Hot Revenge Box Set 2

James

Michael looks me up and down. “You fit to walk?”

“I’ll manage.”

He gives a short jerk of his head and turns to Charlotte, arms outstretched. “You walk. I’ll carry Cara for you.”

She retreats, clutching Cara to herself, shrieking. “No!”

Michael steps back, holding up his palms. “Whoa… Calm down. It’s me. What do you think I’m going to do?”

She bursts into tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

He takes a step closer, moving carefully. “Charlotte, we have to leave. I’m not sure you can carry Cara and walk too.”

“No.” She swings her head in denial, tries to step out, then totters, Cara still tight to her chest.

Michael exchanges a look with me, shaking his head, then he moves in… “Hold on to Cara.” …. sweeping her up. His voice changes to a kind of fake yokel accent. “Come, Mr Frodo!” he says. “I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

She gives him a watery smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that. You’ll be fine when we’ve got you home and rested up for a few days.”

Klempner shoves a knife into his belt. Another into the top of his boot. A handgun into a pocket. Then, picking up his SMG, “We need to get moving. I'll go to the front. Michael, you with Jenny in between. James, cover our backs.”

*****

Michael

My arms full of Charlotte, we clear the first flight of stairs to the corridor of ‘cells’. “Klempner, we should release the other women.”

then looking along the passage and its

gives me a startled look. “Michael, we don't have time for that. Once we're out, you can sing to the world about what's in here, but

time Finchby and Baxter could have murdered all the witnesses. Gotten

cells represents his working stock. His property. He’ll not be eager to get rid of them. What’s your

lot of screaming, panicking women, running around the place, creating chaos, trying to escape, is likely to

the man with the highest bid. Get

But I do have my axe. James, can

him, clinging to his Cara with one hand, waving a

and strike at the first padlock. The angle’s a little wrong. The blade bites

this time

and after a brief struggle with the bolt, I open the

cringes back, babbling something at me. Dark-haired and eyed,

gesture her, “Quick,

backs away, then sees James with Charlotte and Cara. Wide-eyed, tearful, she jabbers

door. “Você quer partir? Venha conosco.” He throws a glance

scrabbling up, dashes out,

quer ajudar?” He jabs

me on to the next. Half a minute later, she exits, now with another two women, one looking

me on the shoulder. “Keep at

white-skinned, coffee-skinned. Asian, Caucasian, Afro. Few seem to share a language, but all come bursting from their grim prisons, flooding down the cells. A couple of boys emerge from one cell, ten, maybe eleven years old. Another, with eyes like blue ice and

keys, thrusting them into the hands of the first woman we released. “Abre

his sleeve. “Onde

parte. Eles não podem

“What are you saying?”

telling them to scatter. Finchby can’t catch all of them and Baxter probably won’t

final door opens,

Gunshots…

I duck, and screaming and shouting, chaotically, the women scatter. Splitting and flowing one way and the other; maybe thirty of them,

“Suba

as he arrived at the cell and he’d taken a beating. He may not want to admit it, but he’s struggling with Charlotte’s

to me. Klempner needs you with a gun in your hand. Charlotte, give James yours. Arm

me a dry