Garrett’s Destiny by Anna Blakely

Chapter 12

There’s something I need to tell you.

Avery had been replaying Garrett’s words ever since she and Jessica—the young girl who’d also been separated from the others—had been left in this tiny room like a couple of caged animals. With nothing else to do but sit, she had all the time in the world to just…think.

About Garrett. Alex. Her deceased parents. Even Colt.

She tried so hard to focus on their faces and memories she’d made with them along the way. Because if she allowed other things to seep in, if she stopped to think about how indescribably terrified she was, Avery feared she’d go mad.

So instead, she passed the time by thinking of anything but the fear slowly eating away at her from the inside out.

As thoughts and memories filtered in and out of her cluttered brain, her mind also began formulating questions. So, so many, each unwinding endlessly through her mind like an endless ball of yarn.

Questions like, was Garrett okay? Her heart ached as she pictured him lying so still on the ground, his head bleeding from where that man had hit him.

In the truck, he’d been so adamant about her promising not to put herself at risk for him. But he’d done that exact same thing for her…and because of that, he’d been hurt. Again.

Avery rubbed her chest, hoping to ease the ache she felt in her heart. The fear she felt for him worse than any physical pain she’d ever experienced.

Because you love him.

No, that couldn’t be right. True love didn’t happen that quickly. In her favorite books, sure. But not real life.

Yet, Avery had never felt this way for any man…no matter how long she’d known or dated him. So maybe…maybe the whole insta-love thing was real, after all.

Great. I finally find a man who checks all my boxes and then some, and then this happens.

Damn, fate had a seriously sick and twisted sense of humor.

As the minutes dragged on, Avery’s mind eventually wandered to her sister. More questions formed, like did Alex know she’d been taken? Had she gotten the call asking for money in exchange for Avery’s life?

She still couldn’t believe it when Garrett had told her what he’d overheard. A million dollars? Who had that kind of money just lying around?

She sure as hell didn’t. Neither did her sister.

Which opened up a whole new can of questions. The main one being…what would these men do to those in the group whose families couldn’t pay?

Would they be executed? Raped or tortured? Both?

Oh, God. Please let someone find us.

“Maybe someone from the ship contacted the local police.” Jessica’s small, scared voice reached her from the far corner of the room. The poor girl was curled up with her back to the wall and her knees pulled protectively against her chest. “Maybe…maybe there’s a giant search party out there right now, looking for us.” Her hopeful blue eyes slid to Avery’s. “Do you think that’s possible?”

About as possible as Santa Clause coming through that broken window we can’t reach and handing us an Uzi so we can blast our way out of here.

Her voice of reason—the snarky bitch—was right. The ship had probably taken off without them. Avery had read horror stories of that happening to passengers who missed the cutoff to reboard. Not that she would ever say that to a petrified child.

Instead, she limited her response to a quiet and simple. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

The only thing they did know was that they’d been locked in this ten-by-ten shack of a room for over an hour…and there was no way to escape.

The walls were made of old, decrepit cinder blocks, but even though most were cracked or chipped, they were still surprisingly sturdy.

A single window was the room’s only source of light, but even with Jessica standing on Avery’s shoulders, their bodies still weren’t tall enough for her to reach it and break free. They knew this because they’d tried…and failed.

Many, many times.

They were scared, tired, thirsty, hungry…and both she and Jessica just wanted to go home.

A sound like keys jingling came from the other side of the door. Avery pushed herself to her feet, but Jessica only pulled her knees in further with a whimper.

“It’s okay,” Avery tried reassuring her. “They’re probably just bringing us some water or something.”

Praying she hadn’t just lied to the poor girl, Avery moved herself over so she was standing in front of Jessica. Working to control her fear, she forced her spine to remain straight.

She’d read about guys like these. How a woman’s fear turned them on.

Well, she may be scared out of her wits, but Avery was determined to stay strong. For herself, for Jessica…and for Garrett.

You’re stronger and more daring than you give yourself credit for.

