Southern Secrets (The Southern Series Book 2) Read online

  “Now what?” she whispered as I glanced under the car. The Orcos had finished stacking the boxes, and were finishing unloading the vans beside the dock.

  “We’ve got to move, now. They will be going back into the building soon, and they will discover we are gone. They’re fast. You can’t outrun them. And they will be able to smell our trail, that’s why we have to make it to the river, to try to throw them off.”

  She nodded at me, and as I grabbed her hand, we made a break for it. I dragged her across the road and down the embankment to the river. Just as we reached the edge, I heard the metal doors on the warehouse open, and an engine start. Several voices shouted at once, and I knew our escape had been discovered.

  “Hurry!” I exclaimed. I drug her down the bank of the river, in the direction the river was running. Pulling her into the water, I waded out about knee deep, and I knew we would have trouble staying on our feet, the current was so swift. This wasn’t tubing down the Guadalupe in Texas, this was the mighty Mississippi. I shuddered as I thought about all the stories I’d heard about people drowning, trying to swim across. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to run back out of the water. My greatest fear had always been to die underwater, and I had to force myself when I was younger to learn to swim. I was an average swimmer but I had never been able to hold my breath. I pushed the thought out of my head as I turned and fought our way upstream.

  “What are you doing?” she exclaimed, already out of breath.

  I ignored her and pushed on, not stopping until we were a ways back up the river from where we’d come down the riverbank. I knew the Orcos would follow our scent down to where we’d entered the water, and assume the current carried us downstream. Reeds began to grow thicker at the water’s edge, and branches hung low, concealing us as the water began to get deeper. We both struggled to stay upright, fighting the current as we went. When we reached some large tree roots sticking out from the bank, I grabbed one, and then pulled Constance over and pushed her into them.

  “Get as far up under them as possible. I hope they can’t pick our trail up and find us immediately. Maybe Banton and the SEALs will get here before the Orcos find us and keep them busy.”

  “It’s so cold,” Constance shivered as she huddled closer.

  “I know…Shhh. I know, I’m sorry. This was all I could think of. We had to get in the water, otherwise they could smell our trail,” I replied as I pulled her into my side. It was hard to hear over the rushing water, but I could make out sounds, shouts, and footsteps. We were both shivering so hard I could hear our teeth chattering.

  Remembering my phone, I exclaimed “Oh, crap!”

  “What?” She stuttered, shivering from the cold.

  “My phone – it’s wet now, or we could have tried to call Banton,” I replied, almost wanting to cry. I’d been stupid to forget about it, getting it wet in the river.

  “No it’s not,” she retorted as she pulled it from her bra. She’d remembered to pull it from her pocket when we’d started down the river.

  I hugged and kissed her cheek as I grabbed it, and hit Banton’s speed dial.

  Banton answered on the first ring. “Chandler! Andie, where are you?”

  “We got away from them, but they are searching for us. We’re hiding in the river across from the warehouse. I can hear them searching, Banton…where are you?” I whispered as loudly as I could, to be heard over the river noise.

  “We’re there, Andie. We’re just about to rush them, stay put…I’ll call you right back.” The line went dead.

  I looked at Constance, scared beyond belief…the SEALs were about to attack the Orcos above.

  “What?” she asked, her teeth chattering badly.

  “They’re here…” I answered as we heard gunshots above us.

  * * *

  We listened silently as the gunfire popped rapidly overhead. Voices shouted, and then we could hear the sound of footsteps, and someone moving through the brush just above us. More gunshots erupted, and the bank began to cave, sending mud down on our heads. A body fell in front of us into the water as Constance screamed. Then everything became silent. We watched the body of the Orco float swiftly down the river as we continued to push against the current, holding on to the tree roots. We were shaking so badly our bones were beginning to clatter.

  Finally Constance exclaimed, “Chandler, I’m so cold…I can’t feel my legs anymore. I’m so tired…” Tears began to stream down her face.

