Brawn - Laurann Dohner [24]
They had more of them. That realization left her cold. Concrete walls separated those cells along the walls—they were bigger than the ones in the middle of the room and much longer. The guy holding her led her to a cage, opened the door and shoved her inside. He let go to slam the door and lock her in.
Brawn was dumped inside the second cage to her right, his body made the cot creak when it took his weight and the four men fled. They not only locked the door but used chains to wrap around a few sections with chunky locks securing them.
The kidnappers removed their masks as they walked out of her sight through a twin set of double doors near the ones she’d entered. The silence in the huge room was spooky, absolute and she turned to study her prison.
A cot had been set up, a camp toilet placed in the corner and folded blankets had been left on the long bed. She stared at the metal floor under her feet, lifted her chin to look up at the bars overhead and fought tears. Think. Remain calm. Those silent orders helped as she carefully took stock of her surroundings past the bars.
It wasn’t hard to spot the cameras aimed in her direction once she scanned the ceiling. They were larger models, geared for outdoor security and a concrete wall blocked her view of whatever was behind her prison. It wasn’t that high, maybe ten feet of divider, but more than enough to keep her curious about what she couldn’t see.
Her hands gripped the thick, cool bars and she studied them. No signs of rust showed at the joints and she doubted they’d ever seen the outside to be exposed to the elements. She inched to the door, saw the gap was nearly nonexistent and it had been well built. A metal plate covered the section far enough to make it impossible for her to reach around and attempt to pick the lock. The inside part of the door lock was totally sealed, without any key access. It told her one thing for sure. They hadn’t been designed to hold animals. A shiver sliced down her spine.
Becca got as close to Brawn’s cage as she could, staring at his facedown form. His chest rose and fell, assuring her that he still lived. The drugs they’d dosed him with worried her. She couldn’t see how anyone wouldn’t overdose on all those tranquilizers.
“Brawn?” She cleared her throat. “Please wake up! Can you hear me?”
A growl from across the room jerked her head in that direction to see the pacing male had moved to the corner of his cell, gripped the bars and glared at her. He had really long black hair to his waist—a wild mass of tangled, silky strands—but she couldn’t make out the color of his eyes. Just the shape of them and those pronounced full lips and wide cheekbones assured her of his altered DNA.
“I’m Becca,” she got out, hoping he’d talk to her. “How long have you been here?”
He growled again, a scary, deep sound. He wasn’t exactly the talkative type, she decided. Not real friendly either. She wasn’t about to give up though. The more information she gained the better the chances of figuring a way out of the nightmare she was living.
“Can you talk?” She released the bars and touched her chest. “Becca.” She pointed to him. “What is your name?”
He spun away, snarled and kept pacing. She gave up instantly on trying to learn anything from him. She did study his clothes—white pants with wide, thick seams running down the sides and that’s all he wore. His chest was massive, his arms thickly muscled and his fingers were clawed at his side. Something seemed to have agitated him from the way he stalked back and forth. Her focus returned to Brawn.
“Brawn!” Her voice rose sharply. “Wake up, damn it!”
His arm twitched, gave her hope and she pressed tightly to the bars. “Brawn? Open your eyes right now! I’m worried about you. You’ve been heavily drugged and need to fight it. Can you hear