“You’re wrong,” the old man said gathering steam. “This is an aberration. Your neglect has driven her to drugs.”
Seth let out the first laugh in what seemed like a lifetime. “You are out of your mind. She’s been doing drugs for half her life. She was probably fucking Rick Vargas before you put her on lock-down. You have no idea the piece of work you raised. I’m done. If you want me to stay, you damn well better pray I find something in Leslie Gordon’s inventory that meets my needs, otherwise I’m gone. Now get out of here, because I’m holding on by a thread.”
Seth watched as Tomas Benitez gave him a dazed look. “You’re wrong she’s a good girl, she would never betray her marriage vows.”
“My God man, how could you be so blind?”
“I know my little girl, she would never do what you are saying.”
“Believe what you need to believe, but I’m telling you, get the hell out of here. If you don’t leave, then I will. And if I leave, it’ll be for good.” Seth knew this man down to the bone, if he hadn’t he would never have made the threat, he wouldn’t have put his plan at risk.
“This is a sin. You will go to hell for this.”
“I’ve been in hell,” Seth said tiredly. He watched as the old man wilted in defeat. He opened his mouth as if to say one more thing, and then shut it. He pushed himself out of the chair and slowly made his way out of the room.
****
Sarah couldn’t remember a time she had felt so scared. She begged Shilah to take Nell to the hospital, but the woman was adamant the baby couldn’t be cared for by modern medicine. Deep down, Sarah agreed, and that’s why she was so scared. Finally she had relented.
“We have to get her to a hospital now, please, you know it’s the right thing to do,” Riley begged her. Sarah looked at him, and then at the other four people in the room. Nico, Noah and Shilah were all looking at Riley with an expression she was sure mirrored her own.
“T has something to do with her being found. I couldn’t feel anything wrong with her before when she was screaming. With Noah and Nico amplifying my touch I definitely felt her, she’s elsewhere. It’s the only way I can explain it.”
“Look at her, she’s so still you can hardly see her breathing. She needs to be on a respirator or something. She’s not going to make it.” Riley’s voice was clogged with tears. Sarah reached for the man, and hugged him. He gripped her tightly. “Please.”
“I know what they’ll do. I know it’ll make it worse. I can feel her, and she’s delicate, she’s on the edge waiting for Annie. She can’t be disturbed by a bunch of tests. I’m as worried as you are.” Feeling Riley tremble, finally caused her to break down. The first tears started, and she couldn’t stop them now that they started.
“I’m so scared, I should be able to heal her. What good are my abilities if I can’t heal Nell? I have to be able to heal her.” It was long minutes before she realized Riley was comforting her.
“You need to listen to me.”
Sarah pulled out of Riley’s arms and turned to Noah. “Are you listening?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t reach her either, even with your help. I’ve called Kali, I’m hoping with the two of us, we can reach her. You know how well we work together.”
Sarah caught her breath. It could work. She had seen Kali and Noah communicate over long distances, maybe they could reach Nell. She looked at everyone, and they all looked excited and hopeful, except for Shilah, she looked thoughtful.
“What are you thinking, Shilah?”
“Dammit, why didn’t I think of this before? We need to contact Max, he’ll know what to do.”
“Max?”
“Seth’s guardian. He said he would know when there was trouble, and he would be here. Well he’s not doing his job, now is he?”
Sarah watched in fascination as Shilah started pacing the length of the nursery, her caftan floating behind her. Suddenly she sailed out of the room. Sarah followed her into her bedroom, watching as she booted up her computer. Shilah’s fingers flew over the keyboard.
“His e-mail said he is out of his office, but it gave a number to call.” She pulled a phone out of her voluminous skirt, and punched in a number.
“Max. This is Shilah Natani. Call me immediately. Seth’s daughter is in a coma. You must come.”
“Who the hell is Max? What do you mean he’s Seth’s guardian?” Noah demanded from the doorway.
“All of you have guardians,” Shilah dropped her head into her hands. Sarah crouched down in front of her.
