by Nikki Rose
“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 team 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 amateur 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.
“Chris. Stop. You’re going to blow us all up.” Hunter grabbed me and shook until I snapped out of it.
I found Mason and called out to him. “Contact the heli, tell them we need another thermal scan of the surrounding area. Get me another location. And get these guys in custody.”
I stormed back upstairs and out of the house. Caroline had to be around here somewhere. I pushed passed the teams of men leaving the house, ready to punch anyone who got in my way. She has to be here somewhere. This has to be the right spot.
I made it down the front porch steps and Hunter came running after me. “Chris. Chris, stop. Wait.”
“What?”
“They think they found them. Thermal picked up a heat signature at a big farm house nearby. Locals went to check it out and found three cars hidden in an old barn outside.”
“Have they breached the house yet?”
“They are waiting on us.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” We ran for the car and jumped inside.
While we drove, I checked the live stream again. Caroline was dressed again, bound and sitting in an old metal chair but the rope was still around her neck. She was okay for now and knowing that allowed me to relax enough that I was able to let out a small sigh. The ticker under her image showed the auction only had another fifteen minutes before it would conclude and they would have their winner.
I kept my eyes focused on the screen the whole drive, watching over Caroline even if I was too far away to do anything for her. We had only been on the road for about ten minutes but it felt like hours as the minutes of the auction tick away.
“How far out are we?”
“About four minutes.” The driver, I hadn’t even taken the time to learn his name, answered.
“Perfect. The auction will be ending in five then they will be moving her.”
We barely slowed down as we rounded a blind curve in the mountain road. Just as we rounded the corner, the road disappeared in front of us. The driver slammed on breaks as the car’s tires screamed. The back end of the car fishtailed coming within a foot of toppling over the edge.
The bridge was out. Not just out, but destroyed. A quick glance down into the ravine showed rubble and broken asphalt crumbled below.
“Shit.” Hunter muttered from the backseat.
“Everyone okay?”
“Yeah, but what the hell? How are we going to get across this?”
“I’m looking up alternative routes but the only one I can find adds an e
xtra forty-five minutes.” Mason punched the buttons on his phone.
Hunter pulled out his phone and dialed the team behind us. “Hey. Slow down around the sharp turn coming up. Yeah, the bridge is out. We are looking up alts now.”
I got out of the car to see if there was a way around through the woods but everything dropped off into the ravine on either side. It would take longer than the forty-five minutes to drive the new route.
“The auction is going to be over in one minute.”
“It will take a little time before they move her, though. Just keep an eye on the live stream.”
I headed back for the truck. Mason was crouched down near the edge of what used to be a bridge examining a piece of the rubble.
“Hey Mason, let's get a move on.”
“The bridge didn't collapse. It was blown up.”
“What?”
Mason climbed in the car and continued to explain. “I found evidence of an explosion. Looks like they used C4.”
“Shit. So, they took counter measures. How do we know they didn't do the same on the other route?”
“I'm calling to get our eyes in the sky to see if they can tell it's clear.”
“Good thinking.”
The driver turned us around with precision moves and we were soon back on track.
My eyes never left Caroline on the screen. The bidding stopped and the winner’s screen name flashed at the bottom of the screen. Seventy-five thousand dollars. That’s how much the love of my life was sold for.
I froze when I looked down at the screen again. A man with his face covered, pulled Caroline up by her bicep and dragged her closer to the camera so that her face was the only thing in the frame.
“Say goodbye to your father, little otrod'ye. Your new owner awaits.”
The pained look on Caroline’s face was the worst thing I’d ever experienced in my life. Worse than any torture I’d ever endured. She opened her mouth to speak and her raspy voice cracked while she fought back her tears. “I know you did the best you could. I love you, dad and if you are out there, I love you, Chris. I know I didn’t—” Her voice gave out as a sob tore from her voice and the Russian pulled her away.
“Enjoy living the rest of your life knowing she is out there somewhere, but you can’t save her. Just like I couldn’t save my son when you shot him down.”
With that, the feed went dead. Shock gave way to panic and I looked up toward the guys getting in their car. “They’re moving her. We need to get to them. Now.”
CHAPTER 28
Caroline
Petrov waltzed down the rickety basement stairs like he was the king descending the palace steps. “Congratulations, little otrod'ye. You have a new owner.”
“What?”
“The bidding is done. Your owner has transferred the money into my account and has arranged for transport for you.”
“Transport?” I fought my bonds but it was no use.
“Yes. You are a lucky girl. Your new owner is actually an old acquaintance of mine from back in Russia. You will be delivered to him as soon as we can get you on the plane.”
“No, no. Please? You can’t do this. You’ve gotten your revenge. You’ve put me through hell, my father has suffered having to watch all this. Please, I just want to go home.”
“You will be going to your new home. There is a cargo plane waiting for you to arrive.”
Petrov nodded to Lev and Misha. They untied me from the chair, lifting me up by both arms. I struggled but they bound my wrists in front of me. If there was ever a time to fight it was then. I thrashed around, kicking, and using my core to jerk my shoulders out of their hands. Their grips slipped and I darted toward the stairs but Petrov grabbed me by my hair.
