Page 2 of Hidden Fates
“Hmm.” Reese couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex, on a beach or anywhere else. Maybe one night with this guy was exactly what she needed to break her out of the rut she’d been in. She took several long sips of the drink, enjoying its fruity flavor. She wasn’t usually into the sweet stuff, preferring her alcohol a little less girly, but this thing had more sugar than alcohol in it and she was kind of digging it right now.
“Here you go,” the pretty red head said, placing her change and a receipt on the table in front of her.
Reese was feeling way looser than she had a few minutes ago. “Keep the change,” she said, a slight slur to her words. That was strange. She didn’t usually have more than one drink, but she’d never been a lightweight before.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone polish off a drink that fast. Can I get you something else?” Tony asked.
“No,” Reese said, gripping her purse tighter. “I should -”
A group of rowdy men came barreling into the bar, their booming voices and laughs drowning out the country music playing over the speaker system. There had to be six or ten of them, but Reese couldn’t seem to get an accurate count because they looked kind of fluid, like one was melding with another. “What the -”
“Easy, Darling. Let me help you.” Tony’s voice was so close, she felt the warmth of his breath on her ear and she shivered.
“No,” she said, “I don’t…” Nothing made sense. Who were those guys and why were they all fuzzy like that?
“Reese Graham, just relax.” Tony’s voice was harsher now, but he wasn’t sitting next to her anymore. He was standing over her. Wait, no, she was being carried…by him. And she didn’t remember telling him her last name.
What. The. Hell.
The last clear thought she had was of her stepbrother.Russell had found her.
***
A blood curdling scream tore through the thin walls rousing Reese from yet another nightmare. Had that been her screaming? It wasn’t like she hadn’t already done her fair share of it while she was awake. Maybe her subconscious decided to give it a try while she was asleep.
She’d lost track of the number of days and nights she’d spent in this room. From what she could tell, it was some abandoned motel that smelled of mold and dust. She coughed, her mouth and throat dry. When was the last time those idiots had even given her water?
Not that it mattered. She was resigned to die here, she only wished it would already happen. She wasn’t one to easily give up, but after spending months of her life in that hospital, and then being dumb enough to trust that jerk Tony at the Crooked Pony, Reese figured she deserved whatever she got.
There was one window in the room and the curtains were pulled shut, but she could still tell that it was pitch dark outside. Familiar voices traveled through the glass and the locked door. Not that they needed to lock her in. Her hands and feet were handcuffed and chained to the bed with just enough slack to reach the bucket they’d placed against the wall. But with how often they actually gave her any food or water, the thing stood empty most of the time.
Aside from Tony, who occasionally paid her a visit, she had no idea who the others were. Only that the woman was in charge, and she was a complete and total bitch. The glow of a small red light caught her attention at the foot of the bed and her gaze went to it. The damn camera was still there. The first time she saw it when they first brought her here, Reese thought they were going to rape her and post the footage. Some sick porno videos. But they hadn’t so much as touched her except Tony who liked stroking her face or arms, which always made her cringe.
But it was the woman that Reese hated the most. She liked getting in Reese’s face, taunting her, accusing her, trying to get a rise out of her. At first, Reese had no idea why, but then the woman finally let it slip. They were hunting people with special abilities. Paranormal abilities. And they knew Reese had one.
That was what finally convinced Reese that Russell was somehow a part of this. He was the only one left of her family who knew about what she could do. She hadn’t even told her closest friends back in high school or college.
Another scream permeated the air, and Reese twisted on the hard, clumpy mattress. They hadn’t gotten what they wanted outof her, so they’d probably snatched someone else. But who? If all they wanted were people with paranormal abilities, surely there weren’t that many of them just walking around, right?
The lock on the door clicked, the handle turned with a small squeak and the woman that Reese had overheard was called Vivian stepped into the room. “Still awake, I see,” Vivian mused. “You know, if only you’d cooperate, you could’ve already been free as a bird.”
Reese didn’t believe a word coming out of her mouth. And she had no intention of cooperating. Ever.
Vivian flicked a switch, turning on a bright light that made Reese squint. What the hell did she want now? “Let’s get a better look at you,” Vivian said with a smile that made Reese’s insides turn cold.
Reese turned her head away, not wanting to chance looking into her eyes, but she grabbed her by the jaw and yanked hard. “Look at me,” Vivian ordered. But the light was too bright and Reese still had her eyes nearly sealed shut. “Eyes open or I do to you what I’m doing to your neighbor. I know you can hear the screams.”
A shiver ran down Reese’s spine, her muscles tightening in fear. “No,” Reese said. “She doesn’t deserve that.”
“She?” Vivian asked. “How do you know it’s a woman? Unless you know more than you’re letting on.”
This woman had more than pissed Reese off by now, so she did the very thing she hadn’t wanted to do. She threw her eyes open and glared at Vivian, hoping her eyes landed anywhere on her face but her gaze. No such luck. “I know it’s a woman because a man would’ve hadyouscreaming by now, and not in a good way.” Reese spat out the words, but the image that played out in her mind of Vivian’s impending death was what made the corners of her mouth lift in a weak smile.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside and someone ran into Reese’s room. “There’s someone out there, Boss.” A tinge of fear laced Tony’s voice in the most satisfying way, but when Vivian followed him out after turning out the light and locking the door, Reese’s heart sank.
Whoever was out there was probably looking for the woman who’d been screaming. But who was going to find her? And how?
A surge of determination pulsed through Reese’s veins. She felt her strength returning. Her will to live blooming. Her desire to get the hell out of this place was suddenly a pounding need that matched every beat of her still beating heart.
