Her eyes teared. She steeled herself. Cami had more reasons to live. She needed to think of all she had to lose if Askook succeeded in selling her to the sex ring in Mexico.
"We're going to get out of here, Cami. Even if I have to kill him," she whispered, unsure if the words were loud enough for her friend to hear.
In comparison to her, Cami had more to live for. Her parents lived in Nebraska. They were close and had traveled to Missoula, making sure the police were looking for their daughter. While they had to go back home after hitting dead-ends in the searches, they constantly worried and hoped that Cami had taken off on an impromptu trip with a man she met or was headed home. They knew Cami was a responsible woman.
While strangers in Missoula whispered rumors and newspaper articles written about the police report leaned toward Cami having met a man and run off with him, Josie knew her friend better. She knew more than Cami's parents.
Askook's rampage started long before he'd kidnapped Cami. Josie had known where to look for her friend. And she was right.
Askook pointed in her direction. As brave as she wanted to be, she was scared.
Unwilling to look away from him, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of breaking her. No man would ever own her. It no longer mattered what he did to her. He couldn't steal her life as if she was no more than smoke rising up in the air.
No one was looking for her. She had to figure a way out of here.
Besides Cami, she'd made no other friends since leaving the reservation. Most of her time was spent working in the office at Banks' Body Shop. The first chance she got on her day off, she'd gone to the casino, hoping to retrieve Cami and get out of here. She'd hoped to make it back in time to go to work without explaining her personal life.
By now, her boss probably hired someone else to work in the office, figuring she'd up and quit without giving them notice.
A man came into the room. His straight dark hair brushed his shoulders. She recognized his Blackfoot heritage written on his face through his high cheekbones and stoic mouth. Considering he worked for Askook, she was surprised to see his mother's symbols on the beaded choker around his neck. A sign of pride while shaming his people. What a disgrace.
The man stopped in front of her, leaned down, and hooked her arm, hauling her to her feet. She swayed, caught off-balance with her hands tied behind her back.
Pulled toward the door, she looked over her shoulder at Cami, who'd fallen to her side and curled into a tight ball on the floor, despite her hands behind her.
She couldn't leave Cami like this. Acting for herself, she stopped.
The man pulled her, nearly dislocating her shoulder. The pain angered her.
"Yah," she screamed, flinging her upper body from side to side to get away.
Once his hand came off her, she stomped on his foot, backing away from him. Out of her peripheral vision, Askook stepped toward her. She lunged, ramming her head into the other man's stomach, screaming loudly. Someone in the casino had to hear her and investigate the noise.
Hands grabbed the front of her shirt. She violently threw herself back, ripping the material out of Askook's hands. Like his name, Askook was a snake.
Breathing hard, she squared off with him. At one time, she could leg wrestle any boy or girl growing up. But not anymore. Askook stood at least six feet two inches, a good five inches taller than her, and outweighed her by seventy-five pounds. The only thing she had was speed against his bigger body, but with her hands tied behind her back, she wouldn't get far.
All she could do was delay him from taking her out of the room.
Scooting back, she darted behind the table in the middle of the room. Staying light on her feet, she dodged left when he went right.
The other man headed the other way. Realizing her mistake of letting them corner her, she screamed.
"Get her and shut her up." Askook moved forward.
Panicked, she said, "I'll kill—"
Bang.
Both men whipped their gaze toward the door. Her heart raced. Was that a gunshot? Had someone heard her? Was someone coming to help?
"Grab the other girl and take her to the trailer." Askook grabbed Josie before she could react.
Lifted off the floor, all the air left her body as her stomach hit his shoulder and her upper body careened upside down. Her chest seized. Unable to use her arms, each bounce of his steps hurt her more, making it impossible to get her breath back.
"Go to the west wing." Askook ran with her slung over his shoulder.
Bang.
The other man said, "It's coming from that way."
Askook came to a sudden stop. "We'll go down the emergency stairs."
"I don't have a key."
Askook spoke in his native language. Catching some of the words, she kicked her feet and banged her head against his lower back. She wasn't going to let him take her into a different room and separate her from Cami.
"Cami?" She violently threw her body back and forth while kicking her legs. "Fight!"
Askook lost his hold on her. She fell hard on her shoulder, her cheek scraping the carpet. Dazed, she groaned, trying to push away with her feet, but she couldn't lift her upper body off the floor.
The floor vibrated. She bent her neck, trying to find Cami and found the other man carrying her friend the opposite way down the hallway. Searching for Askook, she found herself alone.
Cami's kidnapper turned out of sight. Gathering all her strength, she tightened her stomach muscles and heaved herself up until she sat on her butt. Bending her legs to the side, she got to her knees when a man entered the hallway carrying a gun.
She opened her mouth to scream and recognized the wildness in dark eyes set in a face of stone. Doubting herself, she stayed on her knees. The Tarkio member she remembered coming into the body shop a few times always wore a vest. This man had on jeans and a flannel shirt.
In her hope that help arrived, maybe it was someone else. Someone else with a gun.
The man squatted down in front of her, keeping his gaze above her. "Josie, I'm going to take you out of here."
Relief that he knew her name, she leaned toward him. He wrapped one of his thick arms around her and lifted her to her feet. Getting her balance, she stepped back to follow the direction Cami was taken, but he pulled her in the opposite direction.
"No." She looked over her shoulder, needing to go the other way.
He kept leading her toward the end of the hallway. She dragged her feet.
"Stop. I have to go after her." Her adrenaline spiked, struggling in his arms. "My friend. They have my friend."
"Sweetheart, we're going to be lucky to get out of here alive." He pulled her into a stairwell.
The door shut. Her breathing echoed in the hollow space. Failure consumed her.
The loss of her friend stripped her of strength. She descended the stairs on legs made of rubber. If it wasn't for the Tarkio member, she would've fallen.
Chapter 3
Paco
The rope fell away from Josie's wrists. Paco wasted no time and looped his arm around her back, hustling her toward the door. It would be quicker and less dangerous for Josie if he took her straight through the casino and blended in with the guests than taking her out the back.
"We have to go back." Josie kept up with him, descending another floor. "They're going to take Cami away. I'll never find her if I don't go now."