Page 49 of Intertwined Souls

The ground is all gravel. It looks like the entrance is farther down, and you follow the gravel road up and loop in front of the building right by the doors and then continue around the loop and exit out the other side.

“Down,” Ryker hisses, and we all squat low just as a man in all black with a large gun hanging off his shoulder walks around from the far end of the warehouse coming towards the front doors.

He stops at the doors and glances around before pulling out a phone. We are too far away to hear what he’s saying, but the call lasts less than a minute. Grayson walks back into the woods a few feet so he can pull out his phone and check in with Nerds.

One of the front doors suddenly opens and another man, dressed in the same dark clothes, steps outside and chats with the other guy.

Grayson gives Ryker a camera with a large lens and gestures towards the warehouse. Ry gets low on the ground and begins snapping a bunch of pictures of the building and the guys at the door.

The sound of tires on gravel draws our attention to the long road to our left. A black van pulls in and loops around, stopping at the doors. The two guys move, one drawing a gun and walking around the van to the driver’s side, speaking to the person driving. The other man scopes out the van, looking under it and checking the dark windows.

The driver stays in the car as the man who talked to him walks back around to the sliding door of the van.

The second man walks back to the double doors of the warehouse and knocks a few times, waiting until they swing open and a third man steps out. This one is dressed in a suit and holding a clipboard. He talks with the men and then walks to the driver’s side of the van, writing something down as he talks to the driver. He then passes the clipboard through the window, and the driver writes something and hands it back.

After a quick nod at the two men by the doors, the suited guy heads back inside, but one of the doors remains open. In the next second, the van’s sliding door is being ripped open from the inside and two new men in all black jump out of the warehouse with a girl being held up between them.

A small gasp rips from my throat before I can stop it, and Grayson, who had moved up behind me, slaps his hand over my mouth and pulls me back against his chest.

The girl is in a white slip dress that is almost completely see-through and barely covers her ass. She is tiny and has to be underweight by the looks of her. There are cuffs on her hands and some kind of steel collar around her neck. The person who opened the door from inside the van shoot his hands out and drops a bag over her head before yanking her into the van. The guys slam the door and then the van drives off.

Three men head back inside, but one stays outside, patrolling.

My stomach twists in knots, and it’s hard to breathe as I stare at the warehouse, not even fully believing what I just saw. “They just—we can’t—” I stutter when Grayson uncovers my mouth.

Ryker’s face appears in front of me, and he pins me between him and Grayson where we are all on our knees. Taking my face in his hands, he whispers, “I know it’s hard. I know it didn’t truly hit until right now, but I need you to be the strong little flame I know you are. Now isn’t the time to break, okay?”

When I nod, he pecks my nose and pulls away.

Gabe sits back and runs a hand through his short beard. “I filmed it all on my phone. You got pictures?” Ryker nods at Gabe.

“We need to loop around the warehouse and take more photos. See how many people seem to be guarding it and check for any openings we could potentially use in the future,” Grayson says.

We all get up and slowly make our way around the building, checking everything out and counting a total of four guards that are wandering around outside. We find Stone as we slowly make our way back to where we started, and his normally masked face is overtaken with disgust, fury, and sadness.

“I found three spots I could set up from with my rifle. I used the long range scope that Nerds gave me and got some photos of places I could see inside.” Clenching his jaw, he stares at the ground as he growls, “It’s worse than we could’ve ever imagined.”

The following day after we staked out the warehouse, we all met in Gabe's office and recounted what we saw. Gabriel and Nerds then came up with a game plan for everyone to rotate through on shifts keeping an eye on the place until we get some idea of any routines they have so we can come up with a way to get in there.

After seeing that poor girl being dragged outside, I have a feeling that there are many more victims in the warehouse. And who knows what’s happening to them? As much as I hate it, I understand why we have to take our time and make a solid plan so all of us and any victims that may be there make it out alive.

Gabe isn’t letting Ryker, Cade, Grayson, or I do any of the stakeout shifts this week because he wants us to worry about school, our upcoming final tests, and going to prom.

I wasn't happy about it and planned to get them to change their minds. Until Brielle and the guys came in late last night and they all convinced me that they can take care of everything for a few days while my guys and I actually get to do something normal. Feel normal.

Which is why Brielle, Carly, Presley, Raven, and I are currently on our way to meet Lex at a large outlet mall to go dress shopping for prom. We all rode in Raven’s car while Axe and Stone followed behind us on their bikes for protection.

As we park, I pull out my phone and text Lex where we are. We pile out of the car, and Stone immediately wraps Raven up in his arms, which causes Axe to roll his eyes while everyone else chuckles at him. The more time I’ve been around Raven, the more I realize that Stone seems very possessive of her, and the only time you see even a flicker of emotion on his face is when he is watching Raven.

Lex approaches us from farther down the parking lot, her steps slightly hesitant as she takes in everyone who is here with me. When she notices me watching, she straightens her back and picks up her speed walking up to me.

“Hey! Are you ready to try on dresses?” she calls out.

“I think I am. I’ve never really done anything like this before.” I chuckle nervously.

I remind myself for the tenth time to push everything else out of my mind and just try to enjoy today. It feels almost impossible when I think about what those victims and innocent people could be going through right this moment.

But we are doing what we can, and I deserve to have a life as well. Even if that is a hard concept to accept for myself.

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