What had my father put inside my body?

I fought back another wave of queasiness and reached for the pitcher of water. It was nearly empty. I drained it.

“They’ll bring food soon.”

Ugh. Food. But I’d eat. I had to eat. I needed to regain my strength. If it had been close to twenty-four hours, I needed sustenance.

I backed away from Juliet. It was time to get serious. “I need you to be straight with me. Tell me exactly what has happened since you got here.”

Her eyes dimmed. “Did Shayna make it?”

Did she not know? Juliet had texted her friend, but she hadn’t had the phone long enough to know if Shayna had responded, which she hadn’t.

I tried to smile, though I wasn’t sure my facial muscles were cooperating. “Yes. She made it.”

“Thank God! I always held out hope, even though they told us she’d drowned. They didn’t know what an awesome swimmer she is.”

“She nearly did drown. Luckily some locals spotted her and pulled her onto their boat. They took her back to the resort.”

Juliet’s eyes misted. “She’s so brave. So much braver than I ever could be.”

“Listen to me.” I choked out the words, my mouth still dry and tight from dehydration and stomach acid. “You’re brave. You hear me? Look at what you’ve been through.”

She leaned back, closed her eyes, and sighed. “I’m not brave. Lisa was brave. She refused to give in.”

“Lisa’s dead,” I said, my headache returning with a vengeance. “I’m sorry to say it so harshly, but dying is not an option. You do what you need to do to survive.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“It is easy for me to say.” Juliet might not be ready to hear the truth, but she needed to if I was going to convince her she had a chance of getting out of this hellish situation. “I’ve been on my own since I was fifteen because my father tried to rape me. Luckily, I got away, but let me tell you, life isn’t easy for a fifteen-year-old on the streets.”

“I’m sorry,” Juliet said. “I had no idea. You seem so together.”

I doubted I seemed all that together at the moment. “We’ve all been through our hardships. I could tell you stories about what others have been through that would make you think you’re living in luxury right now. Don’t take that the wrong way. You don’t deserve this, and we’re going to get you out of here.” I touched her forearm. It was cold and clammy. “Don’t give up. Do what you need to do to stay alive, because as long as you’re alive, you have a chance.”

“I know that. But Lisa seemed so brave.”

“Lisa was brave. But she’s also not here anymore. The last memory she’ll ever have is of this horrible place. I promise you. Your last memory will be a lot nicer.”

Juliet didn’t know how serious I was. Since she and Lisa had been taken from the resort, I’d felt responsible. I’d tried to get them to listen to me, to see that they were being na?ve and downright stupid. They’d gone anyway. Then I’d found out my father had been involved in taking them, and I’d talked to Melanie pretty extensively about why I felt responsible for everything my father did.

“You can’t make that promise.”

“I can.” If my father had seriously told them—whoever they were—that I was off-limits, I could use that to help protect Juliet. My mind was becoming less fuzzy by the minute. Once I had some food—

The door opened, and one of the masked men—was it one of the two who’d raped Juliet? I couldn’t tell—entered with a tray.

“Eat up, ladies,” he said. Then, to Juliet, “I’ll be back in half an hour to unchain you so you can use the john.” He left the room.

I scrambled to the tray.

“A gourmet feast, huh?” Juliet said with no emotion.

“Whatever it is, you need to eat it. We both need to keep up our strength.” I lifted the foil from the tray. Two sandwiches, two bottles of water, and a baguette. I picked up one of the sandwiches to examine it. Peanut butter and jelly. Not my favorite and not overly filling. Mostly carbs, with the baguette. Good for short-term energy, but not much protein other than the peanut butter for long term.

But I found, suddenly, that I was famished. I carried the tray over to Juliet and handed her one of the sandwiches. I picked up the other and touched it to hers. “Cheers.”

“Eat slowly,” she advised. “They only feed us twice a day, and it’s never much. And that’s more than what some girls get. Lisa only got food once a day once they labeled her a troublemaker.”

