Vigilant

Deciding she’d imagined it, Ari had just turned to the steps when she heard it again. This time she knew the girl’s voice was real. And needed help. Help, Ari knew, was up those stairs, but it went against her nature to leave someone in need. Not when it could possibly be one of her girls.

* * *

Light in the hallway came from two sources. The stairway and Ari’s old room. There was no way she could chance going back in the direction of her room, with Nick’s lackey waiting for her, injured and undoubtedly pissed.

Ari crept along the hallway and whispered, “Hello? Anyone?”

“Ms. Grant!” she heard in reply.

“Yes! Who’s there? Hope?” She ran her hands along the walls, searching for a doorknob.

“Here! I’m in here!”

The muffled voice sounded closer and Ari’s hand made contact with a cool, metal doorknob. She twisted and pulled but it was locked.

“Ms. Grant!” Hope’s voice came from below and Ari couched, feeling along the door. There was a mail flap about halfway down. She pried it open, recoiling from the smell inside.

“Hope! Are you okay?” Ari asked, still unable to see, keeping one eye down the hall.

“Shanna never came back, Ms. Grant. I think she’s dead,” she cried. “Reggie came back on a tear the other night. Yelling and breaking things upstairs. The girls ran and hid in their rooms. He grabbed me by the throat and dragged me down here. I haven’t seen anyone since.”

“No food? Nothing?”

“No, and I don’t have a bathroom in here.” That was the smell.

A noise came from down the hall and Ari whispered, “shhh,” pressing herself as close as possible to the wall. The guy Ari had stabbed came toward her, limping. She fumbled for her knife, holding it to her chest. He stepped into the light of the stairwell and she could see the pain on his face and his shirt streaked with blood. With a vague look in her direction, he turned and started climbing the stairs. His leg must have hurt badly because each step brought a loud, stomping noise. Ari released a breath when he reached the top.

“Who was that?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know. Someone working for Nick I guess? A young guy…”

“That’s Desmond. He’s part of the crew.”

Of course. Nick had a whole group of young men working for him. “Okay, how do I get you out of here?”

“I don’t think you can. Reggie—Nick—told me I could rot in this hellhole. Do you think maybe he got caught? Maybe he was arrested. Maybe Shanna got help and they freaked out.”

Unlikely, Ari thought. That kid would be long gone if Nick had been arrested. She didn’t want to scare Hope, so she said, “I hope so, but I’m going to have to go up there and get help. Can you tell me anything about where we are?”

“Yes,” Hope said. “We’re in the basement of a house. Upstairs there is the main floor, and then another floor with bedrooms. All the other girls sleep in one room. The other rooms are for them to meet with men.”

Ari fought back the urge to vomit. Hope continued. “Reggie and Jace have their own rooms, too, you know, for the girls to meet with them, too.”

“Has anyone tried to escape?”

“No. There are bars on all the windows and doors, though. No one can get out.”

“Does anyone know we’re down here?”

She shook her head. “They definitely don’t know about you. They probably think I’m dead.”

“If the doors are locked, how can I get a key?”

“Only Jace and Reggie have a key. You’ll have to take it from them.”

Ari squeezed the knife in her hand. “Alright, I’m going to have to go up. Now, before I chicken out.”

“Go, but don’t forget about me, okay?”