Chapter 8
I never thoughtI would be in a position like this, but here I am, holding a gun to a man”s head and willing to pull the trigger if he so much as blinks. I trained as a fighter and with knives, but I”ve never held a gun before. My hand is steady while my insides are shaking. For one quick second, I almost protested taking the gun from Kisten. Shooting a man feels wrong, but then I look at the guard and remember who he is and what he does. I immediately know I wouldn”t hesitate to shoot him.
The longer I hold the gun to his head, the more powerful I feel. Maybe I should learn how to shoot. I want to hold onto this feeling. Really, learning to shoot is just another form of self-defense. I wasn”t afraid of learning how to fight with knives, and those are lethal. The only difference is that knives are up close while I can keep my distance with a gun. Considering the size difference between me and most men, a gun would level the playing field.
It feels like Kisten has been gone forever, but it can”t have been more than a couple minutes. Each second that passes ratchets up my anxiety. What happens if he doesn”t come back? What if he”s hurt? How will we get out of here? They will punish us for what we”ve done tonight. I”d rather shoot myself than go back to the life I”ve lived the past six years. I can”t do it after having freedom dangled in front of me like an ooey, gooey triple chocolate brownie.
I”m nearly in a full-blown what-if spiral when the door opens, and Kisten appears. I gasp when I see the blood on his hands and splattered on his face. I rush to him; he takes the gun and returns it to the small of his back as I run my hands over him, checking for injuries.
”I”m okay, beauty. It”s not my blood.”
I take a deep breath, calming my racing heart.
”We need to move before someone sees the guards outside,” he says.
He stands the guard up and pushes him out the door first, using him as a shield for potential attacks. I wait for the girls to file out after them before I follow. My feet sink into soft grass for the first time in so long, and my throat tightens. It”s cool and refreshing. When I am free of this place, I will spend days outside. I can imagine the warm sun heating my skin during the day and the cool night air ruffling my hair. It will be heavenly.
Lexis leads us through an immaculate garden to the back of the property, where there”s a copse of trees. The entire time, my heart is pounding from anxiety, adrenaline coursing through my veins at the thought of being caught. I relax slightly when we finally reach the trees and aren”t out in the open.
”The road isn”t far from here,” Lexis says. ”Maybe a twenty-minute walk…”
Kisten looks at us with indecision. I can tell he doesn”t like the thought of us separating. Frankly, I don”t either. I feel safe with him here. Seeing the four girls that came to the mansion with me huddled together, terrified, makes me even less happy to be separated from Kisten. I don”t want to have their safety on my shoulders. It was one thing to watch their backs and keep the guard at gunpoint. It”s an entirely different thing to keep them safe while walking through the woods in the dark as we escape our prison.
Kisten takes the gun out again and approaches me. Even covered in blood, he”s the most handsome man I”ve ever seen. I should be scared of a man like him. He”s huge and menacing, but there”s something warm in his eyes when he looks at me. I can”t forget the gentleness with which he touched me at Mecca. When I attacked him earlier tonight, he could”ve hurt me, but he simply restrained me. Then there”s the fact that he”s helping six women escape sexual slavery at best and death at worst.
”Lexis will lead you to the road, and I”ll pick you up there. I need you to be brave for me a little longer, okay?”
I swallow thickly, willing myself to stand tall, not throw myself at him, and beg him not to leave me here. It”s completely irrational because if he doesn”t go get his car, we can”t escape. There”s this cold pit of dread in my gut that tells me if he leaves us here, I”ll never see him again. The thought is abhorrent.
”You can do this, my beautiful fighter.”
His words warm my insides and bolster me up. He”s right. I can do this. I”ll do anything to gain my freedom. This is the last step to leaving this place. I take the gun from his hand and step away.
”Be safe,” he murmurs, studying my face like he”s committing my features to memory.
”You too. See you soon?”
”I”ll be waiting for you, Beauty.”
”Okay.”
Kisten watches us until we”re deeper into the trees before he leaves with the bound guard. The trees and undergrowth are thick. Lexis leads us on a winding path for what feels like an eternity. I start to worry that she doesn”t know where she”s going. It”s dark among the trees. The moonlight doesn”t penetrate the thick canopy.
Lucy and Stacia cling to each other, complaining and crying the entire trek. I”ve had to threaten bodily harm to make them be quiet. I remind them not too nicely that they aren”t free yet and that any unnecessary noise will draw attention to us. I”m not surprised they are the two complaining and whining.
Reghan is walking closest to Lexis. She was never talkative during our time together at Mecca. I”m not sure how she came to be in this life, only that she”d been at Mecca for almost as long as Georgie. She”s the perfect slave, though. Anytime I”ve been in the same room with her and a client, she”s like a perfect doll. Never questioning, never fighting back. Completely subservient. My only guess as to why she was brought to the auction is her age. She”s in her late twenties, and even though she”s still beautiful, she”s past her prime in sex slave years. It”s sad, but there is an expiration date for people like us.
