Chapter 8 #2
Whatever was coming next was going to make her wish she’d swallowed her pride, accepted these men enjoyed humiliating her, and played along with the other women in the shower.
Unfortunately, it was too late to do that.
She had to accept the consequences of her actions, and this time, Nathan wasn't going to swoop in to save her.
August 3rd
1:52 P.M.
Better get back here if you don’t want to miss the show.
Nathan froze as he read the text.
Show?
There was only one time anyone at Azure ever referred to anything as a ‘show’, and that was when one of the girls was about to receive a public punishment.
Emma.
She was the only one who would do something stupid that would get herself punished. She certainly wasn't the first woman to be kidnapped who had fought, who had acted out, who had earned herself a punishment. There had been many before her, and there would be many after.
Some of the women shut down almost immediately, fear rendering them paralyzed.
Some of the women cried, sobbing hysterically until they learned that crying had the opposite effect in this world, and some men went crazy for a weeping woman.
Some of them screamed, yelling and cursing, throwing out threats there was no chance they would ever be able to follow through on.
Then there was Emma. Angry, determined, stubborn, but tempered with intelligence.
He knew some of what he’d said to her had sunk in.
Sometimes she would submit, getting on her knees to wait for her food, but she always found a way to hold her own despite the outward submission.
Every single time he went in there, she kept her gaze focused on him, telling him without words there was only so far she was willing to go, even knowing the consequences.
Consequences that would sooner or later break her down to give them the desired response.
Everyone broke sooner or later.
Even Emma.
All the other women currently in Azure’s possession had been there at least a couple of weeks.
Some weren't quite ready to be sold, but they were trained enough that they wouldn’t cause any trouble.
So as he stared at Mateo’s text, Nathan knew that there really was only one woman he could be referring to.
What sort of show was going to be put on? Emma might be the star of it, but there had been so many over the months he’d been with Azure that he didn't have a mental picture of just how bad it was going to be.
As badly as he wanted to type back a response telling Mateo to hold off on the punishment until he got there and that he would dole out whatever penalty the ring had decided on for her disobedience, if he came on too strong, he’d give himself away.
“I've got to go,” he told Falcon, shoving away from the table where he was sharing lunch with his boss and Falcon’s family.
“Everything okay?” Hope asked. She might know what her husband’s job was, but he knew for a fact that Falcon would never burden her with the details about the cases Prey took on.
“No,” he said simply.
“Her?” Falcon asked.
“Pretty sure she’s gotten herself into trouble despite me warning her not to.”
“Don’t do anything stupid. She needs you calm,” Falcon warned.
“Daddy says the best way to be smart is to stay calm,” seven-year-old Adelia piped up.
“Calm, calm, calm, calm, calm,” two-year-old Azalea added, obviously not wanting to be left out.
“Yeah, squirt, got the message,” he said, ruffling the toddler’s hair. “Your dad’s pretty smart, huh, Addie?”
“He’s the smartest person ever. Well, smartest man,” Addison corrected, giving her dad a cheeky smile. “Cos Mom is smarter than Dad.”
“Girls have to stick together,” Hope said with a teasing smile at her husband.
“No arguments from me there, sweetheart,” Falcon said, giving all four of his girls an indulgent smile.
Watching the happy little family sent a shaft of longing through him.
A family of his own had never seemed like a priority.
He had a job he was good at. He wouldn't say he loved working undercover, but he loved the satisfaction of destroying evil from the inside out.
This was who he was, and it was too late to change that.
Making a normal life with a wife and kids work with his job wasn't an option, yet as he watched Falcon with Hope and their girls, damn, he wanted it.
More than he should.
“I’ll keep a clear head,” he assured Falcon. Nathan wasn't sure how he was going to do that yet, but he’d find a way. He had to if he wanted to mitigate whatever trouble Emma had gotten herself into.
“Remember, sometimes you have to focus on the bigger picture, no matter how much it sucks,” Falcon reminded him, and never in his life had he hated that notion more than he did in this moment.
The bigger picture meant letting Emma get hurt to maintain his cover and get her out in the long run. It wasn't like he didn't know that already, but this was Emma they were talking about, and she’d become way more important to him than she should have in a shockingly short period of time.
“Yeah, I won't forget,” he muttered as he strode toward the parking lot.
Part of him wanted to ask Falcon for the names of the other Prey operatives working undercover at Azure so they could help him, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was no way Falcon would tell him even if he asked.
Maybe his boss could keep a clearer head because his family was sitting safe and sound at the park, but Nathan was finding it increasingly difficult. Fear pulsed through his system, urging him to do something, but for the first time in a long time, he wasn't sure what.
He was thirty minutes away from the warehouse, and he had no idea what they had planned for Emma, or if they’d already started. If Mateo was texting him, then chances were, they hadn't, but that didn't mean he could get there before they started.
Taking a circular route back to ensure no one followed him was probably unnecessary, although it was his usual protocol. One he intended to skip this afternoon.
Once he was in his car, he stared at his phone, the text staring mockingly back at him. What was he going to say that got Mateo to hold off without making it obvious why?
Which one
The wait for a text seemed inordinately long, but there was nothing else to do but wait. Turning on the engine, he shoved the car into reverse, and just as he was about to start driving a text came in.
One three nine
Damn, he hated that number system.
Always had because of how it dehumanized the innocent women who became victims of Azure, but even more so now because he knew how much it bothered Emma. It was like it had become her line in the sand, and one she didn't seem willing to cross. Was that how she’d gotten herself into trouble?
What happened?
Wouldn't cooperate with the shower
Yeah, he could see that. While it was one of the milder things the women were forced to endure, it was humiliating and designed to teach them that they had no control over their own bodies any longer.
Their bodies were to be used for the amusement of their owners, and they’d better do whatever they were told or suffer the consequences.
Which was exactly what was about to happen to Emma.
Don’t start without me
The stupid thumbs-up emoji only irritated him further, but he didn't have time to waste worrying about it. He assumed Mateo would indeed wait to start Emma’s punishment until he was there, but that didn't really help him.
He wanted it stopped, not delayed.
Only he had no idea how to do that without blowing his cover.
Falcon would be furious with him, hell, even Adelia would reprimand him for not remaining calm, but while he knew blowing his cover wouldn't solve his problem, he didn't know what would, and that left him feeling completely out of control.
“Think,” he roared into the silent car.
There had to be a way, something he could do that would keep his cover intact and save Emma from whatever hellish punishment Mateo and the others had come up with.
“Why didn't you listen to me, blondie? The women don’t hurt each other, it sucks, I know it does, and I wish you'd never been brought into this world, but it would have been better than what's coming.”
Admitting that he might not be able to save her from it, worse, that he would have to stand by and watch while she looked at him with betrayal and hatred, and pretend that it wasn’t ripping him apart inside about gutted him.
No.
He couldn’t think like that.
Nathan knew himself, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stand there and watch without giving himself away. So he had to do what Falcon and his girls had reminded him to be.
Calm.
Calm was smart.
Smart was what would save Emma.
What he had to do was stop the punishment from happening. It was the only way. Which meant he had about fifteen minutes to come up with a distraction.