I took her advice to heart and sank my teeth into the sandwich. The jelly was sweet and had no discernible flavor. The color was purplish red. Could have been anything.

I’d have to get us better food. I’d demand to see my father. Maybe that would make them sweat a little.

A plan began to take shape inside my head. When they came to unchain Juliet so she could use the toilet, I’d—

I looked swiftly around the room for hidden mics or cameras. Although the force could never afford the best, I kept myself well-versed in top surveillance technology. I might not be able to see anything with my naked eye. Still, I squinted and surveyed every inch of the walls and ceiling, paying special attention to the window frame.

Nothing, but I knew my father. He was watching and listening from somewhere. I couldn’t take the chance of telling Juliet my plan.

“It’s usually peanut butter and jelly,” Juliet went on. “On stale bread. This is fresher than normal. I wonder if it’s because you’re here.”

“Why would that matter?”

“Obviously they’re not allowed to touch you. How’d you manage that?”

I opened my mouth to tell her about my father but shut it before the words emerged. If he was listening, I didn’t want him to know she knew. “I have no idea. I’m sure my turn will come soon.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “They raped Lisa and me on the boat before we even got here. Seems you’re getting special treatment.” Despite her words, her tone was still devoid of emotion.

“If I am, I have no idea why.”

I hated lying to her, but I had to watch what I said until I knew for sure whether anyone was listening to us. I longed to ask Juliet if they were, but she might not know, and if they were, I didn’t want to alert them that I was suspicious.

“How many girls were on the boat with you?” I asked.

She swallowed the bite of bread she’d been chewing. “Quite a few. I don’t know the exact number. But that wasn’t the worst part.”

“What was the worst part?” I asked, wishing I didn’t already know what she was going to say.

“There were kids. Little boys and little girls. We could hear their screams…” She put down her sandwich. “I can’t eat this right now.”

“I know this is hard for you to talk about. Believe me, I get that.” And she’d just confirmed what I already knew. The human trafficking my father was involved in wasn’t limited to adults.

“I can’t, Ruby. I can’t talk about it.”

“If you want to get out of here, you have to. I need to know everything you know.”

She sighed. “I’ll try.”

“Good girl. Go as slowly as you need to. What happened to the guys on the Jet Skis?”

“They drove us up to the boat, and several men came out and grabbed us off the Jet Skis.”

“All right. What did the men look like?”

“Most of them were black with Caribbean accents. I think two were white, or maybe light Hispanic. It’s hard to remember.”

“They didn’t wear masks?”

“No. But once we got to the compound—that’s what they called it—everyone did. Black masks, like the guys who were here earlier.”

“Do you remember anything else about the men on the boat?”

“Only their skin colors. I just… I didn’t think to remember. Lisa and I were both so scared. I do remember one thing. When we got to the boat, one of the men asked why there were only two. I guess they were expecting Shayna.”

“Which means the men on the Jet Skis had contacted them ahead of time.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“Any names?”

“Only the men on the Jet Skis. Mark, Rashaun, and J.J. I never heard any other names once we got on the boat.”

“So then what happened?”

“The guys on the Jet Skis left. Lisa and I were screaming at them to come back, but they jetted off like we were nothing.”

“Did you see any money exchange hands? When they brought you to the guys on the boat?”

She shook her head. “But I wasn’t looking either. I was so surprised that this had happened, and I felt like such an idiot for going with them. And I was scared, Ruby. So scared.”

Her eyes glazed over. Maybe this was enough interrogation for now. The man would be back to unchain her soon. I had plans to figure out. I handed her sandwich back to her. “Please. I know it’s difficult, but you need to eat. You need your strength. I need you to be strong, okay? I need you to help me get us out of here.”

She nodded slightly and took a bite of the sandwich, chewing slowly.

The man who entered after a few minutes, though, was not the one who’d brought the food. He was masked, but I recognized his odd blue eyes.

I stood. “Hello, Theo.”

Chapter Seven

Ryan