Chapter 30

It was her third time in the cage. She wasn’t much for being kind or doing what Sultan wanted. She didn’t care if he held her life in his hands. Some amount of self-preservation kept her from telling him to kill her, but how long would that last? No doubt, he was close to giving her to the guards. Whatever they cooked up for her, at least she would be dead by the end of the week.

Her only regret was not being able to stretch fully in the cage. Sultan had stopped limiting her food because when they’d force-fed her with a tube, she’d thrown up everything and almost choked to death. He iterated more than once he didn’t want her dead, that he just wanted her to obey.

She’d made a few friends with the women in the compound, but she didn’t blame the ones who avoided her. They were doing the best they could to survive. She was the problem, and she knew it.

As she was drifting off, she heard a noise she recognized. She couldn’t be right, though. There was no way that sound was real. She had eaten food today, though it wasn’t much, just some flatbread and vegetables, so she wasn’t starving. But that sound reminded her of her time in the military. She must be hallucinating. Maybe they’d drugged the bread, and she hadn’t picked up on it.

The noise sounded again, and she moved, sitting up as much as she could in the tight cage. The metal dug into the flesh of her rump, but she ignored the pain and glanced around. She couldn’t see much, just a thin sliver of sky outside the window. It was pitch black out, so maybe it was the middle of the night.

What was going on?

Then she heard screaming and someone firing a gun. She flinched at the sound, wishing she could move behind a wall and hide. Being locked in the cage meant she had no defense other than curling into a ball as she lay helpless on the cage floor.

Was this an invasion or a rescue? Tears filled her eyes. In one way, she was glad this would be over, but she didn’t want to die yet. She wanted to be able to tell Harry she cared deeply for him. If she could make sure he would be okay, she would be happy dying.

The noise increased as gunfire was returned. After a few minutes, maybe twenty, everything went silent. She didn’t move. She hadn’t been hit, but she was waiting for the blowback of the compound being raided.

This very well could be an enemy of the Sultan who’d come to take over his property. If that were the case, she would just move to another hell of abuse. A shiver hit, and a sob escaped her lips. Fear encompassed her. She shouldn’t draw attention to herself until she knew who had invaded the compound. But how could she know being locked in this cage, away from everyone else ?

Seconds turned into minutes. Would anyone find her here?

Women screamed, and she heard someone running. This place had been a good life for some women, though they weren’t free. The ones who did as Sultan wished had been treated kindly. Few of them would probably want to be removed from this life.

Someone approached, and she moved just enough to see black boots. Still, she didn’t know who the boots belonged to. Then the person approaching spoke, sounding like an American, and she let go a sigh of relief.

“Got one over here in a cage,” the man called out.

Her shoulders shook with sobs as she broke down. She heard metal snap as the guy cut the lock that kept her from escaping, and the cage door squeaked open.

“Okay, ma’am, if you can crawl out.”

Rory didn’t care that she was naked. She wanted freedom too much to be worried about what this man thought. She moved slowly at first. Her arms and legs were too heavy, and it hurt to stand.

The man pulled something from a pouch on his pants and handed it to her. “Extra t-shirt. It’s big. Slide it on if you can.”

“T-thank you.” Her voice shook as she worked the shirt over her head. The man helped her pull the material down so it covered her ass. She was thankful that he’d helped her.

“What’s your name?” the man asked.

“Rory Holmes.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. It had been so long since she’d been allowed to speak her name instead of that number the asshole had given her.

“Rory Holmes,” the man said, obviously over his coms because cheers when up around the compound .

Her knees almost gave out as he reached out and took hold of her elbow. He was wearing goggles, and she couldn’t see his eyes, but she stared at his face, determination filling her.

“Is he dead? Did you shoot him in the head?”

The guy hesitated, then nodded. “The man who owns the place is dead.”

Again, her legs felt too wobbly to hold her up. “Thank God.”

“Let’s get you out of here. You’re going home.”

She had to force her body to cooperate because all she wanted to do was fall to the ground and cry. Home. She never thought she would leave, and now she was being rescued.

“Branch?” she asked after they’d gone a few steps.

The guy looked at her and then nodded. “Navy.”

Rory stumbled a little, and the man caught her, keeping her from going down. She was going home for real. By the time they made it to the waiting helicopters, she had fallen apart. The men, she assumed SEALs based on their appearance, loaded her onto the helicopter and strapped her in. There were other helicopters with the majority of women loaded on, but there were only ten other women from the compound with her. Most of them were crying, and some didn’t seem too happy they were leaving. Two of the women had their hands bound with zip ties. Those women must have fought off their rescuers. It was sad that so many women had grown used to living in captivity and dealing with the abuse Sultan forced them to submit to.

Relief filled her as they moved from flying over land to water. Soon, they would be in international water and then on a Navy ship. After a moment, she spied a huge aircraft carrier not too far away. Freedom brought more tears .

Death had been a certainty she’d been getting used to. From the moment she’d been taken, she’d been sure she would end up dead soon. But now they were flying her home.

When they landed, she was helped off by one of the men. The rest of the women were being led away, but the man who’d found her guided her a different way. Rory glanced around, and then her heart stopped before thundering so fast dizziness hit.

Harry closed the distance between them. Emotions took over and she broke down. Somehow, she was in a medical room, but she didn’t remember how she’d gotten there. Harry held her hand as a nurse cleaned her arm for an IV.

“Breathe, hun,” the nurse said. “We’re going to have to sedate you if you don’t calm down.”

She drew in a ragged breath and then turned to look at Harry. “Real?” she asked because she realized she could be hallucinating.

“Yes, Rory, this is very much real. They wouldn’t allow me to go with the group to rescue you because they thought I would be too emotional. I probably would have been. When I heard that they’d found you, I broke down.”

Her eyes closed and she swallowed over the lump in her throat, trying to keep from freaking out. “Lucia?”

“She knows. I sent her a message when they said they’d found you.”

“Oh God.” Sobs racked her body. They were going to sedate her. The tears wouldn’t stop. It was too much to keep calm. She’d been rescued. Harry was with her. Death wasn’t her only option.

Fear filled her at her next thought. Would Harry want her after what happened? She hadn’t agreed to Sultan’s demands, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t taken his anger and lust out on her. She’d been subjected to his advances because she had no defenses.

Could Harry get past it? Could she?

What would happen once she made it back to California? She wanted to think her life would return to normal, but she knew nothing would ever be normal again.