It had only been a few days since he saw the oldest Duncan woman take the supplies from the FEMA camp at the school. And now she seemed to be missing. He wondered if they could be lucky and the infected finished the job Callahan couldn't seem to complete. If they had to kill one at a time, that's the way it would go. Eventually all of the Duncans would be dead, and 'The Suit' could rest easy with their secret staying secret. Even the doctors working in his underground lab, didn't know where the plague originated. Taking control of the narrative was 'The Suit's' goal. He fed them a story of an attack from a world power and let them fill in the blanks on their own.
He sat back in his luxurious chair, comfortable in his hidden bunker. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel where the Duncans disappeared one at a time. He had taken down the entire US government. No way one small family was going to be the wrench in his plan.
Chapter Twelve
"What in the hell is a dead brothel?" Alex growled.
Standing outside the old civic center building, Alex began to struggle with her captors. She knew it was futile, but she wouldn't walk willingly into something called a brothel, let alone one that had the word dead in its title. Instead of answering her question, a second man grabbed one of her arms and together the two practically lifted her from her feet as they walked toward the door. The front windows were all broken out and boarded. Alex imagined at one time the building was beautifully cared for. Now there were boards replacing glass, with squares cut out for the barrels of rifles to fit through. Some openings held eyes, that followed them as they walked across the street. A catcall came from one window and Alex began to fight even more.
"You have a wildcat there!" Another voice came, yelling from a window above.
"The Noble Lord is going to love her," a reply came from another lookout.
The men dragging Alex laughed along with the other men, but as she fought, they strained to keep a handle on her. With her hands bound behind her again with handcuffs, Alex had little leverage to do any damage that would give her a chance at running. She was also sure if she did start running, the lookouts wouldn't hesitate to shoot her down in the street. She imagined that was where many of the bodies came from that lay decaying at their feet. In her mind she knew that many of the recently dead on the ground weren't infected before dying. She averted her eyes from the bodies as she realized there were also bodies of children laying haphazardly across the road.
Panic rose in her mind and she tried to push it to a dark corner of her brain. She needed all of her focus on what was happening around her. To keep herself distracted, she counted windows, guns that she could see, and men that watched her. When she got to fifteen men, she found it harder to push the fear away. She didn't know what she expected of the Noble Lord's operation, but she found herself shell shocked at the size. Her mind flashed to Marcus. She wanted to believe he was coming for her. That he had gotten her siblings and would come hurtling in to save the day.
However, her fear was screaming at her. She was on her own. How would they find her now? She wasn't able to leave any sort of sign for them. No breadcrumbs or clues to where the gang of men had carted her off to. She thought back to when they had tracked down Rafe after he had been taken by the military. They had clues from the town people that saw him abducted. Alex wanted to scream thinking how they had taken her in an empty alley. No one could have seen them.
Desperation fueled her need to fight against her captors. Her hands were useless behind her, but that wasn't going to stop her. Stepping close to one captor, Alex lifted her leg quickly and snapped out a sidekick at the legs of another man trying to hold her. His leg collapsed under him and as he went down, Alex was ready, bringing her foot up to kick the man in the face. His head flew back, causing his body to follow. Blood flew from his mouth, spraying across Alex's face. When his head bounced off the ground, Alex pulled away from the second man holding her. She only quickly registered the look of surprise on his face when she pivoted and kicked him in the stomach, her leg snapping back to the ground from the rear kick.
"Goddamnit, grab her!" Lewis yelled from the doorway he was about to walk through.
His face was beet red and Alex wanted to make a comment about blood pressure. She didn't have a chance though, as arms wrapped around her from behind. The man lifted her off the ground and her legs flailed. Throwing all of her weight forward the man grunted as he had to follow her momentum. Alex continued her throw as the man came dislodged from her middle. She turned slightly, allowing the man to fall over her. The bitter woman in Alex felt fulfilled as she kicked the man in the groin, with a running start as if she were a star soccer player.
