11

by Kylie Brant

  The look the woman sent her over her shoulder was venomous. “A fisherman…he found me in his boat and took me to his wife early the next morning. She got me to another city. To an airport.” Mia wondered what sort of story Four had spun to make that happen. “And our master will still love me because I got the scars serving him. I know it.”

  “If you say so.” Mia let the doubt drip from her words as she steered the other woman to a faint trail through the brush. “But you’re not perfect anymore, are you? Even if he’s grateful—and he should be grateful for all you’ve done—he’ll always choose one of the others over you. How many are there now?”

  “We are twelve with the new girl at boot camp. She will join us soon.” Four tripped over a tree root and would have fallen flat if Mia hadn’t reached out to grab her shirt. Twelve. Her blood ran cold. There had been nine when she’d escaped. Counting Eight’s death, he had to have selected five more victims in the nearly five and a half years of her freedom. He’d never acted so fast while she’d been held, which meant he was escalating.

  A weary sort of hopelessness filled her. Five more women had entered hell because Mia had been unable to lead police to the monster.

  “Why did he kill Eight?” How much further was it to the car? The woman ahead of her trudged along, her pace deliberately slow. Mia couldn’t tell what time it was, but the light filtering through the leaves seemed dimmer. They’d seen no one since they’d left the vehicle. Somewhere in the distance she could hear a dog bay.

  “He did not. She killed herself.”

  Mia ground her teeth. Four was so completely indoctrinated, she was unable to ascribe any blame to the man who enslaved her. “How did she die?”

  The woman looked over her shoulder, her expression sly. “She killed herself. When Master was gone she wrapped a sheet around her head until she couldn’t breathe. Now none of us can have bedding, even if we earned it with good behavior.”

  The desolation that coursed through her then was nearly debilitating. Somehow she believed the words. The Collector prized his possessions much too highly to kill one of them. She had said as much to Raiker. But she thought one might have gotten ill, despite the vitamins and antibiotics that had been pressed on them. She had hoped, for Eight’s sake, that the woman had died a natural death.

  But instead Eight had chosen her own kind of escape. And Mia was left to wonder, if she hadn’t managed to get away, how long it might have taken for her to choose that end, too.

  Four stumbled. “My shoe always falls off.”

  Mia looked down. The woman was wearing an old sneaker. Where did the clothes come from? Did the monster keep the things they’d worn when they’d been kidnapped? The shoes looked as though they’d been found at a thrift shop.

  She paused while she waited for the woman to try and get it on again, bending the heel down in the process. “I need help. I can’t use my hands.”

  Warily Mia crouched down to straighten the shoe, holding the knife against the other woman’s calf in case she tried to kick her. A crashing sound had her raising her gaze. An animal was running at them. A large animal. Mia jumped up, realizing in the next moment that it was a dog.

  Taking advantage of her distraction, Four lowered her shoulder and knocked her off balance. The dog was circling them in short little arcs, barking furiously. She fell and Four took the opportunity to run. Mia was on her feet in the next moment. Turned and started after her. The dog held her in place, blocking her every attempt to follow the woman.

  Mia eyed it anxiously. Dogs had not been allowed on the Deleon estates, or in Gran’s brownstone. Her experience with the animals was nil, but this one was big and black and ferocious looking. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the large rock she’d gathered in case she needed it and then ran, leaping over the animal when it tried to block her path. Her hip howled in pain, in tune with the frenetic barking of the beast behind her.

  She chased after Four with adrenaline-fueled speed, leaping tree roots that would have tangled her feet and battling through underbrush. Unlike the woman’s pace earlier, she was fleet-footed now, and had a head start.

  The dog ran beside her, barking incessantly and kept trying to cut her off. The din almost masked the sound of a distant voice yelling her name from behind her. “Mia! Mia, stop.”

