The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) (45 page)

Judah ran over and grabbed the bucket, pouring it over his mother. “Where’s Alexandra?”

Sarah wiped away the water from her eyes, glancing at the wall to Judah’s right with unsure eyes. “Hopefully alive,” she said as she ran over to the bed. “Where is Trey?”

“I left him back with Elizabeth and Eric,” Judah said. “Eric was still unconscious and—”

“Wait,” Sarah said as she grabbed a purple dress and turned around. “Eric’s alive?”

Judah nodded his head. “He was breathing when I got back to the camp, but I couldn’t stay behind. I came here as soon as I could. I thought I would…oh God, Mom, I tried to get here before….” He looked over at his sisters, fighting back the tears that quickly welled up before turning back to his mom. “Did they touch them?”

“No,” Sarah said as she pulled the dress overhead. “They didn’t touch us.”

“And Alexandra?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Sarah said, looking behind her at her girls as they finished tugging their gowns on them. “We’ve got to move.”

“Okay,” he said, reaching down and unbuckling the pistol that was holstered on Saul’s leg. “I’ll lay down some cover fire and draw their attention. Just get them out of here. Find a way to cross the river and we can meet up in a couple of weeks at that college where Alexandra’s sister lived.”

“No,” she said.

“Mom, we have to—”

“Cate said they only allow women outside to be lined up on display. Now you got yourself in here acting like one of them. You think you can keep that up a bit longer?”

“I can,” Judah replied. “Though acting like them makes me want to throw up.”

“Good,” Sarah said. “The day it doesn’t is the day I disown you. Keep it up for now. I need you to play your part and we’ll act like girls being put up for display. We’ll find Alexandra and once we’re outside, we wait to make a break for it. All of us…together. No questions.”

“Fine,” Judah said, fastening Saul’s gun to his leg. “Where is she?”

“In the room next to ours,” Sarah said, pointing to the far wall. She turned to Eva and Grace, handing them two dresses. “You two keep your eyes down and your mouths closed. It’s going to be okay. If we get separated, you just run for the bridges and don’t stop for us.” They nodded their heads quietly. Sarah paused before reaching toward the bed. She shuffled through her old clothes quickly before tugging her Bible free. Sarah handed it to Judah and nodded her head as he tucked it into one of his pant pockets. “Alright, let’s go.”

Judah shoved Saul’s body to the side so that he could open the door. He paused before reaching over his corpse and tugging the knife his father had given him free from the other man’s chest. He wiped the blade clean on Saul’s shirt and tucked the dagger in his belt. He rose and opened the door, glancing down each way before stepping into the hallway. He nodded back to his mother before slowly walking over to the second door. He paused, unsure if Alexandra was alone or not. He turned back to Sarah and whispered.

“Was anyone else in there with her?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

Judah nodded and took a deep breath before drawing his weapon and opening the door.

His eyes immediately fell on the still body that lay on the bed, facing the other way. He glanced around the room, making sure it was empty before running over to the bed, slowing as he approached. Alexandra still wore the clothes he had last seen her in, though her shirt was ripped at the collar. Judah gently grabbed Alexandra by the shoulder and began to roll her over. As he did so, she began to thrash, pounding his chest with her clinched fists.

“Don’t touch me!” she roared. “Don’t—”

“Alexandra, stop; it’s me. It’s Judah.”

Alexandra gazed back at him quietly, her dark, terrified eyes widening as they bored into him. After a pause, she reached up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight against her as she wept.

“It’s alright, Alexandra,” Judah said as he painfully pulled away from her embrace. “Come on. We don’t have much time. Sarah and the girls are here and we need to go quickly.”

She glanced over at Sarah before looking back at Judah and nodding her head. She stood up and immediately winced, nearly falling to the floor. Sarah ran over and grabbed Alexandra by the left arm while Judah supported her by the right. Alexandra began to cry again as she hung between them.

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Sarah said soothingly. “It’s almost over.”

“Are you okay?” Judah asked. “Did they break something?”

Sarah glanced up at Judah as she helped lower Alexandra back to the bed. “Judah, I need you to go back to the other room and grab another dress. Something that looks like it will fit her. They won’t let her out unless she looks like one of us.”

“But I—”

“Just do it,” she said. “I’ll see what’s wrong with her.”

Judah nodded reluctantly before standing and quickly running to the door. He opened the door, peering out cautiously before running over to the other room. He entered and quickly shut the door behind him, running over to the bed to begin searching the pile of fancy clothes. He sifted through them, tossing dress after dress to the side. After a moment, he paused, realizing he wasn’t only looking for something that would fit her.

He was searching for a garment of beauty, worthy of the girl he had begun to love.

Judah wiped away his tears and grabbed a dark red dress before turning back to the door. As he stepped out into the hallway and turned toward the other room, he abruptly stopped.

“Who the hell are you?” a man standing before him asked quietly.

“I’m…,” Judah began, gulping down the lump in his throat. “I’m Judah.”

“Judah, huh?” the man replied. “You the boy Saul was talking about?”

“What?” Judah asked nervously.

“You know, the kid with the
particular
tastes?”

Judah nodded back quietly.

“He in there?” the man asked, nodding to the door.

“Yes,” Judah said.

The man looked back at Judah as though he were searching for more before shaking his head in annoyance. “Well, is he finished yet?”

“No,” Judah said. “And I wouldn’t go in there. He about bit my head off. Told me to take this dress next door to the new girl.”

“That so?” the man replied. “Hank tell her to put it on?”

“Of course,” Judah said, playing along as he wondered how to get rid of the guy.

The other man glanced back at the door where the girls waited before looking back at Judah with a grin.

“Well, he said we can look but don’t touch,” the man said with a grin. “Come on, you need to see this girl.”

