Reunited

by Jodi Kae

  “Well, I have to say, this is the first time someone has paid me to take a loved one off their hands. I guess the extra cash will make up for your daughter not being a virgin. You were right; Mr. Jones, the red hair, and porcelain skin with fetch a hefty price. Help me get her to the chopper and our business here is done.”

  A sharp slap to my cheek jars me awake and as my vision partially clears I realize that I’m on a bed in a small private jet with a monster on his knees between my legs. I turn my head to the right and see clear blue sky out the portal window but a brutal hand on my jaw forces my eyes back to the man my stepfather paid to take me off his hands.

  “My name is Sully Vrennikov. You and I will get to know each other quite well before I’m through with you.”

  I stare defiantly at this man who seems to have no soul, wondering how easily this man can be bribed, money talks.

  “No tears for you, huh? Oh, you are going to be a fun one.”

  I open my mouth to offer this man more money than my stepfather has access to, but the words just won’t come out. The gleam in his eyes lets me know that no amount of money will prevent him from doing what he is about to do. I bring my hands up to claw at his face as a last ditch effort to save myself, but the drug in my systems has zapped my strength and speed, giving him the time to grab both of my wrists in one of his hands and pin them above my head. His other hand reaches under my skirt to tear off my underwear, then up to lock around my neck cutting off my air supply. Knowing what will come next, I welcome the darkness that takes over. Even though I know that I will be violated in the worst possible way, at least I won’t have the memory to go along with it.

  Chapter Two

  Ruse:

  *an action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

  ~Maria~

  Present Day

  “Where is the red head, maybe I should blow off some steam so I can stay in control with this one?”

  Please, God, no more. The drugs and strangulations are taking its toll on my body. I can count four times that one or more of the guards have entered my room to knock me out and violate my body. I fight them until I’m unconscious, or they drug me, but the pain in my body after the rapes tell me what is happening to me while unconscious. I am feverish and clammy as my system is trying to expel the latest drug, almost as if I’m in withdrawals.

  “Next door over, Man, but I wouldn’t bother, it’s not worth the effort.”

  I hear the door open and close then the shuffling of footsteps. I remain motionless as calloused hands press lightly to my upper back. Maybe if the new guard thinks I’m unconscious, he will leave me be, although the other guards didn’t mind raping an unresponsive woman.

  “Hey Bloke, this woman is sick. You stupid bastards probably gave her an S.T.D. She needs medical attention and at the very least, Advil for the fever.”

  Well, that was unexpected. Hopefully, the new guard believes I have an S.T.D. and will leave me alone for that reason alone.

  “Oh shit, I can’t bring an STD home to my wife. She’ll leave me this time for sure.”

  That voice belongs to the one they call Slim. I believe he is the guard who watches over the girl next door and also the one who drugged me when Gordon, another guard, came in to rape me. From his confession, it sounds like Slim raped me too. I hear Slims panicked words as he retreats and stomps his way up the stairs.

  “I’m sorry sweetheart. I won’t let them hurt you anymore.”

  I barely hear his whispered promise as he leaves the room. What the hell just happened? I have been here for over a month. I have been beaten, raped, drugged and humiliated but have never felt more emotion than I do in this moment of being shown compassion by one guard. What is he up too? My mind is in turmoil over this change of events. Is this a ploy to make me let down my guard or to make me more compliant? I will die before I ever give in to these bastards.

  Is this what happened to Amber Johnson, the young girl I was trying to get information about when I was taken? Was she the victim of one of these types of operations? Was she the victim of this particular operation? Did my stepfather have something to do with her disappearance as well? Was he the one who sent me that email resulting in my exploration of the abandoned building and the death of my fiancé? Is Amber in this house somewhere? I snuck out one day to see if I was the only one here and came across a young girl named Tina. I had barely found her when I was caught by Tony, the head guard, and beaten. That was a week ago, and I still feel the bruises on my back and legs, so I haven’t dared to venture out again.

  There isn’t much to do here in this cell except for sleep and ponder what kind of torture I will have to suffer today. In my head, I write a story about the depravity of our society. How organizations like this one are forming right under our noses? How are women and children going missing and the first line of thought is that they are runaways or victims of homicide. When there is no body found, why aren’t we searching for human trafficking problems? People don’t just disappear and go nowhere.

  When loud, angry voices break up the silence, I crawl to the door to listen in. Someone is yelling just down the hall about rape and S.T.D.’s. Are they talking about me? It sounds like the new guard is fighting with someone on our behalf, but why? None of the old guards have been to my room since the new guard came. Is this his doing?

  Several hours later I jerk awake and cover my head before I realize that the new guard has brought me food. He helps me sit up and sets the plate on my lap then places the bottle of water by my feet. The Advil he has brought helps with the pain of the bruising in my back and legs and being without drugs for a few days has helped my body clear the substance out of my system. I am thinking more clearly and have so many questions for this man but decide to remain silent for now. A loud scream rents the air and the guard leaves in a hurry. Leaving me alone with my thoughts and a lot of confusion.

