Shelter

by Harlan Coben

  Candy nodded.

  "What kind of trouble?"

  Candy just shook her head. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

  I felt my heart lurch when she said that.

  "I know," Rachel said gently. "It's okay. Just tell us what happened."

  "Ashley was my best friend," Candy said.

  Ema glanced at her watch, then at me. I knew what she was thinking. The "boys" would only be patient so long with Rachel's "tinkle." We had to speed this up. Ema moved to the door to keep guard.

  Rachel said, "You need to tell us what happened, Candy."

  Candy nodded, pulled away. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "We always said, Ashley and me, that we would get out of here together. You know? We had plans. We'd run away to California. We'd leave this all behind. It was just a dream. I mean, we both knew Buddy Ray would never let us go. But . . ." She looked up at Rachel, her eyes pleading. "Ashley escaped. Don't you see? I thought Antoine had gotten her. But she ran away. And she didn't take me with her."

  "She left you behind," Rachel said, trying to sound understanding.

  "She swore she would never do that," Candy said, crying again. "He"--now she pointed her chin at me--"he told me that Ashley was fine. That she was in some rich-kid high school. How could Ashley do that to me?"

  "So you set her up," I said.

  Her eyes shot hard at me. "I didn't have any choice. Buddy Ray knew I helped you. He told me if I didn't help him get her back, he'd kill me." The tears started flowing again. "How? How could Ashley have just left me like that?"

  "She didn't," I said, not wanting to go into details about Antoine's real identity or the Abeona Shelter. "She was taken by surprise. If she contacted you, it would have risked everything."

  "So Ashley didn't . . . ?"

  "She didn't abandon you, no. Now, if you know where Ashley is . . ."

  I looked at Ema. She was still checking outside the door. I turned back to Candy. Her face had fallen.

  "There's no hope," Candy said.

  A cold gust blew across my chest. "What happened?"

  "You're just a bunch of kids. You can't defeat Buddy Ray. Do you know what he'll do if he even knows I talked to you?"

  Candy quickly rolled up the sleeve of her blouse. We squinted at what she was showing us. It didn't register at first. Then Rachel gasped out loud.

  There were two fresh cigarette burns on Candy's arm.

  "There's more. That's all I can show you."

  "Oh my God," Rachel said.

  I felt my stomach do flips. "And he has Ashley? Where are they?"

  Candy shook her head.

  "Please tell me."

  And then Candy did something that truly chilled me. She slowly lifted her head and looked all the way across the room. I followed her gaze and saw now that Candy was looking at a door.

  The door that led to the dungeon.

  Suddenly there were voices coming closer. Ema turned and harsh-whispered, "Mickey, hide!"

  I didn't wait. I dived behind some throw pillows just as three men and one woman--the matronly one I'd heard on the phone--turned the corner and entered the room, pushing Ema aside.

  "There you are, Bambi," the woman said. She had a big beehive hairdo and cat-eye glasses. "All set, dear?"

  From behind a pillow I tried to flatten myself down into the floor.

  "Where have you been?" the man with the rough voice asked.

  "Tee-hee," Rachel said. "I was trying on outfits, silly."

  "Well, then why are you still wearing the same clothes?"

  "Ummm, uh, nothing fit."

  I positioned myself behind the pillows in a place where I was able to see. Another man entered the room. He stopped short. "Wow," he said, taking in Rachel, "you weren't kidding about her."

  Along with Beehive, there were four men here now. None of them was Buddy Ray. So where was he? I thought about Ashley, about that monogrammed sweater and the pearls and how she was trying so hard to escape from this life. I thought about the way she looked at me, with such hope, and how, right now, she could be behind that door, in the dungeon.

  Alone with Buddy Ray.

  "Okay, this is perfect anyway," Beehive said. "We can do the auditions right here, right now."

  "Now?" Rachel said.

  "Sure, why not?"

  With Beehive taking Rachel's hand, the four men all dropped onto the throw pillows. The one with a rough voice landed right near where I was hiding. His back was less than two feet from my head. I held my breath, afraid to move.

  The guy near me growled, "Candy, what are you doing here?"

  "Who, me?" Candy said. "Nothing."

