Protector by Jenny Lynn

Author:Jenny Lynn
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

15

Ella

It’s strange, our capacity to adapt. There was a stark transformation that had taken place in me from the first moment I woke up in this hell, to now. I had somehow moved past panic and horror to something else. Not acceptance, never that. Instead, I was calm and determined. Whatever happened, whatever they did to me, they were not going to break me. I would be strong, stronger than I ever thought I could be, and I would survive this. Then, I would find a way to save the other women. Every last one of them.

Caroline was sleeping - I envied her ability to get some sort of rest in this dank cell. To sleep would mean I could escape the reality of this living nightmare for a little while, but even though I was exhausted and drifted off every now and then, I couldn’t stay asleep. Each time, I jolted awake in a panic, unable to keep my eyes closed.

I ran my fingers along the brick wall, tracing the grooves and feeling the rough gritty texture beneath my fingertips. Did they use this place before, or was this the first time? If they used this place before, how many poor souls had been trapped by these same walls? Had Dana been here? And where would we all end up?

“Ella, are you awake?”

Caroline’s voice made me turn my head against the mattress and look over at her.

“Yes, I am.”

“I wanted to tell you something, just in case you get out of this somehow and I don’t. I want you to know my last name. It’s Kingston. My name is Caroline Kingston. I don’t know, neither of us are probably getting out of this. But if you do, could you please find my family and let them know what happened to me?”

“Of course.” I swallowed past a lump in my throat. “And if you get out, my name is Ella James. Although, I guess you can’t tell my parents. They died when I was young... and I don’t have any family left.”

“What about your boyfriend? I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now.”

I bit my lip to keep back the tears. I wouldn’t cry. I needed to be strong.

“I’m going to see him again,” I said, for myself more than for her. “I’m going to find a way.”

There was the sharp sound of metal scraping as the bolt was pulled back and the door opened. Caroline and I both shot up and sat straight on our mattresses, facing the door. The short man and his bodyguard were standing there. I didn’t think it was humanly possible to hate someone as much as I hated him.

“It’s time,” he told us. “Get up and follow me.”

Caroline stood, but I remained seated on the mattress. I hated this room, this cell. But I knew that staying here had to be better than whatever came next. Short man glared at me.

“There are two ways this can go,” he said in a clipped tone. “You can walk, or you can be dragged.

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