The turmoil Nick must have been enduring struck Kate with an unyielding blow. Her arms collapsed to her side, and her poise caved in. Nick was probably scrambling to get back to Fort Vanguard, collect gear, and rescue her. His mind was likely fried and his body running on little sleep. Yet here Kate was, parading around and playing dress up.
Kate extracted a tissue from the vanity and started to clean off the makeup when soft-heeled footsteps approached her door.After several locks disengaged, the door opened, and Margot stepped inside.
Kate stood and backed away toward the farthest wall. Margot stepped in front of Kate, her eyes moving up and down over Kate’s frail and bruised body. The gown she wore suddenly felt acidic and incongruous against her skin. Kate glanced at the door, noting it had not been closed, only to find two armed guards standing in the opening.
“Hmm,” Margot said as she observed Kate. Though the sound was barely audible, it was heavy with disapproval.
The woman was older than Kate, perhaps in her late forties. She towered over her, wearing ankle boots with heels. Her gloved arms were crossed in front of her chest, projecting a cold and merciless authority. Silver wisps of hair fell from a precise updo, and her harsh eyes sent chills through Kate.
Margot took a step, closing the distance between them. Her eyes hardened into slits, and she took a sharp inhale of Kate’s aroma. Margot’s nose crinkled as though she could smell Kate’s blight buried beneath the soap and perfume.
“Ugh, what is your name, girl?” Margot asked in an icy tone.
“Kate,” she responded softly.
“Kate,” Margot repeated as though the word were a slur. “My clients expect a certain level of quality. You, my dear, are far too damaged for their taste. Guards, take out the trash.”
As Kate’s ego cracked and shattered into a million pieces, the armed men encircled her. Each grabbed an arm and hauled her across the floor. She did not even fight back. Margot’s words left Kate feeling exactly the way she felt she deserved. Unworthy.
After Kate escaped from Connor, she drifted through the ruins of society, surviving on what little strength she had left. The time she was forced to spend with him depleted her confidence and left her a withered shell of a woman.
Then, Kate met Nick. Despite being certain she would never trust or love or feel beautiful again, he turned her sad little world upside down. Kate had tried to stay distant and explain to him that she was not worth the trouble. Nick saw through it, convincing Kate that she was a person deserving of protection and adoration. With a simple glance, Margot detected Kate’s scars and the adversity rotting within her.
Take out the trash. That’s all that I am.
Kate walked alongside the guards, certain they were preparing to put a bullet in her head like a racehorse with a bum leg. The armed men directed her down the grand staircase. Before arriving at the front door, they turned her toward an elegant dining hall where they strapped her to a chair. They turned and left without a word. Kate sat staring at an ornate wooden table decorated with maroon napkins and refined silverware.
Chapter 48
The trip back to the warehouse took about twenty minutes, but Nick could feel each second pierce his heart as distance and time separated him from Kate. The guards around him were silent for most of the trip. It was not a burdened or reverent quiet. Just the soundlessness of men who had completed a job and were on to the next.
After the captives were taken away, Margot’s guards loaded Luke’s vehicles with boxes of supplies. Though Nick did not get a glimpse of what was inside, he assumed them to be filled with ammo, food, medical supplies, and tools—the typical things of value in a regressed society, save for a human being enslaved to indulge your every whim.
Nick’s stomach churned at the thought of Margot’s customers stopping in and perusing their options. He had claimed not to be a jealous man because he had only envisioned men who found Kate attractive and sought her company in a romantic sense. Those who did business with Margot were in a different league.
The van shuddered to a stop. The warehouse looked smaller, even from the outside, now that it no longer housed captives.Nick hopped out and prepared to take a shift of watch to keep himself busy.
“Hey, Alex!” Luke exited the vehicle and jogged over to him. “You heard of any of the guys going out for supplies or anything? Derrick and Jerry are gone. I haven’t seen Travis for days now.”
Jerry. That was his name. At least Nick had been half-right. The small achievement was not enough to hamper the dread that skittered across his skin.
“I haven’t seen them. I figured you sent them out to collect more people,” Nick answered. He studied Luke’s expression, searching for signs that he suspected Nick of foul play.
Luke shook his head. “No, I didn’t give them any new orders. It’s just weird, you know?”
“I could go look for them,” Nick offered. Luke thought this over.
“Yeah, you could check the usual haunts. You can take one of the trucks. And take Malik with you.” Luke handed Nick a set of keys.
At the mention of his name, a man wearing a half-face respirator and carrying a box of supplies from the van cocked his head in Nick’s direction. Dark brown eyes gazed at the two men with a calculating stare.
“Malik, go chuck those inside. Then, come see me,” Luke ordered. Malik nodded and turned away with the box.
Nick offered to search for the missing guards as an easy way to leave the warehouse and never return. Taking someone with him was going to complicate things. There was no way he would bring Malik to Fort Vanguard. Time was ticking. Kate was at stake. All of the captives were at stake. Nick had to keep reminding himself that this was not just about Kate anymore.
Malik strode over, and Luke explained that he and Alex were to go on a search and rescue mission for the missing guards.Malik nodded, then looked to Nick for further direction as Luke stepped away to help carry in boxes.
“Ready when you are,” Nick said. Malik retreated inside the warehouse to gather some supplies. Nick waited outside, everything he had brought to the warehouse already on his person.
