The Squad

He glared at the boy before his wife tugged on his arm to drag him away. “Colton, please leave those poor kids alone. Come on; you wanted me to change, remember?”

“Buncha damn degenerates,” Lyon growled before allowing himself to be dragged away. He didn’t make it two feet before Big Red stepped off the elevator. Ginger Lee, for some unknown reason, prefers to be called by that name though she’s not as big as she seems to think.

Sure, she has more size and height than the other women here, but she is in no way ‘big’ unless they’re calling a fit size sixteen big these days. Then again, people are stupid, so who knows. She took one look at the situation, and since she herself was dressed pretty much the same way as Katarina, pregnant belly and all took matters into her own hands.

“Hey, looks like we had the same idea. Where are the others? I’m starving, that damn yoga took it out of me, let’s go eat. Colton, I think my husband and the others were looking for you. Arianna, you coming? I heard the others getting ready to head up.” She snagged Arianna’s hand next, and the three of them walked towards the door. Lyon’s wife looked back at him with a grin, and I swore she was about to stick her tongue out at him.

“What the hell? Clayton’s woman is a nut. She thinks I won’t belt a pregnant woman?” I smiled when Flanagan slapped Lyon on the shoulder, and Lyon didn’t rebuff him. “Face it, buddy, we’re outnumbered here, and from the movements, I’ve seen my wife making since we got up this morning, their dress code is the least of our worries.”

“What do you mean?” Lyon asked, but I was already on the move. I thought they were on the beach doing yoga crap? Fuck!

Roxy

“Do you mind? I have to get cleaned up, and I heard someone say something about breakfast.” He’d heard it too since the staff member had announced it just a few seconds ago. He eased back and away from me, barely giving me enough room to pass. “I’ll wait here for you.”

“You don’t have to; I’m sure I’ll find it. Didn’t she say we were eating outside?”

When he didn’t answer, I looked back at him, ready to get annoyed. “What? You don’t trust me to be on my own in this big old fancy house?” There was a look that crossed his face very fleetingly, but not fast enough for me to miss it. He looked almost…pained. What the hell is wrong with him?

“It’s not that. I don’t want you facing all of them alone…look, it doesn’t matter, just go get dressed and I’ll be right here to walk up with you.” I wanted to say something snippy back to him like I didn’t need him, but that look gave me pause. He seemed genuinely worried about me facing a roomful of strangers on my own.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. I wasn’t here for anyone’s approval and hadn’t cared about shit like that since I was about eight. I just wanted to get this shit out of the way and maybe hitch a ride on a boat heading back to the states. Once I figure out where the hell I am, of course.

As I rushed through a quick shower, I realized how stupid it was of me to just come here like this. But I had to know, had to see for myself that it was really her. She’s the one piece of the puzzle I never gave much hope to finding when I made my escape, so there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity. How I get myself out of here is another story.

At least I know I hadn’t walked myself into some sort of sick trap since there were women and children here, though I know better than most that that doesn’t mean anything. Women and children were used as covers in the little town where my life was destroyed. Who’d expect the soccer mom next door and her executive husband to be involved in the sick twisted shit that those families were?

In that town, it was worst than most because everyone was in on it—the cops-social services, judges, and even lawyers, everyone. Every house on every street in the town of less than three thousand was a house of horrors. But I didn’t see the same evil lurking in the eyes of the men who’d come for me, and the woman I’d met last night. What was her name? Arianna yes. Come to think of it, the little girl Lily Anna looks a lot like her.

That Lyon guy was really good with his daughter as well, and the way he held his son, I didn’t miss any of it. There’s no way he’d allow anyone to do to his beautiful little girl what had been done to me and so many others. And there was something about him that made me feel…safe.