Xi met Danny at the door when he returned.

“Sir, Nels called. He said he needs to speak with you and would you please call him back when you return?”

            “Okay. Thanks. Did you find Amanda?” Danny asked.

            “Yes, sir. She’s had a shower and breakfast. I put her in the kennels. The other bitches are in the family room.”

            “Thank you, Xi.”

            “Sir…”

            “What is it, Xi?”

            “Jenny asked about the boy,” Xi replied softly. Danny stared at her in silence. “I told her he was sold to a buyer overseas,” she said quietly, then added, “The dungeon has been cleaned.”

            Danny nodded and headed for his office instead of the family room. He was still upset by the news Kade had delivered. He wasn’t in the mood to visit his slaves. He’d call Nels back and then maybe spend some time with Amanda. With any luck the police would find boy-toy’s body and give up on finding out what had happened during the time he had been missing.

            “Hi, Nels. Xi said you had called.”

            “Yeah. I just wanted to say thanks for the little get together last night. And, of course, for Sam. He’s working out quite well.”

            “Glad I could help you out.”

            “I also wanted to remind you of the other part of our deal.”

            “Oh?”

            “I get some time with Matt. Remember?”

            “Oh…that. Well, actually, there’s a small problem with that.”

            “Danny, you promised.”

            “I know, Nels. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to deliver.”

            “What? Why not?”

            “There’s a bit of a problem with Matt…”

            “What’s he done now?” Nels asked, exasperated. “I was hoping I could borrow him for a few days, starting tonight. Is he being punished again?”

            “Not exactly.”

            “Danny,” Nels laughed. “What are you talking about?”

            “Nels, I had to get rid of him.”

            There was nothing but silence for several seconds When Nels finally responded his voice was icy.

            “Danny, you promised I could have first dibs on him.”

            “I know, Nels. And I would have stuck to that except there was a problem I didn’t know about until this morning.”

            “What problem?”

            “He was the son of the chief of police.”

            Nels gasped. “No way.”

            “Yes. It’s true. It’s all over the news. I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. I’ve taken care of it though. We’re all safe.”

            “God, I hope so.”

           

Chief Jamison looked up from his silent vigil when two men entered Matt’s dimly lit room. He took in their dark suits and somber expressions before turning back to his son’s seemingly unconscious form. He knew who they were, or at least who they represented, but he didn’t care.

            “This is a private room, gentlemen,” he said softly but sternly.

            “We have reason to believe that your son may have information that could help with an ongoing investigation,” one of the men said.

            “He isn’t in any condition to talk to anyone right now.”

            “Chief Jamison, it’s important that we talk to him.”

            “Not now damn it,” Jamison said in a low growl.

            “Dad, it’s okay,” Matt whispered softly without opening his eyes.

            “No. You aren’t strong enough –”

            “I want to. I need to.” Matt stared up at his father, his brown eyes full of pain.

            “Matt…”

            “Dad, he still has Jenny…and others. I have to do this.”

            Chief Jamison finally nodded and rose from his seat. He turned to stare at the two men standing just inside the closed door of the room.

            “But only for a few minutes. He gets tired, you leave him alone.”

            “Yes, sir.” The same man who had spoken earlier answered.

            Jamison moved past him to step out the door. The two men drew nearer the bed and stared down at Matt, taking in the bruises and swelling.

            “How you feeling?” the first man asked.

            “Like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck,” Matt replied with a slight smile.

            “I’m Turner.” The man introduced himself then motioned to the other man. “This is Harrison.”

            “And you’re with?”

            “Let’s just say we’re federal,” Turner said with a smile. “We understand from the statement you made to the local police that you and three friends were abducted from the side of the road after your car broke down?”

            “Yeah. I got out to take a look under the hood. The next thing I knew some guy was standing next to me and then it felt like my insides exploded. I went down and…”

            “Do you know what it was? What he did to you?”

            Matt nodded. “I found out later that he used a tazer on us.”

            “What happened after he shocked you?”

