Page 49 of The Captive Missing

Over breakfast with Amber, Val listened to her half-hearted complaints about the food, lack of coffee and simmering hot weather. Though Val ducked her head and offered the occasional uh-huh and I know, the truth was that she no longer cared about that either.

When Charlie came to settle next to the two women, Val studied her food quietly. She could feel the search of his eyes upon her skin, but she didn’t make contact and instead rose to leave. In time he would see that she wasn’t his savior. In time they would all see just how right Mandy was.

Training 106 was just down the hall from Room 115. Val knew what likely awaited her there. She just didn’t know who. Walking demurely along the crowded halls, Val’s stomach did the tiniest of somersaults before settling back down. The door was just off to her left.

Training rooms were extremely small and outfitted sparsely. They needed only a bed and the occasional chair. In one corner would be a single metal sink with which to wash if the need should arise. She couldn’t count the number of times she had used one, there had been so many.

Before she offered her forearm for scan, Val composed her face into uncaring blankness, knowing her insides would soon follow suit. The beep sounded. The door swung inward. Val’s heart skipped a beat. He was already waiting.

Sitting on the bed, his salt and pepper hair looking slightly mussed, was her former trainer. His dark eyes warmed at the sight of her and he stood, smiling that crooked way he always had.

“Hey, Val.” He waited for her to step inside. He was nothing if not patient.

“Hi, Ben.”

Val inched across the threshold before stopping once more to stare. Behind her, the door swung shut of its own accord. She heard the faint click of the automatic lock in the background.

Before her sat the first man she had ever slept with. He was her first for everything, in fact. And on the whole, he had made those experiences pleasurable, light-hearted and fun even. There had only ever been that handful of times that were… unpleasant.

And they had been at the specific demand of Shane. It was when Cambric had been scrambling to force Gabe back into submission. In the end, their tactics had worked.

If Val felt a twinge of fear at knowing what Ben was capable of, it was dampened by his quiet study of her. She kept flashing back to all the other times they had shared and struggled to reconcile the one experience against all the others.

Twisting her fingers together in front of her belly, Val tried to look at Ben in a different light. He was a captive after all, just like Gabe or Charlie. He’d started out the same, doing monthly subscriptions, then the breeding program. As he aged, he’d been transitioned into training. She gauged him now to be about fifty, still handsome in that rogue way he had about him.

“We both know why you’re here.” Ben pushed off the bed and began to stalk towards her. “We need to refresh your training and complete each phase with a submission.”

Val nodded, then backed a step. Nerves cruised through her system. She glanced to the side, then back up at him before retreating once more. There wasn’t anywhere for her to go, however, and her back quickly came up against the closed door behind her. Ben’s eyebrow raised but he kept on coming.

Tilting her chin up, Val pursed her lips and looked him straight in the eye. What she saw there gave her pause. His expression didn’t track with his body language.

“You ready?” He asked.

“Yes.” Val’s voice was low, but steady.

Reaching over her head, Ben pushed a button that was attached to a panel in the wall. The camera positioned in the upper corner of the room switched off.

“Well, now that’s done.” Ben gave her a wink before shoving off the wall.

Turning his back on her, he crossed to the far bed and settled himself back onto it. With his long legs crossed at the ankle, he rested them against the floor and leaned back. For several minutes, they just blinked at one another.

Val wasn’t sure what to make of him. Was this a test? A new phase of training? She stood rooted to her spot, palms pressed against the cool of the closed door.

“How’re you adjusting?” Ben asked finally. “The first months back are the worst.”

“I’m fine.” Val was cautious, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him.

“Have you considered ending it?” Ben raised both eyebrows, watching her face in earnest. “Because for me that was about month five. I got over it though, as you can see. The meds do have their purpose.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You don’t believe me.” Ben rubbed his hands together and leaned forward. “After what happened down in Isolation, I can’t blame you. I never did get a chance to tell you how sorry I was over it. I did my best not to actually hurt you, but it had to look that way or Shane wouldn’t have stopped.”

“You didn’t hurt me physically,” Val admitted, softening at the look on Ben’s face. “Maybe just my feelings, I guess.”

“But you ended up in a good spot, right?” Ben reclined once more against the wall, tucking his arms behind his head. “I think you’ve probably had the best life out of any captive in history. You’re the most famous one, at least. And to think about being free for all those years, it’s astounding.”

“You were out? You walked free?”

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