Page 106 of The Garden Girls

A woman raised her head at his presence, and then, one by one, all gazes were on him. Hollow eyes with a sliver of hope glimmering.

None of those eyes belonged to Ahnah, Bexley or Josiah.

Three cages were empty.

Where were they?

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kipos Island

Friday, September 7

3:12 p.m.

How was he going to unlock the cages? He could shoot off the lock, but that might bring Dalen. The entire house shook, creaked and groaned. Fear crept into his muscles, pulsing and gyrating, but he focused, forcing himself to remain calm. “Does he have a key? Does anyone know where it is?”

A blonde woman with almost her entire body covered in flowers sniffed. “It’s in the drawer over there. By his recliner. With the remote.”

What exactly did that remote do? He rushed to the table and pulled open the slender drawer. Inside was a remote control and a single key on a piece of twine. He grabbed it and headed back to her.

“What’s your name?”

He’d burned the photos of the missing women into his memory. She had purple irises tattooed across her body. “Are you Iris Benington?”

She nodded.

“It’s okay now. I’m Tiberius,” he said soothingly. “He isn’t going to hurt you anymore. We’re going to help you.”

“Thank you. I—I don’t know how long I’ve been here.”

“Over ten months, ma’am. I’m so sorry.”

“Ten months...my mom. She had cancer when I was taken. Stage four breast cancer.” Tears bloomed in her eyes. “Do you know... Is she...?”

A lump formed in Ty’s throat as he recalled Violet’s visit to the family. “Let’s focus on getting out of here, okay?” His heart smashed into bits; Iris’s mother passed away four months ago.

The lock clicked, and he opened the cage.

She reached her arm through, out into the open. To freedom. But then withdrew.

“It’s okay, Iris. You don’t have to stay in this prison anymore.”

As Iris stepped from the cage, others perked up and began asking questions.

“Have you heard from my mom and dad?”

“How are we going to get out of here?”

“Help me!”

Tiberius moved to the next cage, the woman covering her breasts with one arm, the other hanging limp at an odd angle. When she made eye contact, he immediately recognized her.

Catherine Overly.

“Hi, Catherine. Let’s get you home.”

Sobs erupted. “I’m so sorry. I should have never—”

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