This is Who I Am (Masters of the Shadowlands #7)(64)
Author: Cherise Sinclair

Blinking hard, she realized she was facedown…because she lay over someone’s shoulder. And outside.

The slaver…the slaver had her. Everything in her wanted to panic, but her body wasn’t hers. Limp and stupid.

How had he gotten outside with her? Past the guard?

As rain streamed down her face, she saw that the ground was grass, not concrete. They weren’t in the parking lot. Not in front of the building. She managed to turn her head. Tall hedges, glimpses of a fence. Fountains. They were in the Capture Gardens that Master Z kept closed off except for special times. It was an alarmed fire door. And the alarm…wouldn’t work with the power off. Oh God.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, the flashes of lightning almost constant. Small solar lights lined the paths. She groaned, tried to move. Can’t let him get away. Can’t.

“Waking up, bitch?” The man rolled her off his shoulder, dumping her on the ground.

Everything jolted. Her head throbbed like someone had used a mallet on her skull.

“Fuck, you’re heavy.” He rotated his shoulder, his breathing harsh.

She stared up at him. Not one of the four Doms. This man had been at the bar behind those Doms. Her tongue felt fat, sluggish, and her “Why?” came out sounding like mush.

“Saw you listening. Figured it out.” He smirked. “I like redheads. Oh yeah. And older bitches. We’ll have fun in a minute.” He straightened and turned in a circle. “There’s a gazebo back here somewhere if I can find it. Got time. With the place blacked out, nobody will notice you’re missing until way too late for you. Such a pity.”

A second later, she understood. Because he’d taken her out the side door, no one would realize they were in the Gardens. Panic demolished her thoughts until she could only shake. She tried to move, screaming inside her head at her sluggish body. Try, try! Couldn’t do anything. Closing her eyes against his smug expression, she fought her way free of the fear. Gripped her emotions and held them. She’d lived through this before. Gotten free before.

She forced her hands open. Closed. Again. She had to get her body to work. Pain sizzled through her, too much like the lightning in the sky. The wind whipped the trees overhead. Rain hit her face like hammers, but cold spatter returned a bit of feeling to her body.

“Yeah. The gazebo must be that way.” He yanked her to her feet, held her up when her knees buckled.

She tried to jerk away.

“Give me trouble, and I’ll zap you again,” he said coldly. He patted the cell phone clipped on his belt. “Cute, huh? They make stun guns in all disguises these days.”

The cell phone was a stun gun. She closed her eyes, concentrated on breathing, and getting her strength back.

Humming under his breath, he half carried her down the grassy path, past shadowy nooks, arbors and fountains, a swing. A beautiful place and horrible, horrible right now.

“Gonna rip you to pieces, slut. You’ll bleed so much even the rain won’t wash it away.” He squeezed her breast. “Can’t wait till Davies sees what I leave of you.”

Tears of anger and fear joined the rain on her face. She couldn’t bear this. Not again.

No! No panicking. They’d look for her. Sam was there. He wouldn’t give up. Neither would she.

* * * *

When the lights went out, Sam ran toward where he’d seen Linda.

“Help!” The high, hysterical scream stopped him. A woman in suspension was panicking and thrashing so hard her Dom couldn’t cut her free. Sam grabbed her and held her still as the man snipped through the ropes. One rope. Two.

“Easy, baby, take it easy,” the Dom was murmuring. Around the room, other submissives were being set loose. Yells and calls for assistance spread through the room.

Sally appeared in the dim light. “Where’s Linda? I can’t find Linda!”

Son of a bitch! He couldn’t just drop the submissive in his arms. “Sally.”

The sub stopped, panting and looking around with terrified eyes.

Fear knotted his gut, and he snapped out, “Find Z and tell him, girl.”

Sally ran.

“Last one,” the Dom said.

The ropes dropped off, and Sam took the weight of the submissive. As she cried, he set her onto a couch. Her Dom dropped down beside her.

Done. When he turned, he spotted Nolan in the shadowy light with Beth tucked under his arm.

Sam motioned him over. “Find Linda.”

“Hell,” Nolan muttered, his expression darkening.

Sam headed for where he’d last seen her. No one in that spot. No Linda in sight. Hell with this. He hauled in a breath. “Linda! Answer me now!”