“It’s going to be okay. Kali and Noah will reach her, I just know it.”
“I want my grandson.” Shilah looked up at Noah, with tears in her eyes, for once she looked her age. “Please bring me my grandson.”
****
“Wake up bitch!”
Annie panicked, she couldn’t breathe, like she was under an icy cold lake. Drowning. They were holding her down. Blessed pain as her hair was yanked and she was pulled up out of a bucket of ice water. She looked around frantically as she felt her head being pushed back down. Before her nose touched the water, she found her voice.
“Stop. No. Please.” The last was said with some strength, loud enough to be heard.
“Once more, just to be sure.” She was shoved back in, before she could hold her breath, her mouth and nose filled with water. After forever she was jerked up. Water spilled out of her, she tried to stop the coughing, she wanted to speak, to ask what was happening, but she couldn’t.
“Be careful with her, we don’t want her anymore damaged than she is.”
“I know how not to leave marks. I’m not like Roberts,” a man laughed. The grating voice of Leslie Gordon responded.
“That’s why I have you in charge of the product now, Anton. I brought you in from Houston because I knew I could trust you.”
“What’s so special about this one?” Strong arms lifted Annie and she was placed on something soft and dry.
“Nothing in my opinion, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Annie opened her eyes and saw the woman from her nightmares standing over her.
“Good I see you recognize me. Here’s the deal. Stay awake. Lose consciousness again, and I’ll kill you.” The woman caressed her cheek. “Don’t make me do it Anna, I really don’t want to have to kill someone else, it’s bad for my karma.” She turned and walked out the door.
Annie had trouble focusing, her eyes hurt from the water. Everything hurt. She looked down, shuddering with relief when she saw she was still wearing the same clothes. She didn’t think they would have dressed her if they had violated her.
“Raping corpses doesn’t do anything for me, and you’re off limits to the rest of the men.” Annie cringed as she looked up at the handsome man carrying her. “Anyway, raping women isn’t my style either. I like them willing. Let’s get you dried off, you have a big night, and catching a cold won’t due at all.”
He got a towel and ever so gently dried her off. “I hear that you’re getting bought by someone who needs a stress reliever,” his voice was silky smooth. The nicer he sounded the more Annie tried to get away from him. He saw it and smiled with pleasure.
“Darling, I’m your friend, I’m going to tell you how to survive.” She shut her eyes, trying to tune him out, but it wasn’t working. He continued to speak while still carefully drying her hair. “At first just do what he says, learn his every mood. Learn to be whatever he needs, before he even knows he needs it. If he’s about to get mad and needs to beat you, well, pick a fight so he has a reason. Be there for him in all things. Learn his needs in the bedroom, and then perform those services everywhere. Surprise him. Does he need you to be on display, does he need to show his dominance over you in public? You make sure to strip and kneel. You do all of these things and maybe, just maybe, you’ll out live the first year.”
“You don’t believe me? Well I’ve heard of Carson Runyon, and Ms. Gordon told me he’s snapped. Apparently the way he runs his part
of the organization, he’s a man you don’t want to see lose it, and he has. You my dear are in for a rough ride.” He gave a seductive laugh. “Rough ride, get it?”
He stroked her cheek. “Ah, you’re crying. Well if you can learn to do it at the right times, it could be very useful too. You have pretty tears.”
She thought she might throw up. That wouldn’t be pretty.
“I’ll leave you for a while. You won’t be alone long. We have another shipment coming in. Carson will make his selection tonight. Who knows you might not be his choice. Those bruises are a detraction.”
****
“Woman?”
Annie started awake. Surrounded by scared young faces, it took her a few moments to shake off her dizziness and own fear. She sat on a dirty make-shift bed in a room.
“Woman? Goot?” It was asked in a thick accent by a beautiful blonde girl. It took Annie a moment to figure out she was asking if she was good. She reached out to touch Annie, and she took the thin hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Annie smiled at the girls.