Tabitha is only a couple steps in front of me. She took one of the knives when we first entered the woods and has been on high alert with every step away from the mansion. I can see the same determination to survive that I have. She”s ready to do whatever it takes to get out of here. Of all the women, including Lexis, she”s the only one I can see holding her own in a fight. It”s probably terrible of me, but I”m glad she”s closest to me. I”d rather have her determination near in a fight than Lucy”s sniveling.
Finally, I can see what looks like a break in the trees. Lexis slows her steps as we approach. Anxiety fills me when I see the expanse of empty space. There”s no cover anywhere. We will be sitting ducks with nowhere to hide if someone is following us. At least among the trees, we have places to hide.
”What do we do?” Lucy whines.
Lexis is staring into the space with indecision on her face. ”I thought the road was here…”
”Are we lost? Oh God! They”re going to catch us!” Lucy wails, collapsing into Stacia”s arms as they both weep uncontrollably.
My fingers twitch around the grip of the gun. It takes a lot of control to not just shoot them both. I have no patience for this right now, and they are compromising our safety with their bullshit. Apparently, I”m not the only one who”s fed up with them because Tabitha walks right up to them and slaps Lucy so hard her face turns. Lucy looks at her with wide, shocked eyes, but she”s finally fucking quiet.
”Get your shit together,” Tabitha growls. ”I”m not dying because you can”t keep your goddamned mouths shut.”
I smirk at Tabitha when she marches over to where I”m standing. I survey clearing in front of us. If we move quickly, we could cross it in maybe five minutes. The trees pick up again a little over a thousand feet away. I don”t like that we will be out in the open, but we”ve gotten this far without anyone trailing us.
I have to trust that Lexis is moving us in the right direction. She”s never actually been through the forest before. She learned about it from a loose-lipped guard who enjoys partaking in the free pussy at the mansion. Hopefully, the information isn”t wrong. It doesn”t even matter if it is. I”m not going back, so forward is the only option. I have faith that Kisten will find us if this ends up a wild goose chase. Something tells me he won”t leave us stumbling around in the woods for those bastards to find us.
”What do you think?” Tabitha asks.
”We keep moving,” I say, filling my voice with determination.
”I agree. What about them?” she says quietly enough that only I can hear.
”We stick together. For now,” I tack on quietly.
She nods her understanding. I don”t want to leave anyone behind, but I won”t let anyone fuck up my chance to escape. Hopefully, Tabitha”s slap was enough to wake the others up and clear their heads enough to keep it together.
”We need to keep moving. Stalling only gives them time to find us. We”ve got a head start right now, and I won”t lose it,” I say. ”Stay low and close. We need to be quick.”
Thankfully, no one protests. Instead of Lexis leading the way, Tabitha takes the front, setting a fast pace. The others follow without a word, keeping low and quiet like I told them to. I take the up the rear, guarding our backs as we cross the clearing. Lucy and Stacia start to slow about halfway across the space, and I grit my teeth.
”Keep going,” I whisper shout.
”We”re tired,” Stacia whines.
”Either keep up, or I”m leaving you behind,” I say shortly.
They look at each other horrified, then speed up again. I almost feel bad for the threat, but I”m done with these two. They have zero survival instincts at all. Especially Lucy. I thought Stacia was smarter, but I guess I was wrong on that one. Like Lucy, she was taken a short time ago. I wish they understood how fucking lucky they are to be in their current situation. I”ve spent six long years going through hell, and they are getting out in a few months. I push those thoughts away because they serve no purpose.
We”re all breathing heavily by the time we reach the trees again. None of us are in good shape after being in captivity. Poor nutrition and no actual exercise have kept us all weak. I”m running on fumes after fighting against Kisten. The only thing keeping me going is adrenaline and stubbornness. We all pause to catch our breath once we”ve safely reached the tree line.
Tabitha gravitates back to my side. ”You going to be okay?” she whispers.
”Yeah, I”ve got this,” I say.
She gives me a tight smile. ”You”re one stubborn bitch. No wonder you were able to come out of the cage with your sanity intact.”
That makes me laugh. Everyone turns in my direction, looking at me like I”m crazy. ”I”m far from sane. Trust me.”
I hear a twig snap and immediately shush the girls. We all freeze in place and listen. A few seconds pass, and then I hear leaves crunching. We all duck down behind the bushes and silently wait.
”Those whores have to be around here somewhere,” a man with a thick Russian accent says.
”They could be long gone,” a man with an American accent responds. ”Scott”s a greedy fuck. He probably planned this so he could sell them himself.”
The other man says something in Russian, which makes him chuckle.
The girls look at me like they”re waiting for me to tell them what to do. The problem is, I have no fucking clue what to do right now. The only thing I know for sure is that I”m not going back.
”We need to spread out and keep moving,” I whisper.
Tabitha nods in agreement. Reghan looks nearly catatonic. Lucy and Stacia are weeping, but at least they are being quiet.
”Continue in the same direction. Stay low and hidden,” I say.
We all look at each other like we may never see each other again, and I hate to think it”s a genuine possibility. The voices get closer, and I wave my hand, indicating we”ve got to go now. As quietly as we can, we start moving. Lexis doesn”t hesitate to break away from the group. Reghan is the next to go her own way. I watch Stacia and Lucy huddle close instead of listening to what I told them to do.
