Page 16 of Sackett
That he was here for her.To get her out of here.Relief made her knees weak.If she’d been standing, she likely would have fallen.Only then did the name he’d given her register.
Sackett.
Donna and Savage hadn’t given into this madman’s demands.She wasn’t sure which made her feel better, that she was getting out of here or that by doing so, she wasn’t dooming the sweet girl who only wanted to be free of the abuse she’d suffered here.
He'd helped her to her feet, letting her choose if she needed help or not.When he told her they could whisper but only when necessary, she’d nodded because she had nothing that had to be said.
Sackett followed her out of the room where she’d been held into a hallway that could have been in any home or office at least from what she could see in the dim light.The flooring changed from bare cement to low pile carpet.From the way it felt on her stocking feet, she would guess it was industrial carpet like was found in most office buildings but since she didn’t wander around without her shoes at work, she wasn’t certain.
Once out of the room she’d been in, Sackett motioned for her to follow one of two men they found in the hall.From the way he reacted, she assumed they were with him.As they passed several rooms, she spotted her briefcase sitting on a chair in one room.The sight made her stop cold.
If her briefcase was there, maybe her shoes would be too?Either way she needed her briefcase.It had her id, her phone, if they hadn’t gotten rid of it, her room key, as well as her rental car key.Her entire life was in that thing.
Sackett’s hand on her back urged her forward, but she turned and detoured into the room.It wasn’t until she’d grabbed the bag and turned for the door that she realized he’d followed her.And that he held a gun.Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t say anything as she went back out into the hall and fell into place behind the other two men.
Now that she’d seen Sackett’s gun, it seemed obvious that the other two, the men she didn’t know were carrying them too.The way they moved reminded her of people she’d seen on TV, but she pushed the thought away as she hugged her bag to her chest and followed them.None of this mattered as long as they got out of here.
They reached a door, and everyone stopped.Selena stood, still holding her briefcase as they waited.For what, she didn’t know.
After what seemed like an eon but was really no more than twenty or thirty seconds, the man in front turned and nodded at Sackett, who stood behind her.Then he, whoever he was, led them all down out of the building.
Selena didn’t hesitate to follow him.Even as she stepped out onto the rough ground and the stones of the gravel under foot cut into her feet.She didn’t care.She had to get out of there.
She didn’t know how far they’d gone, one man in front, a second coming up beside her and Sackett behind her, when another group of men joined them.Sackett seemed to know them, he kept on hand on her lower back and urged her forward.She kept going.She kept her mouth shut and kept moving, desperate to get away from there and to be safe.
They walked for what seemed like forever, the only sounds she heard was the wind through trees she could barely see the outline of on either side of the clearing that housed the building she’d been held in along with several others.Selena did her best to hurry, as she got the feeling the men had slowed their pace for her, but the farther they went, the harder it was to keep ignoring the sharp ache and throb in her feet.
She knew without looking that her hose were little more than shreds, and she didn’t want to think about what the bottoms of her feet must look like.No, it didn’t matter as long as she got out of here.
When the men in front of her led them to the edge of the road, then off into the dirt and grass she was grateful.The gravel hurt.She was still clutching her briefcase against her chest when Sackett urged her toward a fence she hadn’t noticed until she was almost to it.There two men holding the sides apart so she could go through a hole that had been cut.
Selena had to shift her briefcase and step through carefully to fit between the stretched wires.But she did it, then got out of the way so Sackett and the man behind him could come through.She was still waiting for everyone to come through so they could start moving again when Sackett bent and spoke, his words louder than they’d been inside the building.
“Where the hell are your shoes?”
“I don’t know.”Selena shrugged, her briefcase once more hugged against her chest.She didn’t bother to say she’d woken up without them.
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I wasn’t going to delay us.I wanted out of there more than I cared about finding my shoes.”
He shook his head.“Here, let me have this.”He took her briefcase.“Maverick, can you carry this?”
She watched as he handed it off, wondering what he was doing.Then before she had a chance to ask, Sackett swung her up into his arms cradling her like a child.
She bit back the squeak of surprise that almost escaped her, as well as her urge to tell him to put her down.Her feet hurt and she didn’t mind not having to walk on them.Besides, by the time she’d gotten past the surprise of his picking her up, they were moving again and faster than she’d been able to manage.Selena wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, not wanting to slow them down any more than she already had.
As he carried her, Selena couldn’t help but wonder who all these men were.How had they found her?What would happen now?
Before her mind had a chance to go too far down the rabbit hole of her thoughts, they slowed, Sackett opened the door to a dark SUV set her inside then slid in beside her as one of the other men got into the driver’s seat and they left, the sound of several loud engines starting around them made her jump as she slid to the far side of the car and reached for the seatbelt.She didn’t know where they were going or how this guy drove.She needed to be belted in.
“It’s all right.We’re going to stop in a few minutes so I can take a look at your feet.Why didn’t you say something?”Sackett picked up one of her feet and lifted it to his lap.She sat still, trying to let the events of the evening soak in.But she couldn’t be silent, her nature just wouldn’t let her.
“How did you find me?Who are all these guys?”She glanced toward the driver then focused on Sackett in the dim light inside the vehicle.
“We found you because they called Donna.We knew who they were and that gave us a good idea where to look for you.”He glanced up from where he was using a small yellowish light to look at the bottom of her foot.“These guys are my brothers.”
Before she had a chance to figure out what to ask next, the car pulled off the road and into a small parking lot with trees along one side.They parked next to a small building, but it was impossible to tell what it was without more light than the moon cast on the area.
