“How can you say that?”

“Because you’re still you. We’ll fatten you up. You’ll see. And those red patches on your skin will heal. I found some moisturizer for you to use. Once your skin is back to normal, you can shave.”

Without asking, I grabbed a comb and brush and began work on her hair.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I don’t mind.” And I didn’t. It took about fifteen minutes, but I eventually worked all the snags out of her hair. I handed her a robe. “Put this on. I’m going to take my shower now.”

“Can I stay in here with you?”

I wasn’t one to undress in front of others, but she’d already seen me naked at the resort. Even if she hadn’t, I had to give her what she needed now. I owed her that.

And again Melanie’s voice entered my mind. You don’t owe her anything. I ignored it.

The hot water was glorious on my tired and achy body, so I could only imagine how Juliet had felt. Once I was finished, we dressed in some of the pajamas we found in the dresser and left our dirty laundry for Marabel as she’d instructed.

Juliet eyed the bed. “I’m so tired. So damned tired.”

“Lie down, then. Breakfast can wait.”

“You won’t leave me?”

“No, I won’t leave you.” Though I wanted some decent food, the bed looked pretty good to me as well.

She lay down and snuggled under the down comforter. In a few minutes, she had fallen asleep.

Though sleep beckoned me as well, I wasn’t anxious for a repeat of the creepy dream I’d had about Ryan. Or rather, not about Ryan. I looked around the room a bit. I hadn’t been in any of the bedrooms in the main Steel house, but I could only assume this one was identical to one of them. It was meticulously decorated with walnut furniture and hardwood floors. A beautiful ornate rug in reds and golds covered the floor, and my bare feet sank into it as I walked.

I jerked slightly when someone knocked. It was probably Marabel, but what if it was my father? I knew I’d have to deal with him soon, but I wanted a few more moments of peace for Juliet.

I opened the door.

A woman stood there—a beautiful woman with dark-brown hair and brown eyes, a long braid hanging over one shoulder. She was older, her skin lightly marred by age, but still she was stunning. She wore a lush robe, and in her arms she cradled a baby in a pink crocheted blanket.

Chapter Nineteen

Ryan

Scotty led us to a door. He punched in a code, and the door opened. He walked in. We followed.

“That seemed to go all right,” I whispered to Talon.

“Where to from here?” Raj asked.

“I have to sneak you in the back way,” Scotty said. “I can’t get you through the front way without IDs.”

Raj fished in his pocket. “Seems I have your ID, mon.”

I stuck my hand in the pocket of the pants I was wearing. Sure enough, I came out with what looked like the ID Raj was holding.

“Guess we don’t need you at all, do we?” Raj smiled, his teeth nearly glowing.

“Uh…yeah. You need me. Like I said, there are four of us when only three left. And if you haven’t noticed. I’m in a T-shirt and boxers here.”

“That’s not a reason to keep you around, dumbass,” I said. “Seems like a reason to get rid of you.” Not that I had any intention of pulling out my gun and doing the job.

Raj lifted his eyebrows and fingered his weapon, still smiling. Scotty went pale.

“We’ll do it your way,” Raj said. “But no funny business. We’ve all got guns on you, mon.”

The man was visibly tense. He hadn’t forgotten we were armed.

We walked down a dark hallway that appeared to be deserted, though we could hear muffled cries coming from…where? I wasn’t sure.

My skin turned icy. Ruby was here. If any of those cries were coming from her… I was glad I was armed, because I’d kill any motherfucker who was making her wail like that.

We turned at the end of the hallway to another corridor. A group of women dressed in gray were sitting in the hallway, chained to each other.

I tried to breathe through my nausea, but I wasn’t successful. These were the women they’d kidnapped, the women they were going to sell into slavery.

I ripped the mask off my head and heaved. Nothing came up.

Talon didn’t seem as affected. After all, he’d been held in worse conditions than these. Though his stoicism was no doubt a cover.

I didn’t realize I’d forgotten to put the mask back on my face until a soft voice invaded the quietness of the hallway.

