Siren Unleashed

Chapter Nineteen

Natalie came to in utter darkness, her head pounding.

God, no. Not again.

Cold concrete sat under her. She reached about and found the bars. She could feel them, cold under her hands.

“Nat? Are you awake now?” A quiet voice called out for her. Hands touched her body, but they were soft, feminine. Georgia.

Oh, god, they’d taken Georgia. She’d pulled Georgia straight into her nightmare. Nat forced herself to sit up. She had to find a way out. She had to save Georgia. Georgia was innocent. Georgia was her almost family, and she had to save her.

“Shhh, it’s all right. I think we’re alone. That crazy creepy chick is gone. I know this sounds weird, but I think we might be underground. I don’t know. When she left, the light was overhead and then it closed off. It was weird.”

“Keep quiet. We can’t know if we’re alone.” Her hands were shaking. Violently.

“We can. I think it’s worth the risk.”

A flash of light startled Nat.

“Holy shit.” She kept her voice quiet because they had to have some way to watch them. Maybe not. She got the feeling that her kidnapping was one of extreme opportunity. “You still have Logan’s phone?”

“Yeah. I’ve been afraid to pull it out because I don’t want to lose it. We might only have one shot, and I don’t exactly know where we are yet. I think we’re a couple of miles away. I counted the turns, too. Two lefts. One right. Then another left. Then we went straight for a long time. I think we were on a highway. Then another left and we were here. It took about twenty minutes. You’ve been out for forty. Then up some stairs and down a ladder, but I couldn’t risk opening my eyes. And also they kind of flung me over some smelly guy’s shoulder and then used some weird pulley thing to get me down. I had to pretend to still be out. I’m sorry. I was scared. I should have risked it. They put that cloth thingie over my face, but I didn’t breathe. I pretended to and that Gretchen chick isn’t as thorough as the dude.”

“Don’t apologize.” Nat forced herself to sit up. The dim light of the phone showed that they were indeed alone, but the small room was far from empty. There were stacks of white-colored bricks.

The drugs. This was where they kept the drugs.

“Is that what I think it is?” Georgia asked, shining the light in the direction of the small desk.

“I would say that’s heroin. It could be cocaine, but they found heroin with Stan. God, what has Gretchen gotten herself into?”

The light went out and they were left in utter darkness. Nat hated the darkness. Except for last night, when she’d been wrapped in their arms. She’d been able to sleep, nestled between Ben and Chase. Every now and then, they would turn and she would find herself in the other’s arms, but she was always cuddled close.

The darkness hadn’t been scary then.

“I heard them talking. Gretchen was on the phone with the douchebag. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she was crying and begging him to keep her. I think she screwed something up because it doesn’t sound like they were ready to do something, whatever it was they were planning on doing, but the dead lady screwed it up and Gretchen killed her.”

What the hell? “I can’t believe it. Call Chase. His number has to be on there. Tell him about the turns and stuff. He can find us.”

“Okay. Sorry I didn’t do it before, but I was scared someone might still be watching, and I wanted to wait until you woke up before I did anything. I can’t carry you out. And I was also contemplating how crappy this cage is. There’s not even like one of those little gerbil feeder things. I’m kind of hungry, and I could definitely use a drink. Vodka. I bet they have crappy vodka here.”

She had to keep Georgia on task. “Georgia, phone.”

“Oh, okay.” She pulled it up and a little light came through. “Wow. He’s getting a call. OMG. It’s totally Logan’s mom. Well, Mom Number 2. What’s up with that? Maybe it’s his stepmom. I’ll put her on speaker.”

“Georgia, seriously?” Was she thinking at all?

“Hello?”

A gruff, only slightly feminine voice came over the line. “Logan Green, I am gonna tan your hide. Your momma and I didn’t send you to Texas so you could go to a bar. Teeny is crying. I don’t like it when Teeny cries. I swear, I am going to have such a talk with that Julian Lodge. He thinks he’s a big man, but I can tan his hide, too.”

Logan’s Mom Number 2 sounded kinda scary.

Georgia cleared her throat. “Uhm, ma’am. Logan can’t come to the phone right now.”

“Who is this? I was not informed my son has a girl.”

“Could you ask her to call the police?” Nat asked because somehow, someway things just fell apart around Georgia.

A low growl came across the line. “There are two of you? You find Logan. You tell him there is no way we accept that. We’re traditionalists. If he wants to join the freaky lifestyle we have around here, then he can find a friend and share a girl with her. Or you two nice girls can join us together but that kind of love is sacred.”

Nat’s frustration welled. “Ma’am, we need to hang up now because, you see, we’ve been kidnapped and put in a cage. So we might only have a few seconds to call someone to save us.”

Sure enough, she could hear someone moving overhead. The ceiling squeaked.

