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and notice a shackle on one foot chained to the wall. My vision is still blurry, my mind foggy, and my
brain struggles to process what happened and how I got here. I hear sniffles beside me and I spot Jinx
as she holds her face and cries. I can t reach her, and when I try to say her name, no words come out.
I peer around the dark, damp room and decide we are in a basement of some sort.
My butt cheeks are chilled, and I already know I m in my t-shirt and bra, but my jeans, socks, and
shoes have been removed, and Jinx s, too.
I have to gain control over this. I cannot freak out.
You ve been in this situation before, Piper. Keep calm.
Jinx, I whisper in as low a voice as I can. You have to stop cryin . Look at me.
More sniffles. I remind myself to stay calm because if we both are a sniffling mess, it won t do us any
good.
Jinxie. Look at me, girl.
All I can see is her silhouette from a little bit of light that streams down through the cracks in the
ceiling above us.
The more noise you make, the more they ll come and check on us. And when I say check on us, it
isn t in a friendly way, okay?
She says nothing and I suspect she won t for a long time to come. If I had time to analyze myself over
my calmness, I would, but I don t have time to freak out. If we are able to figure out how to get out of
the situation we are in, at least one of us must stay sane.
I m not going to lie to you and say things are gonna be okay. Because I don t know if they will be,
but I can do my best at gettin us through this the best I can, I choke out. I ve been through something
similar before. First rule, we can talk, but it has to be quiet. Please don t be loud. If you have to cry,
muffle it with your arm.
Jinx shakes her head back and forth in disbelief as the tears still garble from her throat. I hear voices
above us. My head tilts on its own accord, and I strain to listen. Spanish. They are speaking Spanish.
So the men who kidnapped us are Hispanic like they looked. I should have learned Spanish, but the
people who trafficked me were Russians.
Jinx, I whisper yell, and my hand flies to my mouth to quiet myself. When I have my heartbeat back
to normal and I am sure I can quiet myself down, I remove my shaky hand. This situation will not be
any better if you draw their attention to us more than it has to be.
As quiet as I can manage, I stretch as far as the chain on my ankle will allow and wave my hand for
Jinx to follow my movement. We meet in the middle of the wet, damp concrete floor with the leaky
pipe above us, which continues to drip water.
Jinx& , I say quietly as I grab one of her hands in mine and squeeze. If they feed us, don t scarf it
down, okay? They will starve us. We need to prep our bodies the best we can. Follow my lead with
the food, if we get any, okay?
She says not one word, but the white peaks of her eyes show me she heard me. If they rape us
Jinx cuts me off with a gasp, and I use my free hand to cover her mouth. Shh&
When her sobs quiet, I remove my hand.
They most likely will, and I need you to remember the best memory you ve ever had and put it on
repeat in your mind, okay? It s important. You can cry about it later, but the more you struggle and the
more noise you make& the worse it makes it on you, okay?
My stomach twists into knots as I recall the past I have done so well at forgetting. I know deep down
in my heart that I have people looking for me this time around. Sniper won t stop until he finds me, no
matter if we left things with unresolved issues. He won t stop. I have to believe with everything in me
that he won t stop until he finds me.
They ll come for us. You have to believe that. Sniper won t stop until he has me back safe, and you,
too. When they come in here, don t struggle. Go with it. It sounds idiotic, but people like the ones that
have us chained at the ankle, they feed off of the struggle.
Her blue eyes are bloodshot red, and the tears continue to stream down her face. They re gonna rape
us, she squeaks.
This poor woman should never have had to be in this situation. I shouldn t either, but you don t
always get what you want.
Quiet down, Jinx. I shush her.
She is going to bring them down here faster than I am prepared to deal with them. They want
something from the Club, so they ll keep us alive as long as they can and then kill us when they get
what they want. I pray that Sniper and the guys find us before that point comes.
My ankle hurts, she whispers as one of her hands pulls at the metal band. It s cold, and we re
going to end up sick with infection.
Infection is the least of our worries, but I do not have the heart to tell her so. Life is unfair. It is
positively unfair.
Jinx, listen to me. Infection is the last thing that should be on your mind. Within the next twenty-four
hours, we ll most likely be drugged and raped. You need to promise me you ll stay calm. I can t bear
to watch what will happen if you don t. I grab both of her arms to shake some sense of reality into
her. Take all your happy moments and use those to survive. Whatever happens to me, close your
eyes, and remember I am strong enough to get past it, and I will do the same for you. If we don t anger
them further, it ll be easier on us. Do you understand?
Her arms shake and her body starts to convulse underneath my fingertips. That right there needs to
stop, I screech way too loud and scold myself mentally afterwards. Calm is your best friend. You
need to remember that.
The situation is going to be tough enough, and her spazzing out is going to worsen our ordeal if she
can t get a grip. I understand she has no idea how to handle this situation. If this was my first time
being kidnapped, I d be freaking out as well, but it isn t. I know from experience that the key to
survival is to stay calm. Calm is and will be your savior if you want to make it out alive.
The tremble from my own fear is invisible, buried deep down underneath my exterior, waiting until
the right moment to unleash.
You re too calm. It s messing with my head. Why the hell aren t you screaming and shouting to be
released, she exclaims.
Has she not listened to a word I have said?
You re not gonna make this easier on us, I whisper as I let go of her arms. Stay in your corner and
don t say a word if they come down here. Just follow my lead. If one comes down to touch you, don t
scream. Hold your tongue, and think of a happy moment.
That is all I can say, and I am not going to repeat myself again.
Sit in the corner and pray, I order under my breath as I scoot back against the cold cement wall and
listen to the trickle of water hit the concrete floor. The chain around my ankle chafes the skin under
the metal ring.
***
Chapter Thirteen
Sniper
What do you mean, she s fucking gone! I grit through my teeth and kick the chair nearest to me
across the room. This can t be happening. I can t have this shit. I won t. I can t. Goddamn, what the
fuck were they thinking?
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! is on repeat in my head.
They fuckin shot Frank dead and kidnapped Piper and Jinx, Braxx says in a calm voice.
How the fuck can he be so chill about this? Those motherfuckers have Piper! My chest heaves in and
out, and before I can stop myself, my fist flies through the frame of the clubhouse door. Wood
splinters in the air all around me. My blood boils beneath my skin, and I let out a roar like an angry
lion. They let those motherfuckers take my best friend.
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