The black SUV broke through the storm with the ease of a great shark. Lamplight sparked off the steel grill and glinted across the hood. Juliette’s heart picked up immediately in a premature dance of joy; for all she knew, Frank had sent someone to take her home out of pity.
But the vehicle rolled to a stop and a familiar face hopped out of the driver’s side. Head bent, he jogged around to join her on the curb.
“Mr. McClary has asked me to bring you back, miss,” he said, practically shouting to be heard.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Please.”
It dawned on her to say no. To tell Mr. McClary to go take a flying leap off a high cliff. But that didn’t happen. She let herself get propelled to the back door. It was yanked open and she started to climb inside when a hand shot out in front of her and closed over her mouth. Her muffled scream was swallowed with the wind as her head was forced back against his shoulder. Something sharp pierced the side of her neck and darkness jumped up to swallow her.
The resounding bong resonated through the shallow waters of sleep. The unwelcome intrusion vibrated along her body, making her acutely aware of every ache and pain. She was also aware of the paste in her mouth and the foul stench of urine, sweat, fish and bleach making her gag reflexes go haywire. Her cheekbone throbbed as she shifted against her uncomfortable position.
“Juliette?” the low hiss seemed as distant and unfamiliar as the persistent echo of metal vibrations under water. “Juliette, are you awake?”
Woozy and harboring the mother of all headaches, Juliette pried open one eye. She blinked at the white film blurring the odd shapes stretching out before her. Beneath her palm, the floor radiated with its own arctic coldness. The crippling chill worked through all the places she lay in contact. One arm’s length away from her face, vertical bars of iron shot up to the ceiling. On the other side, a dark figure kept shifting.
“Killian?”
“Get up!” the voice hissed, still barely above a whisper, but it was the necessity in the command that urged Juliette to pull herself together.
Gradually, inch by horrifying inch, the room swayed into view and it was a room she had never seen before. The entire structure was sheets of steel bolted together and stamped into concrete. Against one wall were three cages separated by thick bars and big enough to fit a fully grown gorilla. On the other side of the room was a series of wooden stairs that led up to nothing, but a wall. There was nothing else. No beds, not even a blanket. But there was a bucket in one corner of her cage.
“Hey!”
Terrified, Juliette faced her companion and her jaw dropped. “Maraveet?”
The woman looked nothing like Juliette remembered. Her auburn mane was a tangled, matted mess. Her face was drawn, streaked with makeup and pale. She wore jeans and a black coat, but her clothes were wrinkled. She sat on the floor of her cage, her green eyes enormous peering at Juliette through the bars.
“Are you hurt?”
The question took Juliette a moment to answer while she examined her own body. There was a crick in her neck from sleeping on cold cement and her cheek was throbbing, but…
“No, I think I’m okay.” She touched a hand to her brow. “Where are we?”
Maraveet shook her head. “I don’t know. This is where I woke up too.”
Juliette did another survey of their surroundings, noting that there were no windows or doors.
“I don’t understand.” She licked her lips. “What’s going on?”
“Someone’s trying to get Killian’s attention,” the other woman stated. “I wasn’t sure at first, I have my own share of people who want me … out of the way, but I’m positive now that you’re here.”
“Me?” The room kept spinning. She wasn’t sure if that was the after effect of the drugs or the situation, but Juliette squeezed her eyes shut tight and willed it to stop. “What do I have to do with—?”
“They killed Molly,” Maraveet interrupted. “I don’t know that for sure, but I’d bet my last dollar on it. Now I’m here and you’re here, the last two people Killian cares about.”
“They? Who’s they?” Juliette demanded, eyes opening and focusing on the other woman.
Maraveet shook her head. Her green eyes shot to the stairs then back.
“I haven’t been let out of this cage since I was brought in. I’ve seen four men. They take turns coming in twice a day with food and once to get the bucket. They don’t speak and they’re careful not to set a routine so I have no idea how long I’ve been here.”
Mind reasonably clearer, Juliette paused to think. “How long have I been here?”
“A few hours at the most.”
Juliette swallowed. “We went to see Molly three days ago.”
“Three days,” Maraveet muttered. “It felt longer.”
“Well, it’s okay, because Killian will know you’re missing and he’ll—”
Maraveet shook her head. “I left when you guys did. He has no idea where I am and he won’t look.”
Juliette blinked. “You … you left him … again?”
Green eyes narrowed. “This is why! We’re dangerous together. I thought I would have time to leave the country before whoever killed Molly came for me.”
“So you ran.”
Rather than answer, Maraveet heaved herself into the corner between the bars they shared and the wall. Her legs rolled out in front of her and she leaned her head back.
“I don’t expect you to understand. You’ve been protected and sheltered your entire life. How would you know the fears of dying?”
Juliette opened her mouth to remind the woman of Arlo, but the time for arguing about useless things would have to wait until later. They had a bigger problem.
“Where are we?” she asked instead.
“I think a boat. I can feel the room moving sometimes when it’s windy.”
Gingerly, Juliette shuffled to her feet and moved to the bar door and shook it once, just to see if maybe it would open. It didn’t. She tipped her head back and peered at the ceiling with its inbuilt lights and smooth, metal surfacing.
“How did they get us in here? Where’s the door?”
Maraveet pointed with one finger to the stairs. “It’s a concealed hatch. No doubt used to smuggle people across international waters without getting caught.”
Juliette snapped her neck around. “Smuggle people? They’re human traffickers?”
Maraveet shrugged. “Possibly. Why else would you build a hidden room with cages under your boat?”
A cold wave of terror plowed into her, sending her crashing into the bars. She hit the floor on both knees as icy claws skated along every nerve ending in her body, turning them numb. Balls of air lodged in her chest, withholding every breath until she was sure she’d pass out.
“Hey.” Maraveet scurried on all fours to the other side of her cage so she knelt just on Juliette’s left side. “Slow breaths. We’re going to get out of here.”
The absolute confidence in the woman’s voice momentarily made her forget the panic threatening to consume her.
“How do you—”
“Because Killian will know you’re missing.”
Juliette shook her head. “No, he won’t. He told me never to come back. He told me I meant nothing to him.” The memories doubled the anxiety already gnawing through her. Tears spilled in a steady flow to stain the front of her coat. “He won’t look for us.”
“He will,” Maraveet insisted in that same confidence. “Trust me. I know my brother. He won’t let you disappear, no matter what he might have said. Hey.” She reached through the bars and grabbed Juliette’s hand. “He’s coming. I know he is.”