Locked Together (In Chains) (12 page)

My eyes bulge when I see that Simon has fixed me yogurt, cereal, toast and pancakes. I’m used to eating a lot less and I’m sure my stomach has shrunk, but I’m going to do my best to devour this feast. Simon stares at me as I eat; he looks like he wants to say something. Finally, he speaks. “Savannah, I’m sorry. I’m partly responsible for you being in this situation.” He reaches across the table for my hand. “If there is anything I can do to get you out of that place, I’ll do it.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ll try to accept…,” he pauses, “Kristen, as your boyfriend.”

I lay down my fork and frown at him. “It’s Kayden, his name is Kayden.”

“I’ll try to accept Kayden, I can’t promise but I’ll try.”

When we arrive back at the Pound, Jack takes me straight to the laundry. Kayden and Reece aren’t here yet; we’ve arrived before the morning alarm. Jack heads to the canteen to get some coffee. A few minutes later Kayden and Reece walk in.

I throw my arms around Kayden, his arms scoot around me and he crushes me to him, his breath is heavy in my ear and I feel his chest rise and fall. He releases me abruptly and steps away. “I gotta do some stuff,” he mumbles. Reece is staring at us, Kayden nudges his arm. Reece stands with his ear to the door and Kayden begins tearing one of the sheets into strips. I frown; he’s going to get into trouble for that.

“I can hear footsteps,” Reece says. I watch as Kayden lifts some sheets out of the basket and throws the strips in, he puts the sheets back on top of the strips as the door opens.

Jack hands me a plastic cup full of coffee. He points to Kayden, “You’re on washing.” He tells Reece to do the pressing and my job is putting the pressed sheets into the basket. There’s a strange atmosphere, Kayden and Reece aren’t talking to me, or each other and we’re working like a production line.

I’m thankful when Jack offers to take me into the yard for a cigarette. As I blow the smoke through my lips I try to figure out what has upset Kayden. He seems to be doing his best to avoid me; he won’t even look in my direction. Maybe he’s mad that I wasn’t here, maybe the guard didn’t pass on the message. I’m actually pleased we’re here in the Pound because at least he can’t leave me; I know where he’s going to be. I roll my eyes and smile to myself, that’s crazy. I’ll talk to him when we’re alone tonight and straighten things out. As we head back inside Jack hands me a couple of energy bars he got from the canteen earlier. I slip one into my pocket, intending to give it to Kayden later.

The remainder of the afternoon drags, with Kayden and Reece working like silent drones. Jack’s shift is over, he waves and smiles at me as he leaves. The female guard, Bailey, takes over from him. She stands with her back to the door, her arms folded. Her gaze flicks from Kayden, to me and back to Kayden.

“What was your job?” she barks at me.

“Putting the pressed sheets into the basket ma’am,” I answer. Reece and Kayden are still not saying a word, but the atmosphere in the room is crackling. Something is definitely wrong.

Bailey peers into the basket. “Take one of the sheets out,” she says. “I want to check your work.” I pick up one of the sheets and hand it to her; she unfolds it and shakes it loose. I glance across at Kayden, his hands are fisted and he’s glaring at her. Her gaze flicks to mine. “It’s not good enough, there’s a crease here.” She points to a spot on the sheet, I look at it and frown, I can’t see any crease. She throws the sheet back into the basket. “Shoddy work,” she says, “you need to learn this is not acceptable. Come with me.”

She grips my arm, her fingers are digging into my skin and it hurts, she pulls me towards the door. I dig in my heels, my heart is beating faster and I want to run. What is she going to do to me? She releases my arm and raises her hand, I put my arms up to protect my face but she grabs a handful of my hair and brings my face to hers. “Stop resisting me,” she snarls. “You’re making things worse for yourself.” I try to pry her fist from my hair as she drags me towards the door. She presses her thumb against the pad and I hear the click as the door unlocks. As she tugs it open I see a blurred movement out of the corner of my eye and I jump, as a hand flies past my face and latches around Bailey’s throat.

