He doesn’t hesitate, and in walks the woman, giving Kitten an enthusiastic hug. To Kitten’s credit, she plays along,going so far as to gush over the clothes that could be in the bag and being so grateful she brought them. That she has nothing to wear or some shit.
I don’t know what they say, as I’m only half listening. If the woman doesn’t want to talk outside, then she must know we’re being watched or something. I look at the cameras that I know Flint is using to watch us walk inside, thenmove my finger to my nose and rub it in a circular motion. A yellow light flickers on the camera, and I know he understood my cue to scan the surrounding area.
I hear the drones take off a second later and hope they can catch whoever’s watching.
When we get inside, the woman keeps walking toward the back like she knows where she’s going, which pulls a ton of attention. “All right, sweetie, I’m going to get set up in the back. I think your man is just going to love the lingerie sets we picked out for you. And don’t worry, I brought some for your girls too. Why don’t you go get your man, and you can try it on for him. Oh, and bring that boss man you’ve got around here. I heard he’s got an eye for this stuff.”
Kitten stills and looks at me, and I nod. Then she races down to her man’s place, and I follow this woman, whoever she is, as she makes her way into our Church room. Bass and Jumper come too.
She just smiles at everyone as she dumps her bag open on the table and starts sorting things out as if she really is showing clothes. We wait a minute, maybe two, before Flint, Kitten, and Casper join us, shutting the door behind them.
“Boss man?” The woman smiles at Casper, and his eyes narrow.
I step in front of him. If she’s looking to take out one of our own, she’s mistaken. We’d all take a bullet for the president. Even Kitten. And when she tries to step in front of Casper, too, Flint pulls her back enough to take the head position.
“Cute. But also revealing.” The woman pulls something out of her pocket and puts it on the table. It lights up from red to green.
“What’s that?” Jumper asks.
“A jammer,” Flint says.
“Smart man. And yes, it is. But it can also do this.” She pushes another button, and a 3D blueprint of a building pops up above the table. It looks like something Tony Stark has. “We think they’re being held here.” She points to a room. “It’s underground, but it makes the most sense. Our intel hasn’t seen any women in the top facility since we started looking.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Casper growls.
“Name’s Gina. As far as you and I are concerned, we’re friends.” She tilts her head as if debating. “Well, more or less. We’re not in your area to take over or make a connection. I was here only to keep an eye on one person. Nothing more.”
“Natalie,” Kitten says in a rushed whisper as she takes a seat.
Gina nods solemnly. “I only do eyes-on every few weeks. I’ve got other jobs that take me out of the area.Haven’t seen her in a bit at the college, so I figured I’d make a play here and see if something turned up.”
“How did you find her?” I ask. Her being Ruby, but she thinks it’s Natalie and speaks hesitantly.
She releases an audible breath. “Without answering more questions than not, let’s just say we have a way to track Natalie.” When no one says anything, she shrugs and adds more. “We turned it on and got a hit on her location. Here.” She gestures to the screen. “Colombia.”
I fall into the nearest seat.
Colombia? South America?
Shit. No wonder we couldn’t find her. She’s in a different fucking country.
I look to my left and see the same disbelief on my brothers’ faces. We assumed she’d be here. In America. We’ve got friends all over the world, but we didn’t expect this.
I look back to the one person who seems to know more than we do. The one who might have an idea about how to get Natalie and Ruby out. If she’s there. There’s a chance they aren’t together, but it’s one I’m willing to take.
“What’s the plan?”
Gina grins. It’s borderline crazy, and I kind of like it. And her next words bring a matching one out of me.
“I’ve got a plane. Leaves in two hours.”
Chapter 36—Ruby
This place? Not my favorite. As Kitten would say, zero stars, would not recommend.
Kitten. Jesus, I miss her. And Mama Bear, Izzy, Fairy—hell, just everyone. We’ve been here for… shit, I don’t know how long. It seems like forever one moment and like no time has passed the next. I can’t even count the length of a day by our meals, as they seem to come at different times. Sometimes it feels like we get another a minute after they take the first. Other times, it’s as if I haven’t eaten for days.
Same thing with the bathroom breaks. Ava said we get them, so Nat and I were never forced to just do the deed out in the open. Someone comes, grabs one of us, and takes us to a bathroom. A place with no doors or windows. Not even a sink or toilet paper. We’ve got a toilet that I swear has never been cleaned, but at least it flushes. And the people who take us? They watch. I gave up yelling at them to look away. It did nothing but get me a fat lip and a black eye each time.