  "Then get out, will ya? And close the door behind you."

  "Yes, Max. Right away."

  Candy hurried out, and per the man's command, she closed the door behind her.

  "Okay, Bambi," Beehive said. "Let's get you up on that stage so you can show us what you got."

  "Now?"

  "Right now."

  Rachel slowly got up onstage. She just stood there.

  "Uh, Bambi?"

  "I, uh, I usually like some music," she said.

  "We can sing if you want," Max said, and there was an edge in his voice now. "But I'm getting awfully impatient here."

  I thought about going for my phone, but even that movement would reveal me. I tried to slowly slink off the pillow, move farther away from Max, and then . . .

  Then what? What was I going to do?

  Ema said, "Can I go tinkle too?"

  Max waved an I-don't-care at her. I wondered what she was up to--leaving Rachel alone--but I figured that she saw what I saw. No hope. She'd get out of the room and call 911. I remembered Juan's warning about calling the cops, but what else could we do?

  I looked at the fire door. I looked at the door to the dungeon.

  "Dance!" Max shouted.

  And so Rachel started dancing. There was a pole up on the stage. She ignored it. Rachel was a beautiful girl. She was stunning, with the face of an angel and a body that could not only stop traffic but make it back up a little.

  But she was a terrible dancer.

  She started dancing as though she were the awkward cousin at a bat mitzvah.

  Beehive put her hand to her chest and groaned. For a moment the men just stared in something like horror. Then they started calling out:

  "What the heck is this?"

  "Dance, for crying out loud."

  "Shake it!"

  "Use the pole."

  "Wow, that's pathetic."

  "Wait, are you doing the electric slide?"

  I started sliding off the pillow, an inch at a time, when Max stiffened.

  "Stop a second," Max said.

  It was as though he sensed me. I moved a little faster, ducking behind the pillow a few yards away. Max slowly turned his head toward me. I was out of sight now, under two pillows. I couldn't look out. I didn't even dare breathe.

  "What's the matter, Max?"

  "I thought I heard something."

  "What?"

  Max got up. He started walking toward my throw pillow. The other guys got up too. They were moving closer to me.

  "Okay," Rachel said, "my top is coming off."

  That got their attention. They turned back to her. I quickly made another dash, behind pillows near the door to the dungeon. All eyes were on Rachel. She started doing a new dance, like some horrible imitation of John Travolta in that old disco movie. Beehive groaned again.

  That was when the door to the room burst open. Ema ran into the room. Candy was with her.

  "Bitch!" Ema shouted at Rachel. "You stole my boyfriend!"

  "No!" Candy screamed. "He was mine!"

  And then Rachel, catching on faster than I would have, called back, "You want a piece of me? Come on!"

  Ema ran over to Rachel and jumped up onstage. She tackled her. Candy followed, jumping onto the two of them too. They all started screaming and shouting and fighting. For a moment, Max and the others didn't kn
ow what to do. Other girls ran into the room, joining the fray. The fighters rolled onto the floor, right to the fire door, where I had no doubt Rachel and Ema would make their escape.

  Ema, you genius!

  No one was paying any attention to the pillows anymore. I made my move, staying low and hurrying toward the door to the dungeon. I tried the knob. It turned. I quickly pushed the door open and disappeared into the dark behind it.

  chapter 25

  WHEN MY EYES ADJUSTED to the dark, I saw a staircase leading down.

  The dungeon, it seemed, was in the basement.

  I shut the door behind me and started down the steps. When I reached the bottom, I stopped cold. Cigarette butts littered the floor--I thought about poor Candy's arm and shivered--but that wasn't what made me pull up in shock.

  There, in the middle of a cinder-block room, tied to a chair, was Ashley.

  Her back was to me, her arms bound behind her. I was about to move toward her when I heard a voice say, "I thought you'd been kidnapped, Ashley."

  It was Buddy Ray.

  I leaned back into the dark of the stairwell, staying out of sight. I ducked low and peered out. Buddy Ray was in a corner of the room. He sat on a big tool chest closed with a padlock. He smiled at her and shook his head. He was, I couldn't help but notice, smoking a cigarette.

  He also had a knife in his hand.

