Chapter 34
Kate went to great lengths to fall asleep, her body curled up in the corner of the cell. The concrete floor was like a bed of ice, and she tossed and turned for hours. Fears and worries raced through her mind, eradicating the peace she longed to find, if only long enough to get a bit of sleep.
The next day was busy in the most secluded way. A man named Derrick brought Kate a bowl of vegetables, which she scoffed at. As soon as he left the room, she scarfed down the corn and beans mixture, leaving a clean bowl. Not even the juice at the bottom was spared.
Derrick was soft-spoken and carried himself as a man doing a job—one he did not consider good or evil, just one that needed doing. Still, the act sent her emotions traveling back to a time when she was locked away and brought various slop for sustenance. Kate felt like a pig eating from a trough.
When another of Luke’s guards, Travis, escorted Kate to the bathroom, they passed by a group of men at the warehouse entrance.
She recognized Luke, and possibly Derrick, though it was difficult to discern one man from the other.
Besides Luke, each guard wore something to mask their faces.
From ski masks to tactical masks, every man hid their identity.
Kate’s time spent with Travis was short—a quick trip to the locker room where toilet stalls stood beyond the showers. Yet, the way he smirked at her and devoured her with his eyes made her uneasy.
Travis returned Kate to her prison, and she was once again cold and alone. Every interaction with the guards sent Kate’s stomach into queasy cartwheels. She observed them, picking apart every word and every gesture.
With Kate clean, fed, and toileted, the rest of the day was spent listening to cell doors open and close, grasping at bits of conversation among the men, and hearing the shuffling of captives in other rooms. By pressing her ear to the door, Kate heard mentions of someone named Margot and an exchange that was to take place.
Luke reminded the guards that the prisoners were to remain unharmed, lest Margot deem them worthless.
When footsteps resounded in the hall, Kate scurried to the corner. Derrick appeared with dinner. As had become the habit, she waited for him to leave before eating every bite.
Two days went by this way. The same routine: eating, showering, toileting, and poor attempts at sleep.
The next evening, Travis collected Kate for a bathroom break.
On their walk back to the cell, several of the guards working the warehouse were chatting about new equipment one of the men had come to possess.
Kate focused on their words, unable to hear the conversation entirely. What she did hear ripped her apart.
The man from the forest, the one who held a gun to Nick’s head just before Kate dashed into the woods, was showing off all the gear he had stripped from Nick’s body.
The thief even claimed that he was able to acquire items that Nick had stashed nearby.
Had Nick been forced to take him to the hospital where the cache of tactical items was stored?
When Travis and Kate arrived at the end of the hall where the guards stood, Luke’s attention sprang to the pair.
“Travis, I need your help with something. Let Alex take over.”
Alex nodded at the men, then turned his gaze toward Kate.
Though she could not see his eyes, his helmet turned in her direction, and she was sure he was staring at her.
He was the only guard she was unfamiliar with.
This was the man who had taken Nick’s things.
That helmet. Those clothes. The rifle slung around his back.
“Let’s go.” Alex’s voice emerged from the mask, distorted from something inside that modified it to sound deeper and mechanical. Kate sighed, and her eyes narrowed as she kept them focused on each man in the room. Alex clapped a hand on her shoulder to spin her around, and she shrugged it away.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” Kate snarled. Alex paused for a moment as if stifling impatience.
“Walk.” Alex gestured down the hall, and Kate moved her feet in that direction. The other men snickered as Alex and Kate walked away.
Kate trudged down the hallway, trying to sneak glances into the other offices as she walked. The windows had no visibility between the metal bars and a black film plastered across them.
“Go,” Alex urged as they arrived at the last room, Kate’s room. She anticipated a shove or a push. Alex only stood behind her, waiting. Kate took a deep breath and entered the room.
“Against the wall,” Alex demanded. Kate’s breath quickened, and she stared the man down, searching his body for any hint of ill motives. Alex’s body, covered in tactical gear from head to toe, gave nothing away. She turned and faced the wall as he slid the metal cuffs around her ankles.
Once the shackles were secured and Kate posed no threat of escaping, Alex began to exit the room.
With her fists clenched into tight balls, Kate stalked toward him.
The chain pulled taut as it extended its reach inches from the door.
Before Alex could leave, Kate took in a deep breath and fought the tears that had started to form in her eyes.
“Hey!” Kate called after him. He paused, his back still facing her. “What did you do to him?”
Alex proceeded to leave the room, closing the door and bolting the lock.
“Motherfucker,” Kate said under her breath. Moments oozed by as she stood statuesque and fixated on the door. Though her environment remained cold and still, the walls edged in until they were crushing her. The chain around Kate’s ankle tugged her down into the cement, binding her to this place.
Kate took to pacing the floors. Back and forth. Left to right. The bottoms of her feet collected dirt and began to ache while her mind zipped through anxious what-ifs and should-haves.
If only Connor could see her now. His dirty smirk stained her mind, and the thought of him made her sick. The saccharine taste of freedom had danced and lingered on her tongue only to sour. Kate had wagered a brutal battle against her captor, and it all felt worthless.