Blurring the Line (The Line Series Book 2)

by Nikki Rose

  “Our analysts —.”

  “Couldn’t find out the information on the hackers who broke into their secure network. And, now the men who have your daughter are just waiting for you to give them a reason to kill her over the live stream. They want to make you suffer. What better way than to have you watch as they kill Caroline for a call you made? Do you really want to be the reason your daughter dies?”

  “It’s our only chance to find her.” His voice broke and all his strength was zapped from his tone.

  “Sir, I promise you I will find her but you have got to call off the analysts. If they get any hint that someone is poking around their network they said they would kill her and keep the stream going so you can watch. I won’t let that happen. We are on their trail now.”

  “Okay, I’ll send them the order now. And Chris?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Bring her home.”

  “Yes, sir.” I hung up the phone and passed it back to Hunter who was smiling at me with a knowing grin. “What?”

  “You love her.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re in love with Caroline.” And, damn it, he was right.

  We didn’t have to walk much farther before coming to a clearing in the woods where the footprints ended and tire tracks began.

  Mason pulled out his phone and called the other part of our team waiting on instructions. “We’ve got tire tracks leading out of the other side of the woods...yeah, get that bird in the sky. Look for two...make that three vehicles and send us transport out of here. Roger that.”

  While we waited, I stepped away from the others, took out my phone and made a call to our head of tech.

  “You've reached Mikey.”

  “Hey, Mikey I just wanted to double check that you got an order from the boss man to stop trying to snoop on the Russian’s live feed?”

  “Yeah, we pulled the plug on that just before you called. “

  “Good. The last thing we want is for Caroline to get hurt because they catch one of your guys. Did you find out anything that might be able to help us find her?”

  “No, unfortunately I never made it far into their network.”

  “I think we need to work on a plan B...”

  Chapter 26

  “Hello there beauty. This couldn’t be more perfect. You are going to make us a pretty penny all the while getting the retribution we are owed by your father.” Petrov was wearing a mask for the camera so no one could see his face as he crouched down next to me and cupped my chin.

  I turned my face away from his grasp but he grabbed me rougher the next time. His voice growing lower and more menacing as he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “Sixty-thousand dollars. That’s what your going for right now. Can you imagine what a man will want to do to you to get sixty-thousand dollars worth? Let’s see if we can’t get them to bid a little higher still, hm? Maybe if we show them a little more of the goods.” He turned to speak to the camera for that last part.

  I tried not to react. I didn’t want him to know he was getting to me but I couldn’t control the panic coursing through my body. He took out a long knife from its sheath on his side and lightly drug it down my neck, turning the blade so that it never cut but so that I could feel the cold steel against my overheated skin. I trembled but fought to be as still as possible, not wanting him to cut me.

  He drug the back of the blade down my collar bone and between my cleavage where he hooked the blade around and slowly cut away the fabric of my black cotton tee until it hung open, exposing my soft pink, lace bra.

  “Beautiful, da?” He spoke again to the camera. All I could do was turn my face away in shame, knowing all those sickos were watching me.

  He reached back and fisted a handful of my hair, forcing me to face the camera. “Tell the nice men out there to bid for you. Tell them you can’t wait to meet your new owner and if they want that to be them, they’ll keep bidding.”

  I refused to say the words — not so much refused as was unable to even get those words to come out of my mouth. “Say it.” He barked and pulled my hair harder. I cried out and when I tried to say the words, they nearly choked me.

  “You stubborn suka.” He released my hair with a hard thrust, making my head sling forward and my arms pull on the bindings. The chair rocked on its front legs and I feared I would tumble over but it rocked back and he grabbed hold of the back of the chair before it flipped over. The sudden stop jolted me and my heart pounded even harder against my chest bone. Petrov rounded the chair so that the left side of his back was to the camera. He drew his hand back, and I cringed as he brought it down hard against my face. Once then again on the other side making my face sling from one side to the other.

  I sobbed ugly tears as the taste of blood filled my mouth. Once he walked away, I spit toward the ground, leaving a small red splatter. I wanted so badly to tell my dad and the others where I was, describe the house or give some clue to help them. But, Petrov was monitoring the video feed the whole time. It was on a ten minute delay which meant he could stop the message from going out before it went. Even if it did make it to them, not only would he be ready for them, he’d kill me long before they could ever get here.

  I glanced over at the screen Petrov had the men set up just for me to watch the bidding. One man always sat just off screen with me but they thought it was fun for me to watch men bidding, determining what my value might be. Misha was on duty, watching me while Petrov went back upstairs.

  He made me more nervous than the rest. From what I could tell, he was the loose cannon of the bunch. There was a fury in him bubbling just below the surface and I didn’t want to make him have any reason to release that on me. I made a point to be as still and quiet as I could be. Hoping he’d leave me alone or even better, doze off. But, he didn’t.

  “I’m bored.” His words were out of the blue and I tensed. “I bet our viewers are getting bored too. Their bidding has stalled at only sixty thousand dollars. Maybe you are not as desirable as the boss thinks?”

