Then he saw the assault rifle slung on my back and all the blood drained from his face. He stepped back, turned to shout a warning—
I kicked the doors open with my boot, sending him staggering back to fall on his ass. Then I unslung the assault rifle and stepped into the enormous hallway. A few of the members who’d been at the hunt were standing around, drinking to numb the pain of their wounds, and they bolted as soon as they saw me. The other members just stood there staring. Two guards rushed towards me, drawing their weapons. I fired two quick shots at each of them and they fell. They were wearing body armor, so they’d survive, but getting shot is still like being kicked by a mule: they weren’t going to be getting up in a hurry.
I turned to Rufus. “Find her. Find Bethany.”
He lifted his nose and sniffed the air...then bolted up the main staircase. I ran after him, shoving aside anyone who got in my way. He ran straight up to the top floor, then down the hallway to a door at the end. I kicked it open—
A bedroom. Empty. But on the floor were those sneakers she’d worn when I first met her, the rubber soles still pure white. This is where that bastard had taken her, that first night. And maybe she’d been here since. But... “Where is she now?” I asked Rufus, ruffling his coat encouragingly. “Where is she now, boy?”
Rufus sniffed her sneakers. Turned a circle, sniffing the air again. Then he bolted back down the stairs. At the bottom, two more guards were waiting for us. Rufus shot straight between them, too quick to catch. Then I smashed through them like a quarterback, sending them sprawling.
I followed Rufus to a big, book-lined library. He turned a circle there, then looked confused and ran to the next room. I charged along behind him, grabbing members and hurling them out of the way, using the butt of the rifle or a few quick shots to take out the guards. A few of them got shots off, shattering a huge fish tank and sending a tidal wave of water thundering across the carpet. One of the members grabbed a shotgun and fired a couple of blasts at us, but only managed to destroy a bust and shred an oil painting before I clubbed him in the side of the head. We raced from room to room, until we’d been around the entire first floor and were back in the library. Rufus looked at me, confused.
Where is she?
64
Bethany
I’D BEEN OVER every wall and even tried the floor and the ceiling but I’d gotten nowhere. Every surface was covered in the thick red vinyl padding and in the few places where I could force my fingers into a crack where two pads joined, all I felt was hard cold metal. There had to be a door somewhere—they’d got us in here—but I couldn’t find it.
Panic started to rise in me, the cold nausea of feeling your time slipping away and not being able to do a freakin’ thing about it. We have to get out before they come for us and take us off to Russia! But I’d searched every wall, felt in every crack….
Then I remembered what Cal had taught me. “Everyone be quiet for a minute,” I told the others. “Shh!”
They quietened down and I closed my eyes and listened. I listened for the hum of air conditioning, the gurgle of water in pipes, the sound of footsteps. But there was absolutely nothing. Why couldn’t I hear the rest of the mansion?
The room was soundproof. That’s what all the soft padding was for. A soundproof, windowless box. A secret room, a place to keep women until they were needed, or to put them if the cops were about to search the house, a place where we wouldn’t be heard even if we screamed for help. Where would you put a place like that?
Underground. We were down in the basement, in a locked box, where no one could ever find us.
65
Cal
RUFUS AND I ran back up to the third floor and worked our way down again, searching room by room. When guards got in our way, I clubbed them out of the way with the rifle or picked them up and threw them across the room, smashing furniture and knocking paintings off the walls as they landed.
Some of the bedroom doors were locked and when I kicked them down, I found guys in suits, along with the half-naked women they’d bought. That only fueled my rage. I hauled the guys out and punched them into submission, then told the women they were safe, now. But none of them knew where Bethany or the other women bound for Russia were. We cleared the whole of the third floor and then the whole of the second. Nothing. I stood there panting with anger and fear. Where the hell was she?