“Ahhh…” I cried out as I pulled my knees toward my chin. My body was screaming in pain from rolling off the concrete slab in my sleep, a bad dream being the culprit.

I’d dreamt of Gavin being tortured in front of my eyes while I was helplessly tied to those posts with zip ties, not being able to free myself and save him. Watching him bleed to death as Joel slashed away at his beautiful skin and I screamed in horror. Not from the zip ties penetrating my skin, but from the sight of the man I loved dying.

I pushed myself upright from the cold, dirty floor and wiped the tears from beneath my eyes. It was a blessing and a curse that I didn’t see what they’d done to Gavin. A blessing because I couldn’t live with those memories haunting me day in and day out, and a curse because my mind would forever play scenarios of his last moments lived.

“Blair, are you okay?” Jamie’s voice pulled me from my sorrows.

“I—I’m fine,” I choked out.

“You don’t sound fine.”

I couldn’t see her eye through the hole. It was far too dark and the moonlight had disappeared while I was sleeping.

“I’ll be okay,” I attempted to reassure her.

“You were screaming and crying so loudly I thought one of Clover’s men was going to come in any moment.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

“Don’t apologize. I have my own nightmares. I’m just glad no one came. It could’ve been worse for you.”

“Yeah, I’m glad no one came too.” I maneuvered my aching body back onto the slab and leaned into the corner of the wall. It was so cold my teeth were chattering and I couldn’t do anything to stop them. “Is it always this cold?” I knew the answer to the stupid question I’d asked before hearing it.

“Ever since I’ve been here, yes. There was one night I got a blanket from a younger one of Clover’s men. He might’ve been sixteen, but once Joel saw that I had one he burnt it right in front of me.”

“I think he’s worse than Clover.”

“They’re one and the same.” She coughed. “I just think Clover hides it a bit better. Joel is a ticking time bomb, while Clover is smooth and plans his attacks. He’s the mastermind.”

“How are you still alive?” I hated asking the question, but I had to.

“I’m Joel’s plaything.”

“What?” My voice echoed.

“Shh…”

“What do you mean, you’re his plaything?” I whispered.

“After he tortured you that last time, I knew I wouldn’t survive something like that. So, I offered him my body to do as he pleased, in hopes that he wouldn’t kill me.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Jamie had been sleeping with Joel and doing who only knows what else in hopes that he wouldn’t kill her. How could she honestly believe that he wouldn’t take what he wanted without her consent, that he wouldn’t murder her anyway, or that Clover would murder her without Joel knowing? Clover was the man behind it all; Joel was merely a peasant doing what his master asked of him. Jamie was a fool if she thought offering her body to Joel would help her survive.

“Are you insane? Joel doesn’t give a shit about you. He’s using you until you piss him off, or he gets tired of what you give him. There’s no escaping this, Jamie. I hate to break that bubble you have around you at the moment. Didn’t you see all the murders on the news? Those two men are the ones behind it all…”

“I don’t give a shit about anything other than my own wellbeing, Blair. I can’t die here…I just can’t! I have a family, a daughter...” Her frantic voice pierced my heart.

I knew what she felt, but I also knew that the outcome was grim unless the FBI had a break in the case and found us before Clover or Joel got their claws into us for one last time. Everyone they took had died; our outcome was going to be no different.

Silence enveloped me as I rested my head against the cold wall. There was nothing else to be spoken between Jamie and me. She’d said her piece and anything I could say in return wouldn’t help matters. She had hope, which would keep her in good spirits. I couldn’t crush that for her.

The creaking of a door sent a chill across my skin. “It’s most likely Joel. He comes late at night, almost every night,” Jamie warned me.

How had I never heard them before?

“There’s my beautiful girl.” His words were meant to sound seductive, but they made me want to puke.

“Here I am.” Jamie’s voice was sweet, but still laced with pain.

The key clicked and her cell door moaned as he opened it. “Are you able to walk on your own, or need my assistance?”

His question infuriated me. The fact that he had to ask her that was wrong. Joel wasn’t a man, he was a monster. One who was using Jamie for sexual relief and would soon toss her to the side like a used-up doll. I cringed at the thought.