The telltale sound of a gun being cocked near her ear caused Alex to stutter to a halt in her fight. The cold metal touched her cheek and pressure was used to turn her head. The determination in Alex froze like ice in her veins as her eyes met the fury in Lewis' stare. He pressed the gun's sharp front sight into her throat. Alex had the sick feeling that he had sharpened the small piece of metal into a point for this exact reason. She could feel a trickle of blood drip down her neck as she stared at him. Alex wouldn't flinch. She wouldn't give him any leverage over her. He wouldn't know how scared she truly was.
"The Noble Lord only cares about your face. The rest of you can be as ugly as I want to make it. You can still please the men with a few less fingers," Lewis said, his voice laced with menace.
"Anyone that tries to touch me will end up losing more than fingers," Alex said through gritted teeth.
"You don't know when to give up, do you?"
"Never," she replied. Her voice was stronger than she felt at that moment.
The two of them stood, staring at one another. Lewis' red skin tone didn't decrease as Alex continued to refuse to bend to his will. She stared directly in his eyes as he slid the razor-sharp sight down her neck to her collarbone. The sting of the cut was continuous as her skin was broken. She refused to even blink in a way that would show her pain. Lewis wanted her to hurt and Alex wasn't in the business of helping kidnappers.
The standoff was interrupted by a man coming out of the building. He was surprisingly well dressed in dark khaki slacks and a polo shirt. His shoes were brown shiny leather. He walked toward Lewis and Alex carefully, picking his way around the dead bodies that lay in his path.
"Lewis, what is going on here?" The man asked in a clipped, no-nonsense tone. Lewis spared a glance at the man before removing the sharp point from Alex's body. He turned to face the well-dressed addition.
"Clive, please tell the Noble Lord I've brought him a new toy."
"Where is Bambi?" The man called Clive asked, without looking in Alex's direction.
"She jumped from our moving vehicle. We couldn't get her back," Lewis said.
"The Noble Lord won't be pleased to hear this," Clive replied.
"I'll explain it. We chased her down just like he asked. But she ran and got away once. Then she jumped from the van when it was moving. The dead have her now."
Clive sniffed in a dismissing manner, as if to say Lewis and his explanation would never be good enough. Lewis was clearly used to the attitude toward him because he didn't even attempt to straighten his perpetually slouched stance. Alex was trying to determine the hierarchy between the men. It was clear Clive felt superior to the dirty gang member. But Lewis didn't seem very concerned with his judgement.
"I'm no one's toy," Alex said breaking the silence.
Neither man spared her a glance. The clear dismissal infuriated her, and she began to pull against Lewis' grip on her arm. Still ignoring her, he shoved her into the waiting arms of a man. Alex could feel the blood flowing into her face, her temper rising.
"The Noble Lord has been alerted to your arrival. Clean this up before you come to his office," Clive said as he motioned to the two men struggling to get to their feet. Alex hadn't permanently damaged either of them. However, she found herself hoping they felt like they had been hit by a semi-truck.
"
Yes, sir. We got this," Lewis responded with a hint of sarcasm.
Clive narrowed his eyes momentarily. Alex held her breath, hoping for a confrontation between the men. When Clive just smiled ruefully at Lewis and walked away, Alex felt deflated. Lewis waited until Clive disappeared inside before turning to address the men.
"You morons need to get it together. The Noble Lord isn't going to pay us anything if you are sniveling all over the street," he barked out.
The men tried to brush themselves off and look capable. Alex stifled a laugh, knowing how easy it was to take down most of the men when they weren't armed. But, knowing they were going to see this Noble Lord they all worked on looking tough and a semblance of worthy soldiers. As Alex was pushed forward, she intentionally dragged her feet, tripping over the dead bodies. She forced the man holding her to slow down and support more of her body weight. She looked around, her mind trying to come up with a plan. Her eyes landed on Lewis and she found him staring at her, his gun in his hand again.
