Page 48 of Protecting Bree
“Fiona!” she said again, louder, getting as close to the bars of her cage as she could. She was in what looked like some sort of dog crate. Metal bars all around her, plastic tray under her ass. Looking down, Bree saw why she was so cold, as well. All she had on was a spaghetti-strap gown. A negligee or slip. She wasn’t surewhatit was, just that it barely covered her ass and wasn’t nearly enough material to keep her warm.
But for the moment, she was more concerned about Fiona. She was lying unmoving in the cage next to Bree’s. Stretching her arm through the bars as much as she could, Bree couldn’t reach her.
“Fiona!” she yelled, desperately wanting the other woman to wake up.
“Bree?”
Looking past Fiona’s cage, Bree saw Julie on the other side, also in a cage of her own.
“Julie!” The relief she felt at not being alone in this hell was almost overwhelming. Julie wore the same skimpyoutfit. Of course on her, since she was so petite, it came down almost to her knees.
Fiona groaned, and Bree turned her attention back to the other woman.
“Fiona! Wake up! It’s me, Bree. Julie’s here too. Please, wake up.”
It took a little bit, but eventually Fiona regained consciousness. Bree wasn’t sure how the other woman was going to handle the situation. She’d kind of frozen when they’d been locked in the back of that SUV. Shut down. Bree didn’t blame her. How could she, when she was literally reliving her worst nightmare.
“Where are we?” Fiona croaked.
“From what it feels like, we’re in a truck or something,” Julie said.
“What’s that smell?”
Bree had been so focused on waking Fiona and trying to get her brain to catch up to what was happening, she hadn’t realized how bad it smelled in whatever container they were being held in.
“Look around. Chickens.”
Bree did just that, and she realized Julie was right. They were surrounded by cages filled with chickens. She’d obviously pushed the sounds of the birds to the back of her head as she processed everything else. But now, as reality set in, the stench of excrement from all the animals surrounding them registered. She gagged.
“I can’t believe this is fucking happening again!” Fiona seethed.
Surprised at the venom in her voice, Bree looked at her once more. She was sitting cross-legged in her cage now,her head bent since she couldn’t sit up straight, and glaring at nothing.
“Fiona?” Bree asked, worried about her mental health.
“What?” she barked, turning to look at her. “Fucking kidnapped.Again! As if once wasn’t bad enough. Fuck!”
Relieved she wasn’t sobbing her heart out and completely on the verge of a mental breakdown, Bree still wasn’t sure how to respond to the pissed-off woman. She considered her a friend, but hadn’t known her long enough to know if her current emotions were a precursor to losing it altogether or not.
“Fiona, are your earrings in?” Julie asked.
Fiona reached a hand up to touch her ears, then swore again. “Shit, no. You?”
“No. They also took my barrettes.”
“And our clothes. All of them,” Fiona said.
Bree was confused. They were in some sort of truck filled with livestock after being kidnapped and gassed and stuffed in cages…and Fiona and Julie were worried about their accessories?
“And my ring too. The one Cookie gave me,” Fiona said, sounding sad for the first time since she woke up.
“Mine too. Bree, do you have any of Tex’s trackers on you?” Julie asked.
Finally, understanding dawned. They weren’t upset about losing jewelry. Taking a mental inventory, and feeling her throat for the necklace she’d chosen to wear this morning—and not finding it—she said softly, “No.”
Without the trackers, how was Smiley going to find her? How wereanyof the SEALs going to find them? As much as she tried to tamp it down, panic began to creep in.
“Okay, nobody panic,” Fiona ordered, as if she could feel Bree’s downward slide. “Anyone know who these assholes are who took us?”