  I didn’t respond. He was baiting me. Trying to get a response out of me so he’d have a reason to do something about it. Misha stood and stalked over to me, keeping his face away from the camera. He walked behind me and I had to twist to get a glimpse of him tying something to one of the exposed metal beams overhead.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making things a little more interesting.”

  I had no idea what that meant, but fear rose up inside my chest and throat, nearly suffocating me. He cut my hands loose and resecured them in front of me before cutting my legs free from the chair.

  “What’s going on? What are you doing?” I flailed around, trying to make it harder for him to control me but he gripped me hard by the shoulders and forced me to stand.

  He kicked the chair out of the way, backing me up to where a rope hung down from the ceiling. Panic kicked up another notch as he lifted my bound wrists and secured the zip tie to the rope, leaving me standing on my tiptoes to keep from hurting my wrists.

  “Why don’t you dance for your audience? Let your future owner see what his money is paying for.”

  I stood there glaring at him, not moving and not responding. If he thought I was going to make his life easy, be a good little girl and do as I was told, be was poorly mistaken. He should have asked Chris about my ability to follow directions.

  The memory of Chris brought a bittersweet smile to my lips. I prayed that he had survived the blast. If we both made it out of this alive, I'd say to hell with worrying about what Chris might say if I told him how I really felt about him. I wouldn’t be so concerned about whether he would reject me or not. Life was too short not to say how you feel to those you love. Love. It was a strange realization but yes, I loved Chris.

  “I said dance, bludnitsa.”

  He lunged over to me, wrapping one arm around my waist and the other held a knife to my throat. I froze, not fighting, barely breathing.

  “Goo
d, it seems I have your attention. Now, dance.”

  He ground his semi hard shaft against my ass, moving my hips to mimic a seductive dance. “That's right. Like that. Now, put on a show for all of us.”

  He motioned again toward the camera and walked away from me. I barely moved my hips. Slightly swaying with my hands still bound above my head.

  Misha grabbed hold of the other end of the rope which hung out of the cameras view and pulled, shortening my end of the rope and painfully lifting me off the ground by the zip ties which bit into my wrists.

  I cried out and flung my feet, hoping to find some footing but he kept me just out of reach of the floor. “Please, please put me down.”

  He dropped me down so fast, I fell to my knees and he sat in his metal chair. “Now, do as you are told and dance for all the men watching you.”

  I forced myself up from the ground and found my footing easier with the slack in the rope. I swayed my hips with a little more effort even though I was incredibly self conscious. I didn't want him pulling the rope again.

  “Take off your clothes.”

  “What? No!” I scoffed at him in disgust.

  “Need a little motivation?” I tensed, readying myself for him to pull my wrists up again but he didn't.

  “Now, strip for the camera.”

  “Go to hell.”

  I braced again, sure he would be pulling me up again but he didn't, instead, he stalked over to me and untied the rope from my bound hands. I hoped that maybe he was getting bored and would let me go back to just sitting in the chair but I was very wrong.

  Misha wrapped the rope around my neck. I thrashed and fought with every ounce of energy I had left and then some but it was no use. He was too strong and I was still bound by the wrists.

  He slid the knot so that it fit snug around my neck, keeping the other end in his hand, then cut my wrists free.

  “Strip.” He commanded but I still stood still. He wouldn't kill me. Not without Pertrov’s permission and he'd never give his permission so easily.

  He tugged his end of the rope hard and the loop around my neck tightened. He pulled until my tiptoes could no longer touch the floor and all my weight swung from the rope at my throat.

  I forced a small breath through my restricted airways but just managed to make a horrible rasping sound. As my air ran out, I flailed helplessly in the air. My nails dug at the rope with no luck. Darkness encircled my vision, closing in slowly until finally I was falling fast, my legs crashing against the unforgiving concrete.

  On my hands and knees, I gasped for air, sucking painful breaths back into my lungs.

  “On your feet.” Misha’s harsh voice cut through the haze but my mind wasn't connecting to the rest of my body. “I said on your feet, shlyukha.” He slightly tugged at the rope and panic shot enough adrenaline into my veins that I was able to find the strength to stand up again. Just in time for his next command.

  “Strip.”

  I hesitated for a moment, but one glance at that rope in his hands and I knew what I had to do. I slowly peeled my shirt off my shoulders and let it flutter to the floor.

  When Lev came to relieve Misha of his post, I was grateful that he let me put my clothes back on, although, he made me keep the rope tied around my neck while sitting once again in the metal chair in front of the camera. It was still better than what I'd been through with Misha.

  “You are lucky the buyers are watching your every move otherwise I am sure Misha would have taken it upon himself to take a small sample of the goods before they were sold,” his gaze roamed over my body as he spoke about me like I was a piece of merchandise. Then again, I suppose to those men, I was.

  Chapter 27

  We could hear the black government issued SUV rumble over the dirt path well before we could actually see it. I took the front passenger seat while Hunter and Mason climbed in the back.