"I see the wheels turning, bitch. Don't even think about trying to run again."
"I'll be thinking of nothing else until I kill you," Alex said. Her voice was light and casual. Completely contrary to the thundering of her heart.
Lewis just continued to stare as she was forced to the open door of the Dead Brothel. The entrance was dark and musty. The smell of decay and unclean bodies hung heavy on the air. The blanket of stench smacked Alex in the face and she had to breathe through her mouth to stop herself from gagging. As her eyes became accustomed to the dim light, she looked around the long lobby. Men watched her from their posts at the windows. Some sneered, others catcalled. Alex just ignored them, working to memorize the set-up in the room. If she had the chance to escape, she would take it. And she couldn't risk being lost in the cavernous building.
The inside of the building boasted tall ceilings and ornate decorations on the walls. Alex could see where construction had been in process in the old world. Now the tools were in disarray, holes in the walls were uncovered and the scaffolding was now used to post shooters at high windows. Graffiti marred the beautiful old walls. Words of adoration for the Noble Lord and graphic depictions of sexual acts were the greeting to any visitor. Alex hated the Noble Lord even more now that she saw the destruction of what was once a beautiful building.
"What do we have here?"
Alex's attention was brought around by a female voice. Behind the bars of a ticket booth a woman studied Alex with hard eyes. One of her eyes was swollen and bruised, a gift from any number of men around them at the moment. However, the woman didn't seem to be in the booth against her will. A cigarette hung from thin lips, smoke curling around her face. Her hair hung in oily strands, clearly, she was a brunette but had bleached her hair. Now roots showed prominently. She raised her eyebrow at Alex as she realized Alex was just staring at her without saying a word.
"A new piece for the Noble Lord," Lewis said proudly.
He moved forward and the woman flipped open a large book that sat on the counter behind the bars. She flipped pages, scanning the names and dates from what Alex could see. Lewis was clearly feeling impatient as he shifted from foot to foot.
"Also, we brought the Noble Lord's property that this woman tried to steal. That should get us extra rations."
"We shall see, Lewis."
Lewis leaned against the counter, trying to look alluring. Alex thought he just looked like a dirty clown.
"Come on, Bets. Do me a solid. My boys and I worked hard for this one. And we stopped thieves from getting his stuff," Lewis said.
The woman called Bets grunted noncommittally and continued her search. When she finally found the page she was looking for, Lewis stepped back uncomfortably. Alex felt intrigued about what the book held and what would put the look of apprehension on the gang leader's face.
"Lewis, you are still in the hole for the last advance you were given. And Clive said you lost the pet, so that's not going to help you," Bets said.
"I'll discuss it with him," Lewis said. He then grabbed a handful of Alex's hair, pulling her head back painfully.
"This one is full of fire. She's worth more than that pet plus one."
"That woman has a name. It was Leona. She was no one's pet. Neither am I," Alex said.
Another grunt from Bets who was noting something in her book. No one paid any mind to Alex's sudden statement. She realized that these people were probably used to outbursts, screaming, and fighting. Nothing Alex did would surprise them. Suddenly, Clive appeared again, and he motioned to Lewis to follow him. Shifting his grip to Alex's handcuffed wrists, Lewis pushed her forward. Alex tripped at the sudden thrust and Lewis tightened his hand painfully on her arm. She tried to pull away once, but his fingers cut into her skin and she decided to save her energy.
As they walked away from the lobby, they passed by a large staircase. Three men stood at the bottom, looking bored. Alex could see light streaming from open windows and a curve that led the stairs toward the back of the building. She tried to slow her steps, hoping to see someone coming or going from the stairs, but there was no movement. When she began to pull away from Lewis again, he yanked her roughly to push her through the open door at the end of the lobby. The next room was at least triple the size of the lobby, with huge ceilings. Exposed beams went across the roof. Hanging from the beams were makeshift walls, created from thick canvas that hung to the floor. Crude openings were cut into sections of the canvas to create doors to the rooms.