He’d told her that back at the river. She hadn’t believed him at first. But now, more than ever, she needed it to be true.

The door opened, and the man from earlier stepped inside. Still wearing the mesh mask, he pointed to Avery. “You. Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Her words came out surprisingly strong.

“Wherever I tell you to.” He pulled a gun from his back waistband and pointed it at her chest. “Let’s go.”

“Avery?” Jessica’s horror-stricken eyes shot to hers.

“It’s okay, Jess,” she lied. “Everything’s going to be fine. They’re not going to kill us.”

The man with the gun snorted. “How can you be so sure?”

Avery looked him square in the eye. “You kill us, you get nothing.” When the muscle under his eye twitched, she gave him a smirk of her own. “That’s right. We know about the ransom. So that’s how I know you won’t kill me or Jessica, or anyone else. Because if you do, you won’t get a penny of our money.”

“You’re right.” He put the gun away and went to her. “I won’t kill you. Not yet anyway.” The man’s hand shot out and grabbed her by the chin. Squeezing her with enough force to damn near break her jaw, he said, “But sometimes there are worse things than death.”

With a hard shove, he released her before yanking her arms behind her back and securing her wrists with plastic ties. Grabbing the top of her arm that was already bruised from before, he forced her out of the room and down a long hallway.

Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!

The sound of her own pulse filled Avery’s ears as her heart pounded so hard she thought it would explode.

“W-where are you taking me?”

Damn, Avery. Stay. Strong!

“To see the boss.”

Boss? So, these guys weren’t the ones in charge?

Good God, how many of these assholes were there?

Passing by several other doors—some open, some closed—Avery thought she heard muffled voices behind them. Was Garrett in one of those rooms?

She thought about his head injury, again. It was the second one in such a short period of time, she couldn’t help but worry for his well-being.

Screaming for help entered her mind, but that was how he’d gotten hurt to begin with, wasn’t it? That man had grabbed her, and she’d panicked. Had reached for him and screamed his name.

And when he’d tried to help her, he’d been smacked in the head with a gun.

“Here she is.” She was shoved from behind into another, larger room.

An old, metal desk and two folding chairs were the only furniture adorning the hot, dusty space. Standing in the center was a man she hadn’t seen before. And he wasn’t wearing a stocking cap like the others.

Dark hair, olive complexion, a straight, narrow nose, and coal black eyes that met her stare.

He’s letting me see his face.

From the books she’d read, to the shows and movies she’d watched, Avery had come to believe seeing a criminal’s face was never a good thing.

“Shut the door on your way out,” this newest man ordered the one who’d brought her here.

As instructed, the other man left the room, leaving her alone with the supposed boss.

“My, my.” He sauntered toward her, undressing her with his dark, beady eyes. “Aren’t you a pleasant surprise?”

The comment confused her. “Surprise?”

“I was led to believe there would only be nine females in your group. And only one under the age of thirty. But you…” he got close enough to brush some hair from her face. “You’re an unexpected gift from the gods.”

There’s only one God, asshole. And He’s going to send you straight to Hell.

“I know you’re waiting to get a ransom for each of us,” she informed him. “So if you kill me…”

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you, Avery Webb.” He exaggerated the Bs in her last name. “And while it’s true, my cousin and I have contacted your family to demand a hefty payment, you and the little blond bitch are going to bring in much, much more.”

What?

Avery’s swimsuit-clad chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He traced an invisible line down her arm as he walked behind her. “We have customers willing to pay handsomely for a beautiful American woman such as yourself. And the girl”—he chuckled—“well, the younger the product, the more money they’re worth.”

He’s talking about sex trafficking.

Avery thought she was going to be sick. “You’re going to sell us?”

“That’s my cousin’s plan. He ordered us not to touch the merchandise, but for me…well, I know he’ll make an exception.”

“Your cousin…” She swallowed the bile threatening to break loose. “He’s the one in charge?”

“Of this little operation, yes. But he’s not the boss. That man is the reason you are all here.”