Tabitha gives me a knowing look, and I shrug. There”s nothing we can do about them now. Tabitha and I start picking our way through the woods several feet apart. Everything is quiet, and I begin to relax, thinking maybe the men hunting us went in the other direction. Then a scream rends the air, making the hair on my arms stand up.
Tabitha”s eyes are wide, and I shoo her forward with my hands. Another scream sounds, and I don”t think; I just react. I run towards the screams instead of away like any sane person would do. I told Tabitha I wasn”t sane, and this proves it. I trip on a root, barely keeping myself upright as I move too fast through the trees. It doesn”t take me long to find them. Two men dressed in black have found Stacia and Lucy.
I take a quick survey of the situation. Lucy is hanging limply over one of the men”s shoulders while Stacia grapples with the other. He”s quickly overpowering her. I don”t hesitate as I run at the man with Lucy. I catch him by surprise and tackle him to the ground. Lucy drops, and I can only hope she”s okay.
”Stupid bitch,” the Russian man growls.
He moves quicker than someone his size should be able to as he lunges at me. Now that I don”t have to worry about Lucy being in the way, I point the gun at the man and pull the trigger. He looks at me with shocked eyes as his hands move to his stomach, where blood is quickly blooming on his shirt. He stumbles towards me, and I pull the trigger again, hitting him in the chest. He falls to his knees, then tips onto his stomach.
I”m so distracted watching him fall that I don”t notice the second man abandoning his struggle with Stacia and heading my way. He”s on me so quickly I don”t have time to react before he”s got me on the ground. The gun falls from my hand and skitters across the ground out of reach. I struggle against him, but it”s no use. He”s got me pinned to the ground, and no matter how many times I try to break the hold, I just can”t.
”You fucking killed, Marat,” he snarls.
He wraps his hands around my throat and squeezes while I continue to struggle. The way he”s sitting on me with his knees pinning my arms means that I can do little more than kick my legs and thrash as he chokes the life out of me. I can hear the blood rush through my veins as my heart races. My lungs are burning, and darkness is creeping into the edges of my vision. I suppose if I have to die tonight, at least I died free.
One second, my eyes are fluttering closed, and I”m making peace with my death; the next, hot liquid covers my face, and the man on top of me topples to the side. I gasp a deep breath, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I thought for sure I was dead.
”Willow,” Tabitha falls to her knees beside me and grabs my shoulders. I”m still trying to remember how to breathe and figure out what happened when she whispers, ”I thought you were dead.”
”Stubborn bitch, remember,” I say hoarsely.
”Thank God for that.”
She helps me sit up, and I see the man who attacked me lying beside me, his throat sliced. It finally clicks in my mind that it was his blood that coated my face. I touch my cheek, then look at my fingers numbly. I should probably feel something about being covered in someone”s blood, but there”s nothing.
”Lucy and Stacia?” I ask.
”They”re okay,” she says. ”We should keep moving, though. If anyone else was out here, those gunshots will lead them here.”
She helps me as I struggle to my feet. I have nothing left in the reserves. I have no idea how I will make it out of here. We locate my lost gun and take the two the assholes we killed had on them too. Tabitha abandons her knife in favor of one of the guns. I take the one Kisten gave me and stuff the extra in the waist of my pants since I”m the only one wearing any, and there is no way I”m arming Lucy or Stacia.
Stacia is helping Lucy to her feet, and she isn”t crying for a change. She looks scared, but I can see a small fire burning in her eyes. Nearly getting taken again has obviously impacted her significantly. Hopefully, she will hold on to that tiny spark of fire and use it to keep going.
We creep through the trees. Right now, it”s stealth over speed. Lucy and Stacia are both injured, and I”m barely upright. Tabitha is hovering near me like she”s waiting for me to collapse. It”s a fair assessment. It”s a miracle I”m standing on my own.
An eternity later, I hear heavy footsteps coming our way quickly. We all freeze for a heartbeat before we move. Stacia and Lucy duck between two trees and into some brush. Tabitha hides behind a tree, holding her gun steady towards whoever is running in our direction. I do the same, even if I”m leaning a little heavier against the tree than she is, and my arm may be a little shaky as I hold my gun.
We wait quietly as the footsteps draw nearer. I let out a choked cry when I see him. Kisten. He found us. I drop my arm and step out from behind the tree. He looks at me with a horrified expression and races to me. He cups my face, then runs his hands down my body like he”s looking for injuries.
”Not my blood,” I say hoarsely. My throat hurts like a motherfucker. I have a feeling I have one hell of a bruise underneath all this blood.
He roughly pulls me into his arms and buries his face in my hair despite the blood. ”Fuck, beauty. I heard gunshots… I thought…”
Tabitha steps out from her hiding spot and chuckles. ”She”s a stubborn bitch. Can we get the fuck out of here now?”
He narrows his eyes at her, and I have a feeling he”s about to tell her off for calling me a bitch, but I don”t hear what he says because the world tilts, and blackness consumes me.