            “He tied us up and tossed us in the back of a van. We seemed to drive for hours. I don’t know how long it really took but the effects of the stun gun wore off long before we got there. We all tried to get loose but he had us tied pretty tight.”

            “So what happened once you got to where ever it was he took you?” Harrison asked. “Did he ever tell you his name?”

            Matt swallowed then licked his lips. He nervously glanced around the room then fixed his gaze on the far wall.

            “He carried us each down to a basement room and…” He swallowed then took up the story again. “He put collars on Jenny, Angie and Carrie and chained them to walls around the room. He chained me up against a back wall then went back to Carrie. He – he set her up on this table thing and made her tell him our names and ages. He said his name was Danny but we had to call him Master or Sir.” Matt nervously wet his lips again and shifted his gaze around the room. His eyes finally settled back on the far wall.

            “Would you like something to drink?” Turner asked.

            Matt shook his head.

            “He made Angie, Jenny and Carrie strip for him. Then he…he made Carrie…he made her help him…he cut my clothes away too.” Matt closed his eyes tightly against the memory. God, he thought, this must be how a woman feels explaining what happened when she’s been raped.

            He jumped when he felt Turner’s hand on his arm. He opened his eyes and stared up into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.

            “It’s okay. I know this isn’t easy but we need all the information you can give us. Did he ever take you outside or let you leave? For any reason?”

            Matt nodded.

            “He took us to a cabin in the woods once. I was in the back of the van so I couldn’t see where we went. The cabin belonged to a friend of his. The guy’s name is Kade. I don’t know if it’s a first name or a last name. He just calls him Kade.” Matt swallowed again before continuing. “He grabbed three kids that day. Amanda, Beth and Sam.” He glanced up at Turner then lowered his eyes to stare at the foot of the bed. “Amanda’s only eighteen.”

            “Do you know where the house is? Who all is in it?” Harrison asked.

            “I don’t know where it is,” Matt admitted, shaking his head. “I was always in the back of the van whenever I went out. There’s only Danny and Xi in the house besides his sl – captives. At least, as far as I know. He has parties though. Friends come and go.”

            “How many people is he holding?”

            “When I was there he had four others. Jenny, Amanda, Angie and Carrie. He kept us – them – upstairs on the third floor in a special room that he called the kennel.”

            “What did it look like?” Turner asked urgently.

            “There was a row of cages along one wall. They were like large dog cages. They had electronic combination locks on them. All kinds of stuff was kept on shelves and in drawers all around the room. Some of it hung on the walls. There were loops on the walls for him to fasten chains to.”

            “Were you always chained or did you have freedom to move around the house?” Harrison asked.

            Matt thought for a moment before responding. “We weren’t always chained or restrained but someone was always watching us. At least Jenny and me. He didn’t trust us, especially me. I argued with him a lot and, I guess, antagonized him.” He looked up at the two men, a fierce look in his brown eyes. “What he’s doing isn’t right. I couldn’t just go along with it.”

            “That why you have scars now?” Turner asked.

            Matt looked at the wall, fighting to control his breathing as he nodded. “Yeah.”

            “You mentioned someone named Xi,” Harrison said softly.

            “She’s some Asian woman that works for him. She cooks for him and watched us. She took care of any injuries and helped dole out punishment.”

            “So what kind of punishment got those scars across your back?” Turner inquired.

            Matt glanced up at him and again noticed the blue eyes. He saw the kindness in them and realized the question wasn’t asked out of curiosity but a need for information. Matt slowly drew a deep breath and exhaled.

            “He had a party one night.” He dropped his eyes to stare at the foot of the bed. “He invited a bunch of his friends over and let them use Angie. Kade was there and another man. Jenny and I had managed to piss him off earlier in the day so he had me strung up against a wall as punishment.” His right hand slid up his chest, over the bandages covering his nipples, his eyes squeezed shut. “I was supposed to hang there all night but a little later he came back down and got me. He made me go upstairs where he let one of his friends ass fuck me while I was chained down to a table. After they left and he let me up, my hands were still cuffed behind my back so I head-butted him. I charged him a couple of times before Xi zapped me with the tazer.

