Abandoned (3 page)

“Tracking shifters who don’t attend The Gathering and have gone off on their own is another story altogether. It’s nearly impossible, and we have no way of knowing how many are out there, where they live, or how many offspring they may have had in the last century.” Evan squeezed her fingers and brushed them against his cheek.

It grounded her, but she also knew he was concerned. He had worked tirelessly for months tracking rogue shifters and the women they were on the run with. Circles under his eyes spoke volumes about his fears. He never said anything, but Ashley knew he was extremely concerned. Especially since no one had any idea why the women had been taken and drugged.

What was the intent? It seemed experimental.

And more importantly, it was obvious there was a mole inside The Head Council. Someone knew exactly what was going on, stayed one step ahead of Evan’s efforts
,
and warned the wolves involved in their experiment at every turn.

Until Evan and the head elder, Ralph Jerard, had begun to keep nearly all dealings secret from the rest of The Council, they’d been spinning their wheels
.

Jerard even believed one of the top five members of the Council were in on the scheme, either leading it or feeding info to someone else.

“Have you spoken to Drake and McKenzie?” Ashley asked.

Evan nodded. “Several times this morning before you got up. The ranch is ready and they’re prepared for their guests.”

“Good.” Ashley chewed on her bottom lip before she continued, “I hope Kenzie isn’t overdoing it with the new baby and all this on her plate.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. They have a lot of help. Remember, the ranch was already set up to accommodate large groups of special
-
needs children. Taking in twelve women to help them recover together from abduction isn’t a stretch. They have the space and God bless them for offering to help.”

Ashley glanced around the kitchen of her parents’ home. They’d been staying there for a month, ever since Ashley killed the man who’d kidnapped her the same way Allison had been abducted.

When Damon Parkfield tracked Ashley down at the home she shared with her true mate, Evan, she’d gotten lucky. Damon had dropped his knife and Ashley conveniently managed to use it against him.

She couldn’t go back into that house. It was for sale while Ashley and Evan looked for another place. Meanwhile they were living with her parents, Paul and Laura Rice.

“Yes. Imagine housing all those people here.” She smiled.

Evan grinned back. “And I know you would if there was no other option.” He kissed her forehead.

Ashley smiled. “Of course. So everyone else will meet us at the ranch?”

“Yes. Allison is the only one making a stop on the way. She’s your age and she’s been stuck in a cabin for over a year with no contact with the outside world. For some reason, the man holding her abandoned her several days ago.”

“Why?”

“No idea. He hardly ever spoke to her
,
and she believes he left her for dead. All she knows is he left and didn’t come back. Maybe he got wind of us moving in on him
,
or maybe he just gave up and decided to leave. In any case, several men came for her while our men were rescuing her. They exchanged gunfire. One of our men was hit. No one was killed.”

A shiver raced down Ashley’s spine. “God. Did the guys from NAR manage to kill anyone?”

He shook his head. “They don’t believe so.”

“Jesus, she must be scared out of her mind after all she’s been through.” Ashley knew they’d found Allison in a closet. Ashley was used to being in a closet. Damon kept her locked up many times during the four years he’d held her.

Something about Allison’s captivity was different from all the other women. She was the only one held in the middle of nowhere and then abandoned. Ashley suspected there were other mysteries about her imprisonment that were bound to come to light in the next few days.

•●•

Allison jerked awake when the car lurched to a stop. She bolted upright and looked around.
You’re okay. You’ve been rescued.

She glanced at the two men in the front seat and sucked in a deep breath. Marshall drove and Chuck sat in the passenger seat. They had dropped Bill off with some other shifters and parted ways after her rescue. She hoped he was getting the medical care he needed.

“Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to startle you. We’re in St. Louis. This is where we’re meeting up with the other woman I told you about. Ashley.”

Ashley… Chuck had given Allison a rundown of all sorts of things after they’d driven away from the isolated cabin in northern Minnesota. Until then, she hadn’t even known for sure where she was. She’d spoken to her parents on the phone between gasping sobs of relief and disbelief. They were flying to someplace in Texas to meet her.

Allison couldn’t remember all the details. It all ran together in her head. She’d been dehydrated, tired, and so hungry yesterday afternoon she’d hardly managed to soak in any information. What she’d known was that the idea of heading to an airport and facing the general public had been completely unimaginable to her. So the men had driven her. St. Louis was half way
,
and they would leave her there with another woman who’d been abducted in a similar fashion—Ashley.

As Allison exited the car, the front door to the house opened. She was still so tired and weak she could hardly imagine making polite conversation or even socially acceptable facial expressions. But the moment Ashley appeared on the porch as Allison walked up the path, she knew she could relax.

Ashley knew. It was in her eyes. She was a sister to this nightmare. Allison was safe with her. She would have a friend.

Ashley jogged forward, wrapped an arm around Allison, and led her into the house. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t even make any introductions to the other people they passed. She led her straight to a bedroom and shut the door. Next she angled them into the adjoining bath and turned on the tub.

Allison slumped onto the toilet seat and moaned. It had been so long since she’d had a proper bath with hot water. Tears formed in her eyes. “Thank you,” she managed to mutter.