“I would ask you to call your son, but I kind of stole his phone, but only after he tossed mine in a lake, so it’s really not my fault,” Georgia was saying. “It’s his fault. It was rude what he did.”

A few things fell into place for Natalie.

“Holy shit. You know where we are? You have his phone tracked?” Hope started to rise, but that squeaking was getting closer. “Where are we?”

“Well, my boy’s phone says he’s at some strip club. I didn’t raise him to go to strip clubs. If he wants to watch naked ladies, he can go up to the nudist camp like the rest of the men. It’s more civilized. Now, why are you two young ladies in a cage?”

Brilliant light stormed into the room, temporarily blinding Nat. Her time was up.

Georgia hung up the phone and tried to shove it back between that impressive cleavage of hers, but it was too late. Gretchen dropped down into the hole they were in. She flicked a switch and a low light came on. The whole room was small, but there was space to move. And they weren’t really in a cage, not the kind she’d been kept in before. This was more like a storage locker. She wondered if they’d had to move the drugs out of here to put her and Georgia in.

“Give it up.” Gretchen looked different in the low light, as though every bit of softness had been stripped out of her, leaving something hard and brittle in its place. Gretchen had never been particularly lovely, but now Nat could see the nasty edge to her features. “I know about the phone. This is where Cooder and the boys cut the drugs. Do you think we don’t have a camera in here? We watch every move those boys make through a security camera.”

“Why are you doing this?” Nat had to ask. She struggled to get to her feet, holding on to the bars of the cell for balance. Georgia got up beside her.

“I’m doing this because my Master ordered me to and I’m not like you, Natalie. I’m not some pathetic wannabe. I’m a slave. A good one and Master Tate recognizes that. He will reward me for my service.”

“Lady, you’re butt-fuck crazy. Seriously, you need a shrink.” Georgia wasn’t going to be particularly helpful here.

Gretchen brought her right hand up, showing off the nasty pistol she was carrying. “Give me the phone, bitch, or I’ll shoot you. I’ll make sure it doesn’t kill you. The Master thinks you’ll bring in a decent price once we manage to get out of here.”

“Price? Ewww. What the hell happened to sisterhood?” Georgia frowned as though this was a sorority sister throw down. “You’re kind of a cow, you know. I wouldn’t use that phrase on many people, but you totally deserve it.”

“You can’t get away, Gretchen.” Panic wasn’t going to win the day. She had to see if there was an ounce of reason left in Gretchen. “We already made the call. We know we’re at a strip club. How many of those could there be in Willow Fork? Ben and Chase are on their way. They won’t let Tate have me.”

A nasty little smile lit her face. “Why do you think I let you do it? They won’t find you. This room is hidden and soundproofed. They can look all they like. My Master could be in here taking what belongs to him and they would be two feet away and never the wiser. So let the cops come. It will only make your men look stupid. My Master is smarter than those posers.”

“No one is smarter than my brother. My brother will figure it out, and then you’re in trouble because Chase won’t give a crap that you’re a girl. He’ll kill you,” Georgia said.

A loud report reverberated through the room. Nat gasped as Georgia’s body jerked and slumped down. Blood. There was blood coming from her arm.

There was no sanity left in Gretchen.

“Give me the phone or I’ll shoot her again,” her former friend said. “And don’t even tempt me with shooting you, Natalie. It’s what Hawk should have done. He should have simply slit your throat, but the Master thought he could fix you. Now Master Tate thinks the same thing, but I believe he’ll learn. He’ll fuck you for a while, but he will come back to me. I am his true slave.”

Nat got to her knees. She had to reach into Georgia’s shirt for the phone. Georgia’s face was tight, pain filling her eyes, but she kept quiet for once. She bit her lip as Nat extricated the phone. It had been their only chance and her bluff about talking to Ben and Chase hadn’t worked. They had to hope that Logan’s mom called someone, anyone. More than likely she thought it was a bad joke perpetrated by her son’s good-time girl. How many people in the whole world would believe a story like theirs?

But she had to protect Georgia.

And she had to stay alive.

She handed the phone to Gretchen. She had no intention of telling Gretchen her plan, but it formed instantly. She’d always known that if this happened again, she would find a way to die. She would take herself out before going through the pain and humiliation again.

She was wrong. They were worth it. Her parents were worth it. Her real friends were worth every ounce she could endure. Her future was worth it.

For the first time, she acknowledged the truth. She was worth the pain. She was worth it.

It had taken the love of those men to prove it. She wouldn’t fight. She wouldn’t scream and rebel. Oh, she would kill him if she could, but she wouldn’t rage against him, inviting the possibility of death. She would wait.

Because they would come for her and they would love her no matter what Tate managed to do.

And if she managed to survive, she would take their collar and join them because this was her life and her choice and no amount of torture would take that from her again.

“Here.”

