Page 66 of Fearless
I couldn't tell how he knew, but Reaper somehow understood what this animal communicated to him. His expression contorted into one of pure hatred. Not even when we caught Python did he look this pissed.
"Horus can see the truck from over a mile away," he said with an eerie calm. "They couldn't have gotten far. Hell, they're probably not even a mile away right now."
"We can be on 'em in minutes, then," I said, my blood simmering. Python got it easy compared to what these scumbags were in for. Snatching women from a public market was bad enough, but to ripourpatch off of our woman and not think there would be retribution for it? The entire Arizona territory would hear about this. Fuck, the entire Southwest would. I hoped our revenge would reach General Tash's ears and make him shiver just a little.
"Hades, follow those tracks. We'll catch up." The dog took off, following Reaper's orders. Horus soared high, following Hades from above. If I wasn't so messed up with worry about Mari, it would've weirded me out how humanlike the animals' responses were. Not that it was that different from how they usually acted, but this time was particularly obvious.
Reaper then turned to me, his face hard and determined. "Round up the Demons. We're getting our girl back."
Twenty-Seven
MARIPOSA
Gunner never let go of me. The walls he set up between us over the past two weeks collapsed into nothing the moment he saw I was in trouble. From that moment at the market to our dark, musty prison in the back of the truck, he held me as tightly as either of my men would.
"They're coming to get us, baby girl," he assured me, lips against my forehead. "Reaper and Jandro already found the body. Horus is right above us and Hades isn't far behind. Our people will be on these fuckers like flies on shit."
Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered Reaper telling me of Gunner’s otherworldly ability to see through his falcon’s eyes, but his words didn’t register. I was in some state of shock. Either by pure, dumb luck or something else altogether, I had never gotten this close to being truly kidnapped. The Steel Demons taking me out of Old Phoenix didn't count, as they technically rescued me from people who would have pimped me out. I just didn't know it at the time.
My hands groped in the darkness, feeling for Gunner's hands, his face, his hair. Anything to paint a full picture of him in my mind and confirm he was really here.
"I'm so sorry you ended up here with me—“
"Stop." His thumb caressed over my lips, halting the guilt bubbling out of me. "Don't apologize. You think I'd let you get taken on your own? Not a chance. You're safer with me."
I tucked my head under his chin, seeking comfort in the space next to his neck. He smoothed out my hair in a gentle, repetitive motion. Being near him was always calming in a hypnotic way, just like when he taught me to float on my back.
“What are they gonna do?” I asked, my lips pressed to his throat.
“Strip us down. Appraise us like cattle to determine how much value we have,” he said matter-of-factly. “They won’t hurt us. We’re merchandise to them and our value will decrease if we’re injured. The club will reach us before they find buyers. We just have to sit tight, baby girl.”
He sounded so sure, so confident. Not a single tremor in his voice or his hands soothing me. I wished I could soak up his fearlessness and wrap it around me like a shield. The Steel Demons had a reputation for power and no mercy to their enemies, but what if these people were their match? This world was filled with predators, each bigger and hungrier than the last. Even Reaper had to know he wouldn’t stay at the top of the food chain forever. There was always someone bigger.
I had no sense of time in the darkness of that truck. We could have driven for twenty minutes or two hours, for all I knew. Once we stopped, a fresh burst of fear spread throughout my chest. I heard the truck cab’s doors opening and slamming shut, then the quick footsteps of the scrawny guy walking around to the back.
Light flooded in as the door rolled up. I shielded my eyes with Gunner’s chest while his arms tightened around me.
“Get up.” Cruel, bony fingers grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly to my feet. Scrawny guy was surprisingly strong for his size.
“Hey, take it easy!” Gunner glared as he sprang up from the floor. “She’s still mine, despite this bullshit charade. Don’t leave bruises on my property.”
I didn’t know why he was still keeping up the act. It was clear they didn’t care.
Three more guys walked up the ramp to grab him, their holstered weapons clearly on display. Even with an unarmed Steel Demon, they weren’t taking any chances. Together, they walked us out of the truck.
With a few quick blinks I realized we weren’t out in the desert in direct sun, but somewhere shaded. Large rock formations loomed all around us. The ground felt cool for a change, and had quite a bit more grass and vegetation growing due to the lack of harsh sun.
As we walked through, I saw that the rock formations contained dozens of caves and small alcoves within them. Supplies and personal items sat within the grooves of several walls like shelves. If I wasn’t so terrified, it would have been fascinating to see how these people turned this natural formation into a permanent home. It made sense—this place provided strong shelter that didn’t succumb to harsh wind or rain, and the caves gave a sense of privacy.
Our captors led us through a short tunnel that opened to a large, open room. I couldn’t call it a cave because it had no ceiling. The sun illuminated a flat area in the center like a spotlight. We were shoved directly to that spotlight, where dark iron chains and manacles had been hammered into the rocky ground.
I wondered, through the numb fear in my mind, how many people had stood here before. One manacle clapped around my ankle, the other around Gunner’s. How many frightened women, children, and even men had been bound here in such a dehumanizing way?
Without another word our captors retreated into the tunnels, leaving us alone. The chains didn’t give us much movement, only about three feet or so around the spike anchoring it to the ground. But we were still close enough to hold each other. Just like in the truck, we sat together on the floor, me wrapped up in him.
Gunner gave a few tugs to his spike with no result. Next, he tried sliding one of the chain links under the head to use leverage to pull it up. No dice. After giving up on his own chain, he tried to do the same with mine.
“Stop.” I took his hands away from the iron and brought them clasped between us. “I’m sure they’ll punish you for trying to escape.”
