Page 55 of SEAL Ever After

They were close. So damn close to ending this entire nightmare.

“Hold on, baby girl,” he murmured to himself as he grabbed his seat.

He couldn’t let anything stop him now.

Chapter 25

Sarah cried out in shock as two older women poured cold water over her head. She shivered, frantically trying to cover her head and face with her hands. The Mexican woman who’d brought her food earlier stood off to the side, talking rapidly in Spanish.

“Clean! Take off clothes!”

Tears smarting her eyes, she trembled as the women poured more water over her head.

The women began pulling at her sweatshirt, and she swiped at them, backing away as she wiped the water off of her face. Her wet hair hung around her, and now her clothes were soaked as well.

“Undress! Need undress!”

“Fine, fine,” Sarah finally muttered, pulling the soggy sweatshirt up and over her head. She knew she looked ridiculous standing there in her bra and oversized sweatpants, but a part of her was relieved to be semi-clean again.

Shivering, her eyes darted around the cellar and she wrapped her arms around herself. Why couldn’t they have taken her somewhere else to bathe? Certainly, there must be a bathroom or something in whatever house or building they were keeping her in. These women all appeared to be clean and groomed. Did they live here? Work here?

Sarah watched in horror as they tossed her sweatshirt off to the side, leaving it in a soggy pile on the cold floor. What was she supposed to wear?

One woman gestured at her sweatpants, and Sarah shook her head, no. She wasn’t about to completely undress in front of them. Wet sweatpants or not, what if the men came back? She wasn’t about to stand down here buck naked.

The door to the room rattled, and her mouth dropped open in shock as it opened and another woman was pushed inside. She was thin and frail, wearing only an oversized tee-shirt, and her eyes widened in surprise as she took in Sarah.

Sarah didn’t miss the dark circles under her eyes or hollows of her cheeks. She looked like she hadn’t slept well in weeks or been fed or cared for.

“You must be new here,” the young woman said, her voice hoarse. She coughed once, and Sarah realized in shock that she sounded American.

“Quiet!” the older Mexican woman admonished, hustling toward her.

Grabbing some clothing from the other bucket she was carrying, Sarah realized they had dresses for each of the women to put on.

“What’s going on?” Sarah asked, her voice trembling. She almost didn’t want to know the answer. As horrible as being locked down in this dimly lit room had been, no one had harmed her. Bathing and dressing her did not look to be a good sign.

“Today. We move you today,” one of the women said, grabbing onto the newcomer’s arm and bringing her over to where Sarah stood.

Sarah gaped as the woman turned, and she saw a huge bruise across the back of her thighs. Apparently resigned to the situation, she pulled the tee shirt up and over her head, standing there naked as the women poured water on her. There were small bruises covering her back and stomach, and Sarah wondered what had happened to her. Had she been beaten? Raped?

Her ribs were practically poking through her skin, and Sarah wondered how long the woman had been in captivity.

She averted her gaze, not wanting to stare.

She was lucky no one had actually harmed her yet, but what had happened to this poor woman at her side?

Sarah squealed as one of the women tossed cold water on her from behind, feeling it run down her bare back.

Why the hell were they attempting to bathe them this way? When she escaped—which she would, because there was no way this was her new life—she was going to take the longest, hottest bath of her life. Heck, maybe she’d never get out of the bath. Ryan would hold her in his arms and—

Splash!

She yelped as more water ran down her back.

Shivering, Sarah took the dress the woman shoved at her and took a step backwards. Her wet hair hung limply around her face, and her soaked sweatpants were practically falling off.

The very last thing she wanted to wear was this tiny dress with its thin straps and barely enough material to cover her ass. It was better than running around naked though. Moving to the far corner, she pushed down the wet sweatpants and quickly pulled the dress on. Her bra and thong were wet, but there was no way in hell she was taking them off.

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