Page 5 of Little Deer
I rush for the door, listening carefully, and quickly clocking in on the voices shouting angrily as they come from afar. Itonly takes me a second to realize that they’re coming from the hallway I came down.
Shit. Time to go, and I need to find another exit fast.
I don’t know where Tony is, but I have to assume that he’s fine and he’ll make his way out to Alonzo.
I run for the large open warehouse uncaring who catches me on camera now. Let them see who took her. Let them know that we can always find them and figure out their secrets. Shouts get louder behind me as I head for the door. It’s closed, but to the right of it is a regular door. I have no idea where it goes, but as long as I can get on the other side of it without getting shot we’re golden.
Shots ring out, and I curl forward, covering Lucy with my body as she lies limply in my arms. I glance down at her, making sure she’s alright, and see her watching me through glassy eyes, but she’s not fighting. “You’re safe with me. I’m getting you out of here.”
More shots fly by me, some of them grazing me enough I can feel their heat but not making contact. I zig and zag as I move, making sure not to give them an easy shot, and I hit the door hard, the brunt of my body slamming it open. I back up against it, hear the bullets hit and embed in thick steel. Ahead of me is a short loading dock with four large trucks waiting to be loaded. I look around quickly, realizing that the bay doors leading outside are open, gunfire in the distance..
I run to the doors, stopping to peer around. The dirt road ahead is large enough for the trucks to turn and then head out through the thick trees, completely undetected. I take a deep breath, praying that our guys took out the ones on the roof, and rush for the trees, trying to stay low and as close to the shadows as I can. I hear the steel door behind me slam open. We don’t have much time before they find us.
I race into the trees, looking around in the dark as much as I can to figure out where the hell I’m going. The sounds of the gunfire get increasingly distant the further I go, but I’m not safe. We’re not safe yet.
I shift Lucy in my arms, lifting her higher against my chest as I make a quick left, spotting thick foliage ahead that will hopefully hide us long enough for Alonzo and the others to pick us up.
I finally stop when I hear no more sounds, not even the shouts of the men after us. I pull out my phone quickly and type out my position and send it to the others, letting them know I have Lucy. My phone buzzes softly to let me know that Tony is on his way to me. None of the others answer.
A small bead of worry fills me, but then I push it aside. They can handle themselves. We’ve been through much worse than this before. Instead, I force myself to wait, and glance down at Lucy. She’s watching me, her eyes still unfocused. “We’ll be out of here soon,bella,” I assure her softly. “We’ll get you cleaned up and checked out. You’re safe with us.” Her lips move but no sound comes out. She tries again, and this time there’s a breath of something, some kind of word, but even when I put my ear close to her mouth, I can’t make it out. “The drugs will wear off soon and then you’ll be able to talk,” I assure her, giving her an encouraging smile.
Her eyelids blink slowly, like she’s trying to comprehend what I’m saying, but then they flutter and close again. At first, I think she’s passed out once more, and then they open again, like she’s fighting the drugs in her system. I can’t help but smile. Lucy is strong. A fighter. Just like her sisters and cousin. Yes, she’ll fit right in with them.
The process of her opening and closing her eyes goes on for another couple of minutes, with her trying to speak, but only small sounds coming out of her mouth. I try to tell her to relax,but she doesn’t listen. She just keeps trying over and over again, and every time it doesn’t work, frustration fills her eyes.
I hear a car approaching through the trees and quietly make my way until I see the main road. I watch and wait until I see the SUV pull over. I rush forward, even as I hear more vehicles coming down behind it. I climb inside, and Tony pulls away before we even shut the door. Alonzo is sitting against the other door, and he looks down at Lucy, sympathy in his eyes. “She’s been drugged,” I tell him as I keep Lucy in my lap. I’m not ready to let her go yet, easing her up a bit so she can look around. Her eyes widen, focusing on Alonzo. “You’re safe,” I assure her. “This is my friend, Alonzo. Don’t be frightened.”
She starts to shiver, and I wrap my arms around her tighter, trying to give her some comfort. I know she must be scared out of her mind, and while I want to ease that fear, I doubt anything I say or try to do is going to fix that now.
It’s a long tense ride back, no one saying anything as Tony weaves his way through the city streets, ensuring our tails can’t catch up. It’s not until we almost reach Nico’s gates when I finally hear the words that Lucy has been trying to speak. “Milk. Drugged.”
At first, I’m not sure I’ve heard her right, and from the surprised look on Alonzo’s face, he’s thinking the same. “What was that, Lucy?” I ask, looking at her.
“M-M-Mi-i-ilk d-d-drugged,” she stutters out, her throat working around the words.
“They drugged her using milk?” Alonzo asks in confusion. “Why the hell would they do that?”
A part of me wants to dismiss it as the drugs making her ramble out those words, but something in her eyes stops me from doing that. Pleading. There’s fear there, sure, but it’s like she’s begging me to help her somehow. My heart clenches in my chest and I murmur, “We’ll get it figured out. We’re almostthere, and then we can figure out the drugged milk. Just hold on a little longer.”
4
LUCY
No.Where are they taking me? They need to let me go. I need to get away. I need to get back to my son. I need to feed him.
Fear grips me tighter though as the thought of the drugs in my system hits me. No. I can’t feed him. I can’t feed my son with these poisons. My eyes burn, but tears don’t fall. I have to tell them. I have to figure out a way to speak. To let them know the dangers.
Mustering all the strength I can, I force my tongue and lips to work again. “M-M-Mi-i-ilk d-d-drugged.” I just keep repeating it, hoping they’ll understand. But they don’t. They look confused, this man holding me and the giant one beside him. I stare into the one holding me’s hazel eyes, pleading with him to understand.
He lifts me out of the car, carrying me into what I can barely make out is a very large house. I keep trying to tell him, but it’s exhausting, and they’re not listening. They bark orders, theirvoices loud, and everyone runs to get out of their way and do their bidding.
Who are they?
I close my eyes, so freaking tired. I need to get to my son. How the hell am I going to tell them? Then, how am I going to get the hell out of here? I don’t know who they are, but I don’t want to stick around to find out. Whoever they are, they knew where to find me, which means that they must know those people that took me. My so-called biological family.
I don’t want anything to do with them or with these guys. I want my son. I want my sister, and I want to run. Run as far away as we can so they can never find us again.
I’m coming, Soren. Mommy’s coming. Just hold on.