The sounds were the first thing that struck Alex. Soft crying echoed from somewhere far off. The angry words of a man bounced off the walls, reaching Alex and turning her stomach. The sound of slapping flesh, whether in anger or forced passion, she couldn't distinguish. Self-preservation demanded that she try to flee as she began to backpedal. A man came through one of the nearby canvas openings, buttoning his pants and carrying his shirt in his hands. He glanced over at Alex as Lewis struggled to continue forward motion with her.
"She new here?" The man asked.
"Maybe. The Noble Lord will meet her and decide if she's up to standards," Clive replied, in a tone that sounded like a car salesman instead of a man harboring the rape and torture of women.
"I like fresh meat," the man replied as he continued to get dressed.
"If you like your meat attached to your bones, you'll stay away from me," Alex hissed.
The men, minus Clive, laughed as if Alex was the stand-up comic of the apocalypse. Then with brutal force, the man whipped out a palm and slapped Alex across the face. Against her will, her head flew to the side. She stayed like that for a beat, before turning back and looking at the man. Blood welled from a split in her lip and she stared directly at the man as she slowly licked it. The man's eyes followed the movement of her tongue and Alex was sickened by the way his eyes grew hot. He reached down and adjusted himself without taking his eyes from her. Disgusted, Alex spit blood at the man's feet and waited for the next blow. Just as the man started to get angry, Clive stepped in front of him.
"If you want to hurt the property, you'll have to pay for the marks. You know the rules. And until the Noble Lord accepts her, she's not for sale. Come back later," Clive said, as he dismissed the man with a wave.
With one more look over her body, the man walked away without a word. It was the second interaction that clearly stated that Clive was in a place of power in the hierarchy. Alex put him on the list in her mind. The list she was keeping of the people she needed to deal with. Cutting down the organization from the top was her first goal. She realized it was a lofty goal, as she was still handcuffed, her hands behind her back, her shoulders beginning to ache. Until she was freed, she wasn't going to get much more done, so she went back to making her mental notes of the building.
At the end of the rows of makeshift rooms, an ornate set of double doors sat propped open. The lighting inside of the large room beyond was made up of lanterns and small candle flames. Warm firelight reflected on white walls. At the
entrance, Lewis pulled Alex to a halt and handed her off to one of his gang members. Lewis followed Clive into the room and the two disappeared around the corner. Low voices could be heard, but words couldn't be distinguished over the noise from the large brothel. Alex stared at the flames leaping and dancing in the fireplace that took up a significant portion of the far wall. The heat it emanated could be felt across the room at the open doors where she was being kept.
Her gaze was blocked by a large man. Jerking herself back to the situation, Alex looked up at the imposing figure. The first thought that struck her was, he didn't look like a drug dealing, self-appointed ruler. His thick blond hair had a wave that was obvious with its length ending at his shoulders. Alex also noticed his eyes were blue. They weren't a beautiful blue like her sister's. There was a coldness in the man's eyes. His smile reminded Alex of the men on infomercials late at night, smiling and selling you all the things you really didn't need. That smile widened as Alex locked eyes with him.
"Hello. I'm the Noble Lord of Montana. You are?"
"Leaving. As soon as you let me out of these cuffs," she replied.
A deep rumble of laughter came from the Noble Lord's chest, joined by other hoots of amusement from the surrounding men. They clearly took their cues from him, not reacting until they saw how their leader would.
"Well, I'm not sure I can call a beautiful woman like yourself a name like Leaving, but if that's what you prefer."
"I couldn't care less. I won't be here long."
Without a warning that Alex could detect, the Noble Lord struck out with a backhanded blow that threw Alex off her feet. Without her hands to catch her, she again hit her head when she went down. The earlier laughter died down and Alex tried to concentrate on the flames across from her as stars danced in her vision. The large man folded at the knee to get closer to Alex's vantage point.
Sundown Series (Book 4): Torment Page 14