The room quieted, the command in his voice shutting everyone down. No answer. “Linda. Answer me!”

Sharp glass seemed to fill his gut. Where the hell was she? He started for the front entrance.

Z appeared at his side, carrying a heavy-duty flashlight. He handed Sam another. “Cullen said she’d pointed out four Doms, but they’re all in the room. Ben says no one came out, and he won’t let anyone leave.”

“Where the hell—”

“I’ve got the Masters searching.”

A shout came across the room. Marcus’s voice. “Restrooms empty.”

Raoul’s voice. “Theme rooms clear.”

“Not upstairs,” Dan yelled.

Cullen yelled, “Not danceside.”

“Not in the back,” Anne yelled.

“He got her out. Somehow.” Sam considered. “Your private exit to your yard is locked.”

“Yes. The only other way out would be—” Z turned toward the side of the room. The Capture Garden door stood slightly ajar.

“Hell. No power. No alarm.” Sam’s jaw clenched. The huge Gardens were designed for hide-and-seek games with hedges and hidden nooks. In the dark and rain, it could take hours to find her. If the spotter had her, she didn’t have hours.

Conn was in the truck, which Sam had parked right in front. “Start the search. I’m getting my dog.”

* * * *

Linda couldn’t stop shivering. Her skin was drenched. Her hair hung in cold tangles on her shoulders. She couldn’t stand on her own, let alone run.

The slaver—Aaron, he’d said his name was—dropped her onto a bench in the gazebo.

Her hope of rescue was sinking. A tall cedar fence marked the back wall of the garden. “They’ll catch you. You should run while you can.”

“Gonna do you first.” He grinned. “Then I’ll cut your hair off for something to remember you by and toss your body over the fence.” He tried to yank off her bustier but couldn’t work the tiny wet hooks with his wet hands. When he pulled a hunting knife from the sheath at his hip, her breathing stopped.

God, please, no.

But he slipped it under the leather and sliced upward between her breasts. The bustier dropped open. “Much better.”

His hands were on her, squeezing roughly. She kicked at him frantically, knocking him back. He grunted in pain, but her bare feet hadn’t done enough damage.

Stepping forward, he slapped her legs aside, grabbed her throat. Then his head lifted. Running sounds. A dog baying. “Fuck, they’re out here already.”

She knew that dog. Conn was here. Exultation filled her. Scream. She pulled in a quick breath and—

He grabbed her hair, and his knife pricked her throat. “Scream and you’re just meat cooling in the rain.”

She choked back the sound, her hands clenching. Here. I’m here! Please…

“Too damn fast. Were they watching you, slut?” He slapped her cruelly, the pain sudden and startling, then yanked her to her feet. Before she could recover, the knife was back at her throat. He answered for himself. “I knew you were listening. But you’d already told Z, hadn’t you?”

He considered the fence, then shook his head as footsteps advanced directly toward them. “Too late. Bet they have someone guarding the parking lot by now.”

Hurry, Sam. Hurry.

Aaron stared down at her with cold eyes. “Guess it’s the hostage game. Don’t fuck up or I’ll slit your throat in front of them all.”

He would anyway. She knew it, saw her death in his gaze. He turned as Conn appeared, the dog brought to a sudden halt by the leash Sam held. Z and Nolan were directly behind him. Others followed.

Her hope of being freed was dying fast, but oh, she wouldn’t be left alone with this man. Gratitude for that mercy made her eyes water.

In the wet light from the nearby fountain, Sam’s pale gaze fastened on her. Fury made his gaze almost glow. “Let her go.”

“Don’t be stupid.” The spotter gave a short laugh. “Back off, way off, or I slit her throat and you watch her bleed out.”

“You aren’t that stupid.” Z’s mild voice belied the rigidity of his jaw. “Killing her won’t help you.”

“Be satisfying though.” The knife pricked her skin.

She felt blood trickle down her throat, hot against the chilled skin.

“I’m not going to jail. I heard about the Overseer—getting reamed like a cunt,” Aaron said. “Either I get away clean, or I take her with me before I die.”

Sam’s growl and Conn’s snarl sounded in the silence.