Enticed:A Dangerous Connection (Secrets) (17 page)

I’m touched that she actually seems sorry. But at the same time, her jabs about my upcoming date are unnerving. “Hey, I can’t deny that I’m in a low place right now. Seriously, since being kidnapped and brought here, I’ve never cried and prayed so much in my life. But at the same time, I refuse to quit believing that God’s going to help me.”

“Yeah … well, that’s cool … for you I mean. Whatever it takes to get you through the day.”

“Prayer does get me through the day. But as much as I’ve been praying for myself to get out of here, I’ve also been praying for everyone else in this house. Including you.” I sigh. “I even pray for Jimmy, although it’ll be harder now that he’s turned into such a bully.”

Tatiana doesn’t respond.

“And just so you know, when I
do
make it out of here, I plan to go to the FBI or some form of trusty law enforcement. And I will tell them everything I know about everyone and everything that’s going on here. Including the twenty-three women and children being held down in the basement right now.”

“You mean
if
you escape. But just so you know,
if
you do get out of here somehow, which I doubt, this place will be cleared out within the hour,” Tatiana says glumly.

“How is that even possible?”

“Tom’s connections. Believe me, Serena, I know what I’m talking about. That’s just one more motivation for us to keep you safely here. We don’t want to leave. We like this house. It’s a lot better than the other places.”

“But what about the people downstairs? They probably don’t like it. And what about Jimmy being so upset that Tom sent them here? Doesn’t that change things?”

Tatiana frowns. “Maybe … maybe not … it’s hard to say what’s around the next corner. And people come and go. No matter where you are, nothing stays the same for long.”

“How can you stand to live like this?” I say urgently. “Never knowing if you’re going to be thrown into the back of a truck and sent off somewhere else? And what if you got shipped off to a foreign country? It’s like you have absolutely no control over anything.”

She makes a slight shrug.

“Are you saying you’re okay with all that?”

“Of course not. But what choice do I have?”

“You could help me get out of here!”

She laughs, and although it sounds hollow, there’s no meanness in it this time. “Look around you, Serena. How are you going to break out?”

“I don’t know. But somehow I will.” Now I lock gazes with her. “And when I do get out of here, do you even want me to send back help for you?”

She sadly shakes her head. “Don’t waste your time. I’m sure we’ll all be long gone by the time your so-called help arrives.”

I bite my lip and try to figure out an answer to this. I know what she’s saying and I hate to admit that it makes sense … but it does. “Well, as hopeless as everything seems, I’m still praying,” I say finally. “God is bigger and stronger than all of this. I believe he wants to help the helpless.”

I pick up a book that Ruby loaned me, sitting in a stack with the other two. “I know Ruby’s real name. And where she used to live, too. I plan to let the authorities know. So they can help her.”

Tatiana looks doubtful. “How would you know her name or where she’s from?”

I point to the book. “It’s in there. She’s Ruth McKay from Nampa, Idaho.”

Tatiana shrugs. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Maybe, but it might be useful in finding Ruby’s mom. And I’m sure she must care about her daughter. My information will give her a better idea of how to search for Ruby. Anyway, it can’t hurt.”

“Ruby does need to get out of here,” Tatiana says unexpectedly.

I nod eagerly. “Yeah. We all do.”

“But especially Ruby.” Tatiana looks concerned. “I know this is going to kill her. She’s not strong enough.”

I feel a lump in my throat now. Who is strong enough?

“And thanks for not telling Jimmy that Ruby’s the one who let you out this morning. She woke me up … said she heard you yelling and I just ignored her. I’m sure that’s why she came down here and let you out. But Jimmy would’ve beaten her if he’d known. She already had a pretty rough night last night.”

“I noticed.” It’s incredibly reassuring to see how much Tatiana cares about Ruby. “Can’t you see why I want to help her?”

She nods.

“Why I want to help all of you.” I pause. “Maybe if you told me your real name, I could help you, too.”

Tatiana just shrugs. “It’s not like it’s going to make any difference one way or the other. I don’t care if you know my real name.”

“Great.”

“Tamara Bishop. I’m from the Seattle area.”

“So how’d you get to this place?” I try to make this sound like a casual question. Like two friends just having a conversation.

“Same old story as a lot of girls my age.”

“How old are you anyway?”

