I nod and raise my gun just as Halliwell and the rest of Niall’s guys enter the kitchen behind us. Just as we are about to reach for the door, three of his men step forward and move us out of the way. Giving Niall a look, he nods and his men take the lead, opening the door then heading down the steps on the other side of it. Well, fuck me, he was right.
Heading down the corridor in the basement, we can hear men’s voices at the end, and the whimpers of at least one of the women. My rage builds, and I’m done waiting. Storming ahead with the others hot on my heels, I make it to the back of the basement, to find both men standing over the women, laughing.
When I look down, I see one of the women is out cold, the other tears streaming down her face. They are both covered in cuts and bruises, dried blood coating parts of their bodies.
I cut a glance to Niall, as he does the same to me. One look and we charge for the fuckers in front of us, they realise we’re there seconds before we reach them.
I catch a glint of a blade in one of the fuckers hands just as he moves to one of the women with it. Before we have a chance to do anything to the piece of shit we hear a gun shot and the knife slips from his arm. His other hand goes to his shoulder, where a bullet just tore through it.
I pistol whip the fucker across the head, knocking him out cold as Niall takes down the other guy. “Tie this fucker up,” I yell to nobody as I yank his arms around his back, not giving a shit about the bullet hole he already has, the son-of-a-bitch has a lot more coming.
One of Niall’s men comes over with rope and duct tape, as I move to check the pulse of the woman who’s out cold on the floor. But before I get there the other one screams and launches herself at me. She doesn’t get far though, she’s shackled to the wall and I see her shoulder is already dislocated, but she doesn’t look like she feels it. The look on her face is feral, she just wants to protect her friend.
Not wanting to scare her anymore that she already is, I raise my hands up in a defence motion. “Please, I need you to breathe and listen to me, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help you, but I need to check your friend here for a pulse, I need to know if she’s alive. Can you let me do that?”
The room is silent as all eyes are on me and the woman, nobody wants to move and scare her. Giving her another minute, I lean back on my haunches. “Please, trust me,” I whisper.
She takes several deep breaths and then her shoulders sag, and she nods at me, giving permission to check her friend.
“Thank you.” I reach forward trying to find the pulse point on this woman’s neck, but there is so much blood I have to clear it before I can hit the right spot.
The room is thick with tension as everyone waits to see if she’s still alive.
We let out a collective sigh when I give them a nod letting them know she’s still alive.
“Her pulse is weak man; we need that doc now.” I look across at Niall, he has the other fucker on the floor, a boot in his neck. He’s alive and awake, but a little beaten. It’s nothing compared to what he’ll receive later.
A few minutes later, the doc arrives as I’m loosening the shackles on the unconscious woman. The doc starts to give her a quick examination. When the other woman puts her hand on my arm, I shudder at how cold her fingers are, removing my jacket I place it around her shoulders, then look at her.
She’s pretty. Her hair beneath the blood and dirt is a blond colour. Her eyes are a mix of blue and grey, but they look so dull and lifeless, like her soul has just given up. It’s her features that surprise me. Getting a closer look at her now, I realise how young she looks. I look at Halliwell, silently asking if he’s managed to ID these woman yet, he shakes his head fully understanding what I’m asking.
Turning back to the woman, I place her hands in mine. “Can you tell me your name lass?”
Her breath catches, and I see her lips crack as she speaks, “It’s Amy, she’s Jenna.”
“We’re gonna get you girls out of here. Then we’ll find your family, OK?”
“Thank you, please tell me she’s OK?”
“The doc is looking at her now, he’ll let us know as soon as he’s checked her over. Why don’t you let me help you upstairs and we can get you some water?” I go to stand, but she pulls me back down.
“No, please I don’t want to leave her, I promised I wouldn’t leave her alone.”
“Hey.” I brush the hair away from her face, then tilt her chin so she’s looking directly at me. “She’s not alone, we won’t leave either one of you alone. We’ve got you.”
The tears roll down her face, and she throws herself at me. I lift her into my arms, tucking my arm under her legs. She pulls her face into my chest, grabbing at my t-shirt and sobs. Halliwell follows as I carry her up to the kitchen while the doc works on her friend.
Chapter 17
Almost three hours later and we’re in the safehouse. The doc has Jenna in one of the rooms upstairs where he and two nurses are treating her injuries. He’d wanted to get one of the nurses to check Amy over, but she’d refused until they made sure the other girl was OK.
The safehouse is small, only big enough to hold a handful of people. There are two bedrooms upstairs along with a bathroom. The front room is through a door on the right-hand side of the corridor as you enter the front door and the kitchen is through a door straight ahead.
Amy is sitting curled up on the sofa, with a blanket wrapped around her. I’d given her a glass of water when we arrived, but the doc asked me not to give her anything else.
Halliwell is sitting on the chair in the corner trying to make himself look as small as possible.
I on the other hand am sitting the arm of the sofa, about two feet from Amy, waiting. I want to start asking her questions, but I don’t want to scare her off.
