Page 12 of Room Ten: Praise Times Three

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CAIDEN

We’re parked half a mile down the road from the property. The sun just dipped below the horizon, and an hour ago, we parked our drone on the top of the mobile home. There’s one mid-eighties beater parked outside the front door, but otherwise, the property is quiet. There’s been no activity coming in or out of the house and besides a very loud TV playing inside with the occasional sound of a carbonated drink popping open, there’s nothing.

I meannothingnothing—eerily so—and it makes me nervous about what we’re going to find when we get inside.

Under normal circumstances, we would have informed the local authorities and coordinated a search and rescue effort, complete with a warrant, but people don’t hire us to do things normal. We will get in and out of there with little to no bloodshed, if possible. But if blood needs to be spilled, Victor will deal with it later, as he always has.

“Are you ready to go?” I glance at Soren, who is strapping his vest in place.

He nods, pulling out his Glock. I put the Suburban into gear and creep down the road, approaching the property with our lights off. We haven’t seen another vehicle out here since we parked, so this is a very desolate area, or the people who live out here use different exits. I park the truck on the road in front of the driveway, and we exit the vehicle with absolute stealth. Reese and I will take the front while Soren covers the back.

I test the door handle, finding it unlocked, and after making eye contact with Reese, we push through the front door to surprise some kid who is high as a kite, judging by the amount of smoke floating below the ceiling. A bag of chips and a can of cheap beer fly as he jumps to his feet and attempts to run. Reese has him on the ground within two seconds, has him secured within ten, and is marching him out of the house as I continue down the hallway, clearing the kitchen and opening the back door for Soren before turning and clearing a bedroom full of computer equipment and another bedroom with a made bed. This is not a home. This is a safe house, or torture shack, as the case may be. The bedroom at the end of the hallway is the one that concerns me. There are a series of locks on the outside, deadbolts easily turned from my side of the door, but also a series of padlocks.

I murmur to Soren. “Grab the bolt cutters and a blanket.”

He holsters his weapon and nods, jogging out of the house.

Gently, because I have no idea what’s waiting for us on the other side, I rap my knuckles against the door. “Leti? Leti Krushner?”

Nothing and nobody responds.

Soren comes running in behind me and Reese with a pair of bolt cutters in hand. I make quick work of the locks, and then I’m opening the door slowly, my eyes scanning the dimly lit room. There’s a dirty mattress and a tattered BarcaLounger in the corner and a bathroom to the left with a tub and no shower curtain. Since the door swings out, we don’t have to check behind it as we enter the room. Soren drops to his hands and knees, looking underneath the bed. He looks up and shakes his head. There’s only one other place somebody could hide in this room, and that’s behind the chair wedged into the corner.

If she is not there, then she’s not here, and we are starting all over again.

I stand on one side of the chair and look over the top at a huddled mass of naked flesh. “Leti?”

She responds with a whimper, the first sound I’ve heard since we entered the room.

“Leti Krushner? I know you’re afraid, but we’re here to help you. We’re going to move the chair now.”

She responds by curling into herself even tighter, her hair covering her shoulders and her face. Her long legs are tucked so far underneath her chin, I can’t imagine it’s not painful.

Reese pulls the chair away, exposing her to our eyes. She’s naked from the waist down, dirty, but not bloody from what I can see. I crouch down to her level, but keep my hands to myself.

Soren hands me the blanket. “Leti, can you look at me?”

She shakes her head as a response.

“Leti, I have a blanket for you. Can you stand up so I can wrap it around you?”

She peeks up at me through her hair, a pair of jade green eyes like her sister’s shining despite the dankness. Beautiful, except for one bloodshot eye that only slightly mars the perfection.

Her voice is strained as she asks, “Where is he?”

“Who?”

Shaking her head, she curls back into herself, resting her forehead against the top of her knees.

Reese uses his most gentle voice. “There’s no one here besides us, Leti. We’re here to take you home.”

She turns her head and peers up at him and then back at me, eyeballing the blanket in my hands. Like a scared little squirrel reaching for a hand-fed nut, she reaches out and wraps her fingers around the edge of the blanket, pulling it into her. “I’m naked.”

“We have clothes in the car, but we need to get you out of here first.”

“Don’t let him get me.” Her voice cracks, and it fucking breaks my heart. I don’t know what this motherfucker did to her, but if I get an opportunity to put a bullet between his eyes, I’m fucking taking it.

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