Avery’s head swam with confusion, but she did her best to lock away everything this man was telling her. If by some miracle she was able to get free, she wanted to be able to tell the authorities everything she could about who had abducted her and why.

“Your breasts are so perky.” He reached around and cupped her right one from behind. “So firm.”

A tear fell from the corner of her eye, but she kept her chin up and her shoulders back. As much as she wanted to fight him, she had a feeling things would only get worse for her if she did.

With a rough squeeze, the man released her breast before sliding his palm to her ass. Giving it the same, disgusting attention, Avery worked to control the tremor in her bare legs.

She wanted to kick herself for not packing a change of clothes for the dune buggy ride. Not that it would matter much with this asshole.

He moved around to her front once more, his hand sliding down her body toward the apex of her thighs. Another tear fell down her cheek. And another.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Avery’s bottom lip quivered as she pictured Garrett’s face. She thought of his hands on her body, instead of this monster’s.

She was about to give into her fear and pull away when the door to the room swung open.

“Marcus!” A man she hadn’t seen before stormed into the room. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Sampling the merchandise.” The man she now knew as Marcus smirked. “What the fuck does it look like?”

“I told you before, she and the girl are off limits.”

Like Marcus, this man had also left his face unconcealed. Both men shared a remarkable resemblance, and she understood why with Marcus’s next spoken words.

“You told the others. But this is me, Cuz. I think I’ve earned a little bonus, don’t you?”

So Marcus and this guy are cousins.

“No, I fucking don’t.”

“Why not? You said it yourself, as soon as we are paid, we ship her and the girl off and get rid of the others. Then you and I---”

“Shut the fuck up!” Salvador got into Marcus’s face. “Have you lost your mind? Boss will be here any second. If he catches you in here with her, he’ll put a bullet in that pea-sized brain of yours without so much as a blink.”

“Relax, Salvador.” Marcus rolled his eyes. “It’s not like the bitch is going to be able to tell anyone.”

“I don’t care. I told you before there is to be no deviation from the plan. Period. That includes getting your fill of the product.”

Product. Merchandise. These guys really were soulless bastards.

“Fine.” Marcus blew out a breath. “I’ll take her back to the room.”

“You do that. And keep your goddamn hands off her.”

With a grumble, Marcus dug his fingers into her arm once more. Pushing her through the door, Avery turned her head to the right when she heard another man’s voice.

Though they were several feet away, Avery caught a glimpse of two additional men entering the building from a second entrance further down. One was tall—really tall. And he had dark hair, dark glasses, and a jaw that looked as if it were made of stone.

The man walking next to him was dressed in a dark blue suit, white button-up, and red tie. Looking as though he were attending a business meeting, rather than being in a rundown warehouse in the middle of nowhere, the man turned in her direction, his dark eyes meeting hers in a split-second exchange.

He looks familiar.

Avery was still trying to place where she’d seen the man before when a look of rage blanketed his face. Spinning on his expensive heels, the man turned his back to her before talking to the giant next to him.

“That your boss?” She shot Marcus a look.

Marcus swung his head behind them. Eyes wide, he cursed beneath his breath and shoved her forward, picking up speed as they went.

Guess she had her answer.

Unlocking the door to the room he’d taken her from, the jerk pushed her back inside.

“Avery!” Jessica stood and ran to her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She gave the young girl a small smile. Turning back around, she sent Marcus a smirk. “Your boss looked pretty mad. Sure hope you don’t get into trouble.”

Avery wasn’t sure where the sudden cockiness had come from, but the smartass comment was something she quickly regretted.

Moving lightning fast, Marcus punched her in the jaw with the force of a two-by-four. Her head snapped to the side, and with her hands still tied behind her back, Avery was unable to break her fall.

Landing with a thud on the building’s dirt floor, she heard Jessica’s sharp cry of denial just before the door slammed shut. As cloud of darkness swallowed her whole, a tear fell from her eye to the dirt below as she pictured Garrett’s handsome face.