I stumbled back, gripping his hand in my hair with my bound hands. The position felt very familiar and a flash of my training with Chris came to mind. I’d practiced so many times, my body knew what to do even though through my panic, my brain hadn’t caught up. I pinched my elbows together in front of my head to protect my face and twisted around behind Petrov until it forced his hand to release my hair. I shoved his arm up until I felt a thud and he yelled out a string of Russian words I didn’t know but could tell had to be cuss words as his shoulder popped out of socket.
I released his arm and tried to run again but by this time the other two were back. Misha threw me to the concrete. His heavy boot struck me just under my ribs, knocking the breath from my lungs. I gasped for breath and curled into a ball to protect myself from another blow that came just as hard and just as fast.
He struck me in my side and I cried out again as blinding pain shot through me and my body flung to my other side.
Lev joined in, each of them taking turns kicking me and hitting me. They paused at one point and I tried to crawl away. Misha’s fist came down on the side of my head with such force that my vision blurred and darkness crept in from the outer edges of my vision. The room spun and I felt weightless for a moment before colliding with cold concrete. I couldn’t move, couldn’t shield myself as I felt my mind drifting off.
I could vaguely hear a new strong and commanding voice, “What are you doing? Stop.” Finally. Help.
I was somewhat aware of the man coming close to me. He crouched down, brushing a strand of damp hair from my tear-soaked cheeks.
“There, there. You’re alright now. Let me get you up.” His voice was soft and soothing. I barely managed to open my eyes to see the handsome man dressed in his charcoal gray suit with black shirt and tie. But my eyelids felt too heavy to stay open for long.
He wrapped his arms around me and I winced as he cradled me against his chest. “Now, come. Let’s get you out of here.”
We were making our way toward the stairs when darkness finally closed in on my vision and unconsciousness consumed me.
I woke up in the backseat of a luxury sedan. The man in the gray suit was driving and another man I didn’t recognize sat in the passenger seat. I didn’t know who he was, but he had stopped Lev and Misha from hurting me more so he had to be a better alternative.
I struggled to sit up in the soft leather seat. My body ached and the motion was made more challenging with my bound wrists. “Thank you, for saving me.” I croaked out. My voice was raspy in my scratchy throat.
“I was only acting to protect my boss’s investment.”
“Investment?”
“He sent me to retrieve you and see that you are delivered to him. Unharmed.” The man emphasized the last word by glaring at the man beside him.
A chill ran up my spine and a sickening feeling settled into my stomach as my suspicions came to light.
“Who is your boss?”
“I do not know what he will wish for you to call him yet so for now just know him as your new owner.”
“Owner? You're not here to save me?” I sat up straighter, the grogginess from before was replaced by sheer panic. “But, you're not even Russian.”
“An American couple traveling to Russia is less conspicuous than a Russian taking an American girl.”
I swallowed hard and fought back the urge to fight again. I was outnumbered and in a confined space. My chances weren't good. I had to be smart about this. No more acting irrationally. Once I got on that plane and was out of the country, my chances would drop dramatically of ever making it home.
The man taking me away had put himself in the role of my protector when he stopped Lev and Misha from beating me. I could use that to my advantage. If I treated him like a protector, he won’t see me as a threat and should let his guard down. Just like Chris had taught me but, I’d need to pick the right moment.
If he was taking me to a cargo plane then there would have to be other people around there. They would be on his side and I would be outnumbered again. I didn’t need to do it too soon when Petrov was so close or the Russians could catch me. The trip to the hanger would be the best opportunity when there would be the least amount of opposition.
“What can I call you?
”
“Patrick. And this is Oleg, one of Petrov’s men who offered to escort us to the hanger.”
“Okay, Patrick. Could you...could you tell me about the man who bought me?” I spoke as timidly as I could manage. He just glanced up at me in the rear-view mirror, so I kept talking. “Is he...kind? Like you?”
He nodded but remained quiet.
After a few more minutes on the road, he pulled out his cell phone and hit send.
“Sir. I’ve got the girl and we are on our way to the hanger. ETA in roughly ten minutes. Oh yes, they were very hospitable. Petrov sent along one of his men to escort us to the hanger...no, sir...Of course. See you soon.”
I wouldn’t have long. I needed to make my escape within the next few minutes. Jumping from a moving car wouldn’t be easy, especially with my hands still bound but it was the best option I had. I needed to wait for just the right moment. I looked out the window, studying the road ahead. I had to get out. I reached my bound hands over and grabbed hold of the handle but when I pulled it, nothing happened. Child safety locks. They wouldn’t let the back doors open while the car was in drive. Damn it. I had to do something. Panic sent my heart racing. I was out of ideas and out of hope. I yanked on the door, leaning to the side and kicking at it with my feet.
“Hey, what are you doing back there? Stop. You're going to hurt yourself.”
He sped up and before I could do any real damage to myself or the car, he pulled over onto a gravel drive.
The minute he opened the door, I pounced, knocking him to the ground with a shoulder to his midsection. I fumbled for a moment but got back up. I ran down the gravel drive back toward the road to hopefully find some help.
Behind me in the distance, Patrick was frantically talking to someone on the phone, running with Oleg just ahead of him. “She's gotten out of the car...running down the drive toward the road.”
Just before I got to the road, a black sedan turned in, heading straight toward me. I panicked, ready to dive off into the woods when I recognized the passenger in the car. Chris.
The car stopped and he jumped out before the driver could even turn off the ignition.