Chapter 22
Hannah
I sat in a chair near the window, watching the sun rise in the sky and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Wherever I was, Rhys would have no idea where to start looking, so it was up to me to save myself.
The tears had dried up hours ago, and the longer I sat alone in this room, the madder I got.
Granny always said I had a temper, and it usually wasn’t a good idea to display it, but in this instance, I was sure she would understand.
I had a dry bologna sandwich for dinner, delivered by Waylon, and when I tried to get him to look at me, he turned his head and stared at the ground.
“Why did you do this to me?” I inquired, taking a small bite of the sandwich. He shrugged, scuffing the bottom of his shoe against the carpet, while I took another bite. “It’s not too late to end this. You can let me go, and I’ll never tell anyone about it. I swear.”
“I can’t,” he whispered. Someone yelled outside the room, causing him to jump before he turned, walked out, and left me alone.
That was the last time I’d seen anyone, and I was growing concerned. The first time I was taken, I had free roam of the inside of the house, but this time, I’m being kept in this room, and I was worried.
Was there anyone else here like me?
Who took me, and why was Waylon so afraid of them?
Where are they keeping me, and is there a way to escape?
Was this related to Sergey and the Syndicate?
No matter how many ways I tried to figure out what was going on, I was still floating in the dark without a tether.
I’d heard stories from Rhys and Regan of how Elise, Amaya, Grace, and a few other women had been in similar situations and were all rescued.
I feared that wouldn’t happen to me. In the past, they had a place to start looking, but Rhys had told me this past weekend that they weren’t any closer to finding out who was behind this all.
A knock on the door echoed into the room, but I couldn’t be bothered to care as the door opened and someone walked in. My eyes were still focused on the gray sky turning pink beyond the tree as someone cleared their voice.
Slowly, I turned my head, keeping the apathetic expression firmly in place as I looked at whoever alerted me to their presence.
An older man, probably close to sixty, was standing in the open doorway with his hands tucked behind his back.
Lifting one eyebrow, I waited for him to explain what he wanted.
“Breakfast is being served downstairs and your presence is requested,” he started.
I turned back to the window and replied, “Please tell my host I’m not interested in breakfast.”
“Miss,” he began, and I looked back at him, “if you don’t come with me, they’re going to come up here and make you. They’re . . . unstable, and it would be better for you if you did as they requested.”
Reluctantly, I stood and brushed some hair from my face as I walked to him. “Who are they and where are we?” I asked softly, and he glanced side to side without speaking.
Just as I was about to walk back to my chair at the window, he whispered, “We’re just over the state line in Tennessee, close to Memphis.” He straightened up and said louder for whoever may be listening, “Follow me.”
I fell in line behind him and with his close steps, I was able to look around as he escorted me down a hallway to a set of stairs.
As we traversed down, I took in as much as I could, trying to remember every detail.
A door closed to the right of the stairs with a slam, and I snapped my head to the side to see what caused it, only for the man to subtly shake his head and continue to descend the stairs.
On the ground floor, I noticed pictures hanging on the far wall, but I couldn’t see who they were from my distance.
The man turned to the left and walked into a dining room.
He grabbed a chair and pulled it out for me, so I took a seat.
There wasn’t anyone else in the room, and I was beginning to wonder if I had it all wrong.
My first run-in with the Syndicate was part of a sick ceremony to initiate new members into the organization.
But if I was the only one here, then it couldn’t be that, could it?
No one was going to answer any questions for me, so I looked at the man who was standing behind me for instructions. “Please serve yourself and I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t leave this room,” he warned, and I nodded before he turned, leaving me alone with a tableful of food.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and a glass of juice, and I drank the juice immediately.
I was thirsty, and the bland sandwich for dinner had long worn off.
Noticing there were at least a dozen selections on the table, I plated some for myself and retook my seat.
I was about to take my first bite when I heard someone enter the room behind me.
Carefully, I turned and watched as the man escorted someone else into the room. He placed her next to me and helped her get pushed up to the table before he left us alone, closing the door behind him.
The girl next to me looked to be young and her eyes were filled with tears. Softly, I whispered, “I’m Hannah, and it’s going to be okay.”
“Where are we?” she asked through stuttered cries.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to do everything I can to get us out of here,” I reasoned then asked, “What’s your name?”
“Pearl . . . Pearl Simon,” she responded.
I poured a glass of juice and placed it in front of her. “You’re going to need to keep your strength, Pearl.”
She lifted the glass, and I could see the tremors reflected in the juice as she took a swallow. I placed some fruit, eggs, bacon, and a Danish onto a plate and handed it to her. She looked at it, then at me, and I offered her as reassuring a smile as I could muster.
We both began nibbling on our food, and I casually asked, “How old are you, Pearl, and where are you from?”
“I’m seventeen, and I’ve lived all over.” She paused, reaching up to swipe tears from her cheeks. “I’ve been in foster care for the last five years, since my parents died.”
