I didn’t want to take it or to look at it, but I did anyway. It was a burned-out car. Nothing was left but the frame.
“Too bad the body was incinerated beyond recognition. It was a quick death, though.” Barnes shrugged. “It’s the best one can hope for in this line of work and not one we afford everyone.” He smirked, and I knew he was talking about Bri.
I wanted to rip the smirk off his face. “Tell me what you did to her, you bastard.”
Chapter 23
Bri
I woke to find the darkness had returned. I didn’t like the darkness. If the Organization’s henchmen were going to do anything with me or take me somewhere, they always did so when it was dark.
I’d tried to keep track of how many days they’d been holding me, but they’d drugged my food twice and that’d messed up my count. From my best estimate, I’d been in my current location for two days. I doubted I’d remain much longer. One of the many things I’d learned over the years was the longer you kept a hostage in one location, the greater chance there was of being caught.
On the other side of that coin, you took a chance of being caught each time you moved them as well. The secret to keeping them hidden was to make smart moves.
I might not have known my precise location, but I knew I was somewhere near people. During the day I could hear them in the distance. Not close enough to call out to or try to catch the attention of. The small windowless room I was in ensured as much. But it was a risk to keep me in such a place, and I assumed they’d be moving me soon. I refused to give in and think of the alternative.
In the past few days, despair always seemed to hang nearby, waiting for me to allow it a foothold. When I felt like letting it take over, I told myself they had kept me alive for a reason. I didn’t know what it was, but as long as I fulfilled that need, there was hope I could somehow escape or convince Barnes I was still of value to the Organization.
A shuffle from outside the room caught my attention. I didn’t even try to stand when I heard the rattle of keys. I’d attempted to escape the first few days after I’d been taken, but I was always overpowered. As punishment, each failed attempt resulted in a decreased amount of food. I was currently so weak from hunger I wasn’t sure I had the strength to walk to the door without help.
The door opened, and as I’d expected, one of the henchmen, Bruce, stepped inside with a blindfold and rope in his hands.
“Time to take a trip,” he said with a grin. I couldn’t help but notice he had two missing teeth.
Trip where? I knew better than to ask but wondered just the same. Hell, he probably didn’t know.
I struggled to my feet while he stood by and watched. He didn’t offer to help, and I didn’t ask. I’d rather take two hours to stand by myself than to have him touch me unnecessarily.
“Hurry up,” he said when I swayed trying to take a step toward him.
I shot him an angry look but kept my mouth shut. I’d mouthed off to him once before and no doubt still bore the bruise on my jaw he’d given me in return.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “This is the last time you have to worry about us moving you.”
His laugh at the way I stumbled at his words meant he probably didn’t mean it was my last move because they planned to release me. Wherever they were taking me was the place they meant to kill me. I thought about putting up a fight but didn’t see the point when I was so weak I could barely stand.
My best hope of getting away would be to catch the attention of someone. There were people walking nearby during the day. Wouldn’t it stand to reason at least one person would be around at night? I didn’t need an army. I only needed a single person.
Before when they moved me, my hands would be bound, and I’d be blindfolded, but they’d also put tape on my mouth. Bruce didn’t have tape with him.
An unexpected flicker of hope bloomed inside me. Had he forgotten, or was it not needed because it didn’t matter if I yelled? I wasn’t sure, but I was going to bet on the first being true until it was proven to be the second.
Attention to detail. One of the many rules I’d learned over the years.
Bruce half carried me, half dragged me out of the room I’d been in. I felt the gush of fresh air as soon as we stepped outside. There was a smell too, but I couldn’t place it. I’d caught the occasional hint of it inside the room, but it was stronger outside. I wished I hadn’t been blindfolded. If I could only see where I was, I could try to come up with some sort of plan.
As I’d hoped, Bruce had used no tape. I could use my voice. The trick was to time it just right. Too soon, and I’d be shoved back into the room we’d stepped out of seconds ago. Too late, and they’d shove me wherever they were taking me. I needed to scream somewhere in the middle, but how was I to know where that was if I couldn’t see?
I counted in my head while trying to use all my senses to gather as much information as possible: which direction the wind blew, the temperature, the sound of our footsteps. Satisfied it was the best option, I decided to go for it when I reached ten. Maybe the sound of my shout would catch the brute holding me off guard enough for me to try to make a run for it.
With the countdown started in my head, adrenaline flooded my body, reviving me cell by cell. I could do this. It would work.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
“Bri? Is that you?”
The shout I’d been preparing for died in my throat at the sound of the one voice I never expected.
“Piers?” I asked, a little louder than a whisper.
“It is you,” Piers said. “Hey, what are you doing with her? Why is she tied up and blindfolded?” There was a sound of a struggle. “What’s your problem? Let go of me!”
“You were supposed to have her in place before now,” a voice I didn’t recognize said.
Bruce answered, “It’s not my fault. I couldn’t get her to stand quick enough.”
“We need to get them in and settled before the boss shows up, and he’s right behind me.”
I felt the hard end of a gun against my side. “Move quickly and quietly, and I won’t shoot you,” Bruce said.
What was Piers doing? Did they have him as well?
I found out a second later when I was pulled forward and shoved into a seat. My tied hands were quickly bound behind me to the chair I sat in. The bright light of day blinded me as Bruce ripped the blindfold from my head.
“Wait here,” the voice I didn’t recognize said and then laughed. “Like you have a choice.”
And just like that, the two men left. I looked at Piers. He had what was going to be a nasty black eye. Like me, they had also tied him to his chair.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Barnes invited me to come hear the truth,” Piers said. “After hearing it, I realized how they’ve been playing you all these years. I was afraid they’d done something to you and insisted they tell me where you were.”
“And so I showed you.”
Piers and I both turned our heads at the sound of Barnes’s voice. The asshole looked pretty satisfied with himself.
“You’ve seen her, Mr. Worthington,” he continued. “Are you happy now?”