Page 28

Chapter 28

Cate

T he zing of an electric current behind my right arm made my hair stand on end. I turned just enough to identify what made the sound.

A cattle prod. Not strong enough to harm a cow, but I was a lot smaller than a cow. Knowing it wouldn’t kill me was a small comfort.

“Be a good girl, and Franks won’t have to use it,” Roman said.

I prayed for strength to get through whatever was coming as Roman and his men escorted me up the wooden stairs, down a hall, and into a small room.

"Sit." Franks ordered.

The sun was rising outside the window. I’m facing east . Not that it mattered, I thought, as Franks tied me to the small wooden chair.

“Now, Catelyn, can I call you Cate? ”

“It’s Maxwell.” My plan was to rely on my Marine and FBI training, which meant saying as little as possible. And suffering the consequences as bravely as I could.

“Alright, Maxwell, tell me what Sheppard & Sons knows about my nephew.”

“Nothing.” I braced for the expected hit.

“Now Cate, excuse me, Maxwell, you must know something if you ended up at his store.”

I stared at the cattle prod Franks held in his right hand and bounced against his left, while leaning casually against the edge of Roman’s desk. If I weren’t an expert at reading body language, I would’ve thought he looked bored. He wasn’t. If the look in his eyes was any indication, he was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to zap me. Of course Roman’s enforcer was a sadist. I made a mental note to warn Jaden.

Franks stood when Roman said, “I don’t like waiting.”

“It was a coincidence.” I shrugged.

“And I really don’t like liars.” His nod signaled Franks.

When he tapped the prod to my thigh, all thoughts left my mind as my muscles seized. It only lasted a few seconds, but the feeling lingered.

“I don’t like having to do that,” Roman said.

The shock sparked my sarcasm. “Who’s the liar now?”

When my body relaxed after the longer shock, I recognized my mistake. But I didn’t regret my choice.

“How’d you link Robert to Wendy?”

“Facial recognition.” My non-answer answer brought Roman to his feet .

“I must say, I expected better from you Ms. Maxwell. This is the kind of behavior I anticipated from Mr. Sheppard.”

“Sorry.” I made sure it sounded as insincere as I felt.

Roman stood in front of me, staring.

I stared back, pretending my heart wasn’t racing a mile a minute.

He moved faster than I’d anticipated, barely giving me time to brace before backhanding me.

His hit split my lip, filling my mouth with the copper tang of blood.

“Your lack of cooperation will only make what time you have left on this planet miserable,” he said, cleaning his hands with sanitizer before wiping them on the towel one of his guys handed to him.

He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty . I added it to the list of things to share with Jaden.

Roman asked more questions. I gave more half and non-answers. Franks enjoyed deploying the cattle prod.

When Roman asked about Blake, I said, through gritted teeth, “Leave. Her. The. Fuck. Alone.”

His sadistic smile sent shivers down my spine. “You aren’t in a position to give orders.” He nodded and Franks punched me, making me see stars.

My teeth hurt from clenching them. My muscles ached from seizing over and over and over again. My head pounded from the hits doled out between shocks.

When Roman was done and they finally untied me from the chair, I was too weak to stand .

“Help her downstairs,” Roman ordered. “If she’s faking it, shoot Sheppard in the knee cap.” That last part was for my benefit, but I didn’t have the energy to respond, let alone fight.

My hands were still cuffed behind my back so Franks supporting me was awkward at best. His lack of compassion and gentleness meant it was also painful.

Because of the light flooding the basement as Franks half-dragged me down the stairs I saw Jaden’s reaction.

He looked down right murderous. I wouldn’t want to be Franks if Jaden had a chance to get his hands on him.

“What’d you do to her?” he yelled.

“Back to your corner,” Franks ordered instead of answering.

“Do it,” I said, doing my best to sound okay.

Thankfully, he complied, but his eyes never left mine.

Jaden was a statue until the cage lock clicked into place. Then he ran, catching me as my knees gave out. How I’d managed to remain standing without help for as long as I had was a mystery.