  “The bird picked up some thermal activity in an abandoned farm house not too far from here. Mikey said the records show the property to be owned by some redevelopment company no one has ever heard of. Looks like a front.”

  “That’s gotta be where they are holed up with Caroline. Step on it.”

  We raced down the highway without using our police lights or sirens. We didn’t want to give the Russians any notice we were coming and risk them rushing to their end game early. Hunter and Mason were speaking in low voices in the back. I glanced back and noticed their grave expressions.

  “What’s going on?” They looked at each other without saying a word and my temper flared. “Tell me.”

  “There’s...something you should see.” Mason answered and glanced at Hunter.

  “Just keep in mind. We are on our way to her now. We can’t get there any faster than we are now, so losing your shit is not going to help.”

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and swiped the screen to open the live stream and my heart stopped. Caroline flailed her arms and legs hanging from a rope tied around her neck as her face turned red. Her large doe eyes seemed bigger than usual nearly bugged out from her head. I gripped my phone so hard I was surprised it didn’t crack under the pressure as heat flooded my neck and face.

  “What the fuck? Get me there. Now.” I roared at the driver and he pressed down on the gas again, swerving through traffic to avoid hitting the car in front of us. “They are hanging her.”

  “He was trying to get her to dance. It's a scare tactic. I don’t think he’s actually going to kill her.” Mason was trying to help but he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand what it was like to look at the woman you love, suffering and not be able to do anything about it. I glared back at him and he was smart enough to stop talking.

  “Just get me there. Get me to Caroline.”

  I kept my eyes darting between the screen and the road. The rope loosened and she crashed to the ground which made me jump in my seat. It felt as though someone had reached into my chest and ripped my heart from my body. I squeezed the phone in my hand until my knuckles turned white. Helplessly sitting there behind a screen while she needed my help on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. I needed to be there. I needed to take her pain away.

  She got back to her feet. I couldn’t hear what was being said because the volume was turned down but she started swaying her hips from side to side timidly. My chest ached and a sick feeling twisted in the pit of my stomach when she shrugged her torn shirt off her shoulders and let it fall to the concrete floor. She reached for her jean shorts and began unbuttoning them. Blood roared in my ears making it sound like we were underwater and I had to look away.

  “What the hell is taking so long?”

  “We’re here.” The driver turned off the main road and down a long dirt drive which led to a farmhouse that had seen better days. Local police were already there, staying out of sight until our people could secure the premises.

  The Director approached the car and another of our guys handed out vests, ear pieces and extra guns. “We’re ready to breech. Thermal shows roughly five individuals inside.”

  “We need to do a soft entry since we don’t know where the girl is.” One of the armed guys mentioned.

  “Yes we do. Look.” I pulled up a still from earlier in the live feed of Caroline and zoomed in to the background. “Look here. Concrete walls and concrete floor, no windows. She’s got to be in a basement or bunker. We need to enter in stealth mode and take out as many men as we can quietly until we have eyes on her. We don’t want them killing her because we gave them a heads up.”

  “Good thinking, Chris.” Director Applegate put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a small smile. “Thank you for looking out for my little girl.”

  “We’ll get her out of this. There is no other option in my mind.”

  He nodded and I caught a glimpse of unshed tears glistening in his eyes. I knew how he felt.

  “Let’s do this.” Hunter broke the heavy moment and we broke off from the group to surround the house.

  Hunter’s tea
m went to the back door that would enter through the kitchen while my team approached the front. We stuck close to the bushes for cover until we reached the porch steps. The rickety front porch looked like it could give in at any moment. We chose our steps carefully. Mason peeked through the living room window and motioned that we were clear to breech.

  One of my men easily picked the lock and opened the door for us to storm in. We cleared the first level of the house and met Hunter’s team in the kitchen. I motioned for him to clear the upstairs while we took the basement. I hadn’t checked the live feed since we’d arrived and feared what scene I might be walking into. Being so close, all I could think about was getting to Caroline, the rest we’d deal with later.

  The basement door was unlocked and we filed down the steps with as little noise as possible to not give too much warning. I heard a man speaking to someone just before I emerged from the shadows of the stairs.

  Shock froze me in place from the sight before me.

  Mason came up behind me and peered over my shoulder. “What the hell?”

  The entire basement was a makeshift chem-lab and five guys in their mid-twenties stared back at us with wide eyes as we stormed into what I’d concluded to be an amature meth lab and with no sign of Caroline.

  The men held up their hands in surrender which was smart considering they had no way to get out without fighting through a group of armed operatives.

  “Where’s the girl? Where’s Caroline.” I yelled at the men as I walked toward them.

  A hand landed firm on my shoulder and I turned to see Hunter standing there with his team. “We cleared the whole house. She’s not here.”

  “No. She has to be here.” I shrugged his hand off my shoulder.

  “Chris. We got the wrong house. We need to keep looking.”

  “No. She has to be here. I have to get to Caroline.” My vision blurred and I swung the butt of my gun, knocking over beakers and test tubes.