  Tonight I found a blanket and pillow just inside my door along with a plate of spaghetti. After I eat, I continue to write my story in my head until I fall asleep. This goes on for several days, eating, sleeping, thinking, and crying. The betrayal of my stepfather has finally broken through and brought forth a flood of emotions. I have been in survival mode for so long that I haven’t had time to think of why I was here. Money.

  I will never trust the concept of love again. My stepfather, Thomas, claimed to love me, but the idea of a multibillion-dollar payout was more important than the love he may have had for a stepdaughter. Thomas is hoping to gain control of my inheritance. Vrennikov, the man who runs this human trafficking organization, obviously has no idea the meal ticket he holds in his basement, or he would have contacted my fathers’ family and I would be free. I can only assume that Thomas did not disclose my real name or worth and he hasn’t reported me missing to my fathers’ family. They would move heaven and earth to reclaim their only son’s only daughter.

  Screaming again wakes me from my slumber, but these are not screams of pain, they are muffled screams of pleasure. Either the guards have brought in prostitutes or the girl next door has succumbed to the charms of her guard. I haven’t been bothered for several days other than for the new guard to bring me food or medicine, but if I thought the new girl was being forced, I would put myself at risk for her. It has already happened to me, even though I don’t remember, so I would sacrifice myself for an innocent victim. A half an hour later more yelling ensues in the hall.

  “Get in the damn hall.”

  The angry voice of Jax, the new guard for the girl next-door, echoes through the basement. Within seconds everything is quiet and calm; I can’t hear the rest of the conversation, so I curl up again and write my story in my head.

  Today a gorgeous man with dark hair and sky blue eyes brings me food. Thank God for the blanket that has been my armor for a few days. I know this blanket could not protect me if he decided to force himself on me, but with his looks, I’m sure he wouldn’t have to force himself on anyone. He comes in and sets down the food, wi
nks and smiles my way but doesn’t say anything at all. With a show of surrender, he raises his hands and slowly backs out of the room. I smile at his antics and begin to eat my food. Smiling almost feels foreign because it has been a while since I’ve had anything to smile about.

  Several days go by with no change. The one named Sav now brings me food and checks on me several times a day. He finally got up the nerve to ask me if I needed anything but knowing that he couldn’t give me freedom, I remained silent. There is a charge in the atmosphere today. Something is happening or is going to happen. I follow my instincts always, especially when writing a story and I have a feeling that I need to prepare myself for something big.

  Tonight I barely fall asleep to shouts of “card shark” and “cheater,” glasses clinking and slurred words. I should be worried that alcohol and monsters don’t mix, but I have come to trust in my safety at the hands of Jax and Sav. It feels like I haven’t even been asleep for a half an hour when I hear my door creak open. I open my eyes to see a green eyed beauty poke her head in like this is a college dorm, and she’s my roommate. Does she not realize what they would do to her if she were caught?

  “Oh my God, you can’t be in here. They will punish me even though you are the one who ventured out. I was beaten when I tried to meet the other women and I have just recently recovered. I won’t survive another beating, please leave, please.”

  “It’s okay, all the men are playing cards, and Jax told me that he and Savage would keep them upstairs so we would be safe. I have heard you over the last few weeks and knew there were others like me being held against their will. Do you know how many women are here?”

  “There were six, and now only four. I think one girl was shipped out and I heard that another girl died in a car crash. I’m Maria and Tina is across the hall. I didn’t meet the others because their rooms are on the other side of the living room. I only made it to Tina’s room before they caught me, so I never tried it again. I know the guard who trains you is Jax, right? He keeps telling me that things are going to be okay. Do you know what he is talking about? How can anything here ever be okay?”

  “I am Victoria and I don’t know anything about their plans either. He tells me the same thing and asks me to trust him, that we will be safe soon. I get mixed signals from him, so I’m not sure what to believe. I will come back if I can, but they are getting loud, and I don’t want to get caught.”

  “Thank you for coming in here. Jax saved me, you know. I was ready to give up, and he brought me hope. Savage has been very nice too.” Victoria nods her head and hurries out while I pull my blanket tight around me and try to get some sleep.

  “Sweetheart. We gotta move. I only have t-shirts and sweats for you to wear, but we gotta make it work. Hurry up; I’m gonna grab Tina and be back for you.”

  My heart is going a hundred miles an hour as I pull on Savage’s clothes. Is really taking me from here? I roll the waistband of the sweats down several times and tie his shirt in a knot like the 80’s. As I roll up the bottoms of the sweatpants legs, he rushes in.

  “Let’s move ladies; I only had a handful of roofies to knock them all out.”

  Tina is crying and asking if he is going to let us go or if they are taking us to Russia. I say nothing and move a little faster. As we reach the top of the stairs, there are bodies strewn all over the living room and kitchen. He leads us out the front door and down a sprawling lawn toward a dock. It is too dark to see the water, but I can hear the waves and smell the saltiness in the air. I hear Jax curse, and I turn to look back just as he is helping Victoria to her feet. The very young girl that is also with them is staring at them with her mouth hanging open as if in shock. Where have they kept this girl? She looks very young, only about seventeen or eighteen years old. Savage pulls me toward the water and leads us to a big black metal boat then helps us inside. Just as Jax settles the young girl in the boat, I see Victoria backing away and shaking her head no. Jax is trying to reason with her, but she looks like she’s going to have a panic attack. I didn’t even see Savage leave the boat until he reappears behind Victoria and sticks her in the neck with syringe. As she collapses, Jax curses.