“I’m not sure Hank would—”

“Oh, give me that,” the man grumbled, grabbing the dress from Judah’s hands before turning to walk to the other door. “Now I understand you’re into little girls and all, but this woman might change that all for you.” The man reached down and turned the knob, the one way lock clicking. He pushed the door open and walked into the dark room. “Hank keeps saying hands off, but I say share the wealth. He can’t go on—”

Judah wrapped his hand around the man’s mouth and stuck his knife into his back. Sarah and the girls looked over in surprise as the man briefly struggled. Judah growled, sticking the man repeatedly until his body went limp and fell to the ground. Judah paused before reaching down and cleaning his knife again on the man’s pant leg. He grabbed the dress, turning it over and tossing it to Alexandra.

“Sorry for the blood on it,” he said. “Good thing I grabbed red.”

Sarah stared at him wordlessly. He was about to open his mouth when he realized Alexandra was standing there, gazing back at him in nothing but her underwear and bra. He quickly turned around to face the door.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as they started dressing behind him.

“It’s alright,” Sarah said.

“Are you okay, Alexandra?” he said. “If they broke something I can carry you once we—”

“She’ll be fine for now, Judah,” Sarah said. “Okay, she’s dressed. Let’s go.”

Judah turned around, his eyes growing wide as he stared at Alexandra. Her hair was tucked back behind her shoulders and her eyes were focused on him. She had a few welts dotting her arms and the makings of a nasty bruise on her jaw. Still, she was stunning—the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

“I…I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Judah said as he slowly approached. “I shouldn’t have left with Trey.”

“If you had stayed behind, they would have shot you too,” Sarah said.

“But I should have been there,” Judah said, his teary eyes never looking away from Alexandra. “And I’m so sorry I wasn’t. I swear I won’t leave you again.”

Alexandra gazed back at him, her eyes gleaming in the dim light. She wiped her wet cheek and nodded her head.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, we really need to go,” Sarah said. “Judah, you know what to do. Girls, follow him. Alexandra, if the pain is too great just grab my arm and I’ll help you.”

Judah led them to the door and opened it. He peered outside again, careful to wait and see if anyone was coming before turning back. “Alexandra, keep your face down and hidden if you can. That guy said something about Hank wanting you for himself and if someone sees you they might wonder what you’re doing out here. But don’t worry. I’m going to get you out of here before anyone touches you.” He nodded back, not waiting for a reply, before walking out into the hallway. He slowly led them through the dimly lit complex, doing his best to ignore those they passed. After a few minutes of nodding and smiling to the occasional man or woman, they reached the front door. Two guards—a set of men that had been with him on the truck—glanced over at him. Judah smiled and cleared his throat.

“And Saul said I was the sick one,” Judah said with a fake chuckle.

“Where is he?” one of the guards asked with a grin.

“Back in the room with some woman named Cate,” Judah said, happy not to have to lie about that fact.

“Oh, we all know Cate,” the guard replied with a laugh. “Now what I don’t know is why they’d let the new kid escort the new girls outside on his first night. I thought—”

“Hank said he wanted them out on display when I was done,” Judah cut in.

“That’s a lot to ask of a new guy,” the guard said, his eyes narrowing. “Especially one so young.”

“Well I guess they’re not only starting girls out young anymore, now are they?” Judah replied, glancing back at his sisters. His mom looked terrified as she breathed deeply while Alexandra trembled, her face hidden behind her hair.

The man hesitated before smiling and nodding over to Judah’s sisters.

“How were they?”

“Oh them?” Judah asked, glancing back at them before turning back to the man. “They were…well, they’re sweet little girls.”

“I bet they were,” the man chuckled, nodding to the other guard to open the door. “Now get the hell out of here, you sick son of a bitch.”

Judah nodded back as he led them through the exit. He led them across the parking lot as quickly as he could without looking conspicuous. The crowd was noticeably larger now than it had been when Judah first arrived. As they walked away from the complex, Sarah slowly inched closer to Judah.

“Where do we go now?” she asked, her voice a low murmur against the churning crowd.

“There is a maze of buildings across Front Street. If we can make it to the interstate without being caught, we can—”

“You! New guy. Stop!” Judah turned around as a group of eight men slowly made their way through the crowd, walking quickly toward him. The man who had shouted stood at the front, his head bobbing as he attempted to keep Judah in sight.

“Judah, that’s Hank,” Sarah said. “What do we do?”

“Stop!” Hank shouted again as he and the other men continued to push their way through the mass of people. Alexandra was breathing heavily beside Judah, mumbling and trying to hide her tears as Hank approached. “Why the hell would Saul send you out here alone, huh? Where is that son of a bitch?”

“He’s inside with Cate!” Judah shouted, turning to the girls and whispering. “Get ready to run.”

“Hold on a second,” Hank shouted, only fifty feet away now. “Why’d he send you out here alone? Who’s that in the red dress? That’s not…you! How the hell did you—”

Judah drew his sidearm and time seemed to slow to a crawl. His two sisters began to scream and Sarah cried out as she reached for them. Alexandra shouted, her black hair streaming out behind her as she turned and began to run. Judah raised his pistol and took a deep breath, gazing down the barrel at the group of armed men as his voice filled the bustling parking lot.

“Run!”

He pulled the trigger and a flash illuminated the night as the hollow concussion echoed off the pyramid’s high glass walls, causing the sprawling pack of traders and rapists to instinctively duck. Hank’s shout cut off mid-breath and he reached for his stomach—his eyes wide with shock. His men flinched, glancing over in surprise at their wounded boss as they reached down to draw their weapons. Judah fired two more times and Hank’s head whipped around violently as a round struck him in the face, a cloud of blood spraying out behind him. Judah turned to run, firing behind him blindly as chaos erupted in the square.