            He was really pissed. He didn’t like the fact that I’d attacked him. He dragged me back down to the dungeon and chained me to the wall again. Hung a whip where I had to look at it then announced that as my punishment for attacking him I’d be getting fifty lashes in the morning. True to his word, the next day he delivered the whipping. He made Jenny count. To be honest, I don’t know if it was fifty or not. I passed out after about thirty or thirty-five. When I came to I was lying on a mat on the floor and Xi was putting some kind of ointment on my back.”

            Both men were shaking their heads in amazement as they listened to Matt’s tale. Turner put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

            “The medical report said you had a couple of piercings and a burn on your thigh.”

            “Yeah. He strapped me down and pierced both nipples then used dry ice to burn a brand into my leg. He pierced Angie too.”

            “You said earlier that a couple of his friends were regular guests?” Harrison asked.

            “I don’t know if I did or not, but yeah, there were a couple of guys that were over more regularly than anyone else.”

            “Can you tell us who they were?”

            “Kade was one.” Matt hesitated before adding, “You guys said you were federal, right?”

            He looked up at Turner. The two visitors exchanged a look then nodded.

            “Yeah, that’s right,” Turner replied.

            “You have any ID or anything?” Matt asked.

            “Why?” Harrison queried in return.

            “Because the other guy that was a regular told me the last night I was there that he was federal.”

            Matt didn’t miss the quick glance that passed between the other two men.

            “And who was this other regular?” asked Harrison.

            Matt stared at the two men for several long minutes before he finally replied in almost a whisper.

            “I don’t remember his name.”

            “Matt –”

            “Look, I just don’t remember. The doctor said there might be a few things I wouldn’t be able to remember right away but they might come back later.” He stared up at them, his brown eyes hooded. “Honest, I just can’t remember.”

            “Uh-huh,” Turner finally replied, nodding his head. “You remember what happened the last night you were there? The last few hours?”

            Matt swallowed hard and turned his gaze back to the wall at the foot of his bed.

            “They raped Amanda and Beth. Then Danny somehow found out about Dad and beat the shit out of me.”

            “Why didn’t you defend yourself?” Harrison asked.

            “It’s a little hard to defend yourself when your hands are cuffed behind your back to a bar that’s attached to a collar around your neck and your feet are cuffed together so you can only take a shuffling step a few inches at a time,” Matt spat back. “Especially when you don’t even see it coming.”

            “How do you know they raped those girls?” Harrison asked.

            Matt turned his head on the pillow and stared at the row of machines lined up against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut and fought a loosing battle against the tears he didn’t want these men to see. Both men noticed his heaving chest even if they couldn’t see his face.

            “He made me watch.” Matt growled through gritted teeth. “I was chained to the fucking wall and he threatened to hurt Amanda if I closed my eyes.”

            He jerked his head around to stare at them defiantly when he felt a hand on his arm.

            “He would have! He would have hurt her!”

            “I know, son.” Turner’s voice was soft, soothing, as he patted Matt’s arm. “I know.”

            The room grew quiet as Matt’s sobs slowly subsided.

            “I think that’s all we need right now,” Turner finally said. He motioned to Harrison who preceded him out of the room. Turner then turned back to Matt. “Nels Sherridan has been under deep cover for over six years trying to bust these S.O.B.s. He’s the reason we’re here. He sent us to find you because he was worried about you.”

            Turner patted Matt’s arm and gave him a small smile then turned and left the room. Turner motioned to Harrison as he clasped Chief Jamison’s arm just above the elbow.

            “May I have a word with you?” Turner asked Chief Jamison as he led him down the hallway.

            Harrison took up a stance near the door to Matt’s room. Turner led Chief Jamison several feet down the hall before stopping.

            “What?” Jamison asked, turning a bewildered and somewhat angry look on Turner.