  Disbelieving, she swung around, scanned the area. Saw nothing. The dog took the opportunity to start running those crazy arcs around her again, trying to keep her in place. She caught a flash of fabric between the trees, and then saw a strange man in a bright orange vest step through it. A moment later Jude joined him.

  The leap in her heart was an uncontrollable response, one she couldn’t have controlled if she wanted to. He broke into a run when he saw her and if he’d suffered any ill effects from being tased this morning, they weren’t in evidence.

  “Four’s on the run!” She pointed in the direction the woman had headed. “I’ve got zip cuffs on her, but that animal…” The dog seemed to be standing on guard in case she tried following the other woman again. “It keeps getting in the way.”

  Jude gave her a visual once over that was as complete as it was swift. Warmth bloomed in the wake of his gaze. “You okay?”

  The urgency of the situation faded for a moment. She nodded. “I pepper sprayed her when I got out of the trunk.”

  His mouth curled. “Remind me to stay on your good side.”

  The bearded man next to Jude knelt next to the animal, feeding it a treat from his pocket. “This is Emma. Her methods are a bit unconventional for a SAR dog, but she gets the job done.”

  “Search and rescue,” Jude explained when she looked at him. “Al came immediately when the state police made a request and we gave the dog your phone to scent, and it picked up your trail.” He took out his cell and sent a text. “I’ll let the trooper know you’ve been found. He’s coordinating things with a couple of my operatives and a group of search volunteers.”

  The man was vigorously rubbing the dog’s ears. “Don’t need ’em now, do we Emma? You’re one of a kind.”

  “Can she follow a trail from smelling someone’s bag?”

  Al rose, cocked his head at her. The dog seemed to follow suit. “Depends. If the person handled it a lot, the bag would work. The handle especially. Does it belong to the woman on the run?”

  “Yes.” Mia started over toward the bag she’d dropped when Four had shoved her. The man brushed by her.

  “If it’s okay with you, I’ll do it.” He pulled a latex glove out of his jeans pocket. “We try to be careful with the scent articles so we don’t get too many different scents on it.” He peered into the bag before reaching into it. “There’s a phone in here. That might be a better scent article than the bag.” He withdrew it and held it up.

  Mia backed away involuntarily. The phone was black. Nondescript. But she knew without being told that Four had used it to communicate with The Collector. It was ridiculous to feel as though by touching it she was somehow touching him. But she was helpless to control the feeling.

  The handler held it out for the dog to sniff for several moments. “Go find, Emma. Go find.” The animal turned and trotted off a few feet, nose in the air, before lowering it to smell the ground. “She’s a tracker, but she’ll use air and ground scents.”

  Her earlier wariness around the creature forgotten, Mia trotted after it. Jude fell into step beside her. “Can the phone be traced?” she asked him. “Maybe back to the caller?” Could it be as easy as that? With all the hoopla about the NSA collecting cellphone data, how difficult could it be to track the man who had been giving directions to Four via this cell?

  Jude shot her a glance. Let it linger. “Depends. If it’s a TracFone or other disposable, or if it uses prepaid minutes without a contract…probably not.”

  The tiny hope faded before it could completely unfurl. “Not even by Raiker’s lab?”

  “His guys are good, but they can’t be better than the technology at hand.” The ground bega
n the incline she’d noted earlier. And with adrenaline fading, she was starting to feel the effects of the last several hours.

  Jude’s hand brushed hers. “You gave me a few bad moments today. Actually the whole day sucked.”

  Heat from his touch transferred to hers. She curled her fingers into her palm, trapping it there. “Things didn’t go according to plan. But once I had her under control I questioned her…” She looked away then, her jaw working. “Maybe a trained interrogator would get more. Probably would.”

  “She doesn’t know anything?”

  “Just where he’s supposed to meet us tonight. At Cardinal Cabin Rentals. She said it was near here. That he had given her explicit instructions. But she was supposed to dump the car and then the two of us walk. She said it was close.” Mia stopped in her tracks, unable to believe she hadn’t thought of it before. “We know where he’ll be!” Earlier Mia had focused on the horror of being close to him again without even considering what that proximity could mean. The prospect of the man being caught—perhaps in the next few hours—was too dizzying to contemplate.

