Page 39 of Rattler's Revelation
I regain consciousness in the trunk of a car. Or at least that’s what I assume. It’s dark, smelly, and I can feel we’re moving. The last thing I remember is being with Rattler and Randy. Do they know I’m missing? Are they looking for me?
I can’t see anything, and with my hands tied behind my back, I can’t easily search my prison. Using my legs, I shift around searching for my purse, but I come up empty. I could have dropped it in the bathroom, but I’m hoping my kidnapper grabbed it. Maybe Rattler and Randy can track my phone once they realize I’m missing.
A hard bounce brings me back to the present. I need to stop hoping for rescue and start preparing for when the car stops. The bumpy road means we’ve left civilization. I need to stop daydreaming and start preparing myself for what happens next. I don’t have much room to maneuver. This is one of the few times being petite would be preferable. I contort my body until I’m finally able to slip my tied hands over my ass and past my feet. With my arms in front of me, I search for a sharp edge to try cutting the bindings.
I finally find something sharp enough, but I only get a few passes over it before the car slows down. Increasing my pace, I hold my breath in hope. When the car stops, I almost weep in frustration even as I continue to saw at my bindings. I barely have time to jerk my arms back before the trunk’s hood flies open to reveal Billy standing with the man I recognize as Tommy.
My plan to either appeal to Billy’s friendship or kick him in the nuts falls to the wayside. I can’t take on both men.
Billy grabs my arm and yanks me non-to-gently out of the trunk. I barely get my feet under me so I don’t crash to the ground. I glare at him and try to jerk my arm away, but he tightens his grip until I wince in pain. “Why?” I ask him. “I thought we were friends.”
“Friends?” Billy snarls. “I didn’t want to be friends. You and the other bitches never got that. They all stuck me in the friend zone! I didn’t want friends. I wanted one of you bitches to want me back, but you all rejected me.”
Before I can respond, Billy drags me away from the car. I glance around, and my heart sinks. Somehow, I’ve been transported to the Deep South, or at least what I imagine the Deep South looked like from the Confederate War to today. Confederate flags are everywhere. They’re tacked onto fences and walls and hanging from flag poles attached to every building. They’re painted on buildings and the hoods of cars. The men all wear kuttes with American Eagles on the back. Some wear doo rags cut from American flags on their heads. Many of the men carry AK-47s. Every single one of them is white. Most sneer at me, while a few grab their crotches and squeeze. They remind me of incels at summer camp.
I avert my eyes from the hateful and lustful glares as Billy pulls me toward the house that sits at the center of the compound. Two flags hang from the flagpoles attached to the house. The flag on the left is a Nazi flag, while the one on the right is a Confederate flag. I shudder with disgust and fear as I pass them. They both ooze hatred for people like me. They represent the worst of humanity and a hatred of everything different from the arrogant fools who believe skin color matters.
Billy pushes me through the front door into a living area that could double as a Nazi museum. Shelves and tables of Nazi paraphernalia give off an aura of evil that’s impossible to ignore—the place reeks of hatred and anger. Sitting in the middle of theabhorrence is an old man with a scraggly gray beard and a beer belly that took years to develop. His eyes rake over my body, making me desperate for a blanket or a bath.
“You got her. How?”
“Spotted her with your nephew and Randy when we were on the way to the storage unit,” Tommy says. “They were at the apartment building of one of the bitches we grabbed. Heard them talking. Turns out the bitch who lived there had information about us on a USB drive they found.”
Tommy’s mention of this asshole as Rattler’s uncle has me seeing red. So this is Wade? I glare at the man as I imagine grabbing one of the ugly statues and bashing him over the head with it.
“She was, was she? What the fuck was on the USB drive?” he asks me.
When I don’t answer, Billy squeezes my arm until I cry out in pain. “Answer him,” he growls.
“Don’t bruise the merchandise,” Wade snaps. Then he chuckles. “Although no one can see the bruises. She’s too fucking dirty. Best keep that in mind, bitch. Answer the fucking question, what did that other little bitch find?”
“I don’t know,” I respond. “We were going to take the USB drive back to the clubhouse. We think there were photos on it.”
“Get the bitch,” Wade orders Tommy. He rushes out of the room as Wade turns his attention to Billy.
“She’s the last one. We can ship the merchandise out tomorrow morning. Texas is ready to take them and move them on to New Orleans.” He turns his attention to me. “Soon, you’ll be with your master. He’s paying good money for you. Not sure why he wants a filthy nigger, but I hear he likes to role-play with his slaves.”
I want to throw up, but I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Luckily, my stomach is empty. I send a prayer to Randy and Rattler. Please, guys, you need to find me quickly.
The door behind me opens as Billy returns, dragging Nadine behind him. She looks better than I expected. She’s been missing for two weeks. Her hair is greasy, and I can smell her unwashed body, but at least she’s not been hurt. I scowl when I realize the reason. They don’t want to damage the merchandise and lose money. Fucking bastards.
“What the fuck did you have on that USB drive?” Wade demands.
Nadine frowns as she glances at me. They only know about the USB drive, not the notebook, so I try to communicate this to her. “We found the USB drive in an envelope behind your desk drawer,” I tell her.
“What was on it?”
“It was a backup of files I kept on my computer. Bank statements and my tax returns,” she stammers. “Nothing more. What else would I have?”
“Nothing on us or our location?” Wade demands.
Nadine does a good job of looking confused. “How would I have information on you? I didn’t know anything about you until you kidnapped me and brought me here.”
Wade studies her for several long minutes before he turns away from her and focuses on Tommy. “Where is her computer?”
“In the storage unit. That’s where we were headed when we spotted them,” Tommy says, jerking his chin at me. “Stevie called and said some kids broke into the unit. He stopped them from getting inside. We were going to check it out and put a new lock on the door.”
“Bring the stuff here,” Wade says. “We can go through it and maybe sell some of the shit. It’s been long enough that even if itdraws attention, the bitches will be long gone. Tommy, you take a crew and pick up the boxes. Billy, you go pick up a plaything for later. Get some dark meat. I’m having a hankering.”
