His head cocks to the side, my strength surprising him. It surprises me, too. I’ve gained a lot of upper body strength since I got my mobility back, and Easton’s wide eyes show he wasn’t expecting a hit like that.
“The fuck?” Easton scowls at me.
“Rose gets fucked up and you go ape shit on the world. Put yourself in my fucking shoes for one second. I can’t walk. I’m a caged fucking animal and I’m losing my damn mind!” I roar.
He pauses, his tense body relaxing a few tics with my words. He gets it. Finally, he gets it. “Shit.”
“Yeah. I can’t do this, man. We have to go get her. Now.” I slam my hand down on the arm rest, accentuating my anger.
Easton nods. “Yeah, yeah. Hold up.” He shoots a text to Hugo, and within a few minutes, he’s walking through the door.
Easton goes over the conversation we had with the PI, and Hugo grows paler with each word.
“Fuck. This ring… They’re recruiting an entire hoard of girls.” His face grows red. “Let’s touch base with Rich.”
Two hours go by. We speak with Rich. Finally, we come up with a plan. We’ll head out tonight. Scope the area, figure out the weak spots and the watch schedule of the guards. We’ll go in unannounced. We won’t be able to go in without being caught, but if we can at least get a one up on them, we might have a chance of getting through. Of getting Cara back.
Once we’re all packed up, Easton looks towards me. “I think you need to stay here.”
My nostrils flare. “Fuck no. Why?”
He looks down at my chair. He doesn’t want to say it.
“Just spit it the fuck out. You don’t want me to go because I’m a fucking cripple.”
“I don’t want to have to worry about you and getting Cara back.”
“I give zero fucks. Don’t worry about me, I’ll take care of myself.” I wave him off, strapping my gun into my ankle holster.
He comes and stands in my way. “I can’t not worry about you, Jackson. Think about it for a second. They’ll see you and go for you first. It’s a bad idea. I can’t do my job right if I have to protect you the entire time.”
I shake my head. “Then don’t. Go get the girls. I’m going to get Cara.”
“Fuck! Jackson, seriously. Fucking think about it!” He barks at me.
I sigh, knowing that a part of him is right even if I don’t agree with it. “Listen, you guys go in first. I get it. I get what you’re saying, but I’m not staying back here when my girl needs me. I’ll sit in the background and wait until its safe. I’m going. Don’t try and fucking stop me.” I say with certainty, with no negotiation in my tone. This isn’t a time to argue. I’m going to get my girl whether he wants me to or not.
He realizes that, because he takes a step back, nodding his head. “Fine. Let us go in first. Be smart about this.”
“I always am.”
Easton laughs. “No, you’re a loose cannon sometimes.”
I smile. “Yeah, and that’s what makes me the most dangerous of all of you.”
He picks up the joint he rolled earlier, sparking it up and passing it off to me. “That you are, brother. That you fucking are.”
23
Cara
The following day, both Daniella and I are silent. We don’t speak, in our own heads and bodies as we try to cleanse ourselves mentally of the intrusion from those disgusting men.
One comes in at some point during the day, clattering our plastic tasting meals onto the ground before leaving without a word. I can’t eat today, and neither can Daniella, because neither her nor I get up to crawl towards our plates.
I’m still nauseated from the man’s greedy fingers.
“Daniella?” I whisper after hours of silence.
“Hmmm.” Her lifeless voice echoes off the walls.
“Are you okay?”
Silence.
“No. Not really.” She sniffles, and my heart breaks just a little more.
I crawl forward, going as close to her as I possibly can. I can’t reach her, not even a little. “Come here.” She’s silent for a few moments, but then I hear her chains move around and she comes to me. We still can’t reach. I lay on my stomach and reach my hand out as far as it can go. She must realize what I’m doing, because after a few seconds, I feel the brush of her fingers against mine. We link our pointers together since