“What happened?” Julian asked. “Why were you separated from the rest?”
“When I became fully conscious, my first thought was to get out of there. If not me, one of the women. I rallied them, explaining what we had to do. I planned to jump one of the guards who brought us the slop they called food. Cause a distraction.”
“It didn’t work, I assume,” said Marcus.
I reached for the glass, taking a sip, unable to control the tremor in my hand. Simply talking exhausted me. “I didn’t even have a chance to try. They had the place wired. They watched and listened to us. I was beaten as an example. After that, the women stayed clear. Still, I tried. I figured out where the cameras were, stayed out of their sight. Looked for ways out. But there was nothing—nothing but concrete and walls. Nowhere to go, nothing to use.”
“But you kept trying,” Julian stated.
“Yes. Then one of the men dragged me out of the basement and upstairs. He made me sit in front of a camera. Whoever was watching informed him I was the right one—the one he’d been searching for. That they’d done a good job.”
“The right one?” Marcus asked. “For what?”
“I was to be saved for him. I was going to be transported elsewhere for this man, not where the others were being shipped to.” I swallowed. “I panicked. I knew if I disappeared again, I would never find my way out. I jumped up and lunged. Broke the camera, scratched one of the men, tried to run. But they caught me. Beat me again and tied me up. Threw me in the cage so I couldn’t cause more trouble.” I shut my eyes as I remembered the sound of the wall clicking into place and locking me in the never-ending darkness. A long tremor went through me.
“Did you hear anything, Missy? Names, dates, anything you can remember?”
“I heard snippets of conversations in the ducts if they were talking close to them. I tried to listen when I would hear voices. I heard the men referring to the big boss as Mr. X.”
They exchanged another silent glance.
“I heard one of them say the name Xander, and I assumed that was Mr. X,” I added.
Marcus’s fist tightened on the table. “Xander?” he hissed.
“You know the name?”
Julian looked grim. “We’ve heard it. His name has come up a lot lately. We’ve been trying to locate him.” He eyed me. “Nasty piece of work. Be grateful he didn’t get his hands on you.”
Something about his tone made me shiver. Then a thought occurred to me. “What date is it?”
“October 12.”
“Oh my God, I’ve been gone for three weeks.”
Julian frowned. “Give me the name of your unit. I’ll call them. They can contact your family as well.”
“No!” I gasped.
“Why the hell not, Missy?” Marcus asked. “They need to know.”
I shook my head, grasping his hand. “None of the women in that basement were ones we were looking for, Marcus. And I think… I think someone on the team was working against us. With them.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked, leaning close. He wasn’t dismissing my idea; he wanted my answer.
“They took everything traceable—even the button on my blouse that was added last minute. Only a few people knew about that one. I mean, taking my purse and phone and ditching them, yes. But my hair clip, my anklet, the ring, and the button? Only that button? It’s either the luckiest move ever on their part, or they knew what to take. They even took my shoes, and I wondered if a tracker had been in one of them as well that I didn’t know of.”
Marcus’s dark eyes were lit with fury. A burning fire of rage. “Fucking bastard. Whoever he is, I’ll kill him myself.”
Julian held up his hand. “Let’s stay calm, Marcus.”
Marcus stood, facing Julian. “Calm down? Calm down? You didn’t see her in that cage, Julian. You didn’t pull her out of that wall. Tied up like an animal. She would have died if I hadn’t followed my gut. Fucking blown up and no one would have known.” He slammed his hand on the table. “I think about that over and over in my mind. And now knowing that lowlife Xander might be involved? That she was on his radar? Don’t you dare fucking tell me to calm down.”
Julian held up his hands. “Relax, Marcus. I’m not the enemy here. We’ll take her somewhere safe and—”
Marcus cut him off, towering over him, furious. “She isn’t going anywhere. No one can protect her the way I can. Nothing or no one is going to touch her while I’m around.” He bent low, almost hissing in Julian’s face. “And you aren’t fucking taking her. Do you understand me?”
Julian studied him for a moment, then nodded.
Marcus stormed from the room, and I heard the slam of a door. I stared after him, shocked at the fury in his voice, the fear and loathing I felt rolling off him. I turned to look at Julian.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Fuck. Lightning has struck twice.” He laughed dryly. “Who knew?”
“Um, sorry?”
He stood. “It’s Matteo and Evie all over again. Except Marcus is far more hotheaded and intense.” He snorted. “And that’s saying something. I’m going downstairs. When the hulk reappears, tell him where I am. We can talk when he’s calmer.” He paused at the door. “I agree with you, Missy. You’re safer if we don’t tell anyone. But do you have family you want to get word to?”
I thought of my small apartment. My fairly empty life.
“No.”
He frowned but didn’t push the issue. “All right. We’ll speak later.”
Then he left me alone.
Chapter Five
Marcus
I felt as if I was going to come out of my skin, I was so tightly wound. Hearing the name Xander had brought it all to a head. He was a snake, one we’d spy and move in on, only for him to disappear into the grass, hidden once again. He was ruthless, cruel, and liked to sell young women on the black market. He was also rumored to keep some for himself—until he grew tired of them. I’d been chasing him for a year. If we cut off one head, another sprang up. It was endless. The only way to end it was to end him.
Simply the thought that Missy had come close to falling into his hands made me rage. I stepped in front of the heavy hanging bag in the small room I used as a place to burn off steam, and I began to hit. The solid feel of the bag under my gloved fists helped release some of the excessive energy I was struggling with, and I lost myself to the sensation, picturing the elusive Xander in front of me. It was him I beat. Him my fists punished. Time flew by as I dripped sweat, anger, and fear, finally stopping when my hands ached and my breathing was rough.
I leaned on the bag, my chest heaving.
What hand of fate stepped in and led me to Missy? Our plans had been to hit the warehouse two days later than we did. But it had felt wrong, and I’d decided to move up the date. That same feeling had struck me inside the building and led me to her. The pull I felt toward her was as strange as it was intense. In both cases, if I hadn’t listened to my gut, I would have lost her—I would have never understood the feeling that existed somewhere deep inside me. The files we took showed they were going to be gone the next day. I would have missed her. If I hadn’t followed up on that small heat source, she would have—