Buyer

Vicki’s POV

We communicated over the link as we drove to our fate, planning out when we would make our move. “We can’t do it now. You’ll dislocate your shoulders if you shift in these zip ties, and there’s no way to get through the cage or out the back door.” The cage had no openings, and where the handle for the doors would be, there was a steel plate welded over it.

“I could shift a nail, cut through these zip ties, and when they open the door, we could take them out,” Amy suggested.

“No. There are six men with rifles, and they expect we might try to run. No, we have to wait for a better opportunity.”

“What about these necklaces? They transmit, right?”

I thought back to what Linda had told us. “They record and transmit, and they are still on,” I replied. “If they search for something transmitting on this frequency, they might find us.”

“Lay down until your head is behind me, and I’ll pull it off,” Amy said. I was closest to the driver, so I went onto my side as Amy turned slightly towards the back. She worked until she could touch my neck, then Amy rotated the loose-fitting necklace until she could pop the clasp.

“Put it in my mouth,” I told her. She moved until I had it in my teeth, then I struggled to sit upright again with no hands. Noelani got a foot under me, and that was just enough to make it to a sitting position. The guards weren’t paying attention, so I leaned my head against the cage and let the necklace fall. It hit my hip, landing in the corner. I butt-scooted around until I had my back to the corner; using my fingers, I pushed the necklace through the opening until it was under the driver’s seat.

“How long do those transmit,” Fiona asked.

“Four to twenty-four hours, depending on how much you talk,” I replied. “If there is no noise, they go into sleep mode. Better than nothing, though.”

“Are you all right, Carla?” Noelani looked over at me, then linked, “We should talk every five minutes or so just to get them to transit, or they won’t find us.”

“I’m fine,” Carla said. It was the female version of ‘fine,’ which meant anything BUT that. I could tell she was mad at herself; she was in charge of my protection, it happened on her watch, and she felt terrible about it.

“It’s my fault,” I told them all. “Cross-training my security as camera operators took away from their mission and left us vulnerable. I should have known better.”

Carla shook her head, no. “No, Alpha, it’s not your fault. We had security, I hired them, and they took off. I’m going to hunt those men down and kill them for what they’ve done.”

“No, you won’t, and that’s an order,” I said. “Those men may be crooked, but they are still cops, and we’re in their country. For all we know, the Cartel could be behind this. Those bastards don’t hesitate to wipe out whole families in front of you if you don’t play ball.”

We’d been driving for about twenty minutes when we slowed down, turning off the paved road. We spent the next twenty minutes getting knocked around as the van navigated a crappy dirt road through the jungle. “Get ready, and play scared and cooperative. We don’t need heroes. We need them to relax because six women aren’t a threat to them.”

With one last lurch, the van pulled to a stop, and I heard the men get out of the other van. The two in front turned around, holding their weapons at ready as the others approached. The man riding shotgun leered at us. “Resist, and you will get hurt. We can have a lot of fun with you and still get paid.” I heard the door latch. “One at a time.”

The gunmen put blindfolds over our eyes before taking us out of the van; all I saw before then was trees out the front and back. I was the last one out; I tried to scent as much as I could. I sorted through the scents of the six men as best I could.

I felt the dirt change to concrete under me, and the smells got far stronger. It was hard to pick up their unique scents over the stench of cheap aftershave, tequila, sweat, and sex. I felt a knife go between my wrists and cut the zip tie away. “Take off your clothes,” the man said. I didn’t argue; I reached around and unzipped my wetsuit in the back. Peeling it down and off, I continued by taking off my bikini. “Very nice,” the man said as his hand groped my left breast. I started to move away from him, which earned me a smack on my cheek. I bit back the urge to fight back as I tasted blood in my mouth. “It’s too bad you’re worth so much money because I bet you can fuck like a porn star. That’s why I love this job; you can only sell a person you kidnap once, but you can sell a pussy like that a dozen times a night for years.”

I took a deep breath, memorizing his scent. My wolf would enjoy the taste of his blood on my teeth. “We’re all right, Vicki. They’ve got us chained up in here.” I relaxed again as he went back to pinching my nipple.

“At least we get to keep the others for a while. Your buyer is paying a lot of money to be the first to take you.” He took my arm and led me inside, sitting me down on the cold and damp floor. I felt a collar going around my neck; it was steel, not silver. They had no idea what they were dealing with, and that gave me hope.

I took inventory of the scents. “Where is Fiona?”

“I’m the oldest and probably worth the least, so I think I’m their entertainment for the night. They took me inside the house and tied me over the couch,” she replied. “Alpha Vicki, it has been my honor to serve you. If I get a chance to escape, I’m taking it.”

“Be careful, Fiona.”

“I’m closing the link. I don’t want to distract you.” I felt her shut it off, so we wouldn’t sense her pain. It didn’t matter; with our hearing, we could hear her screams as they gang-raped and beat her. She never stopped struggling against them or stopped cursing them in three different languages, not until they knocked her out. A few minutes later, three men brought her into our room and put the collar around her swollen neck.

One of the men looked at Carly. “We’ll be having your ass for breakfast. Have a good night, ladies.” They pulled the steel door closed, locking it from the outside with a padlock, and walked back to the house. The fuckers were laughing the whole time.

It had been dark for hours; I tried to sleep, but the mosquitos and tropical heat made that hard. It didn’t help that we were bare ass to concrete, either. I sat up when I heard several vehicles approaching. The men in the house came outside, and the leader sent two of his men to guard us. The rest he told to hide behind the trees and cover him while he concluded their business.

The two vehicles that pulled in sounded big and expensive, not the cheap SUVs our kidnappers had. These were the money people, I was sure. I moved over to the metal door, putting my ear against it to hear better. Doors opened, and the leader greeted the new arrivals. “Lawrence, do you have the money?”

“Of course, Carlos. Let’s see the women first.” I heard them walking our way and moved away from the door. The wind shifted, and his scent blew in through the louvers at the bottom of the door. I pushed back a snarl of rage; the betrayal cut deep. They would all die, slowly and painfully, at my hand.

“Don’t react,” I told the others. The padlock opened, and a flashlight shined in my eyes. I didn’t look away; instead, I stared at the buyer with every bit of hatred and loathing I could muster.

He looked at us, then walked back out the door. “How much for all of them?”

“We were supposed to get half a million for Vicki, and the rest of them were the rest of the payment. They will do well at auction, at least the younger ones will.”

“I didn’t ask about your business plan, Carlos. I asked for a price.”

“Three hundred thousand for Amy, two hundred fifty each for the twins, and another hundred each for the older ones. One point five million.”

“One point two million, cash, here and now.”

Carlos didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and it grated at me to hear our fates negotiated like this. “Done. Bring me the money, and your men can load them up.”

They walked away, and the first gunshot scared the hell out of me. I heard the men scream as they got cut down, cursing in Spanish before the newcomers put them out of their misery. When the shooting stopped, Lawrence came to the doorway. “Leave the clothes and the necklaces behind so the cops can find this place. Collar these bitches and put them in the transport cages.”

The men who came in carried cattle prods and silver collars, and we had no chance of fighting against them.

Our situation had just gone from bad to worse.