Reunited

by Jodi Kae

  The first half of our flight into Costa Rica is relatively quiet. When I glance back, I see Jax bent over Victoria speaking to her quietly. Well, quietly in an airplane is a relative term. Within a few minutes, he slides into the cockpit looking dejected.

  “You lost her?”

  “Yeah. Tori has been through some unimaginable shit and created her own panic room inside her head. I don’t know what she’s going to do once she knows I’ve taken her out of the country. God, Snake, I just couldn’t imagine placing her in protective custody with the others and leaving her safety in someone else’s hands.”

  ‘Why don’t you just try to be honest with her?”

  “I will in my own time. You don’t understand how it was in The House. I couldn’t tell her the truth due to the risk of blowing my cover. She was in an extremely fragile state because of their version of sub training and the loss of her sister. We had to keep up pretenses until Savage arrived and we could make a plan to get her out. The truth then would have caused more damage to her emotionally and mentally.”

  “Seems to me, keeping it from her did that.” We sit in silence because Jax knows I’m right, but apparently he had a good reason to do the wrong thing and isn’t willing to talk about it yet. About an hour later, the plane hits a large pocket of air dropping a few feet, and I hear a loud thump echo through the cabin.

  “Shit!”

  Jax jumps up to rush back to the cabin just as I see Tori crumple to the floor in an unconscious heap. Shit! That’s gonna leave a mark. “Is she okay?” I shout over the hum of the engine.

  “Yeah, she’s knocked out, but I’m staying back here. Can you land by yourself?”

  “Sure thing.” The rest of the flight is uneventful because Tori’s still unconscious and Jax is hovering over her like a mother hen. If I ever get this bad over a woman, I’m going to ask Case to put me out of my misery. Jax is the last one of us that I expected to be snared, but she is beautiful; I can see why he fell so hard. When we land in Limon, I help Jax load her into the jeep and we head for the river. From where the road ends, we have to travel the rest of the way by boat. As we near the village, the children run along the bank of the river when they hear the motor coming. I drop him off to shouts and waves by the locals who welcome him with open arms. Normally I would stay in the village to enjoy Ina’s cooking, but the small airport isn’t very secure, so I am sleeping on the plane and flying out in the morning. For once, I’m looking forward to going back to my lonely condo. Hopes of seeing that redhead again turn out to be a surprising motivator

  ~Maria~

  For the first few weeks in captivity, I cried every day for David and the loss I felt. The last few weeks, I have been in survival mode, and nothing I do will bring David back, so I shove those emotions to the back of my mind. Being emotional would only drain my strength, and I needed every bit of it to survive that place or what comes next. Now that I am free from The House, all of the questions I’ve had come rushing back. What did they tell David’s 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 their son’s death? There are so many questions bouncing around in my head that I’m not quite sure which direction to go in to find answers. I think I will lie low until I have a better plan of action.

  Protective custody is everything it’s cracked up to be, definitely not five-star living. The amenities are basic but clean and the guards keep to themselves. The only people we have contact with are Troy Savage and the therapists they’ve brought in to treat us, but Troy comes and goes throughout the day. Once we were settled in, he explained that he and Jax both work for the FBI and were undercover to take down The House. I guess that is what our prison was called to anyone in the business. It is hard to think about an organization like that existing in the U.S. without more information being reported on the news. The first I had ever heard that this was a problem in our country was from Amber Johnson’s family. I think people in general want to believe that they are safe and nothing like this would ever happen to them or their loved ones. At least that’s what I thought.

  Every day they question Tina, Amber, and me about our kidnapping, wanting details about our experience in the house. I am the only one who was raped; apparently, The House has only been taking virgins, so I am the lucky exception thanks to Thomas and my money. The doctors and therapists come to see us individually and also as a group trying to gather as much information as possible to be able to indict Sully Vrennikov and his guards. It has proven difficult for them to gain access to The House because someone higher up in the Russian Syndicate is one of the owners. Apparently, they do not like being accused of human trafficking and have not been cooperative.

  I have given them the name Maria Anna Smith and haven’t told them anything about Thomas. There are too many questions that I need to be answered before I can trust anyone. My stepfather has to have paid off many people to keep my disappearance and David’s death out of the news. I have heard stories of people getting access to other people in protective custody because someone has been bought off, so I will just stay anonymous for a while.

  ~Snake~

  “Just give me her name, Dude. I’m not asking for her bra and panty size...yet.” I am trying to make Savage my new best friend so he will give me any information on the redhead. He has been tight lipped up until now when he came to get on the plane for a ride to Costa Rica.

  “Snake, you’ve got to know she has been through some horrible shit; she’s terrified of dominating men. She just needs more time before you approach her.”

  “Good hell, Sav. What do you think I’m going to do, jump her bones when I meet her again?”

  “No, of course not, but she was drawn to you and scared of you at the same time. Just wait until The Safe House opens and she realizes that you are one of the good guys whose only goal is to protect her.”

  I raise my eyebrows in silent communication to ask him if he’s kidding me.