“Ryan?”

I jerked and followed the voice. A pair of blank eyes met mine. The voice had come from a woman. A woman who had a familiar look about her.

“Ryan?” the woman said again.

A brick hit my gut.

“Oh my God. Anna.”

Anna Shane. My ex-girlfriend, whose ranch had been acquired by the elusive Steel Family Trust. They’d sold the ranch and gone to Hawaii. I’d never heard from her again, even when I attempted to contact her through email and social media.

Now I knew why.

I knelt down next to her. “Anna, how did you get here?”

The scrawny woman next to her nudged her forearm. “Be quiet!” she whispered. “You know what happens when we disobey.”

Raj doubled back to where I was kneeling. “Steel, come on, mon. We can’t help them right now.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “Grab that bastard ahead of you and get his keys.”

“Where would we take them? We don’t know this place. We’ll help them later, when we can.”

“No way,” I said. “I know this girl, and I’m getting her out of here.”

Anna and I had been in a fairly serious relationship a couple years before. We’d ended it amiably—neither of us had heard bells—and decided to stay friends. I’d been surprised when she hadn’t responded to my attempts to contact her. She’d probably never received any of my messages.

Talon knelt beside me. “Is it really you, Anna?”

The poor girl nodded.

“Ry,” Talon said. “We’ll get her out of here. We’ll get them all out of here. But Raj is right. There’s nothing we can do right now. They’re all chained.”

“Damn it, Tal. Your wife is safe at home. Safe. At. Home. My ex-girlfriend is here, being brutalized. I have no idea where the woman I love is. Please. I have to at least help Anna.”

Understanding swept into Talon’s eyes, and he nodded. “Raj, get his keys.”

I took Anna’s hand, her fingers thin and her nails cracked and broken. “I’m so sorry you’re here. What happened about Hawaii?”

“I never went to Hawaii. It’s a long story. It’s even hard to remember it all now.”

“Jesus. How long have you been here?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I went somewhere else for a while, where… I can’t talk about it. But I know I never got to Hawaii.”

My heart ached. “What about your parents?”

“I’m sure they think I’m dead by now.”

Anguish consumed me. How had it all come to this? I hadn’t been able to keep Anna safe, and I didn’t even know it. I hadn’t kept Ruby safe. I should never have let her go back to her apartment. Should never have let her out of my sight.

I almost smiled at that last thought. The idea that I had any control of what Ruby did was laughable. Maybe a little in the bedroom, which surprised the hell out of me, but I loved it. But in any other aspect of her life? She was in complete control, and she never failed to let me know it.

Raj tossed a set of keys to Talon. “Here you go, mon. I have no idea if any of them will help these girls.” He kept his gun on Scotty, who seemed a lot less harmful in his underwear.

Talon started testing keys, first in the lock chaining Anna.

No dice. He tried the keys on a few of the other girls. Again, nothing.

My heart was breaking for these women, one of whom I’d cared for very deeply. None of them deserved this fate.

“I told you they wouldn’t work,” the boxer-clad smartass said. “This isn’t my territory.”

“We’ll take them all, then.” I looked around but then let out an anguished sigh. “They’re chained to a bolt on the wall.”

“We’ve got to move,” Raj said.

“Listen,” I said, still holding Anna’s hand. “I’ll come back for you. I swear it.”

She nodded solemnly, but her eyes told a different story. She didn’t believe me. She had given up hope.

Talon had talked about giving up hope. About how at first he’d thought about escaping but hadn’t the strength. After that, he never tried again. He only got weaker the less they fed him and the more they brutalized him. That had been for a period of two months. Anna had been missing for nearly two years, as far as I could tell. God only knew what she’d gone through.

Then I looked into my brother’s eyes, and I saw a glimpse of the tortured Talon. He knew. He was reliving it right at this moment.

“Hey.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry the keys didn’t work. I will be back for you.”

“Yes,” Talon said. “We will be back. Somehow, we’ll shut this thing down.”