by Bella Grant
Grace listened as his footsteps faded and the outer door opened and closed. Once she was certain he had left, she dropped to her knees, her arms around her middle, and screamed. Her screams became sobs, and her sobs were hysterical. No conscious thought occurred for several minutes as she allowed the last five days of terror and stress to release from her body. As the hysteria abated, her body fell to the side, and she lay in the fetal position until she fell asleep.
She woke not long after, judging by the lukewarm, untouched food. Her mind was calm after the bout of unconsciousness, and she began to devise a plan. A long shot, but I have to try something, she mused as she returned to the table and lifted her fork. She needed her strength, and though her stomach twisted and she feared she’d vomit, she forced her hand to scoop up food and put it in her mouth. She chewed, having to concentrate on the natural act, and swallowed with difficulty.
I need my strength. Be strong, Grace, be strong, she told herself internally, not trusting herself to speak aloud. If her voice quavered, she would succumb to the fear and fall in a heap on the floor again. Think of Elaine and Faye and Mom. Charlie and Ethan. All your friends, she thought as she ate another bite. She slowly found her strength in thoughts of her family, and she continued working on her plan in her mind.
Grace didn’t sleep again. When she lay down on her concrete slab, visions of a blonde woman sprinting through the woods filled her mind like a slasher film. Before the real horror could begin, she would jump up and begin to pace, occupying her mind with any mundane information she could think of.
What she assumed was hours later, for she’d lost track of time days ago, two women appeared at her cell door. Both were dressed as soldiers, and both wore guns at their hips. Both had dark hair and eyes, and neither were pretty. These were henchwomen, if such a thing existed.
One stepped inside and spoke to her in a mixture of Spanish and English. When Grace only stared at her uncomprehendingly, the other huffed and said, “We’re taking you upstairs.”
“You speak English?” Grace asked, her head jerking to the second.
“I’m from Texas,” the woman revealed, bored. “More money for a woman of my profession in Mexico.”
“What is your profession?” The woman grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the cell, yanking her around like a doll. “Damn, are you a professional wrestler?”
The woman smirked. “Smart ass. You won’t like what happens if you speak like that to your owner.”
Grace sniffed indignantly. “I don’t have an owner.”
“You will,” she commented as if it were common knowledge.
Grace stopped speaking as they ascended a set of stairs and exited the basement in which she’d been kept. The sun was high in the sky, indicating midday, and Grace squinted and lifted her free arm to cover her eyes. She looked in every direction as they walked, though she didn’t turn her head. She had been held captive in what looked like the grounds of a huge mansion, and they were currently walking through a stunning courtyard to the main house. The courtyard, though, was surrounded by a high wall on every side, and there were surveillance cameras fifteen feet apart along the wall.
As they entered the house, Grace looked for escape routes. They passed what she assumed was the front door, but she’d bet her life—which probably would be short if she failed—that the front was also covered by surveillance cameras. She noted four cameras watching them as they rushed through the house and up a set of stairs. They walked past seven doors before entering a bedroom larger than her apartment, and Grace immediately counted the windows and wondered how far the drop was.
The woman holding her arm released her and gestured to a door by lifting her chin in its direction. “Take a shower. Leave your clothes on the floor. We have new ones for you.”
Grace looked at her. “As much as I’d love a shower, I prefer to remain fully clothed, thanks.”
“Take a shower on your own, or Esmerelda and I will bathe you,” the woman told her, scorn in her tone. “You won’t like it if we have to do it, honey.”
“Esmerelda?” Grace asked, looking at the larger of the two women before returning her gaze to the Texan. “What’s your name?”
“Anna. Take a shower alone, or do you want a couple of big bitches to help you?” she asked, smirking meanly. Esmerelda nodded, her thick neck making her look like a linebacker.
Grace tilted her head and snorted, heading to the bathroom as she said, “I think I can manage.” She stopped and faced Anna. “You do know what he’s going to do with me, right?”
