Caged 2 (Caged Series)

by Destiny Hawkins

  “Yeah?” I froze. I had the feeling that he knew something about me. Something that he shouldn’t have known.

  “Good. I’m glad that I hired you. You did well for me. The cleaner should be there in an hour or so, and I’ll see you in a few days.”

  “Coming home so soon?”

  “Well, of course. My wife was almost raped. I have to come back now. Besides, I’ve been gone for a while now. I do believe it’s time for my return.”

  “Oh…right. Well, I’ll see you then.”

  “Yes. See you then Sarah.”

  ***

  Only a few hours went by before the cleaner came. His name was Jack, and he was an older man that clearly lifted weights every day, or bodies. He told us that we didn’t want to see what he was going to do with the body, so we didn’t go anywhere near that room. About an hour later he walked out with nothing but a black garbage bag.

  Marie was happy that she didn’t have to do any cleaning and started cooking dinner for us. She was going to make a big meal in hope that it would make us feel better, but I doubt any one of us would be able to even force it down. I told her that, but she still insisted on cooking.

  Lorena was lying in her bed with her head on my shoulder. She didn’t talk for a long time and I wasn’t going to force her to tell me her feelings, because I knew that she would eventually find the energy to speak.

  “Why don’t I feel good about what I did?” Lorena asked in barely a whisper.

  I took a deep breath. “Because, he was a living breathing person, and you have a conscience.”

  “But, I hated him. I wanted him gone…”

  “You probably would have been more satisfied if he were just in jail. Not hell.”

  Lorena sniffled, “No, I’m happy with him in hell. I just didn’t want to be the one to put him there.”

  “I know,” I rubbed the back of her head. “I’m glad you feel this way. It’s nice to know you’re not as crazy as me.”

  “We really wouldn’t work,” Lorena laughed. “Two of you really wouldn’t work out together.”

  I laughed with her, because I knew that it was true.

  “So what happens now?” Lorena asked.

  “Well, I called Bobby and told him about the flash drive. There were fifty-two names on it and no location. I really don’t know where we go from here, but I do promise that I’ll get you and Alex out.”

  “What did you do with the flash drive?”

  “Put it back where I found it. Roberto can’t think it ended up lost or stolen, because then he’ll suspect me. I wrote down all the names and told Bobby about them. He thinks that if they can get in contact with all the parents then maybe one of them may recall a vehicle. Like a van or something.”

  “That’s dangerous. Some parents are okay with giving their kids away. My dad was.”

  “I know, but it’s all we got right now. When Roberto gets back, then I could go and talk more about it with Bobby. We’re going to make sure that there was no way Roberto could have my phone hacked either.”

  “Good. I can’t have him suspecting you,” Lorena lifted her head and kissed me on the cheek. “Do you think Alex is awake yet?”

  “We can go check,” I said.

  We both got out of bed and went to Alex’s room. When we got to the door, we were surprised to see him eating while watching cartoons, and we just stared at him. Alex stared back for a moment, but then turned back to the TV.

  I thought that he might’ve changed, but he wasn’t. Alex was scarred for life, just like I was, and he would never be able to view things the way that other kids did. Alex has always seen the shitty parts of life, and nothing was going to change that. There was nothing I could do to make him change.

  Chapter 36

  The next few days were uneventful. Marie cooked a large meal every night, Alex and I got back to training, and Lorena was slowly reverting back into her alcoholic ways. It was because Roberto was coming back home, and I knew it. She didn’t want him back, or to go back to her normal life.

  I asked Bobby if I could just take them out of here now that we’ve found something, but he said that the operation would continue. Once they had some information on a vehicle then they would have me searching for it, I guess. I wasn’t really up to the idea, now that I just wanted to get Lorena and Alex away from Roberto. Shit, I wanted to leave myself.

  The day Roberto returned felt like the worst day of my life. When he came into the house I felt like he was trespassing, and then he had the audacity to wrap his arms around Lorena and kiss her.

  If she was good at pretending that she liked kissing him before, she was really bad at it now. Lorena lightly kissed Roberto, and when he pulled her back to him she didn’t look as if she’d missed him at all. When he asked, she just blamed it on the situation with Bruce, and said that she wouldn’t really like to be touched.

  Alex glared at Roberto and Lorena, and then actually looked sorry for me. I’m pretty sure by now he put two and two together about me and Lorena, and didn’t like to see Roberto touching her at all.

  Roberto barely acknowledged me, and when he did it was to tell me that I did well, and I could go home for now. Truthfully, I was happy to go home, but I didn’t want to leave them. Lorena and Roberto would sleep in the same bed together, and he would try to have sex with her. I doubt that if Lorena was actually raped that he would even care about letting her recover.

  I did my best not to react and did as I was told. I let Roberto know that he could call me if he felt the need to and he said that he wouldn’t for the rest of the night. That got under my skin, but I had to control myself.

  I left and jumped straight into the truck with Mark. He looked happy as usual and seemed concerned about why I wasn’t.

  “What’s going on Sarah girl?” Mark asked while looking at me through the rear view mirror.

  “Nothing,” I sighed and turned my head away from the mansion, “Just tired, I guess.”