“I’m good.” She nodded. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the cot, and got up, two sets of hands steadying her. She looked around, profoundly grateful she wasn’t in the cage.
The girls erupted into a long stream of words Annie couldn’t understand. A few were directed at her, but most were among themselves. Finally the girl who had originally spoke turned to Annie once again.
“Woman?”
“Yes.” Annie pointed to herself and said, “Annie.” The group of girls smiled, and as one they all pointed at themselves and chorused different names. If the circumstances weren’t so dire, she would have laughed. The girl who seemed to be the leader understood Annie’s dilemma and shushed the others.
“Ilyana,” she said, as she gestured at herself. Then she nodded to the next one on her left, and Annie lost track of each of the girl’s names, but she nodded and gave them encouraging smiles. She looked behind the group, and saw the door was closed, then did a quick sweep of the room. Ilyana did the same, then she strode over to the door and tried to open it, tugging hard and looking at Annie to demonstrate it was locked.
The girls talked among themselves again, and this time they were clearly frightened. Ilyana came and hugged the youngest two and gave Annie a beseeching look. Dammit, she needed to come up with a plan, but she wanted a hug too.
She gave reassuring smiles, and hustled the young girls to sit on the cot, blotting the tears on one. God, she couldn’t be more than eighteen if she was a day. Annie checked under her left arm, and the small bump from the tracking device was still there. Sighing in relief that she was still being monitored, as long as the damn thing was transmitting.
Then there was the plan, tonight she would see Seth. She gasped, and Ilyana heard her.
“Annie? No goot?” She offered a weak smile.
“Annie, good.” Please let Seth be the man she remembered, and not the monster described to her. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the smooth voice of the man who dried her hair and like the clouds parting, the sun shone down on her, and images of Seth blossomed in her mind.
Seth in a coffee shop.
Seth holding her hand.
Seth kissing her for the first time.
Seth feeding her.
Seth loving her.
She opened her eyes to five worried faces and she grinned. “Annie very good. Annie wonderful.” She breathed deeply. She didn’t know how, but memories flashed in glorious seconds, and she knew down to the depths of her soul the man she loved could never have changed.
Chapter Fifteen
They were late and Sierra was keeping something from him. He’d picked up on her tells. It wasn’t just the way her skin would flush, she would look him dead in the eye, and continue to keep eye contact the entire time. She had done it when Annie was injured until she finally confessed. He was good at reading people, very good. It kept him alive. It was one of his found abilities along with his ability to blend into any situation. Sierra Mathers was keeping something from him. Now he was sitting in Labado’s study and the presentation of the girls was running late.
Seth smiled, and drank his bourbon.
“You’re in a good mood, my friend. I thought the delay would make you anxious.”
“What’s there to be anxious about Thiago?” Seth took another small sip, so he could force it down. “It’s a win-win for me. The girls show up, maybe I find something I like, and I win. The girls don’t show up, I divorce Portia, I win. Actually you’re the one who seems anxious, old friend.”
He watched as Thiago looked at his diamond Rolex watch that he had had custom designed. It cost the price of some people’s homes. But it currently only served the purpose to remind him that his time was running out. He pulled out his cell phone, and kept his voice low, looking up now and then. Finally he smiled up at Seth.
“Leslie will be here within the hour.”
“Fine.”
“So tell me, how are things going with Tomas? It seems he hasn’t been himself since this Vargas incident.” Labado gave him a bland look as he took another sip of his drink.
“I think Portia’s relapse has him concerned. She is, after all, his little girl.” Seth shrugged. It was easy to show indifference.
Labado continued to watch him and Seth coldly met his eyes. Finally Labado grinned. “Yes, she is his daughter, but I doubt she was ever really a little girl.” They chuckled.
“Seriously, I need you to reconsider your position on this divorce idea of yours. We know Tomas is not the strongest of men, but he does have a position I require. As his son-in-law, you’re in the perfect spot to solidify my partnership with him.”
