Until Fools Find Gold: A Providence Gold Series and Until Series Crossover

by Mary B. Moore

  “We’re fine, but if you could thank him for us that would be great,” I said smiling at her. She’d worked for us for ten years now and was hitting her fifties. When it was me or one of my siblings on the plane, she played a mean game of poker with us.

  Always the professional, unless she was beating you out of your money with her cards, she nodded and moved to her chair to secure herself for landing.

  “A car is waiting,” Archer was the one to inform us as he looked at the screen of his phone. “I called ahead to a buddy who owns a service there, and he’s loaned us one of his SUV’s. His guy will be waiting with the keys.”

  It only took us a maximum of ten minutes to land and taxi to the private terminal, but it felt like it was hours.

  The whole time I grew more and more anxious wondering if Luna was okay or if she was in pain. The thought of her being hurt and scared ate away at me like acid in my chest.

  If she was hurt, there wasn’t a man alive who would stop me from killing the bastard who’d done it.

  15 Luna

  I wasn’t a stranger to pain. Either by my own stupidity or through my father’s abuse, I’d experienced enough of it throughout my life, but fuck me this hurt. It hurt so bad that even my shoulders and elbows hurt. Why did a messed-up jaw make them hurt, too?

  When I’d woken up from the box and whatever they’d put into it, I was in a room and chained to a bed. There wasn’t a lot of light apart from the dull bulb in the ceiling, but from what I could see, aside from the bed I was lying on, the room was empty and had just walls with no windows. It was cold and damp, but someone had kindly placed a blanket over me which smelled like what I’d imagine moldy ass would smell like.

  The same kind soul who’d given me the rank ass blankie had also kindly cuffed my hands to the bed above me. This caused me no end of issues, the main ones being obvious. But my bladder was close to exploding and with a busted jaw I could hardly move, and my arms stuck, I would have had to rely on my feet– one of which was broken– to make enough noise for someone to hopefully hear. That all would have been fine and well if I wasn’t the size of a freaking fly and the bed hadn’t been made for a giant.

  Never one to give in, or one to pee myself it had to be said, I lifted my foot and banged it on the wall. For any normal person that may have heralded results. For Luna Blue? Oh no, that led to me jiggling my full bladder to the point that my bladder control was now reliant on a wing and prayer, or lots of prayers, and I’d hurt my foot– the good one. Actually, hurt wasn’t the word. I had a suspicion I might have done something worse to it. Could you break your heel?

  Oh shit, I was going to have matching broken feet!

  At that moment, there was a noise outside the door and then it opened and in walked a slightly… rotund man who didn’t look unlike the Monopoly man. This guy wasn’t letting me out of jail or telling me to pass go while he gave me money though. Instead, he was sweating profusely, enough to leave sweat patches on a suit jacket, and had acne scars on his face. Monolopy man also looked like he had kind eyes, whereas this guy looked like he’d set you on fire and then send a photo of it to your mother for Christmas with a bow on it. Creepy fucker!

  “Ah, Luna,” he sneered, a bead of sweat pouring down his forehead as he stared at me.

  “Seriously dude, if someone with a crappy jaw in a room with practically no light can see your sweat and the sweat stains coming through your jacket, clearly, you might wanna invest in something that helps you out. I read they do Botox treatments or can cut sweat nerve things or whatever they’re called.” Is what I would have said if I could have said anything at all.

  No, scratch that, the first thing I would have said was, “Where’s the bathroom?” I could say it in Spanish, French, Italian and German too, so if he hadn’t spoken English, I wouldn’t have had an issue.

  Levi and I had decided to learn key phrases in those languages when we were in eighth grade, just in case. So far, I’d only had to use the Spanish knowledge on a handful of occasions.

  Instead of being able to wow him with my linguistic skills though, all I could do was look at him. I’d tried the mumbling route and even that had been too painful, and I couldn’t exactly point to my bladder with my hands cuffed above me. So, I just lay there and watched him as he looked me over.

  “I can see that you appear to have been injured during your trip here,” he said it like I’d been in a limo or a luxury vehicle of some form instead of a coffin with an oxygen hole. “Mm, I’ll have to have a word with Felipe about that.” He cut off what he was saying and looked at the door which was still open. I figured someone was standing in the doorway given the head nod he gave, before turning back to me, his eyes even colder than they had been before. “I gave him express instructions not to injure you. A few bruises we can ignore, but this,” he gestured to my face. “Unacceptable.”

  Gee, thanks!

  “I am going to undo your hands, it was merely a precaution to prevent you from falling out of bed whilst you slept off the gas. I expect you need the bathroom, too,” he continued talking to me like we were actually engaged in a conversation – one of those normal ones where both people took part.

  I shrank back into the bed as he leaned over me to undo the restraints. As he was working on my second hand, a drop of sweat started to grow on his chin and I squeaked and closed my eyes sure that it was going to land on my face.

  “Ah, there, there, preciosa Luna,” he crooned, rubbing his finger on my cheek. The pain it caused in my jaw was insane. “Come, we will get you cleaned up and then you will be more comfortable. I will have to let your father know that I require more time with you before his debt is paid. I’m sure the others will understand as they wouldn’t want you in less than perfect condition. Well, that’s a lie– the depraved fucks!”