“I can guess,” she replied without expression.
“And you’re okay with that? With a woman being sold like cattle?”
Anna shrugged. “None of my business.”
“That’s really shitty,” Grace told her, frowning. “You’re really shitty.” Esmerelda spoke in rapid Spanish, and Anna laughed. “What she’d say?”
Anna’s eyes shifted to her, a vicious expression in her eyes. “She said you won’t be alive long with that mouth. Unless you learn how to use it for something other than talking.”
“Fuck you, and fuck her,” Grace growled quietly as she stomped into the bathroom. The first thing she saw was a mirror, and she gasped at her reflection. Both eyes were blacked, and a bruise had formed around the corner of her mouth, though she had no idea how she got it. Probably that asshole holding my mouth, she grumbled internally. She turned away from the mirror and wondered how Tomas expected to sell her when she looked like she’d had her ass handed to her.
She stripped quickly after turning on the water, and when she stepped under the stream, she sighed with the first pleasure in days. She’d never been so filthy in her life, and as she washed five days of grime off, the aches she’d been trying to ignore advanced on her. Her shoulder, which was a riot of purples and blues, hurt when she raised her arms to wash her hair. She grunted and lowered her arm, using only one hand to finish her washing. To escape, she would have to ignore that pain, so she let the water beat on the shoulder a moment, hoping some of the ache would vanish.
She toweled off quickly and thought about the best course of action. If she could get one of the women to leave the room, she might be able to get out one of the windows. The bathroom had a tiny window she couldn’t get through, but she looked out and noted the window on this side opened onto a roof so she wouldn’t have to drop fifteen feet to the ground. She hoped one of the bedroom windows had the same access.
Anna banged on the door and yelled, “Hurry up! We’re supposed to get you dressed and take you downstairs.”
Grace jerked the door open and glared at her, a towel wrapped around her body. “What am I wearing?” Anna threw a thumb over her shoulder, and she followed with her eyes. A green dress lay on the bed, stunning in its cut and color. She walked to it and lifted it, frowning. “This is very revealing.”
“You’re being sold, bitch. Did you expect overalls?” Anna scoffed.
Grace turned to her and smiled slightly, dropping the towel to distract the women. Esmerelda’s gaze swept her body from head to toe, lust plain on her face, but Anna only looked at her. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Can I have something?”
Anna narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Your owner can feed you.”
“I’m not a goddamned dog!” Grace exploded. “Can I have some fruit or something?”
Anna spoked rapidly to Esmerelda, who gave Grace an ugly look and left the room. Anna returned her gaze and said, “She thinks you’re an idiot.”
“I’m not too fond of you or her, so…” she said, shrugging. She sat on the bed near a bedside table with a heavy looking lamp. She was grateful Anna had stayed rather than the other, who was much larger than Grace. Anna was close in size, though the clothes would hang on her if she stole them. Assuming her plan worked.
“Get up and get dressed, bitch,” Anna ordered. “You can eat your snack on the way downstairs.”
“I’m tired,” she said, hoping Anna would walk close
r when she defied her, “and a little dizzy. Can I sit for a minute?”
As she’d hoped, she stomped to her and hissed, “Get the hell up and get dressed, or I’ll knock your ass out and dress you.”
With speed she didn’t know she was capable of, she grabbed the lamp and yanked it off the table towards Anna’s head. The woman reacted, but too slowly, and Grace was able to smash the lamp into her head, breaking the heavy base into shards. She dropped to the floor, unconscious, and Grace stared at her, aghast at what she’d done.
Chapter 7
Tony had watched the women’s progress from the hole in the ground to the second floor through his binoculars. The security around de Velazquez’s place was nearly impenetrable, but once Tony knew which room Grace McIntyre was taken to, he could zap the nearest cameras and hopefully get her out. Guards were interspersed throughout the grounds, but their rounds were only performed after dark. During the day, they remained stationary, which would prove useful when he grabbed Grace.
