Lies Inside (17 page)

“Sam Weston,” she sighed. He was one of her father’s college roommates. “They’ll find us.”

Finn and Lucy watched the screen with fascination as they followed Sam from one square to another, making his way through the house. It was obvious that they were there with the search warrant. They were boxing up things and going through the rooms one by one. There must have been twenty agents wandering throughout the house. They made appearances in all the squares—the living room, the kitchen, the main bedroom, the girl’s room.

The girls? Where were the girls?

They didn’t see them anywhere. Lucy prayed wherever they were, they were safe.

When Lucy looked over to Finn, he had a confused expression on his face. “What is it?”

“I know we’re in the basement, but they aren’t coming down here. The door is in the entryway. Why haven’t they come down?”

Lucy ran over to the door and began pounding furiously, screaming at the top of her lungs for help. Her fingers clawed at the doorframe for any sign of weakness.

“Luce?” Finn shuddered with silent sobs. He knew her efforts were in vain. “The room is soundproof. They won’t hear you.”

“Of course.” She kicked the door hard.

She took the hand Finn had outstretched. They sat on the bed in each other’s arms, concentrating on each square on the TV.

Finn and Lucy watched as one by one, the other agents left the house, leaving only Sam and one other man standing in the living room. Suddenly the sound came on, and Finn and Lucy could hear their conversation.

“I know the guy is guilty.” Sam wiped his hand over his face.

“I know; I saw the video too. It’s not here. Everything is clean. This guy knows how to cover his tracks. Now that the kid and his girlfriend have disappeared, there’s no one to back up the allegations.”

“You don’t think the pictures and the video will be enough?” Sam asked the other man.

“I barely got the judge to sign the warrant as is. We can hold him for questioning, but this guy is smart. I don’t think he’s going to break that easily.”

Camille came into the living room as the sound shut off again. She showed Sam and the other man out, and then picked up the telephone, making a call. She talked for a little while before she pulled Viktor’s cell phone from her pocket.

The screen went black. Finn and Lucy continued to stare for a few moments, not knowing what to do. Then Camille came on the screen. Lucy sucked in a hard breath.

“You’ve been a bad boy, Finn. Going and telling all those lies. No worries, we’ll have to speed up our plan a bit. You two should be fine for a couple of days. Lucy, dear, enjoy your freedom, but I can tell you that you won’t be able to get out that door. I’ll be checking on you, so behave. You know what happens when you don’t play nice.”

Lucy caressed the spot where Viktor had shocked Finn’s side.

“Sleep tight.”

The screen went black again.

“Speed up the plan?”
They had a plan? How long had they been preparing for this, and what came next?

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here. I promise.” He kissed Lucy’s forehead as he held her in his arms again.

Finn and Lucy decided they needed to get into a routine to keep themselves from going insane. Every morning when they woke up, they exercised with sit-ups and push-ups. Lucy had to admit, she did enjoy watching Finn work up a sweat.

They watched some TV, ate a little, drank a little, but mostly just stayed wrapped in each other’s arms.

“I think we should go to Rome to get married. What do you think?” His eyes looked hopeful as his fingers brushed through her hair.

“And not give the family a wedding extravaganza?”

“I think they’ll be so happy to have us back, they won’t care.”

Lucy tried hard not to think about what everyone was going through back home. Knowing her father, he was probably working day and night, and Jack would refuse to leave his side. Rylan would be trying to keep Claire together. Then Murphy, he was more than likely hiring the best private investigators in the world to find them.

“You think we’re going to get out of here?” Lucy knew the longer they remained trapped in that room, the more doubtful she’d become.

He held her face in his hands. “I promise. I’ll get us out of here. I know right now I don’t know how, but we’ll find a way.”

Lucy knew he would try.

They surfed through the channels and stumbled upon one they hadn’t seen before. It was a split screen divided into several different squares and featured the O’Malley’s house—a live feed. They could see Rylan and Jack sitting on the chair in Finn’s room. Murphy was staring out the window in the den. Claire was working in her garden. They all looked exhausted. She could see Jack trying to get Rylan out of the chair, but she wouldn’t budge.

Lucy buried her head in Finn’s chest. She hadn’t cried that hard since they’d been taken. Seeing how much their families were suffering, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

With no words of comfort to offer, they held each other on the bed. A few moments later, Lucy slipped into unconsciousness.

She awoke to the sound of the doors unlocking. Camille entered, followed by Viktor. They carried bags along with the familiar prod as they closed the door behind them.