  “Maria, okay, but she wants to go by Anna. Now let me on the damn plane.”

  We arrive in Costa Rica at 1:00 a.m. and head straight over to the village. Jax is not going to be happy with my news, but we will be better prepared to take down The House with more information than none at all. When we get the bungalow all is quiet, so we lay down hoping to recharge before we have to deal with the chaos to come.

  Way too damn early, I wake up to Jax banging around in the kitchen. “They’re on the news.” He turns around gaping at me as I try to stretch out the kinks. He must have forgotten we were coming if the shocked look on his face is any indication.

  ‘What do you mean?”

  “Tori’s dad. He’s been on the news pleading for his daughters’ safe return. He’s being helped by a private investigator named Sully and offering a one hundred thousand dollar reward.”

  “Fuck! Are you kidding me? Goddamn, son of a bitch! What did this guy look like?”

  “Russian, slight accent, long dark hair and beady brown eyes.”

  “Shit! Snake, they got to Tori’s dad.”

  A feminine gasp has me looking up to see Tori standing in the short hallway that leads to the bedroom. Oh, shit! Time slows down as I watch the chaos unfold, and I can’t help but think of the redhead from The House rescue. If I had known her or even had the chance to get to know her, would I be as protective of her as Jax is of Tori? My heart Breaks for Tori as I watch her fall apart at the seams, sometimes begging, sometimes demanding to be taken to her father.

  When she realizes there will be no swaying him, Tori turns and walks out of the room just as Jax hangs his head on his shoulders. Shit! I feel bad that I started the conversation, but at least now it is out in the open allowing us to deal with it from here. “Well, that couldn’t have gone any worse.”

  “Mate, I need you to fly back to the states and gather the t
eam. You’ll need to fly commercial so I can fly out at a moments notice in the jet. See what information you can find on Nicholas James’ whereabouts. Sully called me the night we left, threatening that he would have Serenity by nightfall. Any information you can get me on that too would be great. I don’t want you to make a move without talking to me first, but I need as much info as you can get. Savage, I need you to stay in Rio Banano with me. I’m going to have Ina set you up in the village so I can have some time alone with Tori. I don’t need your sarcastic, sexual comments butting into every conversation.”

  “Dude, you just need to tie her to your bed and fuck her brains out for a week. Get her all tied up in pleasure, so she’ll forget this conversation ever happened.”

  Jax told me that Sav thinks with his dick, but I know it’s all a ruse. He has a softer side he shows around women, so I know he doesn’t really think of them as a means to an end.

  “I appreciate the advice, coming from someone who lost his own soul mate, but if she’s tied up, it won’t be for pleasure. I’m sure I’m going to have to tie her up just to keep her from running. Leave Tori’s clothes that you picked up for me then head to Ina’s. Her house is the first one you come to down the dirt road.

  Snake, I don’t have a phone so call the village store to get me info. Just ask for them to deliver me messages through the children. Please check in every day even if you don’t have any information; I think that will be the only way to pacify Tori. Come to think of it, call Sav’s phone.”

  Sav starts shaking his head. “Disconnected.”

  “I’ll just stay in touch through the village store.” I stand and make my way to the door so the two lovebirds can work their way through the shit storm about to happen. “Good luck, Man. The truth wouldn’t seem so unbelievable if you were honest with her in the first place.” I walk out and head back to my uncomplicated life.

  ~Maria~

  What are the odds that the one man I shouldn’t think of is the only one I have been dreaming about? How is it possible that just that one touch could affect me so profoundly? Large, intimidating, and dominating men, has never been my thing. I like quiet, reserved, refined men; or is that my grandma thinking for me? I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in lust at first sight, and the man at the dock that they call Snake woke up my dormant libido.

  Author’s Bio

  I reside in Southern Utah with my amazing husband who will actually scrub toilets four teenage daughters who don’t scrub toilets, one dog that drinks from the toilet, two cats that don’t scrub or drink from the toilet and one bird who does nothing. I have one son who is grown with a family of his own and has blessed me with two grandchildren.

  Life has put me on some crazy adventures from owning a restaurant to owning a landscape company, and now owning a business that helps troubled teens. I can now add Author.

  My reading obsession started about ten years ago when my youngest daughter was three. My four girls and I would gather in one bedroom and I would read to them until they fell asleep. We started with books by Dr. Seuss and worked our way up through teen books like Book of a Thousand Days, Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief and Eragon. This is kind of funny considering that I hated to read before that. I even cheated my way through high school when it came to reading books or writing reports.

  About five years ago I started reading more for myself and that is where the true obsession began. I have a massive list of favorite authors, and I am always looking for a new release. Let’s just say I spent a lot of time in Barnes and Noble. Then my amazing husband bought me an e-reader and technology became my best friend.

  I am truly excited to begin this new adventure and I hope I can take you on a wild ride with me. It is never too late to follow your heart. Or so my fortune cookie said, “your most memorable dream will come true.” I haven’t won the lottery so this book is the next best thing.

  Jodi Kae

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