“What’d they do?” he asked, far more gentle than when he’d asked Franks.

“Cattle prod. I’ll be okay once it wears off.” He’d seen my face, which had to be covered with bruises and red welts, so I didn’t feel the need to tell him about the hits.

He helped me to the back wall, eased me to the ground in front of him, and pulled me back into his warm, hard chest.

“It’s morning,” my voice shaky as I updated him. “And it’s a lot warmer upstairs. ”

“Relax.” His breath tickled my ear.

I sat up. “There’s something else I have to tell you but I can’t remember.”

“It’s okay, we’ve got time. Just lean back and relax. I’ve got you.” Jaden’s deep soothing voice comforted me as he gently pulled me back to his chest.

The pain and weakness subsided slowly, allowing me to doze off as I relaxed in Jaden’s arms.

I don’t know how long I napped before I snapped awake with a hypnotic jerk and panicked. It only took a second to remember where I was—the cold, dark room a harsh reminder.

“Are you okay?” Jaden asked, his arms still wrapped around me.

Why are his arms around me? When I tried to move away, my body screamed. The cattle prod . Every muscle felt overworked.

“Sore, but otherwise okay.” I pulled away, immediately missing his warmth. “How long was I out?”

“Maybe thirty minutes.”

I braced my hands on his knees and stood. His hands hovered nearby, ready to support me if needed. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He stood behind me. When I started to stretch, he said, “Start slow.”

“I don’t think that’s an option.” My laugh sounded more like a whimper.

He handed me a bottle of water. Remembering my fear of drugs, I sipped slowly despite my thirst .

“Thank you, for everything,” I said as I handed him the bottle. I was seeing a new side of Jaden. He’s a good guy when he’s not trying to prove he’s not ‘less than’ his brothers. Not that I’d say it out loud, at least not here.

“No problem.” He shrugged it off.

Remembering what I wanted to tell him, I whispered, “Franks is a sadist and Roman doesn’t like to get his hands dirty.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He hides behind a lot of shell corporations and lets his enforcers do the work.”

“No, I mean literally. He backhanded me and immediately reached for sanitizer.”

“Interesting. How can we use it?”

“Not sure. I doubt he’ll be hands on often.” He had Franks and his other goons for that.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

I wished I could see his expressions. Not that I doubted his sincerity, I could hear that, but I wanted to give him the answer he needed. There was no guarantee they’d question him before taking another go at me, and I didn’t want him more pissed off than he already was.

“I am.” It wasn’t a total lie. “I just need to move a little.” I walked the perimeter of our cage, my right hand trailing along the wall or bars for added support.

We talked about what they’d asked, my answers, and their methods for extracting information. Jaden’s low growls didn’t go unnoticed when I told him about the hits and zaps.

“It could have been worse,” I played it off.

“You’re one tough cookie, Maxwell. ”

“Was that a compliment, Sheppard?”

He laughed, “Don’t let it go to your head.”

When the foghorn blasted, I jumped, making me wince.

The door opened, and three guys stomped down the stairs. One of them tossed two paper bags through the bars before they all stomped back up the stairs.

“Breakfast is served.” Shockingly, Jaden’s snarky sense of humor helped me stay calm.

“Bon Appetit.” I quoted Franks.

The meal was the same. A sandwich, chips, a cookie, and a bottle of water.

We tested the water bottles and ignored the food, making our stomachs grumble in protest. At some point, we’d have to risk eating something if we wanted to keep our strength up, but we weren’t there yet.

And as long as we have water, we have six to eight weeks before starvation kills us.

Not true, we’d succumb sooner. The cold, physical abuse, and torture induced lack of sleep would weaken us significantly and shorten our life spans.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the chill in the basement, ran down my spine. I prayed SSI found us before it was too late.

When the alarm started blaring, I blocked my ears as best I could and tried to remember the lyrics to my favorite song, hoping the concentration needed would keep my mind off the noise.

When the strobe started I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.