“Seventeen.”

“So by same old story, you mean that you ran away from home and Jimmy found you and took you in?”

“No. Not
that
same story. Not exactly anyway. It started happening last year. Although, come to think of it, my parents and I hadn’t gotten along for years. My older brother and sister were out of the house. And suddenly it was like my parents were so obsessed with their own lives that they kinda forgot about me. And I’ll admit that I probably did the wrong things to get their attention. When I got in trouble, they would get really mad and ground me for like forever. And they’d take away my phone. And sure, I might’ve deserved it a couple of times, but most of the time it seemed unfair. Like it was just more convenient for them to lock me up than to have a real conversation.” She kind of laughs. “Ironic, huh? I leave my parents to get some freedom and wind up here.”

I just nod.

“Last winter, right after I turned seventeen, I felt pretty grown up, like I didn’t need my parents anymore. In December, I stayed out too late and got grounded and lost my phone again. But I was still allowed online. It was winter break and I was surfing the net and messing with my Facebook, posting some pretty cool pics, and waiting for someone to respond.”

“Yeah … I know how that goes.” Man, do I.

“So, right before Christmas, I met this really gorgeous guy on Facebook. Jesse was so cool. And it seemed like we really connected. He said all the right things, flattered my ego, told me I was pretty and smart and interesting. And I stupidly ate it up. As our relationship progressed, he sent me photos of himself — and man, was he hot. I sent him similar photos of me.” She rolls her eyes upward. “Photos that never should’ve seen the light of day. Jesse told me I was hot and that he wanted to be with me. I honestly thought we were in love.”

“What happened?”

“We kept chatting and sending photos for a few weeks. Jesse told me that he was twenty and in his second year in a private college near Portland. But he said he was tired of school and planned to take a break during winter term. He said he wanted to be in the sunshine. And that he wanted us to be together. He told me his family was rich and he could take care of me. He sent me these fabulous photos of his parents’ vacation home on the big island in Hawaii, and he invited me to go with him to stay there. He said we could hide out until I turned eighteen.”

“And?”

“I knew it was wrong. But I was still mad at my parents. And everything sounded so perfect. So I told him yes, and he sent me an e-ticket to Portland. He said we’d meet up there, and then we’d fly on to Hawaii together. It was going to be so amazing.” She sighs almost as if she still believes it could be true.

“What happened?”

“I spent a few days acting like the perfect girl, you know, to get my parents to trust me more. Mom even let me have my phone back. I pretended to be going to school just like any other day, but instead I went to the airport and boarded the flight to Portland. When my flight arrived, Jesse texted me to meet him down in baggage claim. He said our flight wasn’t leaving for a few hours and he wanted to take me to lunch in Portland.” Her mouth twists to one side. “I was so naive and gullible back then.”

Somehow, maybe it’s the snake tattoo or her severe black hair, but it’s hard to believe Tatiana was ever that naive. Just the same, I nod.

She’s standing again, walking as she tells her story and, judging by her expression, it’s like she’s back there, experiencing it all over again. “So I’m all happy and excited to meet my dream guy. I stop by the bathroom to make sure my hair and makeup are perfect.” She touches her hair. “My hair was long and brown then. A lot like yours. So, feeling good, I go down to baggage claim and outside to where Jesse planned to pick me up on the street. And I spot the car he’d described perfectly to me. I see what I’m sure is him, waving over the top of the car, and I hear him call out my name as the car slowly approaches.”

She pauses, touching her swollen lower lip, but her eyes are far away. “I can’t see inside the car’s tinted windows, but I’m not concerned. I figure this is a good way to keep from being spotted, and by now I’m getting worried my parents might’ve figured out that I’m missing. So I hurry over to the car and the next thing I know, the back door opens and as I lean in, I’m snatched right off the street and pulled into the car. So fast that I don’t even have time to scream.”

She shakes her head. “Although, to be honest, I don’t think I would’ve screamed anyway. At that point I just thought it was some kind of stupid joke Jesse was pulling. But I barely had time to look around the car before I was blindfolded and handcuffed and gagged. But I never saw Jesse in that car. Just a couple of middle-aged men. Jesse wasn’t there.” Her eyes look close to tears as she turns away, going over to the window again, her hands clutching the sill.

“Do you think Jesse was even real?” I ask quietly.