  “I know, I am too.” I was struggling to hang on, and to keep my eyes open. I knew the Orcos put something in the water they’d given us, and it was beginning to take effect. “Stay awake, Constance, they’ve drugged us. Don’t go to sleep! Try to fight it. Just a little longer, hold on,” I urged her.

  I heard a shout, then another. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, and I didn’t know if it was the SEALs or Orcos. We waited, holding our breath…

  “Chandd-lleerr! Annddiieee, can you hear us! Where are you?”

  “That’s Ty!” She exclaimed as I pushed away from the bank. The current seemed much stronger, probably because I was weaker now, having lost most of the feeling in my legs. “Banton! Banton, over here!” I yelled, spotting the Orco who had kidnapped us standing on the riverbank.

  The Orco dove at me as I lost my balance, falling as the water rushed over my head. I was caught in the current of the river. Panicked, I tried to right myself and find my footing. As I fought to get my legs under me I realized the water here was over my head, and I was only about three or four feet away from the riverbank when I fell. The cast on my arm seemed to weigh a hundred pounds, making my arm useless. As my head broke the surface of the water, I caught sight of Constance, and I yelled, “Don’t let go of the side, wait for them…” and then the water covered my head again. Don’t fight the current, let it carry you…I thought, trying not to panic.

  My whole body was beginning to go numb, my limbs felt as if they were weighted. I finally broke the surface again. Just as I had my feet under me, the Orco surfaced in front of me, grabbing me by my arm and pulling me back under. I swallowed a large mouthful of river water as I tried to scream. The brackish, freezing water filled my lungs, a thousand icy needles stinging. I was a stone, sinking deeper into the river. Panic set in as I fought furiously against the iron grip of the monster holding me down, and battled the current swallowing me. A hurt I’d never experienced before racked my chest. As if watching a replayed scene in slow motion, I remembered my attack before Christmas as the Orco bit me. The last coherent thought I had was of Banton and our babies. As I struggled for one last bit of air, the black, endless state of unconsciousness won over.

  * * *

  “Hang on!” I could hear words shouted as if listening from under water.

  I was too tired to turn my head, I felt a jerk, and then someone grasped me under the arms, and pulled me up into the freezing cold air.

  “You’re all right, I’ve got you,” Sam spoke into my ear as he pulled me up against his chest. He stood up with me in his arms and trudged out of the water.

  “Chandler, breathe!” Sam’s voice broke into my consciousness. A pounding began in my head as my chest heaved. My entire body broke into a spasm as I threw up the brackish river water. Fire raged through my body as I struggled to breathe. A mighty weight descended on my chest, holding me down.

  Standing back upright, Sam yelled down the bank, “I’ve got her! Down here, Banton!” His voice echoed around me. I heaved again as the river water poured from my mouth. The pain was unbearable as my erratically beating heart struggled to find a rhythm.

  “Come on, Chandler, fight! Breathe, Andie…Please! Baby, please…breathe! Fight!” Banton’s voice broke through the noises exploding around me.

  Heaving again, I coughed and drew in cold air. I was so exhausted from shivering and fighting the current, I couldn’t even speak. I just looked weakly up at him as he knelt over me, his hands working compressions on my chest.

  “Andie
, are you all right? Are you hurt?” He pulled me up into his lap.

  “I’m all right,” I couldn’t hear my own voice. I shivered uncontrollably. I could hear someone running, and then voices as the rest of the SEALs sprinted down the river bank.

  “Chandler! Thank God!” I finally focused on Banton’s face as he held me against his chest, taking my face in his hands as he looked me over.

  “I’m fine…I’m just so cold,” I chattered. I coughed again, continuing to shiver uncontrollably. “Where’s Constance? Did you find her?” My voice was a hoarse bark as I panicked, thinking she might still be in the river.

  “We’ve got her, Baby. She’s fine, Ty and John carried her back up to the vehicles…Come on, let’s get you up there.” Banton stood, cradling me close to his chest as he trudged back up the embankment. Ben sacrificed his jacket, wrapping it around me.

  “Come on, we’ve got to get them dry and warm.” Sam yelled as they both topped the hill.