Ashley smiled. “I’m sure you’re exhausted and hungry. Relax in the water for a while. There’re bubbles, shampoo, a new razor. Whatever you need. And I put a new toothbrush on the counter for you too.” She nodded toward the sink. “You’re about my size. I’ll find you something to wear and then we can talk. Okay?”

The tears began to fall. Bless this woman. Allison couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been kind to her. No. That wasn’t true. She’d had a perfectly normal life up until The Gathering last year. Even The Gathering had been a wonderful weekend, right up until she met the crazy man who’d waltzed into her hotel room and kidnapped her.

Allison nodded at Ashley. She couldn’t utter a word without bawling, so she let it go for now.

Ashley left the room silently, shutting the door with a snick.

Allison peeled off her disgusting clothing and dropped it in the trash. The T-shirt and shorts had been worn for so long and washed by hand so many times they were threadbare. She’d lost weight in the last year also, and her clothes had started drooping on her months ago.

She moaned as she slid into the hot water. Steam wafted up to fill the room
,
and she eased against the back of the tub and closed her eyes. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind of crazy. Even though she’d slept all through the night as they’d driven to St. Louis, she was still tired. Bone weary from stress.

She knew she needed to eat, but after a year of barely edible food without enough nutrition
,
she couldn’t stomach many things. Every time they’d stopped, Marshall and Chuck had gotten her food, but she’d only managed to pick at it, afraid her stomach would revolt.

Allison relaxed in the tub for a long time before reaching for the shampoo. She closed her eyes and breathed in the floral scent deeply, moaning as she remembered something so luxurious. The only soaps she’d had for the last year had been cheap and generic and infrequent.

She added hot water to the tub to warm it. By the time she was as clean as she could get and had used the detachable sprayer to rinse the grime down the drain, she felt ten times better.

She stepped from the tub and grabbed the fluffy
,
over-sized towel Ashley had left on the vanity. She’d been afraid to look in the mirror before, but now she lifted her gaze and stared at the woman she hardly recognized. Her face was gaunt and her eyes sunken and sad. She was glad she was meeting her parents tomorrow in Texas. It would kill her to have seen the look on her mother’s face before she had a chance to at least bathe. She’d kill for a haircut, but that could wait.

Allison brushed her teeth and combed out her hair. It was so long the blonde curls had lost some of their spring. Or maybe lack of nutrition had caused that. She blinked back tears as she stared at her reflection, her sunken eyes darker blue than they had been.

Finally she turned away and exited the bathroom wrapped in the huge towel. She found a pile of clothes on the bed waiting for her, and she quickly set the towel aside and pulled on the thoughtful items Ashley had left her. Without knowing Allison’s precise sizes, she’d done a fantastic job, leaving her a tank top with a built-in shelf bra, a blouse that was light enough for the mid-summer heat, and a pair of khaki shorts that fit Allison perfectly.

She felt better already. Between the bath and the clean clothes, she just might live.

She left the room almost reluctantly, expecting to face a barrage of questions.

Instead she found the living room empty except for Ashley, who jumped up from the couch when Allison entered. “Oh, you look so much better.” She smiled and wiped her hands on her jean shorts.

“I feel better. Thank you…for everything.” She padded forward.

“Let’s get you something to eat. What do you think you can handle?”

“I don’t know. Do you have some chicken noodle soup? Something simple like that would be perfect.”

“I bet I can find a can.”

“I’m sure canned goods are all I could handle right now. Anything else would be too rich.” Allison followed Ashley to the kitchen. “You have a nice place.”

Ashley turned from the pantry holding up a can. “Oh, this isn’t mine. It’s my parents’. My mate and I are staying here while we look for a new home.”

“How long ago did you meet your mate?”

“Evan was the one who rescued me from my kidnapper last year. He kept our status as mates to himself for six months
,
though
,
to give me time to heal. And even then, I was very reluctant to get involved.” Ashley giggled. “It was hard after being in captivity so long.” She paused after emptying the can of soup into a pan. “I hope my experience and sharing with you will help you in some small way.” She sobered and met Allison’s gaze.

Allison climbed onto a bar stool. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” She cleared her throat. “What happened to you?”

“A man named Damon Parkfield showed up at The Gathering, claimed he was my mate, and swept me away without letting me say good
-
bye to my family. I was young and assumed he was telling the truth. By the time I realized something was way off about the situation, it was too late.”

“How long were you with him?”

“Four years.”

“Oh my God.” Allison stiffened. She couldn’t imagine a fate worse than her own. But clearly Ashley had been through a lower circle of hell than she had and lived to tell about it.

“Yeah. But I survived and you will too.” She gave a half grin. “We have to stick together, not let these bastards win. I promise no matter how grim things seem right now, you will come out on the other side a survivor.”

Allison watched as Ashley dished up a bowl of hot soup. She couldn’t wrap her mind around four years of captivity. “I heard there are eleven others like me who were rescued yesterday. What did they want us for?”

Ashley shook her head. “We aren’t sure yet. No one knows. Hopefully some of the kidnappers they picked up will shed some light.” Ashley set the soup in front of Allison and handed her a spoon. “Maybe each of us will be able to pull together and come up with similarities that help The Head Council.