Free In His Power (Beyond Darkness, #1) by Iris Deorre

Bradley.
    ‘They don’t know we’re coming, do they?’
    ‘No they don’t.’
    Victor nodded. He pulled off his black jacket and threw it in the car.
    ‘Victor?’ said London.
    ‘We’re going in, you stay here.’
    ‘I can’t. If my daughter is in there, I want to be there to take her home.’
    He sat in the car a moment with her. It was clear she wasn’t aware of the density of the situation.
    ‘For now, please just stay here. There are some very bad people in there. I don’t want you to get hurt.’
    She watched him, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but instead of arguing, she nodded.
    ‘Great. I promise if she’s in there, we’ll bring her out.’ He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
    ‘Okay.’ The door shut, and she watched as the men made their way towards the dingy looking warehouse. They moved towards the smaller building that looked like offices and stepped in. 
    Her heart pumped. She was terrified. Was Paige really in there? Had they been feeding her? Was she well? Every thought made her more nervous and sicker than ever. Even though she’d promised to stay put, she just couldn’t sit there and do nothing.
    She looked to the left of the car and noticed the driver smoking a cigarette. She had to get out even if she had to make a run for it. She waited for the right moment. But it never seemed to come. But the longer it took, the harder it was for her to wait. She knocked against the window and the driver walked over and opened the door.
    ‘I really need to get some fresh air. It’s really hot.’ She stepped out. ‘I’ll just have a look around, I won’t go far.’
    He was about to hesitate.
    ‘I promise! I promised Victor, wouldn’t go into the warehouse. You’ll have to trust me like he trusts me. I just need to walk, to calm my nerves.’
    He took a drag of the cigarette and nodded. London looked at the warehouse in front of her. She felt faint just thinking that her daughter was in there. She walked away from it, as if to the side, and she was soon out of the driver’s sight. The windows to the building were shattered, and she was certain she could hear sounds of children, either crying or screaming. Her stomach tightened. She couldn’t bear the thought that her daughter could be in there.
    She walked around to the back and found a door. The handle clicked opened and she stepped in. Taking slow steps she started for the first door where she’d heard a child screaming. She tried the door, and with enough effort, it opened. In the corner of a dark room, a little girl was curled up into a ball, with no shoes and only a dirty white dress.
    ‘Oh my god!’ London ran towards the little girl and took her into her arms. She stroked the girls blond curls and tried as best she could to calm her down.
    ‘I want my mummy. When can I see my mummy?’ The little girl cried.
    ‘Soon, you’ll see your mummy very soon. I promise.’
    The little girl stopped crying a moment, and looked up at the new fresh face.
    ‘Are you a policewoman?’ asked the girl.
    ‘No honey, I’m not. But I know people who can help you.’ She hugged her again. ‘Do you know where you are?’
    The girl shook her head.
    ‘What’s your name?’
    ‘Janice.’ She whispered.
    ‘Where are you from Janice?’
    ‘California. I want to go home.’
    ‘Okay.’ She squeezed her tight. In the background she heard more whimpering. ‘Do you trust me, Janice?’
    Janice nodded.
    ‘Okay. I’ll come back for you in a minute.’
    ‘No, don’t leave me!’
    ‘I’ll come back, I promise. I have to go and see if I can find my little girl, and I want to help all the others. So stay here and be very quiet. Don’t tell anyone okay.’
    At first Janice wouldn’t let go of her, but finally London convinced her to stay put while she tried to find Paige. She did her best to look into the doors that were opened, some of them were locked, but she could still hear children behind the locked doors. It horrified and