  Banton carried me over to an SUV I recognized as one of the Aldon’s that had been camped out at our house. Throwing the back doors open, he jumped in with me as Sam shut the doors behind us. He laid me down on the floor, and then began to remove my wet clothes as my teeth continued to chatter.

  “Hang on, Andie…I’m going to get you warmed up.” He continued to pull everything off as he yelled up to the front, “Throw me your jackets, anything you have!”

  A couple of jackets flew over the seat at Banton. He pulled his own jacket off, and then pulled his own shirt over his head. Kneeling back down, he pulled it down over my head, enveloping me in the warm fabric. Then he wrapped me in the jackets, and pulled me up into his lap.

  “Where is Constance?” I asked. He gazed intently at me while he stroked my cheek.

  “She’s in the other SUV with Ty and John and the others. She’s fine, Chandler. You’re both going to be all right.” He rocked me back and forth as he buried his face in my neck. Holding me tightly against his body, and with the heater blowing directly on us from above, I finally began to thaw out, my feet and hands tingling as if they were on fire. I began to rub my fingers as I winced. The pain was almost unbearable as the feeling came back into them.

  “You were dangerously close to hypothermia. But you were smart to get in the river, what made you think of it?” He rubbed my hands and feet to increase the circulation.

  “It’s what they always do in the movies, if someone wants to hide their scent,” I replied shakily. He chuckled, the sound laced with relief.

  “Is Brie all right? Oh, God, they didn’t hurt her,” I murmured huskily. I fought to keep my eyes open, I knew the drugs the Orcos had given us were about to take over.

  “She’s going to be okay. Everett came in on the Orco holding her hostage, and he and Mr. Philippe took care of him. She was unconscious on the living room floor. When she finally came to she told us what had happened, and then we got your video text.”

  “Did you…did you get any of them…what happened to the Orcos?” I croaked as he stroked my cheek.

  “We got a few, the Aldon are disposing of them. Some of them got away, but the last we saw the Aldon were chasing them up the river,” he replied. “Shh…just rest, Andie. I’ll tell you all about it later. Everyone is fine, I promise,” he assured me as I closed my eyes. Now that I was warm, I was so tired. All I wanted to do was go to sleep.

  “Banton,” I whispered, my eyes still closed.

  “What is it, Baby?” he murmured against my cheek.

  “They gave us something, drugged us, I don’t know what…it..was, I …don’t want …” I couldn’t finish.

  “Hurry up, Sam!” he commanded as I finally fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I woke up wrapped in my warm comforter in our room. My arms and legs were weighted down…I couldn’t even make the effort to turn over. As I fought to open my eyes, I could hear Banton and Everett talking.

  “Doc said to just let them sleep it off, all their blood tests showed was some sleep medication. Evidently they were drugging them for the trip so they wouldn’t put up a fight. The girls probably got away just in time.” I could hear the anger in his voice as he spoke.

  “Banton, I’m so sorry, I still can’t make sense of what happened. Stephan and Grant received a text from me! That’s impossible, of course, because I had my cell phone the whole time. The text said for them to leave the house, and meet us downtown, the SEALs were being attacked and we were needed. It was a wild goose chase, of course. Mr. Philippe and I got the same text supposedly from you, when we were on our way to get the girls and take them to class. When we realized you weren’t in danger, we raced back here and found that Orco holding Brie. We burst in on him and found him at the top of the stairs. I don’t think he intended to leave her alive, and as we started after him he pitched her down the staircase. It’s a wonder she didn’t have any broken bones.

  “Have you checked on her since we got back?” Banton asked softly.

  “John and Dr. Lane are in there with her right now. She’s just bruised up a bit, and sore. She has a concussion…Doc said she’ll have a headache for a day or two.”

  “I’m glad she’s all right. Do you know how close she came to losing her life today?”

  “Yes, and we feel responsible. There is something going on, and we will get to the bottom of this! Someone is going to pay, if we have to interrogate every Aldon involved!” Everett exclaimed with a fury I’d never heard in his voice before.

  I finally woke enough to move my arms and stretch.