I reached over and placed my hand on hers as I said, “I’m sorry, but you’ve got me, and I promise, you’re not alone anymore.”
Her smile was forced, but she seemed to settle the more she ate. I didn’t know how long we were going to be here, and the chance to escape could come up at any minute, so I kept eating, wanting to get my energy level up.
“Why . . . why are we here?” Pearl asked a few minutes later, and I wasn’t sure if I should tell her what I suspected or simply evade the question.
Honesty was needed at that moment since I didn’t want to give her any reason not to trust me. There was no way I was leaving a teenage girl here alone, and if I had anything to do with it, I would stop them from hurting her by whatever means necessary.
I spoke softly, hoping she heard me. “I believe we’ve been taken as part of an initiation into a crime family. My . . . my biological father was an original member, and I think they’re trying to resurrect it.”
She turned her head to me and lowered her voice to almost inaudible. “Do you mean the Syndicate?”
My eyes grew wide, and I nodded to her highly intuitive question. “How do you know about them?”
“My grandfather and uncle were members before my uncle ended up dead. My grandfather is in prison for racketeering. My father told me all about it when I was old enough to understand. He wanted me to know in case something ever happened.”
“I’m going to be completely honest since you’re aware,” I whispered as I took another sip of coffee, trying to make it look like we were just eating and not plotting.
“I believe this will be an initiation of new members. Six months ago,” I paused, afraid I was about to terrify her, “I was taken by them, but I was rescued along with two other women.”
“And they took you again?” she whisper-yelled, and I motioned with my hand to keep her volume low.
“The men who rescued us killed everyone who was there, but they think there’s someone else pulling the strings, and I can only guess it’s whoever is doing this now,” I reasoned, and she cast her eyes to the table.
I reached over and took her hand into mine as I said, “They’ll be looking for me, and these men don’t fail at their missions.
We have to be tough and not fall apart before they find us. ”
Her bottom lip trembled, but she nodded her understanding as she discreetly wiped away her tears. “I’ll try.”
We kept nibbling on small bites of food, and I quietly asked her, “Besides the man who brought you to breakfast, how many people have you seen? I need to figure out what we’re up against.”
“There was a lady who came into my room last night and told me to comply or they’d hurt me, but she’s the only one, besides the man this morning.”
A woman?
I was expecting another power-hungry man to be leading this epic nightmare, but to hear a woman is willingly offering other women up to be assaulted nearly made me puke. She must have been as fucked up as the rest of them to do that, but I schooled my facial features and nodded.
I didn’t want to push Pearl too much, so we sat quietly as we finished our breakfast. I was sipping on a second cup of coffee, enjoying the much-needed caffeine, when the man from earlier re-entered the room.
“Ms. Pearl, Ms. Hannah, I need to take you back upstairs now.”
Pearl looked at me, and I nodded as she stood. I remained seated, determined to find out exactly what the hell was going on. I wasn’t going to go quietly and I wasn’t going to comply, so whoever brought me here needs to show themselves.
“Can you tell the lady of the house I’d like to meet with her please?” I asked him, but he shook his head and glanced to the side.
“That’s not a good idea, Ms. Hannah,” he replied, and Pearl looked worried as I settled into my chair and took another sip of coffee.
“Good idea or not, I’m not one to take orders from a phantom. So, please, ask the lady of the house if we can speak privately.”
I was terrified of my request, but the time to be weak and afraid passed when a seventeen-year-old girl walked into the room.
After what I’d witnessed Claire go through six months ago, I wasn’t going to let another innocent teenage girl be violated just because she was related to someone who used to be a gangster.
Maybe it was the Sergey part of me coming to the surface, or maybe it was the strength Granny gave me, but either way, I wasn’t leaving until I spoke with whoever was in charge.
I stood from my seat, and the man exhaled as I approached him. Lowering my voice, I said, “If you’re really worried about me, call Callahan Cyber Security in Pierce Bluff, Tennessee, and tell them where we are.”
His mouth dropped open as I turned and went back to my seat before folding my hands on top of the table and waiting.
I heard a noise and looked over my shoulder to see him escorting a worried Pearl out of the room, and just before he passed out of the doorway, the man locked eyes with me and gave a slight nod.
I didn’t know if he would do anything to help, but at least I tried.
Picking up a piece of toast, I used the butter knife to spread some jam on it and ‘accidently’ dropped the knife on the floor.
I bent over, pulling Pearl’s place setting down with my hand, and when I went to pick everything up, I slipped one of the butter knives into my boot and pulled my pants down over it.
Returning to my upright position, I put all the silverware into a pile, hoping no one realized I kept one.
I waited for what seemed like forever, and when I was just starting to think I would sit in that room alone all day, the double doors in front of me opened.
Snapping my head up, I waited for someone to walk in, and when I saw who was entering the room, I knew this was all connected to the fucking Syndicate.
And I could only hope Rhys and my brothers found Pearl and me before this monster destroyed the last of my sanity and damned me to hell for my genetics.