            “Are you planning on releasing any more statements to the press?”

            “I’ll have to tell them something soon. Why?” Jamison narrowed his eyes on the other man.

            “Can I offer a suggestion?”

            Chief Jamison stared silently at Turner for several seconds.

            “What?” he finally asked.

            “Tell them Matt died without ever regaining consciousness.”

            “What? The hospital –”

            “We can fix it with the hospital. I would also suggest making arrangements for only a certain number of hospital staff to attend to your son. He’d be much safer that way.”

            “Safer? You think they’ll come after him again? Here?”

            “Chief Jamison, you know they left him for dead at the side of that road.”

            Jamison glanced away, staring down the hall.

            “Yeah, I know.”

            “If they find out he’s still alive, they’ll come after him. These bastards are elusive as hell. We’ve been after them for years.” Turner rubbed his left hand across his mouth and chin. “Matt’s the only witness we’ve got that’s been with them for more than a couple of days.”

            Jamison jerked his head around to stare at Turner in amazement.

            “Witness? What…?”

            “I can’t go into details with you but we’ve never been able to get anyone out that they’ve held this long. We just can’t find them. We have someone under deep cover and hope to change that but…” Turner shrugged.

            Jamison was silent for several minutes as he thought about what he’d just been told.

            “You work things out with the hospital. I want someone with Matt at all times. I want him safe.”

            “I’ll have someone in his room twenty-four/seven.”

            Jamison nodded. “I’ll schedule a press conference for later today. I need to talk to Matt first. To let him know he’s dead,” he said with a grim smile.

            “If you can work it into your press conference somewhere, could you mention still waters?”

            “Still waters? Why?”

            “It’s to let our deep cover know what’s going on, let him know we found Matt, that he’s safe.”

            “I’ll see what I can do.”

 

            “Carrie, come with me.”

            All three women looked up at him when Danny stuck his head in the door of the family room and called to Carrie. She rose to her feet and strode across the room toward him. Angie turned back to the television but Jenny continued to stare at him.

            “You have a problem, bitch?” he finally demanded, his temper winning out.

            “No, Master,” she whispered as she lowered her head. Her eyes were still fixed on him.

            He grabbed Carrie’s arm when she drew near and pulled her from the room. Guiding her silently up the stairs, he pulled her along with him toward his bedroom. He jerked the door open and shoved her inside. She almost lost her balance but grabbed at the side of a nearby dresser and caught herself before she fell. She turned back to stare wide-eyed at Danny as he stepped into the room and closed the door. She shrank back from him when he moved toward her.

            “What are you afraid of, Carrie?”

            “Y-you’re angry about something,” she replied softly. “Have I upset you?”

            He reached out and stroked her hair.

            “No, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

            He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he pushed his lips against her mouth, mashing her lips savagely. He started moving without releasing his hold on her, walking her backwards toward the bed.

            “I just need you,” he said huskily when he finally pulled away.

            She smiled broadly at his words.

            “I was afraid you liked your knew tart more –”

            His hand snapped out and struck her hard across the face, knocking her backwards onto the bed. She grabbed her burning cheek and stared up at him, tears burning her eyes.

            “I didn’t bring you up here to whine.” He towered over her, staring at her malevolently. “Why didn’t you tell me who Matt was?”

            “Matt…?”

            “You’re buddy, Matt. Light brown hair, broad shoulders, fancied Jenny.”

            “I don’t understand,” she whispered with a shake of her head.

            “Who’s his daddy?”

            She remained silent for several seconds then her eyes grew wide again as understanding dawned.

            “Yeah. You didn’t think that was important for me to know?”

            “I – I didn’t think…I forgot about it. I’m sorry, Master!”

            “Yeah, you’re about the sorriest little slut I’ve ever seen!” He grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged her off of the bed, forcing her onto her knees. “Stay.”

            He released his hold on her and turned to retrieve a pair of nipple clamps, a penis gag and several other items from the table next to the bed. He tossed the items onto the bed next to where her head bobbed beside it then looked down at her.