  “Chandler, are you awake?” Banton asked softly as he sat down on the side of the bed. I moaned as I tried to turn over.

  “What is it? Are you hurting?” he asked, taking my shoulders in his hands and turned me over.

  “No…I’m just…” My mouth felt as if it had cotton in it, and my tongue felt so thick it was hard to talk. “Water…can I have…” I barely spoke before he held a glass to my lips. Taking a couple of swallows of the cool water, I lay my head back down on the pillow, and sighed. With my eyes still closed, I replied, “I’m sorry, I’m still just so heavy, I can’t move. I can’t turn over or open my eyes…”

  He rubbed my back. “Just go back to sleep, Baby. I’ll be right here. We aren’t going anywhere. Just sleep it off,” he urged as he bent over to kiss my cheek.

  “Kay,” I managed to whispered, allowing sleep to take over once more.

  * * *

  After a couple more hours of sleep, I came fully awake. Banton lay next to me in the bed, reading on his laptop.

  “Banton?” I asked, watching him. He was studying the screen intently.

  “You’re awake. How do you feel, can I get you anything?” he asked as he flipped the laptop shut.

  “How is Constance? Is she still sleeping?”

  “Yeah, evidently they gave her more medication than they gave you. She hasn’t moved yet. Ty is worried about her, she hasn’t made a sound since they put her in the bed. Doc had to put two stitches in her head, right at the hairline, and she has a small bruise on her cheek.” He rubbed my arm with his hand as he spoke. I tried to push the covers back and push up in bed as he put another pillow behind my head to prop me up. Swiftly dawning on me, I pulled my arm up to look at it…my cast was gone from my arm.

  Sensing my question, he offered, “Doc said you could do without it now, it had to come off after getting wet in the river. He said the bone appeared to be set, to just be careful with it for a few more days.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “What time is it…how long have I been asleep?” I asked, yawning.

  “It’s almost one o’clock in the morning, sweetheart. I’m not sure what time we got you back here, but it was after noon. You’ve been asleep at least twelve hours. Are you hungry? I can go down and get you some soup or something,” he offered as he caressed my cheek with his thumb.

  “No, I’m not hungry. Just thirsty, I think,” I replied as he reached for a glass of water
on the nightstand. Handing it to me, he continued to rub my shoulder as I gulped it down.

  “You need to eat something, Andie. You haven’t had anything all day,” he replied sternly, setting the glass back down on the nightstand.

  “Maybe in a little while…My stomach is still a little queasy, from everything.”

  “Andie, Ty was worrying about what happened…Constance is pretty bruised up, and with the cut on her head, and the concussion…Did they hurt you two, any other way? What did they do to you?” He asked as he searched my eyes.

  “They were just rough, when they carried us to the van, and then unloaded us. They pretty much just dropped us on our backsides a couple of times. I’m not sure how Constance got the cut, unless it was when they dropped us out the window.”

  “We heard them in the video you sent, arguing about not hurting you, that HE wanted you unharmed, and HE wouldn’t like the bruises…Andie, do you know who HE is?”

  I shuddered as I remembered the voice. “Yes, though I didn’t get a good look at his face. He was in the shadows of the warehouse. He has a deep voice and spoke with sort of an accent. He was gigantic, probably over six-foot five or so, and about three hundred pounds.”

  “Had you ever seen him before, in the tunnels or here when you were attacked at the house?” He continued to stroke my arms.

  I shook my head. “No, never.”

  “Was he an Orco?”

  “I’m not sure. I never got to see his eyes or anything,” I replied.

  He snuggled down beside me in the bed, and lay his head over on my chest as he moved his hand slowly over my abdomen.

  “Well, if Constance doesn’t wake soon, we’re going to have to do some damage control with Mrs. Sue and Mr. Lon. They’ve been burning her cell phone up all afternoon,” he commented as he looked up at me.

  “Go and get it, I’ll text them she’s gone to New Orleans with Ty and she forgot her phone here. I’ll tell them I’ll have her call them when she gets back tomorrow.” I replied as I played with his hair.