  "Now, I know you ran away from me," Buddy Ray said, putting on a fake hurt voice. "How do you think that made me feel?"

  "Let me go," Ashley said.

  "You ran away. So now you'll have to be taught a lesson," Buddy Ray said with that creepy voice of his. He stood up and stepped closer to her. "I need to make sure--very sure--that you never run away from me again."

  I stayed hunched in the dark, wondering what to do here. I was too far away to jump him. He had that knife and could probably call for help.

  "It won't do any good," Ashley said in a voice that was oddly calm.

  Buddy Ray tilted his head. "No?"

  "No. Because no matter how much you hurt me, no matter what you do to me, I'll run again."

  "And I'll find you again."

  "And I'll run again. I don't care if you cut off my legs with that knife. I will keep trying to escape. I don't belong here."

  Buddy Ray laughed, shaking his head. "You're wrong, my dear. So very wrong. What, do you think you belong in that happy little high school, wearing your little sweater, holding hands with your handsome new boyfriend? How do you think that new boyfriend would react if he knew the real you?"

  That last remark hit home. I saw her stiffen. I wanted to shout out that it wouldn't matter, that I couldn't care less what her life had been before.

  Buddy Ray spread his arms. "This is where you belong."

  Ashley raised her head and met his eye. "No."

  "You don't get it, do you?" Buddy Ray pointed at the tool chest behind him. "Do you know what's in that chest over there?"

  "It doesn't matter," she said, trying so hard to sound brave.

  "Oh, it matters." Buddy Ray showed her the blade in his hand. "You talk tough now." He leaned in close so that his mouth was right by her ear. I tensed up, preparing to run and try . . . I don't know . . . anything, if he touched her. Instead he dropped his voice to a whisper. "But I promise you, Ashley--I swear on all that is holy--that when I unlock that chest, when I'm done with you, you'll beg me to let you stay here and work for me."

  He started walking back toward the tool chest.

  My mouth was too dry to swallow. It was now or never. His back was turned. I was about to sprint out, about to make a move, when the door behind me, the one I had just gone through, began to open. I leaped back up the stairs behind it, finding the only hiding spot in the room.

  Someone entered. "Boss?"

  I couldn't see anything. The door was almost pressed against me. If whoever had opened the door pushed back a little more, he would hit me square in the face.

  "What?" Buddy Ray snapped. "I'm busy."

  "We kinda got a situation."

  I could hear the ruckus behind him.

  "Can't Derrick handle it?"

  "No one knows where he is."

  I heard Buddy Ray sigh. "I won't be long, princess," he said.

  No reply from Ashley.

  Now I could hear him sprinting up the stairs. I closed my eyes, hoping against hope that he wouldn't see me. He didn't. He ran through the door, slamming it shut behind him.

  I was alone with Ashley, but I was not about to sit there and consider the options. It was pretty simple: free Ashley, get out of here. I had no idea how long Buddy Ray would be gone. It could be just a few seconds.

  I ran down to the dungeon. Ashley turned her head and gasped when she saw me. "Mickey?"

  "We have to get you out of here."

  "How did you find me?"

  "No time for that now."

  Ashley started weeping. I rushed over to her chair, got down on one knee, and was ready to untie her. In the movies, this always seems to take mere seconds, doesn't it? Like someone had tied up the person the same way you might tie a shoelace. But in real life, that wasn't the case. It wasn't the case at all.

  Buddy Ray hadn't tied her with rope. He had used plastic cuffs, wrapping them tightly around her wrists.

  I had no idea what to do. I looked around the room for something to cut them with, but there was nothing.

  "Mickey?"

  "Hang on, I'm just trying to figure out how to free you."

  "You can't," she said, her voice defeated.

  I didn't listen to her. "Wriggle your hands," I said. I tried to work the plastic with my fingers, pushing it down while she wriggled. There was absolutely no give.

  "There's no time," she said. "You have to save yourself."

  "No," I said.

  "Mickey, he'll be back any minute. Please go. He'll just hurt me a little. He won't want to damage the goods."

  I kept working at the plastic cuff. Useless. I ran over to his dreaded tool chest. I kicked the padlock, but it wouldn't give. I looked for a crowbar--anything!--but the stark room was totally bare.