            “Strip,” he demanded.

            She removed the half tee-shirt she had on. She untied the tight wrap-around skirt she wore and slid it from around her hips. She carefully folded both items and laid them on the floor next to her.

            Danny squatted down in front of her and reached out to roughly pinch and twist her nipples, causing them to stand erect. He then applied the nipple clamps, ignoring her gasp. He grabbed her right wrist and jerked on her arm.

            “Turn around.”

            She slid around on her knees so she faced the bed, her back to him. He quickly bound her arms behind her back, her right wrist to her left forearm and her left wrist to her right forearm. Then he wrapped the rope around her waist, snaking it completely around her body once and ending up with the end back in front of her. He tied the end around the piece of rope that wound around her waist and let it fall. He reached up to the bed and pulled down a butt plug which he put only a small amount of lubricant on before shoving it up her ass. Then he reached between her legs and pulled the dangling rope through and tied it off on the waist rope at her back pulling it tight against her pussy.

            He pulled another length of rope from the bed and quickly tied it around her thighs. He also bound her shins together then her ankles. He ran another rope from the bindings around her arms to the rope around her ankles, pulling it tight. The last thing he did was force the penis gag into her mouth and strap it around her head. Then he lifted her up and carried her to the wall directly opposite the end of the bed. He positioned her so she was facing the bed and she sat dead center of it. Then he tied one last piece of rope around her neck, looped it through a ring in the wall, down to a second ring, looped it around the ropes around her arms and back up through the rings, tying it securely behind her head.

            When he was finished he stood up and patted her wet cheek.

            “Don’t go anywhere,” he said with a laugh.

            He turned and strode from the room. He returned a few minutes later with Amanda following close behind him, her lead chain gripped tightly in his hand. He led her over to stand directly in front of Carrie. He grabbed Amanda’s face in his hand, squeezing her cheeks between his thumb and fingers, forcing her to look at Carrie.

            “This is what happens to bad little bitches,” he growled. “If you betray me or withhold information from me, this could be you.”

            He gave her several minutes to take in the sight.

            “Do you understand?”

            “Y-y-yes, M-Master,” she whispered.

            He released his hold on her head and stared at her with narrowed eyes.

            “When you were alone with Matt, what did he tell you? What did he say?”

            She shook her head as she fought back the tears.

            “I-I don’t r-r-remember. S-s-something about getting away f-from all of you.”

            He jerked on her lead chain and led her around to the bed. He pushed on her shoulders and shoved her down on the mattress then sat down next to her. He gently caressed her cheek, neck and shoulder.

            “Just relax, Amanda,” he said softly. “Relax, pet. Try to think back, try to remember. What did he say to you?”

            “Oh, God,” she whispered. Her lips trembled as she closed her eyes and tried to think back to the day Danny had captured her. “He said not to get in the van. That I should get as far away from all of you as I could,” she whispered and slowly opened her eyes. “Something like that.”

            “Anything else?” he asked.

            “I can’t remember anything else,” she said softly.

            He reached out to stroke her hair again.

            “If you remember anything else that he said, you’ll tell me.”

            “Y-yes, M-Master.”

            “Good girl,” he whispered as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

            His hands slowly roamed over her nude form, his lips sliding down her face to her neck, down over her tits. His fingers gripped her nipples and squeezed until she cried out, trying to pull away from him. He shoved her back on the bed and climbed on top of her.

 

            Nels listened intently to Chief Jamison’s press conference. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Danny had beat the boy to death and dumped him on the side of the road. Damn it! He deserved better than that! Nels thought angrily to himself, taking another sip of his drink and pounding his fist against the arm of his chair.

            “What?” Nels demanded of the television.

            Sam, huddled on the couch under a blanket, stared at him with frightened eyes. Nels grabbed the remote and rewound the TiVo to replay what the Chief had just said. He listened intently to the words.

            “Matt was always a quiet kid. That old saying about still waters running deep fit him well…”

            Nels didn’t hear the rest of Chief Jamison’s speech. He was laughing too hard.

