called.
Shaking my head, I shrugged. “Just a person who’s had training.”
Cal made a grunted noise. “In the other container, you were just as confident we’ll get out of this. How can you be so sure? Even if you can fight, there are more of them than there are of us. I know self-defence and can throw a punch, but I doubt everyone does.”
So many replied that they didn’t know how to fight. But there were a few hopefuls that could help. Jenny was also on that list because she was an ex-police officer.
“What do you know?” Cal asked when everyone had settled down.
“I’ve been trained in all martial arts. Taught how to use many types of guns and worked with knives.”
“Who are you?” another person called.
“I’m Romania, but everyone can call me Rommy. I promise I will do everything in my power to get us out of this.”
“No offense, but you’re like a…”
Someone else finished: “You’re tiny. Who’d be scared of you?”
Smiling, I pressed my hands together under my chin. “I’ll make them scared in the end.”
“Who taught you all this?” Iola asked.
“My dad and his brothers. They’re a part of the Hawks Motorcycle Club.”
There were many gasps, and it made me proud that people knew about my family.
“Will they be looking for you?” Cal questioned.
I pushed my shoulders back and said with confidence, “My family will do anything to get me back, and they won’t stop until I’m safe.
Which means all of you will be safe too.
For now, we need to do as they say. We need to stay protected and calm and strong until we can get some help or until we can get off this ship.
We’ll do recon every time we’re let out.
I want to know how many guards there are.
I know they wear masks, but try and make a note of some type of different feature on them.
” I took a breath and warned, “In the time we’re together, you may think I’m weird or something.
I do tend to ramble on about whatever comes to mind, but I promise, you can put your faith in me and my family. ”
Jenny shifted on her feet. “I trust you, Rommy. She already had a plan when she woke up.”
Cal grunted. “Yeah, I believe you.” He turned to the others. “She damn near broke my fingers when she woke up in the dark.”
Iola took my hand before she softly said, “I trust you.”
Smiling, I squeezed her hand. “Thank you.” I curled an arm around her shoulders and addressed everyone again. “In one way or another, we will get through this.”
There was a huff and then a guy said, “I want to trust you, but you could be making all this up just to be in charge.” He stepped forward.
“She’s probably saying this so we give her extra rations or to have more blankets.
” He turned to me again. “We were the first here. We get to pick who gets what and what we do.”
There was a nod from a couple of them.
A woman stood by this guy. “Trevor is right. Just because she says the right things doesn’t mean we should fold to whatever she says.” She thumbed at herself and then pointed to the guy. “We’re the ones in charge. We’re the ones who will get us out of here.”
Calmly, I asked, “Can you fight?”
She sneered. “It doesn’t have to come down to fighting. There’ll be a chance we can escape and then—”
“Be shot down while we all run. I don’t want just some of you safe. I want all of you protected.” I looked to the other two. “Will you both throw yourselves in front of danger for the other people in here?”
Trevor snorted. “Like you would.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “We’re in a bad situation, and I really don’t want there to be fighting between us. With the training I’ve had, I’m more than comfortable to be the first and only one to run into danger if it means all of us get to safety.”
“She probably doesn’t even know how to fight,” the woman said.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Pamela.”
“Pamela, do you know how to fight?”
“I do boxing.”
“Then come at me and throw a punch. Actually, both of you try to hit me.” I gently moved Iola out of the way and closer to Cal and Jenny.
Couldn’t they see I really didn’t want to be in charge but would if it meant I could save everyone?
“Rommy,” Cal shouted as he gripped Iola’s arm to drag her back.
I’d already felt the shift in the air and ducked while sweeping my leg out. Pamela dropped to the steel floor.
Foolish move, girl.
I popped back up just as Trevor went to jab me in the gut.
Oof, that’ll bruise.
But I pushed the pain back and moved.
Grabbing his fist with my left, I uppercut him with my right, and he stumbled back.
“I can do this for hours,” I told them, hoping they’d quit wasting energy. “But can we please just get through this together? I won’t lord over anyone or anything. I just want to help and get out of here with all of us in one piece.”
Trevor helped Pamela up, both glowering at me.
They could hate me all they wanted. They’d eventually see it’d be me or my family and friends who’d get us out of this mess.
I could already tell they wouldn’t be the type of people to say thank you either.
Hell, they were also the type to be mean to waitstaff. I hated when people did that.
“Fine,” Trevor clipped, and Pamela just nodded.
God, I hoped I didn’t just screw up by taking charge, but I really did honestly believe that I could get us out of this somehow. I’d fight as hard as my family would be back home.