companionship, love, and a chance to grow. I couldn’t ask for any more than that.” She smiled at him again, feeling shy and at a loss for words to express herself adequately. How do you tell someone you’ve turned their whole world upside down but in a good way? She cuddled up beside him when he came to rest beside her, throwing her leg over his abdomen to hold him close as she listened to his strong heart beating within his chest. She fell asleep there, feeling safe, loved, and at peace. She moved later, when Julia came in and lay down on the other side of her, taking comfort from the warmth of the other woman’s body behind her and the heat from the man in front of her. Cocooned, she slept deeply, not hearing a sound
*** ***
Jeremy woke the next morning, alone, cold, and confused. Searching the house he found he was completely alone, both Gail and Julia gone. All he found was a length of rope, small enough to tie someone up but large enough to not break. They were gone, and he had no idea when they’d been taken or where they were. Jeremy caught himself before he let out a roar, going back to Gail’s room to retrieve his mobile to make the first of several calls.
Chapter Four
Gail woke up in a dark room, with no memory of how she got there or who brought her there. She could sense Julia beside her and tried to wake the other woman up. Julie came around, groggily. It seemed they’d been drugged somehow, but Gail wasn’t sure how. She had an idea about who had her but no idea of anything else.
Using her teeth she managed to get the rope off of her wrists before working it off of her ankles. Turning to the still groggy Julia, she helped her to remove her bonds as well then pulled the smaller woman close, trying to see her face in the darkness.
“I have to guess that whatever they gave us; they gave you too much and not enough to me. Come on little babe, open those eyes for me, we have to figure out how to get out of here.” Julia’s head lolled on her shoulders, but she opened her eyes, one at a time.
“Where are we?” Julia slurred.
“I have no idea but it’s dark so maybe we can escape unnoticed. Come on, follow me.” Gail pulled Julia up off of the floor and pulled the other woman to a crack of light she spied in the darkness. As she suspected it was a door. Putting her ear to the door, she could hear two men talking.
“You gave them enough to keep them out for a while then? That dark headed one is big, I hope you gave her a double dose.” Gail thought indelicate thoughts about the man, hoping he caught syphilis. “Well, head on back to the main house then, the boss wants us to go out and get two more tonight so we have to hurry. He wants to start his ‘operations’ soon.” Gail could just see the air quotes as he spoke.
Gail listened as the men left then cracked the door open wide. She quietly stepped out of the door, listening for any sounds. She heard nothing so she pulled Julia along behind her, hoping to find an exit soon. She crept through the building and found a door in the back. Opening it, she saw it was an exit leading into an alley. The other end opened onto a street. She quickly pulled Julia along with her, heading out of the alley and ducking into a shop on the corner of the street. Looking out she could see more shops with words in Spanish instead of the Portuguese she’d become accustomed to.
“Okay, how long were we out because they’ve had time to bring us to Spain, obviously. Right, come on Julia, let’s find the police and get out of here. Wherever here is.”
Searching through her pockets, wondering who dressed her, Gail didn’t find anything of use except a little bit of money. Counting it up, she found she had twenty euros, which might be enough to make a phone call. Spying a phone booth, she pulled Julia along with her and dialled, hoping Jeremy would soon pick up.
“Hello?” he answered, hope in his voice.
“Jeremy! It’s Gail. I have Julia with me, but
Carey Corp, Lorie Langdon