            “Oh, thank you God!” Nels cried then quickly gulped down the rest of his drink. He set the glass aside, glanced at his watch then looked over at Sam. “You doing okay?”

            Sam nodded silently. He still wasn’t sure what to do or say or even how to act.

            “Will you be alright by yourself if I go out for a little while?” Nels asked, his voice thick with concern.

            “Y-yes, sir.”

            Nels moved to kneel next to the sofa were Sam huddled. He carefully placed one hand on the arm of the sofa and the other over the blanket at the edge of the sofa, careful not to touch the boy.

            “Sam, remember, you mustn’t try to leave the house. I’ll get you home as soon as I can but you have to trust me for now.”

 

            Sam had fallen asleep while Nels was out. He woke suddenly when he heard Nels swearing and struggling with something. He slid from the relative safety of the sofa and wandered into the huge kitchen where the strange sounds emanated from. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Nels wrestling with a huge wooden crate mounted on wheels. He was trying to muscle the big crate through the large double doors from the garage into the dining room.

            “Don’t just stand there,” Nels quipped. “Help me.”

            Broken out of his trance, Sam rushed forward and pulled as Nels pushed from behind. Together they finally got the huge crate into the house. Sam started to carelessly swing the crate around to roll it into the dining room when Nels stopped him.

            “Easy. Be easy with it,” Nels instructed. He turned back to close the double doors as Sam pushed the heavy crate into the dining room.

            Nels joined him there and took over command of the crate. He carefully guided it back through the kitchen and into the living room. He placed it in the middle of the floor then went back to the kitchen. Sam started to follow him but thought better of it and sat down on the couch to wait. Nels quickly returned with a tool box. He set the tool box down and started to work prying the top off the big crate. When it was finally loose he started to lift it then nodded at Sam.

            “Sam, grab that side and let’s put it over there against the wall.”

            Sam helped the other man lift the lid off the crate and carry it to the opposite wall. They set it on its edge and leaned it against the wall. Sam returned to the couch while Nels went back to the crate. He pulled a large ottoman over next to the crate, climbed up on it and peered into the big wooden box.

            “Damn it,” he swore as he climbed back down. “Sam, please get a couple of shirts from the bottom drawer of the dresser in your room.”

            Sam nodded then jumped to his feet and headed down a long hallway. Nels climbed back onto the ottoman and peered into the box again.

            “I’ll have you out in a few minutes. Sam’s bringing you something to wear. You’re safe now.”

            He climbed back down and started prying off the side of the crate closest to him. He kicked the ottoman out of his way and used his anger to put power behind his prying. Sam returned to the room carrying two oversized tee-shirts, one blue and one green.

            “Are these okay?” he asked.

            Nels barely glanced at the boy as he continued to pry at the side of the box.

            “They’re fine. Thanks.”

            When the side finally came loose and started to fall Nels immediately leaned against it, putting all of his weight on it.

            “Sam, help me move this over there with the top.”

            They let the side fall away and lifted it carefully to carry across the room. They leaned it with the top against the wall. Sam returned to his seat on the couch. Nels went back to the open side of the crate and knelt in front of it. Two young girls sat naked, bound hand and foot and gagged in the crate. One faced forward and stared with frightened eyes at Nels. The other faced the opposite direction. Both shook visibly though he wasn’t sure if it was from cold or fear.

            “It’s okay,” he purred softly to the girl facing away from him. He brushed her long blonde hair, matted from her ordeal, out of the way so he could cut the cuffs from her wrists. “I’m just taking the cuffs off. I’ll ungag you in a minute.”

            He leaned back and reached a hand out toward Sam.

            “Sam, hand me one of the shirts.”

            Sam silently held the blue tee-shirt out to him. He turned back and noticed the girl had her arms in front of her now, rubbing her sore wrists and trying to cover herself. He reached the tee-shirt around in front of her.

            “Here, try this.”