After a quick sweep of the nearest guards, he returned his magnified gaze to the bedroom window where Grace had been taken and watched silently as she conversed with the two women. Either she spoke Spanish or one of them spoke English. When Grace walked into the bathroom, he shifted his position so he could see into the window there, but it was too small for a possible view or escape. The woman was tall and athletically built, not a six-year-old. Cursing internally, he returned to the bedroom and contemplated the best window to access and get her out.
The two women chatted as they waited for Grace, who took her time in the shower. He couldn’t blame her. His intel had revealed she’d been kept in a basement cell without running water for nearly a week. She was filthy, and she had been beaten more than the couple of hits he’d seen on the film. But to his surprise, when she walked through the doors of the basement, her head was high and her gait sure, even if it was a little slow, probably due to soreness. Hoping her strength was real and not a show, Tony thought their escape would go much more smoothly once he saw her.
While he waited, his eyes on the bathroom door, he pulled out a photograph of Grace given to him by Charles. She was beautiful, with perfect green eyes and strawberry blonde hair as straight as an arrow. The woman who walked out of the bathroom looked haggard, tired, and beaten, but her beauty couldn’t be hidden by any of those things. His spy had told him she was to be sold to the highest bidder, and Tony was certain she’d fetch an astronomical price.
He frowned when she dropped the towel, his cock hardening while simultaneously, his rage was fueled by the bruises on her body, specifically her right shoulder and hip. He forced the blood away from his cock so he could concentrate on rescuing the woman before that body was used for illicit, revolting purposes. As he watched, the larger of the two women left the room, and Grace vanished behind a wall where he couldn’t see her. The smaller woman, about Grace’s size, spoke, then stomped across the room as if she might attack her captive. Tony’s body stiffened briefly, then relaxed with a surprised breath when the woman’s body fell to the floor, a lamp shattering around her.
Fascinated, as if he were watching a good movie, he watched as Grace began to undress the woman and don her clothes, stealing her boots as well, her hands moving speedily as if she knew she’d be caught at any moment. With a smile that revealed his respect for this woman, he thought, Strong despite the pain. Good.
She stepped to the window once fully dressed in clothes two sizes too big for her and jerked it open, leaning out to look in all directions before climbing onto the roof outcropping. Her wet hair swept into her face, and she pushed it out of the way as she hurried to the edge and looked over.
Tony wondered if she’d jump and he’d get to her before she disappeared or was recaptured. He tossed his binoculars in his backpack and slung it over his shoulders quickly as he rose. With swift feet, he raced down and killed the cameras on that part of the wall, used a well-placed tree to vault over, and hurried to the most likely place for her to have landed. When he rounded the corner, she was dangling from the roof and dropped to the ground, grunting softly as she landed. She whipped around and looked in all directions, spying him almost immediately. Her mouth opened to scream, and Tony rushed her, putting his hand over her mouth and lifting her to her feet as he pushed her against the wall.
“Don’t scream, Grace.”
Her eyes widened when he said her name, but she fought him despite the fact that he knew her, attempting to get loose. Hoping he wasn’t hurting her, he held her more tightly and pressed his body against hers to stop her movements. At his height, she had to look up at him, and her eyes, while wide and frightened, were also fierce.
“Charles sent me to get you,” he hissed as she continued to squirm. She slowed her movements and stared into her eyes. “My name is Tony Romano. I used to be Special Forces. Met Charles in the service. He called and asked me to come get you.”
Though her body didn’t relax in the slightest, she stopped squirming. He released her mouth and heard her voice in its normal timbre for the first time. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Spies,” he answered quickly as he looked over his shoulder. “We’ll talk later. We have to move.”
