Chapter 31
Thirty-One
A shiver runs through me as the doors of the container behind Norah, Bel, and me slam shut. We’re enveloped in complete darkness. The only sounds come from the other women’s breathing and their soft sobs. Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
If they move us, we’ll never be found.
Rebel.
I bang my fist against the door. I need to get out of here. A tear rolls down my cheek.
Kyler.
Rebel.
There must be a way out? Why… Fuck. An engine starts and I drop on my ass before the truck we’re loaded into starts moving and I fall on top of another woman. Norah and Bel follow my example, and the latter is shivering against me.
Brooks.
I need to tell him about Jen.
Brandon.
His mom… I need to get out of here, need to help them, need to get to Rebel.
Panic forms a lump in my throat and my breathing becomes ragged. This can’t be the end. I pound my fist against the door behind me. Damn it. God, please. If there’s anything up there, please. Let me see my daughter again.
We’ve been driving for a while. I have no concept of time; it feels like an eternity, yet also as if we’ve only traveled a short distance. After making a turn, the truck slows down and comes to a stop. Will the doors open? I get up and pound on the door again.
“Layne,” Norah whispers. “I don’t think…”
As if I don’t know, but what am I supposed to do? Sit there like a good little lamb? I swallow the lump in my throat with some effort. Sighing, I sink to the floor and pull my knees up to my chest.
Suddenly, something bangs against the top of the container, and a few of the women scream. I dive to the floor and wrap my arms around my head. What the fuck was that?
The sound repeats a few times, and then the container moves. We sway slightly before coming to a sudden, jarring halt, as though… as though the container has been set on the ground. Taken off the truck.
Shit, is this it? Are they going to sell us here?
My heart’s pounding in my throat. All I can think about is Rebel, and I start to hyperventilate.
“Shh, Layne,” Norah whispers, pulling me close to her. Bel’s still shaking like a leaf against me. “Breathe, come on.”
“My little girl,” I mumble. “I’m the only one… My little girl.” A sob escapes my throat. Rebel.
With a pounding heart, I stare at the door. Why isn’t anything happening? Why is it so quiet? The air inside is stuffy, and I haven’t got a clue how long they want us to stay in here. Or if that’s even the plan. I lower my head onto my arm and close my eyes.
In the distance, a loud bang makes me flinch. Is that another container?
Suddenly, more explosions ring… Like someone setting off fireworks. I lift my chin and try to listen.
Fireworks? Or…
I concentrate on the sound instead of my thoughts.
Or like gunshots. My heart races.
Gunshots.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, the women in the container become restless. There’s whispering and some of them start to pray. Could it be…
I squeeze Norah’s hand. “Do you hear that?” I whisper, wiping away a tear.
Her gaze slides to the door, and a few seconds later, her eyes widen. “Are those gunshots?” Fear is written all over her face.
I nod. “I think so. God, I hope so.” Anything’s better than this. Meanwhile, I take Bel’s hand in mine and squeeze it too. “Something’s going on,” I whisper to her. “We need to get up.”
I don’t know why, but something deep inside me tells me it’s important. We were among the last to enter, so we are near the exit. The air was already stale when we got in, but now a faint smell of urine is starting to permeate the air. I push all my thoughts away, except for that one.
Kyler. He’s coming. He has to be. This is my sign. Please let me be right.
I get to my feet and turn toward the door. Norah and Bel follow my example. They stand next to me, and each take one of my hands again.
Behind us, there’s a murmur of voices, sobbing, and prayers. Outside, I can still hear the gunshots and now screams as well.
My heart’s pounding faster and faster, like it’s gonna burst out of my chest. My breathing gets shallow as I listen closely. Fear wraps itself around my heart. My eyes dart across the steel doors. I raise my fist and bang repeatedly on the door. “We’re in here.” Bang, bang. “In here. Please.”
Norah’s gaze slides over me before she focuses on the door. She starts banging on it wildly, too. “Please. We’re in here,” I weakly call out again, but nothing happens.
What’s happening out there? I turn my back to the door and slowly lower myself to the ground.
Just as my ass hits the floor and I rub my face with my sleeve, something hits the side of the container with full force.
Everyone inside gasps or screams at the same time.
There’s more crying and praying. My eyes fix on the spot where the bang came from, and a few seconds later, a smaller bang echoes through the space.
I immediately jump to my feet and start pounding wildly on the doors. “Here. We’re in here. Help us, please.”
Norah does the same, and now Bel also rises and raises her fists.