  “Yeah, me too. It was kind of like a vacation with Roberto being gone.”

  “I agree.”

  Mark drove me back to the apartments, and I slowly exited the car.

  “Come back to get me early alright?” I said through the window.

  “Yes ma’am,” Mark nodded, and then drove off.

  On my way into the apartment I spotted the same guys that stood around there as usual, but tonight they didn’t say anything. It may have been because of the irritated expression on my face, but who cares. All I knew was if they tested me, I was going to pass with an A plus.

  I walked up to Bobby’s door and hesitated to knock. I still had the key, but for some reason I felt as if I had to ask for permission to come back.

  I took a deep breath and lightly knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” Bobby asked on the other side.

  “It’s Sarah!” I said as I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets.

  It was quiet on the other side for a moment and I thought about trying to find a hotel, but then Bobby spoke again.

  “What’s the password?” Bobby asked. I could tell that he was right behind the door now.

  I smiled. “Please?”

  The door swung open and Bobby stood there smirking. “Wrong password, but great manners.” He stepped to the side to let me inside.

  “So what was it then?” I asked as I walked into the apartment.

  Bobby shut the door. “That you’re a crazy asshole,” he laughed as he went to sit back down on the floor.

  I looked around, hoping to see Abigale, but she was nowhere to be found.

  “She’s back out there working. She was only here because she needed to recover for a little while. Girl got her ass whooped,” Bobby chuckled.

  I frowned and took a deep breath. “By who?” I asked.

  “Some guys. They work for Roberto. I guess it was some kind of rivalry and she got caught up in the mix of it.”

  “Fuck,” I shook my head, “but she’s okay now?”

  “
Yeah, your partners fine. She’s a trooper.”

  I nodded. “Well, did she...say anything about me…after…”

  “Nope,” Bobby laughed, “she was just quiet and kept to herself.”

  I nodded again. My body suddenly couldn’t wait to drop down on my mattress. I kind of missed the old thing.

  “I’m going to hit the sheets,” I said.

  “Long day?”

  “Very.”

  “Well, we’ll talk about things in the morning.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll wake you up.”

  I walked down the hall to my bedroom and plopped down on the mattress. My phone was on the floor where I had left it and I couldn’t wait to see something familiar. I found it funny that I was actually excited to see my pictures and contacts. Maybe even a little Facebook scrolling.

  I hooked my phone up to the charger and started to get undressed for bed. My phone flashed on and started ringing off the hook. Notifications from the two weeks that I was away came flying in.

  I laid down on the mattress and picked up my phone. I smiled at all the text messages that I received from Stephanie, then there were two from my Aunt Shannon. A few of them were from Abigale, and then there was only one from Cameron.

  I stared at Cameron’s name for a moment, and then I clicked his name and read the message.

  Be safe.

  That’s all it said. I was hoping for a little more, but I figured that this was enough for now. At least he was still talking to me. I may have lost him as a lover, but I still hoped that we could be friends.

  I text him back. I will.

  I went through all of Stephanie’s crazy messages and laughed. She reminded me of a crazy ex-girlfriend. Most of the messages read ‘where are you?’ ‘Are you safe’, ‘you need to call me,’ And ‘Call me now.’

  My Aunt was just checking up on me and asked how my trip was going. Stephanie must have told her that I was out on vacation or something.

  I finally got to Abigale’s, and her messages were the most recent. She had only sent two. The first one said that she was sorry, and the second one said to call her.

  I hesitated, but then pulled up the caller Id and gave her a call. I actually hoped that she wouldn’t pick up. I mean, her real phone was still at where ever she was staying, and maybe she was still out? Wrong.

  “Rose?” Abigale sounded tired on the other end.

  “Yeah, um. I got your message. You told me to call?” I felt my heart start to race.

  “Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you,” she cleared her throat. “I didn’t like how we left off.”

  “Me neither,” I sighed with relief.

  “You know, you scared me. I really didn’t expect that out of you.”

  “I scared myself. I’m…sorry about that.”

  “Yeah, me too. I pointed my gun at you.”

  “You were just doing what you thought was right. I mean, I pointed mine at Bobby.”

  “But still, you’re like my best friend. Not him.”

  “Yes, there’s your logic. Choose the crazy best friend and not the very sane FBI Agent,” I said sarcastically.

  We both laughed.

  “Whatever,” Abigale said. “It makes a lot of sense to me.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said.

  Our laughing died down and reality came rushing back in.

  “So, how are you doing?” Abigale asked.

  “Fine. Sort of. Roberto is back.”

  “I know. That’s what everyone around here keeps talking about. Rose, from what I’m hearing about, that guy is brutal. We need to take him out.”

  I sighed, “We will.”

  “I can’t wait. This undercover shit is not for me. I’m ready to go.”

  “Me too. Hey look, I gotta get to sleep, but I’ll talk to you when I can. Call you back tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, same time. I’ll be by the phone.”

  “Great. Good night Ride-or-die.”

  Abigale chuckled, “Good night Rosy.”

  We hung up the phone, and I could finally sleep in peace.

