“It’s up to you,” Gray finished and joined Darius’s side. “Screaming will only get you killed.”
“What do you say, Buck, can I pull out the gun?” Darius asked.
Buck nodded jerkily and dug his fingernails into the leather of the armrests.
Darius withdrew the gun and placed it on the top shelf in the bookcase.
“You wouldn’t understand him,” Buck gritted out.
“I’m not trying to understand him,” Gray told him. “I’m sure his reasoning for buying and raping young men is perfectly lovely.” He turned to Darius. “I’ll head downstairs.”
Darius inclined his head. “Bolt cutters in the seat of the ATV if you need ’em.”
“Okay.” Gray headed for the hallway, where he kicked aside the rug and lifted the hatch. Nerves tightened his stomach as he peered down into the dark. There wasn’t a chance in hell this was a basement they’d gotten a permit to build. He tested the steep steps and eyed the uneven surface of the walls. Underneath the foundation of the house, there was just compressed dirt and solid rock.
The air became warm and dank, but he’d smelled worse.
He heard a cough that wiped out his surroundings. It was as if a tunnel appeared, and Gray followed it. This was one nightmare he could end. No more fumbling in the dark, always searching, never succeeding.
He held his breath as his feet hit the ground. It wasn’t even a basement. It was a tiny dirt cellar. Three photos hung on the wall, a portable toilet sat in a corner, a single lightbulb was attached to a hook in the ceiling, and then there was a bed.
“Jackie,” Gray whispered.
The form under the sheets moved. Another cough, and then a dirty-blond mop of hair appeared, followed by a face Gray had seen in his dreams almost every night for months.
Jackie sat up in the bed and squinted.
Nausea rolled in Gray’s stomach. The guy had lost a lot of weight. His ribs were showing, his collarbone protruded, and his cheeks were sunken in.
Gray approached cautiously. “Do you remember me, Jackie? Gray—from the yacht. We were kidnapped. We were in the back of vans on the way to Florida.”
Jackie cleared his throat, visibly disoriented. “You can’t be here, man. They’ll never let you leave.”
Jesus Christ.
Gray squatted down by the bed and gazed up at him. “We’re here to get you out, buddy.” It was something Jackie couldn’t grasp. “Do you remember the yacht? The auctions?” That got him a small nod, and Gray continued slowly, realizing he had to take it baby step by baby step. “The man who bought me wasn’t a slaver. He’d been sent by my parents to save me.”
“But you’re here,” Jackie croaked and shook his head. “He’ll force you to play his sick games. One day, you’re pretending to be his brother as a child. The next, he pretends to be your mother. I-I don’t like the punishments, but he calls them rewards.” He trailed off in thought and bit his lip. Then he made eye contact again and touched Gray’s cheek. “Are you real? I dream about you sometimes. And Cole and Milo and Charlie and…”
Gray winced and rose up to sit next to him instead. “We lost Milo.” He gathered Jackie’s hands in his own and gave them a squeeze. “Cole and Charlie and the others are home with their families, though.”
Jackie stared at their hands. “Linus is dead, right? That’s what he told me. I don’t remember.”
Gray nodded soberly.
“You okay, knucklehead?” Darius asked from upstairs.
Gray exhaled and peered toward the stairs. “Yeah, we’ll be up in a bit.” Don’t come down here. He didn’t wanna overwhelm Jackie. “That’s him—the man who pretended to be a buyer on the yacht.”
Jackie tilted his head at Gray. “He did buy you. I saw him.”
“We had to pretend,” Gray murmured. “He saved me. After you were taken to another auction, he helped as many as he could. He and his brother.”
Jackie flinched and looked at the pictures on the wall. “He bought Andy there, but he didn’t make it.”
Gray clenched his jaw as fury burned through him. “We’re getting you out of here, Jackie. You hear me? You’ll be with your family in a day or two.”
That seemed to put a dent in Jackie’s shell. “No…” His chin wrinkled, and he shook his head repeatedly. “I can’t. I’ll never see them again. Look.” He pushed aside the sheets and revealed a chain around his ankle. “I can’t even reach the stairs.”
Was this what Gray had been like? Was this how Darius had seen Gray? So beaten down that the lowest threshold was a mountain?
“Hey, I could use the bolt cutters down here,” Gray called.
“Yeah, sure. Be right there,” Darius replied.
Gray turned to Jackie again and stroked his hands gently. “The men who’re holding you here—do you call them something else? I noticed you’re not using their names.”