“I can walk.” Her voice was tight. I knew she was in as much pain as I was, if not more.

The sound of the cell door closing startled me; I knew she hadn’t made it out the door that quickly. “You know,” Joel’s menacing voice made my heart race. I knew that tone, it was one he used when he was about to rip the world right from under you, “we haven’t made use of your cell yet.”

“But, it’s cold in here,” Jamie’s voice was frantic.

“Don’t worry beautiful girl, I’ll warm you up.”

Jamie whimpered and I forced my eyes shut, knowing what was to come.

“Can’t we go to the nice room, like usual?” her voice wavered as she asked.

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Joel growled and the sound of flesh hitting flesh caused me to jump.

He’d hit her, most likely across the face. Joel liked to belittle women. It made him feel powerful. My heart ached for Jamie because I knew she would break if he pushed her too hard. He was definitely going to push her too hard.

“Get up!” His voice boomed as Jamie whimpered.

I wanted so badly to bust through the wall and beat him to oblivion, but I wasn’t the Hulk. She continued to cry as the sound of clothing being torn filled my ears. He was going to take her right then and there, and there was nothing Jamie or I could do. Jamie’s sobs and Joel’s grunts filled the room and I did my best to stay quiet. If he caught even a peep out of me, he’d come to my cell next. Jamie wailed loudly and tears filled my eyes. I let out a slow breath to keep from sobbing myself. Giving yourself to someone for survival was different than having your body taken without permission. If she did survive this place, Jamie would be forever scarred by the memory of Joel’s abuse. Death might be easier.

“What’s going on here?” Clover’s voice broke through the grunts and cries.

My eyes shot open and my heart pounded in my chest as lights filled the room. I wanted so badly to peek through the hole but was terrified someone would see me. Flesh smacked against the concrete, I wasn’t sure if it was Jamie or Joel. But I cringed when the loud crunching of bones replaced the cries and a sharp snap followed by Joel’s screamed echoed.

“Don’t let me ever catch you with one of them again. You hear me?” Clover’s voice was steady, but full of threat.

“Y—yes, sir,” Joel managed to stutter out.

“You help Joel out of here, and you, grab the girl. It’s time to play a little game.”

I fell to my knees and watched as two men I hadn’t seen before carried Joel and a half naked Jamie from the cell. My heart spiked as I watched her lifeless body flop in the man’s arms with each step he took until I could no longer see them.

“Enjoying the little show?”

I gasped and fell backwards onto the floor. My cell door quickly opened and Clover crossed the room, kneeling down so close to my face that I could smell the faint aroma of a cigar.

“Please don’t hurt her,” I begged, knowing it wouldn’t matter to him.

Clover’s hand gently rubbed across my cheek, “Oh, you beautiful thing. A heart like yours will only get you trouble. Haven’t you learned that yet?” He gently tapped my cheekbone with his fingers. His head tilted to the side and he harshly pressed his lips against mine. I wanted to rip his bottom lip off with my teeth, but I didn’t move as the sound of his kiss caused bile to rise up my throat. “Be a good girl or you’ll be next.” He shoved my face back and my head smacked the concrete slab. I winced in pain as I watched him leave the cell, locking it behind him. A wicked smile showcased his perfect white teeth before he disappeared and the lights went out, leaving me with nothing but silence in the darkness.

* * *

The room was beginning to lighten from the sun rising outside. I hated not being able to feel the warmth of it against my skin or see it with my own eyes. I was beginning to forget just how beautiful a sunrise looked, and how much I enjoyed watching them with Gavin on the mornings we’d just be rolling in from a long job.

It was going to be hard moving on in life without him.

That’s if I make it out of this hell hole alive.

