tatters and they were less than clean.
He grimaced when one of them walked by close enough for him to catch the smell surrounding her; the same odor he’d caught lingering in the air when they’d first arrived.
“Every room?”
“Yes,” Rowe said, stepping forward. “Every closet, every door, every cupboard…all of it will be searched.”
“Start at the top,” Paine ordered, jerking his chin towards the stairs. “Then work your way down. I’ll stay here and make sure nobody slips out.”
Axis moved quickly, more than ready to get away from the smell he could feel already beginning to stick to his clothing and hair. It was so thick in the air that he would need to wash this stink off him to be rid of it. Rowe followed close behind, watching his back as they began searching, while Paine kept his eye on the master of the house.
It wasn’t long before they were finished and moving on to the next house, and then the next. House by house they searched, each disappointment settling like a drop of acid on his already roiling stomach. The house they’d just arrived at had already prepared for their arrival, word spreading quickly through the pleasure district as fast as the slaves could carry it.
“This is not good,” Paine murmured as they left yet again, empty handed. “The news of our presence has spread so quickly, it is possible whoever is holding them already knows we’re here and have hidden the women we seek.”
“Then we search faster and finish them all tonight.” Axis didn’t stop moving towards the next house. “They may know we’re coming, but we won’t let them hide.”
They had to find these women. Axis had to find her.
Chapter Nine
It felt like hours had passed since escaping Halla and Kalla’s old room, yet Nova was still trapped in this fucking house. Between hiding in random rooms when she heard someone coming down the hall and wandering around like an idiot, she was beginning to worry she’d never escape the labyrinth the old building had become. From what she could tell, the sprawling hovel had obviously been added onto again and again.
“Don’t be suspicious,” Nova whispered to herself as she tried to walk nonchalantly down the hallway as if she had every right to be there. The outfit she was wearing looked passable from a distance—hopefully—but if she came right up to someone, the jig would be up for sure.
The twisting hallways changed color depending on which direction she walked and only managed to make her already fuzzy head even more confused.
You want to live, Nova.
She increased the speed of her steps, rounding a corner only to come skidding to a stop when she realized who was around the bend. Talis stood only a few feet ahead, facing the other way as he spoke to someone out of her view.
Backing quickly around a corner, Nova plastered herself to the wall. Holding her aching wrist to her chest, she tried to slow her pounding heart so she wouldn’t stroke out right then and there.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
She needed a place to hide and she needed one now. Looking up and down the hall, Nova ran through her options. There were a few doors nearby she could try, but if they were occupied, she’d be screwed. If she stayed, she’d be even more than screwed once he came around the corner. After the beating she’d already taken, leaving her wrist quite likely broken, Nova knew she couldn’t fight and expect to live, which meant she had to flee. The odds were better.
Decision made, she tried the nearest door, hoping for the best. Nova gave a silent cheer when the knob turned easily in her hand and scuttled inside before she could change her mind. “Thank you, Jesus,” she whispered the moment she realized the room was indeed empty. She hadn’t been a religious person in the past, but she promised to start going to church if the big guy upstairs did her a solid and got her out of this mess.
Cupping her ear against the door, she listened to see if there was any indication of where Talis was in the hallway. She didn’t have the balls to open the door and peek, but she needed to know where the hell that devil was.
Had he come around the corner? Had he gone the other direction? Was he looking for her? Did he know she was trying to escape?
The sound of footsteps had her slowly backing away from