She closed the door quietly so as not to rouse the dogs. “Is the gate locked?” she asked the girls behind her.
Bess shrugged. “Never tried opening it.”
“It probably is. We’re completely locked in here,” the girl at the table said.
Fiona didn’t look at Haley, who was watching her with enormous eyes. Fiona crossed the room to the backside of the house. There was a small alcove off the kitchen. A glass door with iron bars taunted at the freedom beyond. The window was filthy, smudged by years of accumulated dust and wear.
One of the dogs saw her at the door and ran up the steps, snarling. She could just see its big teeth flashing through the grime on the window. When his big body slammed against the window, she was instantly grateful for the bars that kept him from coming through the glass.
Nevertheless, she tested the doorknob. It was locked.
She returned to the kitchen through the short, jumbled laundry room. The girl at the table was eating her canned pasta. Bess leaned against the counter, a bowl in hand.
Fiona went to the garage door. It was made of steel and was also locked with a deadbolt.
The only way in or out for them was through the front door…and into a yard that may or may not have a locked gate. Haley hadn’t moved from her post by the front door. Fiona looked at the girls. Bess appeared mildly irritated, the others utterly hopeless.
“Give me a knife,” Fiona said to Bess.
The girl shook her head, then opened a drawer and took out a standard dinner knife.
“No, I mean a real knife.”
“Don’t have any.”
Fiona didn’t accept that answer. She went over to the drawers and started pulling them out, looking for any kind of sharp knife, hopefully longer than a paring knife. Bess hadn’t lied. Fiona sent her a dark look then checked the cabinets. There was a large iron skillet. It would have to do. She could use it as a club or a shield.
No one tried to stop her. She paused in front of Haley. The girl reached out to grab her forearm. “Don’t do this. Please, don’t do this. They will tear you apart.”
Fiona didn’t give in to that hysteria, though she fully believed the girl was right. “I need your help.”
“No.” Haley vigorously shook her head.
“Go to the back door and keep their attention.” Fiona took her arm and led her across the room. “Make noise. Keep them occupied. Buy me some time to get to the gate—and back if it’s locked.”
“And then what?” Bess asked. “You get out and leave us?”
“No. I get out and open that garage door. We all leave.”
“It’s a bad idea,” Bess said.
“You got a better one?”
Bess met her gaze. Her eyes were hard. Fiona hurried to the front door. Bess followed her. She looked at the girl who seemed to be a leader of the others, wondering if she would sabotage Fiona’s escape plan by summoning the hellhounds. She had no choice but to give it a try.
A car came down the road. Fiona couldn’t see it for the cornfield between the house and street.
“Showtime, girls. Slurp your food down and get in your places,” Bess ordered. “You”—she pointed at Fiona—“get back in your half of Haley’s room and keep your trap shut. No one’s supposed to touch you, but who knows if they can resist fresh meat.”
Fiona looked at Haley. Her eyes were glazed over. Once again, she quietly retreated to her space. “We can fight them,” Fiona whispered as she entered their room.
Haley had withdrawn deep into her mind. She didn’t respond. Whatever fight she had was long gone. Once again, Fiona had no choice but to crouch in the corner of her room. Men came continuously over the next few hours. The other girls giggled and made jokes with their johns, but Haley was always silent.
It was late afternoon before Fiona could venture out of her hiding space. She went to the back door to see what the dogs were doing. She couldn’t see them, so she banged on the door. Instantly, they began barking and lunging at the glass.
“What are you doing?” Bess asked.
“I’m getting out of here”—she looked at the two girls who were in the living room—“with or without your help.”
Haley came to stand at the door to her room. Bess frowned as she looked at her. “Wait,” Bess said to Fiona. “Wait.”
Fiona and Haley both looked at Bess. She went into the laundry room and rummaged through something Fiona couldn’t see. When she returned, she held out Fiona’s security bracelet.
“Is this one of those security bracelets?” Bess asked.
Tears flooded Fiona’s eyes as she took the bracelet. “Yes.” Her hands were shaking as she pressed the activation button hidden near the clasp. Her knees went weak. She crumpled to the ground, crying as she smiled up at the girls. Her relief was so great, she couldn’t summon anger that Bess had lied to her.
“Everything’s going to be fine now.”
Chapter Four
Kelan’s phone buzzed with an alert—the one he’d been waiting for. “It’s Fiona. I gave her a secondary security device—a bracelet.” He sent the coordinates to the team. They gathered their weapons and hurried out of their motel rooms.
“I’m driving,” Val said as he unlocked one of the SUVs. Kelan didn’t argue.
“What are we looking at, Kelan?” Kit asked over their comm units as both vehicles cut through traffic.
Kelan used the vehicle’s Wi-Fi to check the coordinates sent by the bracelet. He expanded the satellite image the security app brought up. “It’s a farmhouse in the middle of a cornfield. About forty miles east of here. It’s got some outbuildings, but no other houses or large structures for at least a klick in either direction. The signal’s coming from the house.”