  Contrary to his words, he grabbed my arm tightly and pulled me along with him.

  As we walked out of the door, I looked around quickly, but it all looked the same, not even a picture or a light or anything. There were dark wood floors and white walls as far as I could see. The only other door was the one next to my cell, and as he led me into it, I saw why. It was a suite with only a bed again, no windows, nada. The only difference in this one was that it was huge, and the bed looked way more comfortable than the last one. It was also warmer than the other one and there was another door in it.

  As we passed the door, he hit the switch that was on the wall and the light turned on inside. Some women might have played a tougher role, but gravity on a bladder that was way past full by fifty gallons… let’s just say every step had been a struggle. Because of this, I tore my arm out of his grip, flew into the room awkwardly on my broken feet, and slammed the door in his face.

  Unfortunately, I hadn’t understood the pain that each step would cause my jaw. Hell, even the vibration of the door slamming hurt it.

  Doing my best not to cry as I peed and fought the urge to throw up, I listened as the sounds of his laughter moved toward where the door to the room was.

  How the hell was I going to get out of here?

  Noah

  “You sold your daughter to pay your debts, you sick fuck,” I growled, using the sledgehammer on Rick’s leg again. I was alternating sides and working my way up toward his kneecap with each hit.

  I don’t think any of us had considered that he would be out of his mind on drugs though. Whatever he had taken had given him superhuman strength initially, until I’d knocked him out with a hard kick to the back of the head at the same time that Archer had kicked him in the front. After that, we’d been lucky that he hadn’t come around in the car as we drove to Dino’s friend’s place, an hour from Denver.

  Now, he was still flying high, but he wasn’t as strong and crazy as before. Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling the pain like a sober person would have either.

  The door swung open behind us, and the guy who owned the place, Roger, walked in.

  “Thought you guys might need this,” he said, ho
lding up a syringe.

  “What is it?” Levi asked, walking up to take it from him.

  “Something that will get the drugs out of his system. Drugs are a common occurrence in this world, so we make sure we have some on hand,” he explained, looking at Rick with eyes that would shrivel a normal man’s balls. “Just shove it in his thigh, hit the plunger and stand back.”

  “Roger that,” Levi replied as he walked back toward us.

  Realizing what he’d said, he started chuckling and looked back over his shoulder at Roger who just rolled his eyes. Guess he’d heard that one before.

  Sven was leaning against a table that held a disturbing selection of instruments to assist us with our inquiries, so I walked over and took the space next to him. Roger chose a spot on the wall near the door, not far from where Archer had taken up residence when we’d first come down here.

  “Open up for the choo-choo, fucker!” Levi sang, making a train noise and holding the syringe like someone would do with a spoon for a kid.

  When he was about a foot away from Rick’s restrained leg, he slammed it down.

  I’ll never know if it was the pain of the needle or the drugs wearing off that made him scream, but if I had to imagine the sound that came from hell, it would be what came out of the man following it.

  Four hours later…

  We were all sitting in the SUV again, heading back to the airport. This time, we’d called one of Sven’s friends who was a cop back in Tennessee. He was calling it in, and we were getting Police backup where we were going.

  “Do you think you’ll ever stop hearing his screams?” Levi whispered as he watched the passing scenery out the window.

  He hadn’t torn Rick’s balls off and fed them to him, but it had come close.

  I was saved from answering him by his phone ringing. Seeing the nervous look on his face, I looked away to give him some privacy.

  I think what had happened in that bunker would change all of us for life. Hell, the information that her father had spewed at us looked like it had even changed Roger for life, and I wasn’t sure that was possible given the business he ran.

  How does a father sell his daughter to three men who he knew would literally cause life-altering damage to her body? Who would rape her and allow her to be raped for however long they decided?

  He’d told us that two assholes who sold pussy weren’t going to be charging the patrons who used her body for their own pleasure. They were just going to use her as an ‘incentive’ for the men to try their paid whores– as if this made it okay. The third was just a sick fuck who liked to abuse women in the worst ways possible.

  What kind of father did that?

  I wasn’t sure if it’s what we’d done to Rick or what he’d admitted to us that had me swallowing wildly to force down the bile that was threatening to come out my mouth.

  Sven was talking to Maggie who was updating him on her last call with their kids. I prayed that Luna and I were like that in five year’s time, with kids that we could call each other with updates on, still as in love as the day we got married.

  What if we were too late?

  It was at that moment that Levi hung up the phone, swore harshly and then turned to face me. I wasn’t sure I liked the look on his face, something which I became very sure of when he said the next words.

  “It would appear that we have an extra person coming along for the journey.”

  That all might have been okay if it hadn’t been for the gulp and cough that he followed the words with.

  “Who the fuck is that?” Sven questioned from behind us, leaning over and pointing at the big guy standing beside the helicopter that was waiting for us.

  Squinting, I leaned forward and then I realized exactly who he was.

  “Fuck,” I hissed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “That would be Luna’s brother, Madix.”

  “He’s huge,” Sven pointed out, unnecessarily.