Gretchen grabbed the phone, frowning. “He’s going to break you. Or he’ll kill you. Either way, it’s what you deserve.”

He wouldn’t. Hawk might have been able to, but Nat had Kitten to buoy her. She could see it now. Kitten had given her a reason to fight. Now she had more reason than ever. She had Ben and Chase. They would never stop looking. They would look until they found her, and she intended to be waiting. She could be old and gray and broken, but the moment she saw them again, she could begin her life anew.

And she would protect Georgia. Silly, bratty Georgia.

Gretchen scrambled back up the ladder and the world went dark again.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” She groped in the darkness, looking for Georgia.

Georgia hissed. “Hurts like hell. I don’t like being shot, Nat.”

“Is the bullet still in your arm?” The last thing she needed was a Georgia who might be easier to kill than to move. She couldn’t stomach the thought of Chase and Ben’s sister being murdered because Tate thought it was easier than taking her along.

“I don’t think so.” Georgia’s breath hitched. “I think I’m bleeding from both sides. It didn’t hit the bone. I’m glad I’m a little chunky, I guess. God, it hurts, but I can still move it. When they come for us, I’ll get my ass up. I won’t give them a reason to shoot me again. I can be charming from time to time.”

Thank god. “I’m so sorry I got you into this.”

There was a long silence. “I didn’t want to give up the phone because it belonged to him. I’m so stupid, Nat.”

Nat found her hair. She couldn’t see the blonde, but she felt the silk of her tresses, and pulled her close. They were sisters now. “You’re not stupid. You just fell for a boy.”

She heard Georgia sniffle. “He doesn’t like me. I don’t think he’ll come for me, but my brothers will. I annoy the hell out of them, but they’ll come for me because you’re here and they love you.”

She held Georgia close. “Logan will come. I promise. And your brothers would come even if I wasn’t here. You’re their sister. They wouldn’t leave you behind. And I won’t either. We’re going to survive.”

The room went quiet. Nat began a silent prayer. To survive.

The light flooded in again and Nat blinked up. Booted feet made their way down the rungs of the ladder, but she could see the ropes that hung beside it. Tate had always been good with a rope. It was how he’d gotten her sleeping form down the rabbit hole.

“Hello, Natalie. We meet at last.”

Nat held Georgia’s good hand and faced her nightmare.

Chase helped the young woman out of the cage she’d been held in. Her hands were shaking, but no more than the sheriff’s voice quaked.

“You were right. About the girls. Damn, that’s Michelle Nelson.” The sheriff took a long breath, taking off his hat as the paramedics swooped in on the young, thin girl.

Jack Barnes looked down at her as she was placed on the gurney. “Hey. Your uncle has been looking everywhere for you. You’re going to be all right now, Michelle.”

“Did you find Hannah?” The other girl was all Michelle had been able to talk about. Being placed in slavery together formed strong bonds it seemed. Like the ones between Natalie and Kitten. Like the one Gretchen had utterly broken.

“She’s already on her way to the hospital. You’re going, too. Do you think you can talk to the sheriff then?” Barnes seemed to be using his gentlest voice, but he obviously wanted her to talk.

So did Chase, because despite the fact that they had found the two missing girls, they still had no Natalie. Just a third fucking cage. Empty. Waiting. The motherfucker had engraved her name on the cage like it was a gift. Natalie.

He wanted to feel that man’s throat when he crushed it.

“I can talk. I can describe him and all the men who hurt me. Starting with that jerk Cooder Jones. He’s the one who drugged me.” Michelle Nelson wasn’t broken. Oh, she would need years of therapy, but she was still defiant. Like his Natalie.

Chase tried to sound as gentle as Jack. “Are you talking about Bill Jones? The man who runs Wispers?”

The gurney came up, snapping into place. “Yes. I was looking for a job. He brought me an iced tea and the next thing I knew, I was in that cage and the blond man was…he was horrible. He kept calling me by another name.”

“Natalie.” Ben didn’t make it a question. His jaw tightened as he looked at Chase.

Hollow eyes stared back up. “Yeah. That was the name. He beat me until I answered to it.” She teared up as she looked back at Barnes. “My uncle really looked for me?”

Jack nodded. “I already called him. He’s going to be waiting for you. And I’ll take care of the rest of it.”

The sheriff frowned as both victims were taken to the hospital. “Now, Jack, you can’t just run around like a damn vigilante. I got one of my deputies watching that Tate fellow. I’m going to head on over to Wispers and see if I can have a talk with Cooder. He’s an asshole. I might need to call in the state troopers. He won’t be interested in talking to me, but maybe I can scare him a little.”

“I’m going with you.” Chase didn’t have a choice. This was the last of the places he’d found.

He’d been wrong. He was never wrong. Until the one moment it mattered most.

