Page 109 of Redemption

Victoria crossed her legs and recrossed them, trying to get rid of the pins and needles sensation she had long ago grown tired of. The section of the old barn she’d been locked in was hot. Sitting on concrete next to a few of the other girls, she knew they were all sweaty and hot. Her clothes stuck to her skin, but it was her limbs falling asleep that drove her the craziest.

“I am so hungry,” Rosalie said from beside her. “And thirsty. It’s so hot.”

“Shhh,” another woman hissed from farther down.

Victoria ignored the bitchy lady and patted Rosalie’s knee. “The sun’s going down, and everything will feel better soon.”

“I’ll still be hungry,” she complained.

Her too, but saying that wouldn’t help. “They’ll throw us some food again. They did earlier.”

The two men Victoria had watched from afar approached, unlocking a door in the chain-link fence cage, and tossed in a bag.

“Eat,” one of them said, his accent thick and Russian.

The bitchy woman from earlier descended on the bag, and Victoria was going to make sure they each had an equal share of food. She had a bad feeling about the lady at the end.

The men rushed off. Before, they’d lingered, gawking. A prickle of excitement hung in the air. Rosalie handed her a bruised apple as she watched, waiting for any sign of what was to come—and then she saw it: more men arriving, their conversations quick and likely in Russian, and crates moved in past their cage.

She pushed against the metal wall, trying to see what they were doing. But the deal was going down tonight. Finally, Victoria pushed away and saw the women watching her.

Rosalie’s eyes trembled as she gnawed on a muffin. “What are they doing?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Preparing for a sale of some type, I think.”

“Great,” the bitchy woman mumbled. “Two master’s degrees and now this.”

“I don’t think we’re for sale.”At least, not tonight, but she didn’t add that.

“Well, we’re not stuck here for our own enjoyment.”

“I came here looking for you,” Victoria explained. “And someone will come looking for me.”

The bitchy one tossed her hand. “My loved ones haven’t found me, and I’ve been gone over a week.”

“Same,” Rosalie said. “Four days.”

Others mumbled. Victoria would have stopped the downward spiral, but the distant rumble of motorcycles made her turn toward the wall. “Mayhem.”

“Great. Bikers. Even better,” the bitchy lady complained.

“Would you shut the hell up?” Victoria snapped at her then went back to staring at the wall facing where the bikers would pull in. She could almost see the pack of bikers, their leather cuts and hard faces ready to do business as they parked their bikes and strode off to meet the Russians. Last night’s deal had been rescheduled for tonight.

Two of the men who had thrown food to them earlier quickly walked back with a wooden box. They strained under its weight, still rushing, and passed their cage without a word, running back to the front of the barn.

The entire deal took twenty minutes by Victoria’s estimation, complete with name-calling, chest thumping, all around male-versus-male pissing contests. She wanted to roll her eyes at the uber-alpha showmanship unfolding behind the barn doors, but then money apparently exchanged hands, Mayhem backed in a vehicle, the stash was loaded, and the deal was done.

Motorcycles roared at they rolled away. Victoria wondered if Seven had noticed she was missing yet.

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The Russians were out of sight, but their celebratory cheers and congratulations were exuberant, more than Victoria would’ve thought for a simple deal, but what did she know? Big money was big money.

“They’re drinking,” the bitchy lady noted, though everyone could probably already figure that out. “Of course they are.”

“Probably had a good day at work.” Victoria walked over. “Are you going to be grumpy and snippy about everything? We’re all in the same boat.”

The lady rolled her eyes and moved to another area as the voices came toward their cage. Cold dread washed over Victoria. She was terrified thattheywere also part of the winnings.

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