Bile tinged her throat, and she covered her mouth to keep the vomit from erupting. She made the sign of the cross and prayed for a miracle. She was going to die. Now there’d be no man in her life or little ones running around. Tears finally spilled from her eyes, and she wiped them away.
Elena dipped her head. There was only one thing left to do. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
When the big door closed, and they were once more shrouded in semi-darkness, she kept watch, not only for the men to return but also for the women to awaken. With the addition of these new girls, it probably wouldn’t be long before they eliminated her.
A sob escaped. Her mom’s birthday was in a month and she really wanted to be there with her. Now that wouldn’t happen and her heart trembled. A mother should never outlive her child.
One of the girls moaned and Elena faced her. She rapped her knuckles on her cage bars. “Hello? Can you hear me?” After dragging the pillow to the end of the cage, she knelt on it waiting for the first one to rouse. When Elena had first arrived, the drug they’d given her took a long time to wear off.
The blonde pushed up on her elbows then dropped back down. A trickle of hope surfaced. Three could think better than one.
“Hey. Open your eyes. It’s okay.” Not really, but any reassurance would help them cope once they found out what happened.
She needed to speak with them before the guard returned to tell them resistance was futile.
After prodding the new women for several minutes, the blonde opened her eyes and looked around.
She licked her lips. “Holy fuck. Where am I?” She grabbed the bars and rattled them. “Hey!”
Her anger at the injustice must have struck home.
“No one can hear you,” Elena said with an eerie calm.
The girl faced her. “Whoa. You look like shit. What the fuck’s going on?”
The girl swore too much, but given the situation, Elena understood people weren’t always at their best under these circumstances.
“Do you remember how you got here?” Perhaps all three of them had been abducted the same way.
“Fuck, yeah.” She brushed the hair from her face. “I was leaving the club out the back door like I do every night when this dude stumbles toward me moaning and holding his stomach. I’m thinking maybe he’s been shot or something, so I go to help him. That was when he straightens and freaking sticks a needle right here.” She rubbed the back of her arm. “Doesn’t pay to be helpful.”
The girl’s experience kind of matched hers. Her mind spun at what that might mean. “Then you woke up here, right?”
“You’re a real genius.”
Why was the girl being nasty? Didn’t she understand their situation was quite dire? They’d be better off working as a team. “I’m Elena Sanchez.”
The blonde studied her. Given she was wearing a too short skirt and a top that barely covered her breasts, she might have been an exotic dancer or worse, a hooker. “Barbie Lassiter.” She leaned against the bars. “I could use another round of whatever they gave me.”
“You want drugs?”
“Girlie, there is nothing better than a little coke. You should try it some time.” Barbie rubbed the inside of her arm. “So, you want to tell me how the hell you got here? You homeless or something?”
“No. I was at the airport about to get on a plane to surprise my parents when a man who I thought was a security agent asked me to come with him. The same man who delivered you here stuck me with a needle. I’ve been here two weeks.”
“No shit. That sucks.”
At least the blonde was capable of some sympathy.
The brunette rolled over, draped an arm over her face, and coughed. She then pushed up on her hands and looked around, her hair in total disarray. She spotted Barbie. “Who are you?”
“Well, ain’t this a regular circus. I’m stuck here with two princesses.”
Elena had had enough. “What is your problem? Don’t you understand we could die soon? Be nice.”
“Sure, Pollyanna. That and a buck will buy me a cigarette.”
Elena refused to rise to the bait and kept her mouth shut. She turned toward the brunette. “I’m Elena.”
The girl faced her. Her pretty, heart-shaped face was accented with gorgeous blue eyes that looked like they belonged to a wolf rather than a human. “I’m Cheryl Johnson.”
What a stark contrast to Barbie. The soft way Cheryl said her name made her sound fragile. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
She rubbed her arms. “I came to Gulfside for a job interview. I’m a paralegal from Muncie, Indiana. Moving to Florida has always been my dream.”