“I’ve already done it with my business acumen, I don’t need to do it with my cock.”
“It’s my understanding you’ve never done it with your cock.” Again Labado gave him an assessing look.
“Have you ever really looked at Portia? Unfortunately she suffers from the four “S’s”. Labado raised an eyebrow. “Spoiled. Selfish. Slut.”
“And the fourth?”
“The fourth is the biggest problem of them all. She’s stupid.”
Labado spewed his drink, and roared with laughter. After a moment he looked at Seth. “You win, I cannot fault your logic. But I am concerned about Benitez Shipping. You are an integral part of keeping the business afloat, and in a manner beneficial to my business.”
“Your business has been very good to my offshore accounts, I’m not stepping away from Benitez shipping. I realize the place would burn down without me, and I’m not about to let that happen. I just don’t intend to put up with Portia any longer.”
“From what I hear, you haven’t been doing your husbandly chores as it is.”
“You hit the nail on the head. When nailing your wife is a chore, it is time to move on.” They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Leslie Gordon walked in. As usual, she was impeccably dressed. Her black Chanel suit looked like something a rich woman would ask to be buried in. When he looked even closer he could saw she was dieting. Fuck, she even looked like a cadaver.
“Gentlemen, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, but you’ll see it will be worth it.” He and Thiago stood, and she kissed each of them on their cheeks in the European style, when Seth would bet anything she had never been to Europe. She didn’t take a seat like the last time, instead she went to the door and called for a man named Anton. Seth clenched and released his fists. He didn’t like to see the change in process.
“Anton will be escorting the girls in. Most of them don’t speak English, but it shouldn’t detract from their charm.” She gave him a salesman’s smile.
“Just have them brought in Leslie, and let me be the judge.”
“Anton.”
Once again a girl was brought in wearing nothing but a white slip, scared out her mind. When she looked around the room and saw him and Thiago sitting in their chairs she calmed slightly. It was clear she h
ad been expecting more men in the room. Anton prodded her forward until she stood in front of them.
She was young. Her strength of character to stand tall was amazing. He looked at her, and did not see someone who had been through such an ordeal before, so it was not the reason for her ability to cope. No, he saw a young woman with an innate belief in her ability to survive.
Thiago must have seen it too. But instead of admiration, he saw it as something to be extinguished. He reached out and grabbed her breast and twisted. She leaned toward him, crying out in pain and bewilderment.
“Stop.”
Thiago continued.
Seth grabbed Thiago’s forearm in a punishing grip, seconds away from breaking it.
“Let go,” Thiago said, through gritted teeth. “You forget yourself.”
“Until I say differently, she’s my property, or I leave now.” Seth was truly scared. Labado was a murdering sadist, and he might have pushed him too far, but he couldn’t ignore it for one more second. Labado stared at him and slowly let go of the whimpering girl. She dropped to the floor. Labado cradled his arm and toed her with his shoe.
“Is she the one?”
“How would I know, I haven’t seen the others,” Seth said in a calm voice.
“Anton, bring in the next sample,” he called out. Four more young women were brought in for Seth to view, all slightly older than the girl who remained silently crying on the floor at his feet.
After they all were standing in a row, Leslie turned to him. “Well?”
“And the one in the picture?”
“She’s not as docile, and she has bruising.”
Seth gave her a toothy smile. “So she has spirit and marks up well. Too bad you didn’t bring her.” He set down his drink and got up.
“She’s in the hall. Bring her in Anton.” He continued to stand. This was it, his palms were damp, and a bead of sweat trickled down his neck. The bastard was gripping Annie tightly by the scruff of her neck, forcing her into the room. Her face was mostly hidden by her hair. It was a trick he had seen her use many times to assess a situation without people being aware of what she was doing. Then like a laser, she saw the girl lying on the ground and she yanked out of the man’s hold and was on her knees in front of Labado, cradling the girl’s head in her lap.
Forsaken (The Found Book 2) Page 14