  Damn!

  I tried one more kick. There was no way the padlock was budging. I took out my cell phone. Enough. It was time to take the risk and dial 911.

  "No!" Ashley shouted. "If he sees a cop car, he'll just start killing people."

  It didn't matter. I had no phone service in this cinder-block dungeon.

  So now what?

  Tick, tick, tick. How much longer would he be gone?

  "Please, Mickey? Just listen to me, okay? There's no time. You have to go. If he hurts you, if something happens to you, I'll never be able to live with myself."

  I ran back over to her and took her face in my hands. Ashley looked at me with those beautiful, imploring eyes. "I won't leave you," I said to her. "Do you hear me? No matter. I won't leave you with that monster."

  Tick, tick, tick.

  Wait. The plastic cuff was too strong to break. The padlock was too strong to break.

  But what about a wooden chair?

  "Brace yourself," I said.

  "What?"

  I kicked the leg of the chair. Nothing. I kicked it again. The leg started giving way. I kicked it again. The leg cracked. She was still trapped, but now maybe there was some wiggle room. If only we could move fast enough . . .

  That was when I saw the door start to open.

  Game over.

  I knew what would happen now. Buddy Ray would see me. He would be armed with the knife. He would call behind him. Max and the other bouncers would join him as reinforcements.

  We had no chance.

  If you stopped and calculated the odds, there was no way to survive this.

  So I didn't stop or calculate. Instead I put my head down and charged the door.

  I saw no other choice. I ran with as much speed as I could. I had never played American football, but Dad and I watched whenever we could figure out how to get a game on satellit
e. Dad loved the Jets, which, he said, taught him the meaning of disappointment. So right now, I channeled my inner linebacker blitzing the quarterback. I didn't know if I would make it in time. I doubted I would. But I gave it everything I had.

  Buddy Ray entered the room. He turned, saw me, and said, "What the . . . ?"

  But that was all he said.

  I crashed into him at full speed. I locked my arms around him, digging my head into his chest. We fell backward into the blue room. I raised my head a little, so now the top of my skull was under his chin. When we landed, my head pounded up into him. I could actually feel his teeth rattle and give way.

  My head was still reeling from Derrick's earlier attacks. Now the pain from my own blow was so great, I worried that I might pass out. But it had been worth it. Blood was leaking out of Buddy Ray's mouth. The adrenaline helped push me through it. I made a fist and smashed into his mouth. The teeth that were already loosened gave way.

  I pulled back for another punch, but I never got the chance to land it. Max, the bouncer who had been so close to me before, tackled me. He threw a knee into my rib cage. Flashes of light filled my head. It felt as though someone had just stabbed me in the lung. He reared back for another knee, the finisher, but suddenly I saw someone whack my attacker with what I later learned was the leg of a chair.

  Ashley!

  Max dropped off me as though he were a tree that had been chopped down. You almost wanted to shout, "Timber !" but there was no time. I rolled to my side and tried to get up, but my head was having none of it. I stood too quickly, the pain driving me back to my knees. Ashley tried to help me. I stumbled back.

  "Lean on me!" Ashley shouted.

  I didn't want to. I wanted her to get out, just get through that fire door, but I knew that she wouldn't listen. So I leaned on her. We took one step toward the door and then I felt a pain in my lower leg unlike anything I had ever felt before.

  Buddy Ray was biting me!

  I screamed and pulled away, leaving some of my skin behind. Another bouncer rounded the corner. Then another. A third came in. Max got to his feet.

  The men quickly surrounded us in a circle. Ashley moved closer to me. I put a protective arm around her. Like that would do any good.

  Buddy Ray staggered to his feet. He smiled at me through the blood and cracked teeth. "You," he said to me, "are going to wish you were dead."

  I cringed as though I had given up. But I hadn't. With my head down, I whispered in Ashley's ear, "Follow me."

  Adrenaline is a funny thing. I've read where mothers can lift cars off their children because of it. I don't know if that's true. But I know that it kept the pain away. I know that maybe it gave me a little extra strength, maybe another inch on my vertical leap. Whatever.