  I knew exactly how huge he was, and exactly how protective of his sister he was– almost as protective as her husband.

  Chuckling, Sven clapped me on the shoulder and got ready to get out as we pulled to a halt beside the seething bear. “I wonder how he’s gonna react when he finds out she married you?” Now that prospect might make me slightly nervous. “Glad I’m not you,” he added, giving me a shove to get out of the vehicle.

  “Which one of you fuckers was meant to be watching her?”

  For four big guys who had just carried out some highly illegal atrocities on his piece of shit stepfather, we all swallowed audibly at the question. Then, they all pointed at me and walked toward the helicopter.

  “That would be her husband,” my asshole of a brother muttered as he sped up and almost pushed Archer out of the way.

  I’m not sure what part of the information he was talking about, but when he grabbed me by the beard and yanked me toward him and growled, “You’re a dead man!” I did the only thing I could– I put him in his fucking place.

  Causing him pain would only hurt Luna when she found out, and no way would I ever do that.

  “My wife, your sister, is being held somewhere where the piece of shit intends to offer her up as an incentive for his clientele to use his available pussy. Once he’s done, the next pimp will be doing the same– in Mexico. Once he’s done, the last dick on the IOU list is…”

  “Let’s go,” he snapped, letting go of me and looking even more pale than normal. There was no doubting the rage in his eyes or the stiff set of his shoulders as he stalked to where the others were waiting for us.

  Madix had been known to lose his shit hugely when it came to his little sister. He was well known for breaking bones and making no apologies for it if some asshole loser hurt his sister. Well, only the male ones. He was soft as shit when it came to women.

  For the guys that he didn’t use his fists on, all he had to do was glare at them and they ran screaming.

  At six-foot-eight inches tall, with an olive complexion unlike his sister’s, and eyes that were such a dark gray that they look almost black– unless he was what Luna called ‘super pissed’ and then they went lighter like the color of steel - he was like a bear. He’d filled out even more in the time since I’d last seen him too which made him look even more savage.

  No, I couldn’t say it was a bad thing at all to have him along for the ride.

  Apart from the fact that his eyes were now the color of the ‘super pissed’ variety– and they were pointed at me.

  16 Luna

  Something was happening. It had started five minutes ago–the normally quiet house suddenly had sounds.

  Above me, the ceiling creaked, and I heard the faint sound of a door slamming further away from my room. That was followed by the sounds of feet moving quickly in my direction.

  Just as I was processing the noises, the door swung open and the man who I’d seen before, Mr. Monopoly, walked into the room holding a big plastic bag.

  Without a word he walked over to me, grabbed my hand and started dragging me quickly behind him down the hallway. At the very end, was a white door that hadn’t been visible from my previous five second journey from my original cell to my bigger cell. My feet were screaming at me with every step, but the guy had a scarily good grip in his hands as he dragged me toward it.

  Flinging open the door, I saw a closet with a bar hanging at the top. It wasn’t a sinister-looking place seeing as how the bar was probably to hang clothes on, but it was small and dark… nothing good was coming from this.

  Grabbing my hand, he cuffed it and swung the chain between the cuffs over the bar before swiftly attaching my other hand so that I was being held up by the rail above me.

  In weeks to come, I’d kick myself for not putting up a fight, not making it more difficult for him to do what he did, but at that moment I didn’t have a clue what was happening. For a big guy, he moved quickly. Plus, taking a hit to the head that is hard enough to fuck up your jaw kind of scrambles your brain– or so I was later told.
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br />   “I’m sorry it had to come to this,” he said, very matter-of-factly, like he wasn’t about to do what he did. “I was looking forward to our time together,” he continued, sounding almost like he was being inconvenienced.

  The way I was cuffed had me facing the back of the closet, and my main concern at that moment was him closing the door and leaving me in a tiny pitch-black room. In fact, I’d already started sweating and my heart was about to beat out of my chest with the panic.

  I wouldn’t be able to breathe.

  I wouldn’t be able to see.

  I wouldn’t be able to scream to let people know where I was if a miracle happened and someone passed by wherever we were.

  I was going to die in this tiny place, and it would take days.

  Days of darkness.

  Days of not being able to see.

  Days of torture.

  Oh Jesus, I was going to end up on one of those crime shows. Someone would find my skeleton in five years hanging from this fucking shiny rail and they’d have to do DNA testing. Wait, no. Your skin and muscles and shit held your body together, didn’t it? If that was the case, in five years, I’d be a pile of bones on the floor and they’d have to use freaking glue to put me back together and figure out who I was.

  Would they need dental records? I hadn’t been to the dentist since Dad had taken me. Did they keep records that long? What if someone had the exact same work I did? Would I be buried in the wrong grave?

  I realized I was panting and started trying to calm myself down when he spoke again and I heard a weird rustling behind me.

  “In fact, I’d been considering keeping you to myself. Well, at least once your face healed,” he added, like it was my fault that my face was broken. “Unfortunately, this is not to be the case.”

  Nothing else was said as he shook out what sounded like the bag he was carrying, and in the next moment it was yanked over my head, and then he tightened it around my neck.