She laughs, but it’s full of hardness.

“No.” I answer my own question. “Of course he wasn’t real.”

The room grows quiet and I’m imagining Tatiana, or Tamara, being blindsided and abducted in a way that sounds very similar to how I was kidnapped in LA, and I feel even more empathy toward her. “And that was how long ago?”

“Six … seven months. I quit counting after a while.”

“Did you ever try to get away?”

“Oh, sure. When I wasn’t drugged.” And now she pulls up her T-shirt and shows me some scars, explaining how she got each one of them. “Besides that, they threatened to post all my
overexposed
photos on the Internet and send them to my parents.” She shrugs. “For some reason that was even more disturbing than being beaten.”

“Really? I don’t think photos on the Internet would stop me from trying to escape.”

“That’s because you don’t know how these guys work.” She narrows her eyes as she looks down at the rug. “Don’t kid yourself, Serena. There’s nothing you can do to stop this machine. Once you’re in, you’re in for good.”

“Not if God rescues me.”

Tatiana looks tired. “You know, for your sake, I wish that was true.” She nods to the mattress. “Mind if I take a little nap? That stun gun kinda took the stuffing out of me.”

She flops down on the mattress and closes her eyes. Her nose is about twice as big as normal and the red blotch on her neck looks painful, but she seems oblivious to these wounds as she slips off to sleep.

As much as I appreciate that she trusts me enough to tell me her sad story, it doesn’t make me feel one bit better about this situation. Hearing her perspective makes everything look even more hopeless and frightening than before. Not only that, but I’m painfully aware that I don’t have much time left. If I don’t escape this place, I will come face-to-face with Mr. T tomorrow night.
God help me!

… [CHAPTER 17]………………

L
ater in the afternoon, Ruby comes to our room. “I can’t let you guys out,” she says quietly as she shoves a fast-food bag and a couple of water bottles toward me. “Jimmy’s watching me like a hawk.” She cringes to see Tatiana’s swollen lip. “You okay?”

“Just great,” Tatiana answers with her usual sarcasm.

“Thanks for not ratting me out,” Ruby tells me as she backs away.

“No problem.” I thank her for the provisions.

“And I’ll tell Jimmy your face is too messed up to go out with us tonight,” Ruby assures Tatiana.

“Thanks for small favors,” Tatiana mumbles.

As we eat our cold burgers and fries, I ask Tatiana if she thinks there’s any way to break out of here. “Like maybe we could kick through the walls.”

She points to our bare feet. “Seriously? You think we could kick through walls?”

I shrug. “How about breaking a window and calling for help? Wouldn’t the neighbors do something?”

“You really don’t get it, do you?”

I study her closely, trying to determine if she truly believes it’s impossible to break out or if she has simply given up. “It’s just a house. Not a prison.”

“Then why are you still here?”

I go over to the window, and as I munch on a fry, I study the double panes and then look out into the backyard like I’ve done so many times before. Usually I’m daydreaming about going home, seeing Mom and Michelle and going to youth group and even babysitting the twins. It all sounds so good now. If only I could get out of here.

“I really think I could break the glass out with my fist,” I say absently. “Or maybe with my head. Maybe if I got a running start, bounced from the mattress and — ”

Tatiana drowns me out with her laughter, and this time it almost sounds genuine. “Now that’d be using your head.”

I turn to look at her. “I don’t want to go tomorrow.”

“I know you don’t,” she answers solemnly.

“So I’m warning you,” I say as I sit back down. “If I see a chance to run for it, I’m taking it.”

“Good luck.”

I stare at her. “Really, do you mean that? Or is it just more of your sarcasm?”

She shrugs. “I guess I mean it. You deserve to get out of here.”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t know what I deserve.”

“You don’t deserve to be a slave. No one does. And no one should be held against her will. Slavery was abolished a long time ago.”

“So they say.” She eats the last of her burger and crumbles the paper into a wad that she shoots into the bag. Then to distract ourselves we start playing a makeshift game of basketball, taking turns shooting wadded-up paper balls from different parts of the room into the bag. But eventually we tire of the silly game, and then I offer to read to her from one of the books Ruby loaned me. To my surprise, she seems eager to listen and I make it through quite a few chapters before I realize she’s fallen asleep … with a small smile on her lips. Go figure.