Finding Faye (K&S Securities 1)

If he has one.

The door slams in my face, cutting off the sound of hateful laughter. Tears of frustration and fear slip down my face. I sit down beside Ana, my hope bleeding away. She takes my hand in hers and squeezes. The only comfort I can find in this situation is that it is the middle of the night and they have to stop soon. Right? There are two of them though, so maybe they just plan to take turns driving until we get to whatever their destination is.

It doesn’t really matter where they are taking us; if we can’t find a way to escape once we get there, we are screwed.

The door opens up suddenly and Ana and I both jump, startled. It’s the second man, the quiet one that handled Ana carefully. Without a word he tosses a couple water bottles in, rolling them toward us before nodding his head and locking us back in.

I scramble in the dark for the bottles before they roll away when the truck starts moving again. I hear the muffled sound of two doors slamming and know it’s time. Settling back down beside Ana, I hand her a water and we open them, taking a drink before capping them and setting them in our laps. There's no telling when we might be given more. Probably best to save some for later. Just in case.

I doze fitfully in the back of the truck. You know that kind of sleeping where your body rests but you mind is still awake? That kind of awful rest that you actually feel worse after? Yeah, I do that.

A sudden slowing of the vehicle and a hollow echo of engine rumble precedes the inevitable sound of breaks, then voices approaching.

I sit up rapidly. Ana is already awake. We both hurry to stand, our hands clasped together, ready to run if the opportunity presents itself. Neither of us says anything, but we both know our chances are slim. They were cautious about letting us out at the rest area, so I don't expect anything less now. If anything, I anticipate even more vigilance. I doubt Ana thinks anything different.

We are just going to have to wait and see how things play out… and hope that Travis is on his way.

This must be our destination. I can hear the sound of additional voices joining the other two. They aren't being quiet, so that must mean that they aren't concerned about being seen with us. That can't be good. One thing I know is that when people are doing something wrong and don’t feel the need to hide it, it’s because they have gotten away with it before. That makes me nervous—have they kidnapped other women and brought them to… wherever this is?

A quick glance at Ana in the murky light reveals the same look of trepidation on her face that I feel. I squeeze her hand, as much to bolster myself as her, and we cling to each other as we wait for the door to open.

The time it takes feels like forever, but it’s maybe only five minutes before the door is thrown open and flickering fluorescent light floods inside, blinding me. I’m still blinking, trying to clear my vision enough to see, when I feel a hard hand grab me. Before I can even cry out from the sharp pain lancing through my shoulder someone is dragging me out of the truck and pushing me down to the gritty concrete.

A quick look around confirms that we are in an underground parking garage. One that appears to be totally empty… except for the two armored trucks and a couple of nondescript, piece of shit cars.

Fuck! We were in trouble before, but this is even worse than I thought. There is no way we can escape from here, not without help or guns… or something.

Looking up from where I’m sprawled on the dirty concrete, I see Ana being dragged toward an elevator by a large man in a cheap black suit. She is struggling against his hold on her arm but he’s much too big for her to be effective against him. The man standing over me is dressed the same—all of them are.

Stooping, he lifts me by my arm. The same one that he already yanked so hard. I whimper in pain, muscle tearing. It feels like he’s pulling my shoulder out of its socket as he pulls it up behind me. With a rude noise he pushes me in the same direction that Ana just went.

The way my arm is twisted behind my back ensures that I don't struggle. I go along with him without a fight, even though every fiber of my being is screaming at me to run, but I don't want to be separated from Ana.

If…when Travis comes for us, it will be best if we are together. If he doesn’t come...well at least we won’t be facing whatever they have planned for us alone.

The man pushes me into the sketchy elevator beside Ana. She glances at my, sympathy shining in her eyes at the way I’m cradling my injured arm.

It feels like there is barely enough power to keep the elevator in motion. It jerks and shudders on its way up. Our escorts take us to the twentieth floor and my heart sinks even more. Twenty floors up reduces our chances of escape even further. Not that they were good to start with.

When the doors slide open, revealing an empty hallway, Ana meets my eyes before we are pushed out and into motion again. We stop in front of a door while one of the men unlocks it, revealing a sparsely furnished apartment. I barely have time to take in the tv and threadbare sofa before I am shoved into a mostly empty bedroom. Ana is pushed in behind me and the door closes with an echoing click.

Left alone with only the light from the windows illuminating our surroundings, we search the room. There is, of course, nothing that would aid an escape attempt, not that either of us expected anything different.

After a few futile minutes a heavy sensation of exhaustion settles over me. I’m so tired. My shoulder is still throbbing in agony. It seems pointless not to try to get some rest, so I warily approach the mattress on the floor. It doesn’t appear to be too dirty, so I drop down on my butt and pat the spot beside me. I can worry about bedbugs and the like, if I survive, tomorrow.

Her hand resting on her belly, Ana lowers herself gingerly beside me and leans her head against my shoulder with a sigh. “Why do they want me?” she mumbles, before bursting into tears. “I just want Xavier…”

“I know you do, Ana. I really wish Travis was here too,” I whisper back.

There is nothing more to say. We are trapped and no one who cares has any idea where we are.

She rolls away from me, the sounds of her tears tugging at my heart until, with a sob I can no longer contain, I dampen the mattress with my own before I fall into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Travis

As we pull into the parking garage of Xavier’s casino, a couple of his employees come out to meet us and usher us into a private elevator. They don’t say anything, which I think is kind of weird. We aren’t in some mafia movie.