My throat was scratchy as I swallowed my saliva down. I couldn’t be getting sick, I hadn’t been ill in quite some time. But the conditions I’d been in for however many days caused my immune system to quickly crash. I stretched my legs out and rested my head back against the corner of the walls. It wasn’t as comfortable as a pillow, but it felt better than laying my head on the concrete slab. My eyes closed and I took in the silence. I’d spent the majority of the wee hours of the morning praying that Jamie was okay, but I knew she probably wasn’t. It had been hours since they carried her out, without any sign that she was coming back. The pain in my chest at the thought of her body being the next one found was excruciating. These murders had to stop, Clover had to be stopped.

I closed my eyes and my breathing evened out, sleep was beckoning me. But instead of fully succumbing, I allowed myself to fall into a rest where you can still hear what’s going on around you. Being afraid of something happening while I was sleeping had become my norm. Not that I was able to sleep much unless they drugged me, like they had from time to time.

Thoughts of Gavin filled my mind, our first date to be exact. He’d taken me to a lovely little restaurant that had a giant lake in its backyard. The deck of the place stretched out onto it, much like those ocean front restaurants you can find at the beach. It was absolutely breathtaking at night. We’d gotten there just as the sun was setting, the glows of orange, pink, and blue stretched across the sky like something you’d see in a glorious painting. I remember sitting there in awe as the waiter brought a bottle of red wine to the table, Gavin’s choice of course. Sitting there, sipping wine, was so simple, yet magical. Our seat was bench style so I could easily tuck myself against his side as we took in Mother Nature’s beauty and talked about what we wanted out of life. Our careers were one and the same, so we each understood where the other was heading.

The night was spent chatting over delicious food and drinks. Once the sun disappeared and the moon had risen, string lights illuminated the deck just enough to set a romantic mood. It truly was the perfect date, with a perfect man. After that night everything just seemed to fall into place. We were impeccably in sync, and even though it was very early in the relationship, my heart already knew Gavin could most likely be the one I was meant to spend my life with.

Warm tears slowly rolled down my face and I let them. Not bothering to wipe them away, I allowed the pain of heartache to wash through me. A hiccupping sob barely escaped me before I rolled my quivering bottom lip into my mouth and secured it tightly between my teeth, not wanting anyone to hear my entire being shattering from the loss of Gavin. It would only fuel the fire within Clover to know just how badly he’d destroyed me.

The groaning of a door opening forced me to try and gain my composure as quickly as possible. Either they were coming for me or bringing in a new victim. Neither option was good. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the cell beside me clanged open and shut shortly after. No one spoke and I was afraid to look through the hole to see who my new neighbor was. I wasn’t sure I could handle it being anyone other than Jamie. If it wasn’t her, that would indicate that she was no longer living, and my heart couldn’t handle that.

I continued to sit there in silence as the minutes passed. Time was a fickle thing when you had no idea how many minutes, hours, or days had gone by. There was no way for me to know.

“Blair?” Jamie’s pained voice was barely audible.

I moved quickly from the concrete slab, ignoring my aching body and pressed my face against the hole so I could see through it with one eye. Jamie’s bruised and battered body was sitting in the floor, leaning back against her own concrete bed. “Jamie, I thought you were gone…I can’t believe you’re still alive.” Tears pooled in my eyes as my emotions crashed down like a heavy weight.

“You’ve got to find a way to get out of here.” Her gruff voice was an indicator of the pain she was in. “They—they made me play a game.” She began to cry. “Somehow I survived.” Jamie brought a shaky hand up to her face and moved her messy blonde hair out of her eyes. She turned her head toward me and all the sadness staring back at me through her bloodshot eyes made me wish I could trade her places.

“What kind of game?” I quietly asked, my mind flashing back to the memory of the woman and her friend Clover had murdered when I’d first woken up.

“They forced me to hold a revolver to my head with one empty bullet slot, and by some tiny bit of luck, when the trigger was pulled I didn’t die.” A chill ran down my spine.

How could someone take lives into their hands and make it game? That’s all this was to them, a game. Clover, Joel, and every single henchman he had wrapped around his finger would eventually get what was coming to them. Maybe it would be long after my death, but I knew Gribbins and the FBI wouldn’t stop until they took each of them down. It was time for me to put a plan into action. A plan that could change the outcome of many lives.

First, I had to figure out exactly what that plan was.