            She grabbed the shirt and immediately slid it over her head. It was large enough to be a short dress for her. He went to work on the gag finally using his pocket knife to cut the straps. He leaned forward past her to help her work the ball out of her mouth.

            “Sam, get a couple glasses of water, please.”

            Sam sprang to his feet and hurried to the kitchen.

            “Better?” Nels asked the young girl.

            She slowly nodded her head, her eyes wide with fear.

            “I’ll get your feet in a few minutes if you can wait. It’ll be easier to work once I’ve taken the sides off.”

            She nodded again.

            “Here, sir,” Sam said softly from behind Nels.

            He turned with a smile and took one of the glasses Sam held out to him.

            “Thank you, Sam.”

            He offered the glass to the young girl he had just partially freed. She gulped the water causing him to grab her hands and the glass to stop her.

            “Sip it,” he advised. “If you drink too fast you’ll be sick.”

            She nodded again and he released her hands. She slowly raised the glass to her lips and sipped at the water, watching him over the rim of the glass. He smiled at her.

            “Good, good. Dink all you want but sip it slowly.”

            She nodded as he moved away. He knelt in front of the other girl, a brunette, and cut the straps of her gag then slowly removed it. He turned slightly and held his hand out toward Sam. The boy put the remaining glass of water in his hand and stepped back. Nels raised the glass to the girl’s lips and helped her take a couple of sips of water.

            “Enough for a few minutes?” he asked softly.

            She nodded at him.

            He went to work prying loose the side of the crate behind the brunette. It took him several minutes before he finally got it loose. Sam helped him move it into position with the other pieces of the crate against the far wall. Nels quickly cut the cuffs off the girl’s wrists and offered her the remaining tee-shirt. He then went to work cutting the cuffs off the girls’ feet. The blonde was freed first and Nels helped her to stand then take a few tentative steps.

            “Okay?” he asked.

            “Yes, Master,” she whispered.

            “Julie, I’m not your master. You’re free and safe here.”  When she turned tear-filled eyes up to him he quickly added, “We’ll talk about it later. We need to get you taken care of first.” He turned his head to look back over his shoulder at Sam, keeping his arm around the frightened girl, supporting her. “Sam, can you help Julie over to the sofa, please? And get her a blanket?”

            Sam obediently followed Nels’ orders, assisting the shaking girl to his place on the sofa and handing her the blanket he had used earlier. He then returned to Nels’ side and watched as Nels freed the other girl’s feet and helped her from the box. He followed the same process as he had with the first girl, helping her to stand then to walk.

            “Okay now?”

            She looked up at him and nodded.

            “Yes, Mas – sir.”

            “Sam, could you get another blanket, please?”

            Sam hurried back down the long hallway again and soon reappeared with another blanket. He held it out to Nels. He took it from the boy and wrapped it around the girl’s shoulders then helped her to the sofa. She huddled next to the blonde as Nels knelt down between them.

            “My name is Nels and this,” he indicated Sam, standing behind and to the side of him, “is Sam. We won’t hurt you. You’re safe here. Sam just recently went through something similar to what you’ve been through so he understands.”

            They both stared wide-eyed at Sam then turned their attention back to Nels.

            “Are you hungry?” he asked.

            Slowly, they both nodded.

            “Sam, would you mind fixing them something to eat? Something light, cereal perhaps? And maybe a little toast?”

            “Yes, sir.”

            “Would either of you like a shower before you eat?”

            “Please?” begged the brunette.

            Nels smiled at her.

            “You can use the one in the master suite. It’s at the end of the hall. Sam’s using that room right now. I’ll tell him to stay out until you’re finished. There are clothes in the dresser. Help yourselves.”

            Nels stood and started to move toward the kitchen. Both girls stood and slowly moved toward the hallway. The brunette suddenly stopped and looked back at him.

            “Why?” she asked.

            “Excuse me?” he asked her.

            “Why are you being nice to us?”

            “Because, Melody, that’s what people are supposed to do,” he replied then turned and went into the kitchen.