“Let go of her hair,” Kayden snarls. I watch in horror as Bailey makes choking noises, her face is turning red. I can’t move because she still has hold of my hair. My eyes search for Reece, he’s over by the door, he has his foot jammed into the opening, stopping the door from closing. I swallow, my mouth is dry and my palms are sweating. What’s going on? Bailey is clawing at Kayden’s hand, she wheezes as she tries to draw in a breath. He reaches across with his free hand and I feel his fingers on my head, along with Bailey’s. I can’t see what he’s doing, but Bailey’s face contorts with pain and she loosens her grip on me, I step away, I’m shaking. Bailey’s eyes are wide with terror and the area around her lips is starting to turn blue. Kayden’s going to kill her. I open my mouth to tell him to stop but before I can speak he abruptly lets go of her. Her hands fly to her throat and she’s coughing and spluttering. I stop breathing when I see Kayden’s fist heading for her face. His fist connects with her jaw and she collapses to the floor.

“Kayden, what’s happening? What are you doing?”

He cups my face in his hands, he’s breathing heavily and his palms feel clammy. “I don’t have time to explain right now. She was going to hurt you & I couldn’t let that happen, it woulda killed me. We’re gonna escape.”

Escape!
My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it might come out through my ribs, I’m trembling. I look across at Reece, he looks pale and tense. Kayden kneels beside Bailey. He unbuttons her shirt and manoeuvres her body, removing her shirt, pants, belt and shoes. He tosses her clothing at me, it lands at my feet. “Put them on,” he says, “you’re gonna pretend to be a guard.” He slides something across the floor. I bend to pick it up, it’s Bailey’s fob.

As I tug my scrubs top over my head I hear Kayden say, “Shut your eyes, Reece, or I’ll poke them out.” One of the good things to come out of being in this place is that it’s made me less self-conscious about my body. As I pull on Bailey’s shirt, I glance at Reece, his eyes are closed. “Sling your scrubs over here,” Kayden says, “I’m gonna put them on her.” I throw him my top; Bailey starts to stir as he pulls it over her head. I quickly remove my pants and toss them over to him.

I tighten the belt around my waist; Bailey is bigger than I am. I carefully put the fob into my pants pocket, I don’t want to accidentally set it off and electrocute Kayden or Reece. Bailey is now dressed in my scrubs and Kayden has tied her wrists and ankles and gagged her with the strips of sheet he tore earlier. Kayden taps Bailey around the face; she opens her eyes and groans. He pulls her to her feet and drags her across to the door. Kayden and Reece each hold one of Bailey’s arms as they drag her through the courtyard towards the door to reception. Kayden turns to me. “We’re gonna try and walk out. If the guard at the desk stops us, you’ll have to pretend that you’re taking us somewhere.”

I swallow, I’m starting to sweat. “What will I say? Where can I pretend I’m taking you? What if they ask why she’s tied up?” I nod my head towards Bailey.

“Tell them you’ve come from medical and you gotta take us to the hospital, pretend we’ve got some illness and you don’t want us giving it to other slaves.” He glares at Bailey. “If they ask, tell them she was violent.” I swallow and nod my head. Kayden grabs Bailey’s hands and presses one of her thumbs onto the pad, the door clicks and Reece pushes it open. “Wait,” Kayden says in a low voice. “Let Savannah go first, she’s supposed to be our guard.” Reece moves out of my way, I push the door open and walk through.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Savannah

My heart is beating so hard I can hear it in my ears, my footsteps sound too loud. I move as fast as I can towards the door, I don’t look to see who is at the desk, or if the others are still behind me. The door seems too far away, I want to run, but I can’t, I try to walk faster. Just as my fingers touch the glass I hear a male voice. “Hey, where are you taking them?”

I freeze and take a deep breath. Still facing the door, I answer, trying to keep my voice level and even. “To the hospital, they’re sick, they might be contagious.”

“I need to sign them out first, come over here.”

I feel dizzy. I turn slowly, Kayden and Reece are standing in front of me, still holding Bailey, they both look pale and nervous. I hurry over to the desk. “Bring the slaves over here,” the guard says.

“Get over here,” I call out to Kayden and Reece.

The guard stares at me, I swallow and try to meet his eyes, I need to appear confident. He turns to face his computer screen. “What are their numbers?” he asks.

Shit! I don’t know their numbers; I don’t even know my own.
“I don’t know, I’ve just come from medical, they didn’t tell me.”