  Jude took his phone out of one pocket and a card out of another. He unfolded a small attached antennae on the cell, saying, “That’s a detail we can use.” She listened as he called someone named Fenton and relayed the formation to him. After listening for a moment he looked at her. “Any idea what time he’s to arrive or the name of the actual cabin?” When she shook her head, he pressed, “Did Four make the arrangements or did he?”

  “He did.” Of that she could be sure. The woman had said as much and their captor controlled everything from afar, while sending the woman to carry out his wishes.

  But it could be over soon. The thought of it quickened her step. Made the increasingly steeper grade easier to traverse. The possibility of his capture seemed surreal. The Collector had been loose for years, snatching women away from their families and leaving little evidence behind. It still seemed amazing to her that the crimes had never been linked. The last thing she remembered was slipping out of a crowded DC club with friends for a smoke. The others had later gone back inside, while Mia had stayed for a second cigarette. She’d awakened in an unimaginable hell.

  The trees began thinning. When Mia looked behind her she was shocked at how far they had climbed. The ground grew rockier beneath their feet. And when she heard the excited baying ahead, she reached out to clutch Jude’s arm.

  “Tell him to keep the dog back. I want to try to approach her.”

  “Not a chance in hell.” Quickening his stride, Jude’s tone brooked no opposition. “You’ve been through enough.”

  She stayed his progress with a hand on his arm. “There’s no danger. You’ll be right behind me. I want her to see you here. The dog and the handler, too. She’ll realize she has no choice but to come with us. But your presence might scare her into running again, too, and at some point it’s going to get dark. I’d rather put an end to this sooner than later, wouldn’t you?”

  He stared at her then, a familiar glint in his eyes. “I’m getting to know you well enough to realize that when you sound the most reasonable all hell is about to break loose.”

  “Relax.” She gave him a small smile. “I still have some pepper spray in my pocket.”

  “Duly warned. Still…”

  The adrenaline that had faded earlier was making a comeback. Excitement was beginning to thrum in her veins. This could all be over before the end of the day. She didn’t dare believe it. But there was something deep within her that longed to. Surely it was time. No evil could run unchecked forever. “Maybe the police can use Four in some way to prepare for later tonight. Or the phone she has could be used to contact him. We need to bring this to a conclusion. One way or another.”

  His expression softened infinitesimally. “Yeah, we do. You get within ten feet of her and the cavalry is coming in, got it?” She nodded, impatient, and he blew out a breath. “Okay.”

  When Mia broke from the cluster of trees to where Emma was prancing and barking, the first thing she noticed was the spectacular view. They had indeed climbed some distance. The ground was almost all rock ahead, with a jagged ledge running twenty feet from left to right that jutted out over the forested valley below.

  And in the center of that ledge, close enough to the edge to weaken Mia’s knees even from where she stood was Four. She looked the worse for wear. Running through the forest and up an angled slope would have been difficult with her hands bound behind her. There was a scrape on that exquisite cheek. A bruise forming on one arm.

  “Emma. Come.” With a visible show of reluctance the animal stopped its cavorting and returned to its owner, who was waiting next to Jude well behind Mia.

  “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” The woman’s voice was held a thread of wistfulness. “It’s easy to forget there are spots like this. Where you can see the world all laid out beneath you.”

  Mia approached her, being careful to keep her promise to Jude. But she had to be near enough to the woman to have a conversation. “There are more places like this. All over the world. You could see them. Anytime you want. All you have to do is come with me.”

  “I’d like that, I think.” The woman turned to face her and Mia’s heart jumped a little. She was way too close to the edge. “We could go together, you and me. See every lovely site nature has to offer.”

