Page 23 of Pound

“I demand to see Leone. I-I have information he’ll want, about Jake.”

“He’s busy. Punishing Anna. You can tell him later.”

If she strained her ears and concentrated, she could hear sounds upstairs if they were loud enough. There was some sort of a tussle going on that she could barely hear with concentrated focus. She couldn’t make out any words or voices, but it was clear something was happening in the house of horrors.

Tony laughed. “Sounds like he brought his associates to help teach her a lesson. And I think I need to teach you one.” Tony advanced on her.

Without thought or planning, she swung the tray, catching him in the neck. She was aiming for the windpipe, hoping to knock the breath out of him or worse. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, so she dropped the tray and ran.

She didn’t know if what she was running into was worse. If Leone and his deviant associates were punishing Anna and saw Meri, what would they do to her too? But, again, beggars versus choosers.

She looked back and Tony was on his feet and closing on her. She wasn’t looking where she was going and ran into a wall. Not a wall… a person. Panic rose. She was spun around and heard a soft, almost hollow pop. It was a sound she recognized as a handgun with a silencer. She trained with hers once a month, so she knew it well.

Tony fell before he could take his next step. Meri turned to run, but the man with the gun held her from making progress.

Fight, flight, or freeze kicked in, but she chose option four.

She tried to scream, but the man turned her and buried her face in his chest.

“Shush, it’s me, Meri. It’s me. You’re safe.” She recognized his smell and burrowed into the soft feel of his cotton shirt with a slight wince as he wrapped her in his arms.

“Oh shit, you’re hurt. Where?” Trip started patting her down before she could answer. When he got to her ribs, she hissed. “Who?”

She knew what he was asking, and she nodded to the dead man lying facedown in a pool of blood. She realized he fell forward, not backward like in the movies and she giggled at the thought.

That was a weird thing for her to do in the situation, right? Maybe she was in shock, maybe she was delirious. She was certainly hungry and thirsty and… “Holy shit, Trip, he’s dead.”

“Yeah, sis. He is.”

“You killed him.”

“I’d do it again too. Did he… or anyone…”

Meri was missing his point. Her brain wasn’t processing things as it should. She needed to get out of that basement.

“Shit, don’t make me say it. Not to you. Not after what JJ went through.”

She just blinked up at him. What did JJ have to do with it?

“Rape you, Meri. Did any of those bastards touch you?”

Oh.

“No, Cris, they didn’t. But you have to save Anna. She helped me. She tried to get me out of here, but they caught her. Oh god, Tony said they’re punishing her right now. Cris, you have to get her. You must stop them.”

“We will, don’t worry. Right now, I need to get you out of here and checked out.”

“What about Crissy and James? I need to know they’re safe, Cris. Please, are they—”

“They’re safe, Meri. They’re back in Las Vegas in one of the houses. Guarded and cared for. Crissy is already harassing people to get her a pig. They’re good.”

Meri breathed a major sigh of relief and her legs wobbled with it.

Trip scooped her into his arms and carried her up the ramp. “Close your eyes and rest. Pound will take you away from here and get you cared for. As soon as they get you checked out, you can call the twins. I’ll be along shortly, with Anna. Okay, sis?”

“Okay, Cris.” She was so tired, she did as he told her.

The night air hit her skin through the thin jumpsuit she wore. “You okay to ride?” Trip asked her as he stepped into the yard.

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