Free Dark Refuge by Kate Douglas Page A

Annie. They don’t live far from here, possibly close enough to hear you should you call on them.
    Hi, Sissy. I’m Alex Aragat, Annie is my mate.
    Hi, Sissy. I’m Annie. Can you hear us clearly?
    I can. How do I contact you?
    Gabe answered. Think our names and if we’re within range, we’ll hear you. Right now you’re not blocking, and that’s a good thing. Once we have you safe, we’ll teach you how to conceal your private thoughts, but for now we need to be able to hear you should you need us. Don’t worry, though. We won’t snoop.
    He’s here. I’m pretending to sleep.
    Okay. If all of you are together at any time today, no matter how many of the men are there, let us know. And if you can, picture the inside of the apartment and where all of you are. We can see those images in your mind.
    Okay. But not now. I can’t talk to you and act normal with them. I’m sorry.
    Don’t be sorry. You’re doing amazingly well. Be safe.
    They headed back toward CGI with Em and Annie leading. The guys walked behind them, almost as if they kept guard. It was a new feeling for Em. A safe feeling. She glanced once more at the balcony where Sissy’d been standing moments ago. “She is so brave,” she said. “She’s been their captive for over five years, forced into prostitution, treated as nothing more than a commodity. I really admire her. I don’t think I could ever be that brave.”
    Annie frowned, stopped walking and took both of Em’s hands in hers. “Em? How can you say that? You are brave. What you did when we were kids? That took amazing courage.”
    “What I did? What are you talking about?” Em shuddered, but she didn’t know why. She remembered her mom saying that when you shivered for no reason, there really was a reason. Someone was walking over your grave. But that was stupid, because if you were alive, you didn’t have a grave. At least not yet.
    Annie shot a quick glance at Alex, who merely shrugged, and then frowned at Gabe, who shook his head. “Don’t any of you remember?” She stared at Em. “It happened when you were fourteen, the year that man snatched you from the mall in Kalispell. He held you for two days, I think. He was a serial rapist and everyone knew he’d taken you because they had the video from the mall security cameras.”
    “What? What in the hell are you talking about?” She didn’t mean to sound so confrontational, but for whatever reason, Annie’s stupid story scared the crap out of her. Shaking her head, denying it with everything she had, Em said, “Impossible, Annie. That never happened. Believe me, if something like that had happened to me, I’d remember, don’t you think?” She pulled her hands free of Annie’s as she laughed it off and started to walk away, but Gabe’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.
    “Annie, what do you remember about it?”
    He guided them over to another couple of benches at the far end of the park. They’d almost walked out of the green space, but now Em was glad to have a place to sit. Somehow, what Annie was saying felt so wrong, almost as if it fed that darkness in her mind.
    Annie glanced at the guys before she said anything, which struck Em as weird. The whole idea of telling a story that had to be a lie was weird, but she figured she’d have to listen, since Gabe and Alex definitely intended to.
    Annie stared off in the distance. Gathering her thoughts for certain, but was it to make up a story or remember something that actually happened? Again, that unexpected shiver raced over Em’s arms, down her spine.
    Annie glanced at Em and shrugged. “For what it’s worth,” she said, “it feels very strange to be telling this story to you, Em. I find it so hard to believe you don’t remember this. Anyway, four of us had gone to the mall. It was twelve years ago, in late winter. February, I think, and it was cold and snowy and we were all bored because it was too cold even for our wolves, so none of us had been out to run. It