Now he was utterly incompetent. Useless. Natalie was counting on him. His sister was counting on him, and he had nothing.

“Calm down,” Ben said. “You were on the right track. You found the missing girls. You’ll find our girl, too.”

Before Tate raped her? Before he inevitably killed Georgia? Because his baby sister wouldn’t last long. Natalie would try to save her, but she would fail and that would kill her soul in a way Hawk hadn’t been able to.

“Georgia won’t break. I know that sounds dumb,” Ben said, his face a stark mask.

“No. She’s smarter than she lets on, and she’s stubborn as the day is long. She won’t bend. She’ll push them until they kill her. She might seem flighty and superficial, but she’s a Dawson down deep.” His brothers would kill him. How could he tell Win and Mark and Drew that he’d gotten their baby sister brutally killed?

“I’m going to that damn club.” Logan Green had a shotgun in his hand. “Someone is going to tell me where she is.”

Chase got the feeling Logan wasn’t talking about Natalie. He’d been tense, on edge, for the last several hours as they’d searched.

The sheriff returned from his squad car. “Now, fellows, I have some bad news and I have some good news. That Tate person is gone. My deputy lost track of him.”

Motherfucker. He should never have listened to any of these men. He’d called the feds in, but they were taking their time. Time was the one thing he didn’t have. And now Tate was in the wind. Leaning on the guys at the strip club seemed like their only option.

“What is the good news?” Ben asked between clenched teeth.

The sheriff rubbed a hand across his face. “Does anyone here know a man called Nathan Wright?”

Who the fuck was Nathan Wright?

Logan turned, his whole body shifting to someone more confident. “Nate Wright is the sheriff of Bliss.”

“Well, he also seems to think he knows where your women are. Says someone named Marie Warner told him she talked to a young girl who was in a cage on someone named Logan’s phone.”

Logan gasped, his breath heaving. “My mom. She tracks my phone. Holy shit. I always wondered if she did that. Thank god. Where? How? Georgia. Damn it. That girl treated me like a dumb dog. She pretended to toss my phone and then kept it. Fuck. Tell me she’s alive.”

“According to this Nate fellow, there were two women talking and your momma was damn mad that you were allowed in a strip club. It seems she takes exception to them. And Nate said if I didn’t want a woman with a shotgun on the doorsteps of Wispers in about twelve hours, I should handle it myself.” The sheriff frowned. “Which is what I should do, but hell. I’m not equipped for this. Barnes? Can you come out with me? The feds won’t be here for another hour or so. Those women might be dead by then. I might be lazy, but what I’ve seen here today just ain’t right.”

Barnes stopped, Fleetwood at his side. Abby was back at the house watching the kids and Kitten, who couldn’t stop crying and vowed to be used as bait for Tate if she had to. “Where the hell is he keeping them? That apartment over the club is tiny. And I checked the place out myself when the girls first went missing.”

Sam shrugged, looking frustrated. “I managed to sneak into the back at one point. The dressing rooms are tiny. I mean those girls are shoved in together and the office is basically a closet. Besides the office, there’s a janitorial closet and a men’s bathroom with exactly one stall. I just don’t see where they would keep her unless they shut down for the day or the strippers are all in on it. I guess they could be in that apartment.”

The sheriff shook his head. “No. I sent the deputy I’m not going to fire out there an hour ago. It’s open, and Cooder didn’t have a problem letting him look around. There was nothing out of the ordinary.”

Chase let the sheriff’s words drift off as his mind hit on a few things. He pictured the club. The big sign in front was completely out of place. Huge bright neon letters that would light up the night sat atop the crap-ass prefab building. The owners hadn’t spent a dime on making the place nice, but that sign had to have cost a bundle. The letters were at least seven feet tall. Easy enough for a man to hide behind.

But no one would leave them on the roof. And the deputy would have been behind the letters so he would have seen them. It didn’t make sense.

And neither, he realized, did the building.

He estimated. Four thousand square feet. Nothing less. Maybe a tiny bit more. The main portion of the club was roughly half. Two thousand. If the other rooms were tiny, where did all that space go?

“What’s behind the bar?” Chase asked. He could see it plainly now. He’d been too busy trying to find out names and dates that he hadn’t paid attention to the place itself.

Sam frowned. “Uhm, the bar is against the back wall.”

A little thrill lit Chase. It was that instinct that told him something was wrong, but he was on the right track. “No. That bar is at least ten feet inside the club. And there’s no back room there. That’s in the kitchen which is on the other side of the club.” He’d noted the double doors Twilene had come in and out of.

Such a little thing. The walls were painted a navy blue, offsetting the obvious problems in the building—like the room which had no doors. The room no one used and everyone ignored. “I know where they are. And I have a plan to get them out alive. Sheriff, we need to use your radio. We’re going to use a little subterfuge, a little brain power, and a whole lotta bullets.”