Grace looked as if she wanted to ask a million questions, but she nodded her head. He put a finger to his lips and turned, releasing her from the wall, but he could still feel the imprint of her body against his. Shaking his lust with difficulty, he scanned the immediate area, looking for an escape. They couldn’t climb the wall from this side without being spotted by a guard, so they would have to find a gate.
He flattened his body against the house, chest first, and began to slide to the corner, where he peeked around. The front gate was nearly a hundred yards from their position, but a jeep and two cars were parked close to the front of the house. Four guards stood near the gates with weapons in their hands. From his vantage point, he could see no other guards and hoped there weren’t any. He glanced back at Grace, who was looking in all directions. He gripped her hand in his, and her eyes swung to his.
“We’re going to sprint for the jeep. Best choice to get us through the terrain,” he whispered. “When we get to it, lay as flat as possible in the seat while I hotwire it.”
She stared at him as if he were insane, but she nodded without speaking. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, knowing the woman was completely out of her element, then released her. Unlike in the movies, running while holding hands slowed progress and usually caused one or the other person to fall. He’d always thought it was stupid. Remembering where he was, he scanned the area again and saw no one.
“Ready?” he asked without looking at her.
“Yes.” Her whisper was barely audible.
Tony looked at her, saw her resolve, and nodded at her. He lifted his hand, counted to three on his fingers, and they sprinted. She fell behind, but not by much, and they reached the jeep almost simultaneously. She hopped in just as a voice yelled a warning, and more voices joined the call. They’d been spotted. Tony threw his pack in the backseat, cursing as he climbed into the driver’s side, but his irritation turned to elation when he saw the keys dangling in the ignition.
“That’s lucky,” he commented, smirking at her. She lifted her eyebrows and breathed out what could have been a laugh. A good sign, he thought as he jerked the keys and turned the jeep on. It roared to life, a rumble like thunder in the relative quiet of the courtyard. The yells had stopped, but to Tony, that was a bad sign. They were gathering men, gathering weapons, to stop them from leaving.
“Oh God! Go! Go!” Grace yelled when she looked over her shoulder.
Tony followed her eyes and saw a dozen men running towards them, assault rifles in their hands. He leaned out the driver’s side through the missing door, pulled his pistol, and shot the front tires of both trucks. He hoped that would give them some time before they were followed.
He threw the jeep into gear, spinning the tires as he drove towards the front gate. T
hree men stood in front of it, aiming at them, though they didn’t shoot. Tony wondered at their hesitation but put the thought away as he pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The vehicle jerked forward like a lion leaping at its prey, and the men at the gate jumped to either side to avoid death by jeep grill.
They hit the gate with a jarring crunch, but the large front bumper took the brunt of the crash. The gate exploded outward, and they were free. Only after they had left the compound did gunshots begin echoing through the forest. Grace slumped low in the seat, and Tony leaned over the steering wheel as bullets pinged off the metal. He vaguely heard her mumbling over and over, but he couldn’t focus on her.
He sat up and looked in the rearview mirror as the jeep careened around a corner and was hidden by the trees. No vehicles followed them, but they would soon. A dash off-road would be the best plan, but the forest was unmapped and without a visible trail. Tony could survive a trek through the jungle to the nearest town, but Grace had already spent several days having he didn’t know what done to her. He had no idea if she’d eaten or what strength she had left. He hoped she could find her strength, because their journey wasn’t over by a long shot.
Fifteen minutes later, they were still speeding down a gravel road, though they’d turned off the main road that led to de Velazquez’ mansion as soon as they could. Grace had sat up in her seat and put on her seatbelt, gripping it in her hands so tightly her knuckles were white. She turned constantly and watched the road behind them, even though Tony was sure she couldn’t see anything more than the dust cloud the jeep was kicking up.
Tony had studied the area on the flight down, so he knew where they needed to be for a rescue attempt to happen. The jeep, though, could not continue as their mode of transportation. They would abandon it somewhere for it to be easily found by de Velazquez’s men, hopefully after they were far from it.