  “Shit, Sav! What the hell, Mate!

  “Jax, she was not going to cooperate, and we still have to go back to the house and finish this job. She wouldn’t have willingly stayed on the boat with the others. I had no choice.”

  Troy keeps his cool even in the face of all of that animal aggression, and Jax’s anger subsides a little. He carries an unconscious Victoria to the boat and lays her down on the bench.

  “We’ll be right back.”

  He looks right at me, and all I can do is nod as they run back towards the house. What if they don’t come back? I don’t know how to drive a military boat. What if Victoria wakes up and freaks out again. Gunshots have both men cursing and running back toward us yelling.

  “Get down.”

  I have no idea what these men do for a living or where they got their training, but they have to be military. We all drop to the floor and huddle together. The boat is military grade and fast so before I know it we are in open waters bouncing through the waves. Jax has taken Victoria from the bench and has wrapped his protective arms around her. Tina and I huddle on the floor with the young girl under a few blankets and pray our next stop is freedom.

  For me, freedom is a relative term. Will I ever be as free as I was before? Do I dare go home? How far reaching are Thomas’s influences and the money he has access to? Will Vrennikov tell him that I have escaped and will he know that I am coming for him?

  For the first few weeks in captivity, I cried every day for David and the loss I feel. The last few weeks, I have been in survival mode, and nothing I do will bring David back. What did they tell his parents about his death? Did Vrennikov dispose of his body, so it was never found? My stepfather, Thomas, may not have even listed me as missing, or my father’s family would have turned over every rock until they found me. Did David’s parents question my disappearance after his death? There are so many questions bouncing around in my head that I’m not quite sure which direction to go in for my future. I think I will lie low until I have a better plan of action.

  Chapter Three

  Happenstance:

  *coincidence. *a chance happening or event.

  ~Snake~

  “Snake, do you think they’re going to make it?”

  Jim is the first to voice what we all are thinking. Standing on the boat dock waiting with Case and Jim has my nerves on edge. Jim’s statement just makes me that much more nervous. It’s a long ass boat ride from Montauk, NY, to Boston Harbor and we haven’t heard from them since the emergency call came in to meet them in four hours. A lot can happen on the water in the dark, and all Jax has is his FBI partner to back him up. That’s not good odds. Not that I think Sav is incapable, but he doesn’t have any SEAL training, so that concerns me. “Yeah, Jax knows what he’s doing.”

  I knew Jax was going undercover as a dominance trainer in a human trafficking organization. He called before he disappeared asking me to be on call and ready for anything. I never understood why he went into the FBI after we all retired; Lord knows he has plenty of money to live the high life without working. When he explained his need to be of service and help people, I understood because I have the same need. A man doesn’t just go from saving lives and taking out bad guys to sitting around with our thumb up our ass. I guess that is why I went into private security.

  Jax and I are supposed to be flying to Costa Rica, and Case and Jim are going with Savage to take three of the women into protective custody. I am curious to find out why Jax is taking the fourth woman to Costa Rica instead of protective custody, but I’m sure he will tell me when he’s ready. I don’t always agree on Jax’s antics, but unless I think he’s putting an innocent’s life in danger, I will always have his back. He was our Seal team leader for eight years and my brother since day one. I might have even gone off the deep end a few times if it wasn’t
for him.

  “Two miles out,” Jim barks.

  He hands me the binoculars and I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God my old commander won’t have my ass for sinking his boat. I didn’t tell him I was letting a rookie take it to Montauk, only that Jax needed it for undercover work. He was more than happy to oblige his golden boy; at the same time grumbling that he would report it stolen before we drug him down with us.

  As the boat pulls in, Savage and Jax look a little worse for wear, but the unconscious bundle Jax is holding looks even worse. Holy shit! I hope they didn’t lose any of the women during the escape. I reach down to take his charge and he shakes his head no, shifts her around a little and holds out his hand for me to pull him up. Well, that’s new. I’ve never seen Jax react to a woman this way before; he’s almost possessive.

  Sav steps down into the back and draws a blanket off of three women huddled together. The redhead is the first to stand, and when she looks my way her iridescent blue eyes lock on mine and go wide. She looks a little reluctant to hold out her hand but braves it anyway with fire in her eyes. The second our hands make contact a shock wave travels up my arm. She glances down at my hand that is still gripping hers and pulls away quickly. I wonder if she felt that too? I quickly help the other two women up and glance back to see the redhead already climbing into the SUV assisted by Case. Damn, I was hoping to get a better look. I hear Jims yes sir and no sir in the background, confirming that he is already on the phone with our old commander negotiating the return of his boat. I look at my truck to see Jax is already settled into the back seat still holding the unconscious woman. That is my cue to head to the airport. Case is the first to leave, driving away in seconds with the three women. Damn; all that in less than ten minutes. That is how it always is when you work with Navy Seals, in and out in less than ten; that was our team’s motto anyway.