Then suddenly I hear it. A bang against the front of the container, but not against the doors. As if something is hitting something just in front of the doors. And again. Then another, followed by the sound of scraping metal.
Startled, I take a step back, and then the door suddenly slides open. For a moment, I stand there in a daze, but then I recognize Ash’s face and run outside. Both girls follow me.
“Ash,” I sob. When I’m in front of him, I let go of the girls and throw my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around me.
“Oh my God, Layne.” His grip tightens before he lets me go. “Brooks, Layne’s here.”
My chest tightens painfully at the sound of his name. With a grimace, I turn around.
Frantic blue eyes focus on me. “Jen. I gotta find Jen,” he says and tries to push his way through the crowd of women.
I run to him and grab his forearm. “She’s not there,” I whisper.
He jerks toward me. “Where is she, Layne?” His voice breaks.
My heart sinks. “I’ll tell you when we’re out of here, but she’s not here.”
Brooks shakes my hand off and keeps going. I immediately run after him and grab him again. “Please, Brooks. She’s not here. We got to get out of here. Now.”
“Goddammit, Layne. I need to find her. Leave me the hell alone.” He tries to shake me off again, but this time I’m ready for him and grab him harder.
“Listen to me!” I shout. “She’s not in here. We gotta get out of here. I’ll tell you everything once we’re out of here. I promise. But it’s dangerous to stay here.”
Meanwhile, Norah has rushed over to me. “Layne, we have to get out of here,” she says with a trembling voice, then looks up at Brooks. “Get us out of here.”
“Are you sure?” he growls at me.
“A hundred percent.” I nod, a heavy feeling in my stomach, and head for Asher.
Brooks grabs Norah’s hand and pulls her with him.
As soon as we’re back with Asher, I grab Bel’s hand and we run. Suddenly, a bullet whizzes past us and I cower. Shit!
“Brooks, go,” Ash shouts.
We duck together as more bullets fly toward us, and Brooks aims his gun at the source and fires. Meanwhile, we run to God knows where. I follow Ash blindly.
Suddenly, I bump into his back, and a chill runs through me when I hear a voice. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I cautiously look over Ash’s shoulder and pull Bel close to me. Jesse is standing in front of him with a gun pointed at Ash’s chest, and I squeeze my eyes shut. My breathing quickens and my ears ring. Please, this can’t be happening.
“Running off with the goods like that.” He clicks his tongue disapprovingly.
“Nasty business you’re in,” Ash responds, tilting his head.
Where the fuck is Brooks? I was sure he was with us.
“That’s none of your business, kid.” The tap against the leather jacket is clearly audible, despite everything going on around us. “A Renegade. Didn’t your boss teach you to keep your hands off other people’s property?”
“I could ask you the same thing, asshole.”
“You bark, but you don’t bite.”
Ash growls deep in his chest. “No need.”
Suddenly, a shot rings out and my whole body jerks. I open my eyes to Brooks’ gun against the guy’s temple, just before he collapses with his eyes wide open.
“Run.”
We set off for safety once again. My whole body’s shaking as I put one foot in front of the other and grip Ash’s hand tightly. Please let us get out of here.
“Fuck,” Ash suddenly yells and buckles at the left knee.
“Brooks,” I scream, and he turns to look at us from a few meters away.
A red spot forms on Ash’s jeans, and he presses his hand against it. “Goddamn.”
Brooks appears beside us. “Can you stand on it?”
With a pained expression, he tries and succeeds. “Grazed,” he says in a raspy voice.
“Come on.” Brooks puts his arm around his brother’s shoulders, and Ash puts his around Brooks’s neck. Without hesitation, we continue with Ash hopping between us.
Small cabins sit at the harbor’s edge, where Brooks pushes us behind along with Ash. “Wait here,” he mutters.
“No,” I say resolutely.
I know what he’s planning, but Jen isn’t here. But I can’t tell him here why she isn’t, because he’ll lose it, and it’s not safe here. What if his grief leads him into a situation he can’t escape? Then I’ll be the one who has to tell Brandon that both his parents are dead.
“We’re not waiting here,” I whisper as Brooks turns to me in disbelief. “We have to get out of here. If things go wrong and they catch us… Brooks, we have to get out of here, please.”
His gaze flickers between me and the still-turbulent harbor, a look of torment on his face.
“I swear on everything I am and got that Jen isn’t at the harbor. Please come with me, and I’ll tell you what happened to her. Please, Brooks, not here,” I beg him.