I repeat it like a mantra in my head.
When I open my eyes again, I stare straight into Jen’s panicked gaze. “I have no idea, I swear,” I whisper. “I don’t know who he is or who he works for. Connor’s death is the only clue I have.”
“Your husband?” she screams. “Damn it, Layne. I have to go home. Brandon…”
“I know,” I interrupt her, my thoughts turning to Rebel. “I know. We have to go home, so shut up and do what they tell you, okay? They’ll come get us.” I try to reassure her even though I’m scared to death myself, but someone has to do it. I know one thing for sure: they’re coming forher. Brooks is coming for Jen.
We hang in silence for a while, my thoughts with Rebel and Kyler, when suddenly the door opens again. Jesse appears in the doorway. My heart immediately leaps into my throat and I start panting. The loud, thumping footsteps send shivers down my spine, and when his hand reaches up, I inhale sharply.
Suddenly, I can stand, and my shoulders relax. I’m yanked forward.
“Walk,” he growls at me.
As I make my way to the door, another broad man enters, wearing aKnights of Mayhemcut. Shit, that’s the biker club Ky was talking about. I glance over my shoulder, where he’s walking toward Jen.
Jesse yanks the rope again. “Keep moving, stupid bitch,” he mutters, and I do as he says.
We walk through a dark, musty-smelling corridor where the sound of our footsteps echo. It’s damp and stuffy here, as if we’re underground. Entering a large room with high, narrow windows confirms my suspicions. The windows are covered in moss. I cautiously survey the room, noticing it’s divided into small,barred cells. A shiver runs through my body and my eyes widen. I gasp for breath and my stomach drops. Bile rises, but I manage to swallow it back.
Several women huddle together in each cell. What the fuck is this?
Unconsciously, I pull on the rope, and Jesse spins. I don’t feel the blow until he’s already walking away. Tears spring to my eyes and I do my best to hold them back. Fear takes root deep inside me and almost completely paralyzes me.
We come to a halt at a cell door, where he inserts a key. As soon as he opens the door, he gives me a hard shove that sends me tumbling inside. Somehow, I keep myself upright.
A chill runs down my spine as the door slams behind me. I don’t look back, because I know what I’ll see. That guy walking away from me.
In the corner of my cell, a woman with long, dark coils is crouched down. She looks up at me with wide eyes. As I watch her, a close-by door shuts. The footsteps die away, only to be replaced by the sound of another door closing farther down the hall, followed by sobbing and gasping.
“Psst, Layne,” Jen hisses from across the room.
I reluctantly tear my gaze from the woman and look up. “What?”
“What do we do now?” Her hopeful gaze weighs heavily on me, but I’m at a loss for what to do. So I shrug.
“I don’t know. Sit down?”
She nods, looks around briefly, and then does as I say. I do the same, because what else can I do? “Hi,” I whisper to the woman. “I’m Layne.”
For a moment, she just stares at me with those piercing brown eyes, until she finally whispers softly, “Norah.”
I give her a faint smile and then lower myself onto my side. With my eyes closed, I try to stay strong. All I can see is Rebel’s smiling face.
Please let her be safe.
I bury my face in my hands and let my tears flow silently.
She’s the only thing that matters.Rebel.
I can’t sleep, though, and I find myself sitting up again shortly afterward. “How did you end up here?” I ask Norah.
Her eyes widen and her mouth opens and closes as if she doesn’t know how to answer. When she finally responds, I ask her about the men and this place. I absorb everything she tells me until exhaustion forces me to sleep.
Twenty-Six
Ipacebackandforth while Colt’s fingers race across the keyboard and then come to a halt. This has been going on for a couple of hours, and I have no idea if he’s making any headway. I don’t have a clue what the codes on his screen mean.
Brooks sits in the corner of the sofa with his legs pulled up, his hands folded over the bridge of his nose and he stares into space. A foot away, Pax taps his feet on the floor.