“It took us a little longer than we thought to get things together, but we’ll be ready after we clean you two up.” Camille stared pulling things out of the bags: fresh clothes, deodorant, baby wipes, and hair dye.

“What’s the hair dye for?” Lucy asked.

“We wouldn’t want anyone to recognize the two of you. That comes later though. First, we need to get you cleaned up. Lucy, honey. You need to strip.” Camille licked her lips as she looked Lucy over.

Lucy pulled her shirt off and slipped off her jeans leaving her in only her bra and underwear.

“All of it,” Viktor demanded.

Lucy hesitated as her skin reddened in embarrassment, but she fixed her eyes on Finn’s and reached behind her to unhook her bra. She tossed it over with her jeans before sliding her underwear down. She never let her eyes leave Finn’s as Camille began wiping her down with the baby wipes. She wiped down every inch of Lucy, taking a little more time on certain parts. Lucy’s eyes welled up with tears, feeling violated by each touch.

Camille handed Lucy some fresh clothes. Lucy quickly slipped on the jeans and black tank top before sliding the black hoodie over her shoulders.

She turned to Finn and before she could even say anything, he was removing his shirt.

“Good boy,” Camille said as she walked over to him. Viktor released Finn from his shackle with one hand, the electric prod firmly held in the other.

Finn kept his eyes fixed on Lucy as Camille preformed the same ritual on him. His face was stone, a reaction he had perfected over the years. Camille finished, and Finn slipped on a pair of boxers, followed by jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.

Camille ran her fingers through Finn’s hair. “I’ll miss this brown mess, but I’m afraid it’s necessary.”

A few hours later, Finn picked up a lock of Lucy’s hair and examined the new color—jet black.

“I think we should be able to pass them off. I don’t think anyone would recognize them.” Camille pulled out a mirror and let them see their reflections.

Lucy’s hair was straight as a board. She assumed to pass Lucy off as a relative. She looked like she could pass for Camille’s younger sister. Finn’s lovely blond highlights were barely visible through the black dye. Camille tried to cover every strand, but they were stubborn. Some of them just wouldn’t succumb.

She went over to Viktor. “I’ll get the girls in the car while you get them ready.” She kissed him on the cheek and left the room.

“The girls?” Finn asked, his face drawn up in panic.

“Yes. They’re part of this family too. And if you can prove yourselves worthy, you might have a little more freedom. You will like the new life we have planned for you, but first.”

Lucy didn’t even see the needle until Viktor had already plunged it into Finn’s arm. Within seconds, Finn collapsed back on the bed, unconscious.

Lucy ran over to his side and struggled to pull him into her arms.

“If you are a good girl and help, I promise to make it worth your while.”

Finn woke when he felt something pelting him in the face.

“Finn, stop sleepin’. I wanna watch cartoons with you.”

He opened his eyes and saw Chloe in her car seat next to him just as she threw another piece of cereal at his face. Turning his head, he saw a small TV screen coming down from the ceiling of the van they were traveling in.

He sat up in his seat, but his head felt heavy. Everything became clear when he saw Lucy smiling back at him.

He and Chloe were in the last row. Lucy and Olivia were in the middle and Viktor was driving with Camille beside him.

Lucy reached back and caressed his cheek as Chloe pelted him again.

“What was that for?” He turned to Chloe as he rubbed bits of cereal grit from his face.

“You guys were sleepin’ a long time.”

Finn turned back to Lucy as she yawned. “The girls were worried you might not wake up.”

He could see she was worried too. “I’m fine.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Mommy says you and Lucy are gonna live with us in our new house.”

Finn took her little hand and kissed it. “I guess that’s the plan.”

Viktor turned his head to the back of the van. “Shouldn’t be much longer. Are you all excited to see our new house?”

“Yeah!” Chloe cried out to Viktor. “I get my own room. I don’t have to share with Olivia anymore.”

“That’s right,” Camille answered. “It’s right next to Finn and Lucy’s.”

Finn hoped they wouldn’t be locked up in the new place like they were in the last. Maybe moving would be their best chance to escape.

“Why do they have to share, Mommy?”

“I told you, Finn and Lucy are married now. They get to share a room just like Mommy and Daddy do.”

“I get my own covers though. I won’t give that up.” Finn tweaked Chloe’s nose and gave her a wink.

Finn put his hand on the seat in front of him, and Lucy laced her fingers through his.

They had no idea where they were going, but knowing Viktor, this was only the next step.