He stares at me. “Why is she tied up?” he asks, looking at Bailey.

“She was uncooperative and aggressive.”

He stares at me for a few seconds longer and then turns back to his computer screen. “What’s your name?”

“Bailey,” I reply.

His hands hover over the keys. “Is that your surname, or your first name?”

“My first name.”

He types it in. “What’s your surname?”

I glance at Bailey, I don’t know her surname, I’m trying to think of what name she looks like. “Jackson,” I answer.

He types in the name and then he frowns. “You’re not listed.”

My mouth is dry and there’s a whooshing sound in my ears. “I changed my name, I haven’t notified anyone yet. You’ve probably still got me listed under my old name.” I clutch at the desk to stop myself from falling over, my legs are weak and I feel faint. I peer at his screen and see the name, Bailey Ross. “Ross, my old surname is Ross,” I tell him.

He types some more and then picks up the telephone. “You came from medical, you say?”

Oh God, he’s going to call medical. I nod my head, I feel sick. I freeze as Reece leaps over the desk. The guard reaches for his fob but Reece gets to him first, there’s a scuffle and the guard hits the floor, he’s out cold. Reece jumps back over the desk, picks up Bailey and throws her over his shoulder. Kayden grabs my hand and we run for the door.

We stop outside the door, keeping to the shadows. The parking lot is lit, so we stay close to the fence and edge towards the gate, where another guard is on duty. “Go,” Kayden tells me. “You’re dressed like a guard; you can just go through the gate. We’ll catch up to you.” He shoves me forwards. “Go.” I don’t want to leave him. What if I get away and he doesn’t? He’s frowning at me. “Savannah. Go. Head for the trees, we’ll meet you there.”

I can’t stand here and argue with him, if I do we’ll all be caught, so I head towards the gate. As I get closer to the guard I keep my head down. What if he stops me? The urge to run is overpowering but I force myself to walk. I hold my breath as I pass the guard. I make it through the gate without incident. This place is surrounded by fields, it’s dark, the only illumination comes from the moon. I can see dark shapes that look like trees way off in the distance, so I head towards them. I hate the dark but I force myself to keep moving.

I’ve been walking for what feels like ten minutes with just an owl hooting for company, it’s so creepy. I continue for a couple more minutes, then I stop and turn around. I’m going back, Kayden didn’t make it out and I don’t want to be stuck out here, in the dark, alone. As I’m heading back towards the Pound I spot some shadows moving. I stand still and hold my breath as they get closer.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Kayden

I grip Savannah’s hand and take off running. From what I can remember from when they brought me here, this place is surrounded by fields, I don’t think there’s anything else for miles. We need to get as far away as we can, they’re gonna be sounding the alarm any minute. It’s dark and I can barely see but I can make out what looks like some trees in the distance, so I head for them, they’ll give us some cover. Twigs crack under my feet as I pound across the grass, dragging Savannah along behind me. I hear the siren go off. Shit. I force my legs to move faster, I can’t let them catch us, I couldn’t take it if they punished Savannah. Thoughts bounce around in my head as I run, we need to make it to the trees, force them to chase us on foot because they can’t drive a vehicle through the trees. I feel a tugging on my arm, I turn my head but keep moving forward, I hope to fuck I don’t run headlong into something.

“I can’t keep up,” Savannah pants, “my legs are a lot shorter than yours, I can’t keep up.” She lets go of my hand and bends over, resting her hands on her knees. Reece comes to a stop beside her; he’s out of breath too. I watch as he dumps Bailey onto the ground, she makes a grunting sound.

“Fuck this,” he stops speaking to take some breaths, “It’s your turn to carry her.”

“I can’t,” I tell him, “because I’m gonna be carrying Savannah.” I kneel down in front of Savannah, put my arms around her waist and hoist her over my shoulder. She squeals and grabs fistfuls of my shirt. I take one last look around, it’s too dark to see but I can’t hear anyone coming. “If you don’t wanna carry her, then leave her,” I tell Reece. “Do want you want, I don’t give a shit.” I head off into the trees, trying not to bump Savannah around too much. It’s gonna be uncomfortable for her but I need to put some distance between us and the Pound.