Page 10 of Sackett (Demented Souls #17)

H er whole body hurt. She wasn’t sure if it was something they’d give to her or something they’d done to her.

She wasn’t sure it even mattered. Now, as she lay curled on her side on a hard cot covered only by a thin mattress, Selena couldn’t help but wonder what they had planned and why her?

Realizing her shoes were missing, she couldn't help but be thankful she'd worn a pant suit today instead of her usual skirt.

Who were they? She didn’t think Fort Collins, Colorado was a hot spot for human trafficking, but she couldn’t think of any other reason to have kidnapped her like this.

Were they going to sell her and ship her out of the country?

Was she going to stay in the US? That last thought gave her a bit of hope.

If she was to stay in the states, then there was hope that she could escape.

She wasn’t na?ve. She worked in law, she knew human trafficking and slavery were still around, and as big as ever, even if it had moved to more of an underground movement because of the laws. It had never occurred to her that she would be on this side of it though.

Depression and defeat overwhelmed her for several minutes as she lay tied hand and foot, barely able to move.

But she could only feel sorry for herself for so long before her own stubbornness kicked in.

She knew she had to push the defeatist thinking from her mind, she had to figure out where she was, what they were going to do with her and how she could escape. First things first, she needed a plan.

There were some things she needed to figure out, but she could do some planning without them.

Like how to get out of this room. She struggled a bit, but finally managed to sit up.

With that accomplished she looked around the room, trying to find anything that could be used as a tool, first to get the tape off her wrists and ankles, then to get out of the room.

But would they have bothered to lock the door after leaving her bound like this?

The idea had merit, but she had to get free before she could try the door and find out.

Selena still sat on the edge of the bed, blinking and trying to move past the pain in her head when a creak made her look up.

The knob on the door turned. Then it opened and swung into the room.

She had enough time to wish the door swung the other way so she could see who it was, then they appeared, and she was left as confused as she’d started out. She didn’t know this man.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” the man said. He was dressed in jeans, a simple button-down chambray shirt and hiking boots. Nothing that told her who he was or why she was here.

“Why am I here?” She also wondered who he was, but maybe finding out why she was here would tell her who he was, if not, she could always ask later.

“You’re calmer than I expected. Most girls in your situation are hysterical, crying and begging not to be hurt.”

“You kidnap a lot of women?” Selena didn’t bother pointing out that she was a woman, not a girl. She also knew that she did herself no good by giving in to hysterics. She needed to keep a level head if she was going to find a way out of here.

The stranger shrugged, he tilted his head and watched her, as if he found her interesting in some way.

She didn’t like the attention. She couldn’t say why but it made her want to lie back down and pull a blanket up over her body, then her head, just so he couldn’t see her anymore.

Selena refused to let him make her hide.

Instead, she looked up at him, meeting his gaze and doing her best to be strong, if not outright defiant.

After all, he hadn’t told her to do anything, only made her want to.

“You’re here as leverage. If we get what we want, then we’ll let you go, no worse for wear.” Something about his manner, she wasn’t sure if it was the way he moved or the way he spoke, struck her as smarmy.

“And if whoever you are after doesn’t do what you want?”

“Then we’ll have to show them we’re serious.” The stranger lifted one shoulder and let it fall as if he didn’t care one way or the other. He watched her a moment longer then started slowly pacing in front of her.

“How?” Selena narrowed her eyes at him, suspecting there was more to their proof of seriousness than met the eye.

“We told her we’d start cutting parts off you, but I’m not sure that’s our best option. No worries though. We have a bit of time to come up with a better plan.” Mr. Smarmy stopped pacing, turned and watched her, as if trying to gauge her reaction to his words.

She blinked as she stared up at him, giving him her best courtroom face.

The one that let no surprise, no horror, no fear show.

She didn’t know if he was trying to get her to react, but she wouldn’t give it to him.

Her mind spun. He’d said her. The only current female client in or from this area was Donna.

Was she here because of the case she had only spoken with the judge over so far?

Selena wondered for a moment if he was going to have a classic villain monologue moment.

She hoped not, and could only hope that if he didn’t get the reactions he wanted from her that he’d leave her alone again.

Then she’d work on getting out of this tape and trying to get out of here.

She had to get out of here. Then she’d worry about figuring out where she was and how to get back to her life.