  ***

  The next morning I went to Bobby like I said that I would. He was already awake and on a phone call with someone that was obviously important. I never heard him use yes and sir with anyone since I’ve been working with him.

  Bobby motioned for me to come and sit down next to him, and when I did, he moved his laptop onto my lap. A white van with no windows was displayed on the screen, and a familiar face was standing outside the van while talking on the phone. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and my mouth slowly began to drop.

  Mark was the man standing outside the truck. He still looked as innocent as ever, and I couldn’t believe that he was the one who did the kidnappings.

  Bobby hung up his phone. “Does he look familiar or something?” he asked.

  I slowly nodded my head, “He’s my driver.”

  “Yeah, well your driver drives this van. We didn’t get a shot on the plates, but this is it. When you see this van, I need you to let us know. Text, call, whatever, and tell us where it’s at and where it’s going.”

  “Has Abigale seen this too?”

  “Yeah. I sent the other agent the same email. This van will lead us to those kids.”

  “How’d you guys get a picture of this?”

  “Well, I gave the names to my superiors and they contacted the parents that filed for missing persons. Once there was some kind of idea of what the van looked like we started searching for it around the New York area. They took a photo and then followed the van, but that man is a damn good driver, and the plates they did get weren’t legit.”

  “Damn, we’re so close,” I sighed.

  “Hell yeah, so stay alert. One phone call will send the whole s.w.a.t team in. They’re just waiting.”

  I nodded, feeling more pressure than ever. “Understood. But one more thing?”

  “Yeah?”

  “My phone. Can Roberto-“

  “I already checked with the guys. Roberto can’t listen to your phone calls to me, but he can look up and see what text messages you sent, and your call log.”

  “OK, cool.”

  “Good job on the acting though. Asking me if I’ve heard from the kids? That was good.”

  “I guess I’m getting better at this undercover thing.”

  “Yeah, whatever you say.”

  My phone rang and I saw that it was Mark calling in. The guy that does all the kidnapping.

  “I got to go,” I stood up.

  “Remember, just one call Rose.”

  “I have you on speed dial!” I said before leaving the apartment. If I knew what was going to happen tonight, I would have hugged him and told him how glad I was that he picked me for the operation. I should have said goodbye, but that’s usually what you say when you know you’ll never see someone again, and that… I didn’t know.

  Chapter 37

  I didn’t talk to Mark the whole ride, and surprisingly, he didn’t talk to me either. Every now and then he’d look through his rear view mirror with sad eyes, but that was it.

  I just couldn’t understand how such an innocent looking young man could be a fucking kidnapper. I mean, he seemed like the only person with a good head on his shoulders around here, besides Marie, and yet he kidnapped children for illegal fighting. Maybe he was being forced? Mark couldn’t have been happy to do this kind of job, and he couldn’t back out of it either. Roberto wouldn’t allow it. I wanted to just ask what was going on with him, but I didn’t want to bring up something that I wasn’t even supposed to know about.

  Mark pulled up to the mansion and looked through the rear view mirror at me. “Here we are,” he sighed.

  I just nodded and opened the door, but before I stepped out he turned around and looked back at me with worried eyes.

  “Do you have your gun on you?” Mark asked.

  I frowned, “Yeah. Why?”

  “Just…Keep it loaded- and don’t tell Roberto that I’m telling you
this. Just keep that thing loaded.”

  I clenched my teeth and was afraid to turn around and face the house. Roberto knew something. I don’t know how or what exactly he knew, but he knew something.

  “Alright. I will,” I said.

  Mark nodded and waited for me to shut the door. He didn’t pull off as usual, which confused me, but I just shrugged and turned around. I had to act as normal as possible before I went inside. Roberto might have just learned about how Bruce died at Lorena’s hands and didn’t think that he could trust me anymore. I don’t know. All I knew was that something was about to happen, and I needed to keep my guard up.

  I walked into the mansion and went straight to Roberto’s office. I was happy that his army of men weren’t here, because I couldn’t fight through them all.

  Roberto was behind his desk, as I expected, and a sudden fear poured over me that he knew we went through his computer. I could feel a difference with him, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I just knew it wasn’t good.

  “Sarah, you made it!” He said unenthusiastically.

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  Roberto continued typing on his computer and then looked up at me with a smile, “Well, are you going to come inside?”

  “Y-yeah,” I said, stepping into the office.

  “So, how are you? You seem a little off,” Roberto asked as he folded his hands under his chin.

  “I’m fine,” I answered. I really felt like running away, but I doubted that my legs would even let me.

  “You don’t look fine. Bad sleep?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” I sighed. “So, is there anything you need me to do today?”

  “Well, yes actually, but that will be a little later, so you can relax for now.”

  “Okay,” I almost sighed with relief, “but, what will you be needing me for?”

  “Work, obviously. I need you to go on a ride with me on business. My boys caught someone from the other side, and are holding her at one of my warehouses, so we’ll just be taking a trip there.”

  “Oh, um can I ask what they have her for?”

  “Well, I heard about the little break in at my house the other night. I’m glad you took care of that, but I would have been happier if you told me about it. Anyways, she’s just going to give me the names of the men.”