  “We could.” She took a step closer. Heard Jude’s warning growl behind her. “Let’s start now. Walk toward me and we’ll talk about what we want to see first.”

  “Come and get me,” the woman invited. “At least meet me halfway. Otherwise how will I ever trust you?”

  “You don’t have to trust me.” Mia was getting desperate. There was a look in the woman’s eye that she’d seen all too often. “You’re free to leave here. Now. Go anywhere. Do anything. All you have to do is take a step this way. And then another.”

  Four sighed prettily. “It would be so much more satisfying to take that step together. I’m afraid. Come take my arm. Lead me back with you.”

  She wasn’t even aware that she’d taken another step toward the woman. Not until she saw Jude coming after her from the corner of her eye.

  “You’re a fool and you never deserved to be chosen.” The dreamy quality was gone from the other woman’s voice to be replaced by a familiar acrimony. “You can’t see that life without our master is no life at all.”

  “You’re wrong.” She didn’t move another inch. She knew she didn’t. But Jude’s hand was clamped around her arm just in case. “You have to give it time to realize what freedom feels like.” It had been an adjustment all those years ago, regardless of how much she’d coveted it. There had been no warm homecoming. No credibility. No feeling of safety. But it was millions of times better than being subjugated and abused nearly every day.

  “I’m going to be free. I just wish I could take you with me.” Four smiled a horrible smile. Backed up.

  Jude leaped forward as a strangled cry broke from Mia’s lips. But it was already too late. Poised on the edge of the ledge the woman leaped backwards. The moment slowed as if she hung suspended in the air. Then a moment later Four was gone from sight.

  In a few quick strides Jude was at the edge, looking down. Mia didn’t move. Couldn’t. When he turned back to caught his gaze with hers, an unspoken plea on her lips. The expression on his face said it all.

  “Oh my God.” The dog handler came bounding up to them. “Did you see that? She just let herself fall!”

  When Jude would have led her way, Mia’s feet remained rooted in place, her eyes glued to the spot where Four had been just a moment ago. And when he folded her into his arms, pressed her face to his chest, she let herself lean, just a little, against his strength. She’d known how emotionally traumatized the woman was. How impaired. But it was still hard to fathom that given a choice, Four had chosen death rather than the thought of being parted from a monster.

  * * * *

  He waited impatiently miles away fro
m the cabin, the van tucked into a gravel road with trees overarching it, branches mingling like interlocked fingers. Four was supposed to text him every hour on the hour. He hadn’t heard from her since this afternoon when she and Eleven had arrived in the area.

  Something was terribly wrong.

  Rationally he knew that, but his mind kept reeling out several plausible options. The phone could be lost. It could have been stolen. The battery may have gone dead and the charger was misplaced. It was two hours past the time that Four was to have contacted him and still no word. The phone lay in his lap. All he had to do was reach for it. Make a call that would put an end to his wondering.

  And yet he didn’t reach for it. Because then it would be all too final. All too real.

  The local news channels were worthless. Either they didn’t know anything—likely didn’t—or they were keeping it under wraps.

  Twenty more minutes crawled by. Mother had called twice on the other phone and he’d fobbed her off with a story about not feeling well and flying out later. The candelabra was safely packaged, insured and on its way to their business, because he’d intended on taking a couple days to get home.

  Finally unable to stand it any longer, he snatched up the phone and brought up the voice alteration app. Dialed the familiar number. After three rings he heard it picked up. But Four didn’t answer.

  “We’re waiting for you.” That voice. So familiar. So dear. “Why haven’t you come to get us?”

  “Eleven.” He breathed the word, his cock stirring in interest at the sound of it. “Where’s Four?”

  “She got hurt walking to the cabin. She needs help. When will you be here?”

  And then he knew the truth. The horrible final truth. The knowledge had been inside him for hours but there was no longer any denying it. “I have something picked out just for you.” The fury washed over him, and he struggled to rein it in. “You will be brought back to where you belong. And you will pay dearly for what you’ve done.”