Empowered: Power Series #2 Read online

  Our most trusted man, Zayn, was overseeing the search. He had been by our side since we were kids. His father had worked for ours, so we grew up together, and I knew I could trust him.

  Zayn had updated Jai daily while I was gone. He also knew what Salena looked like, so he kept his eyes open for her. We were lucky that we had a recent image of her and some sort of resemblance of Tarun for reference. Amelia’s facial recognition software had proven to be even more helpful than we originally thought it would be. Even from the grave, my jaan was helping us.

  Chapter IV

  Amelia

  A loud noise snapped me awake. Somehow, I had managed to get sleep, maybe even for a few hours. There was no way to tell how long without a clock. I lay on my mattress fully awake but didn’t move to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. Maybe, if they thought I was asleep, the guards would leave me alone.

  Instead of a lone pair of footsteps echoing in the hall, I heard two. The steps stopped outside of my cell right before the gate creaked. The footsteps sounded again, but this time they moved away from me. Whoever it was must have entered Salena’s cell. I slowly angled my head to get a better look at what was happening. There was only one person who dressed as ostentatiously as the figure across the hall.

  Decked out in a shimmery orange jacket that reached his knees, Tarun entered her cell as the guard locked it from the outside. I noticed a pile of white cloth in the guard’s hands while he waited for his boss.

  Tarun’s bald head glistened with sweat in the stuffy dungeon. His short stature didn’t make him seem threatening at first glance, but there was something in his eyes that drew out my fear. I could see from how Salena cowered in the corner of her cell that she shared my reaction.

  “What? No kiss for your soon-to-be husband?” he sneered. Salena looked up at him, frozen to her spot. Tarun knelt in front of her and licked his lips like he was a hyena, and she was a carcass free for the taking.

  He stroked a lock of her hair between his fingers. “You need a bath, my love. Any wife of mine must be in pristine condition.” As if she could take a bath without your consent. She was his doll to dress up and parade around at his whim.

  Grabbing her head with his stubby fingers, he shoved his mouth onto hers and took what she didn’t want to give. He held her in place for far too long, raping her mouth.

  “That’s better,” he said, letting her go. Her shoulders shook, but still, no sound escaped her.

  “Soon enough, you’ll take everything I give you on our wedding night,” He said moving his hands down her neck and to the curve of her full chest. “You should consider yourself lucky to be engaged to a king like me.” He pulled on her breasts like they were squeeze toys, yanking so hard that she flinched from the pain.

  I shifted on my mattress anxiously. The coils squeaked under my weight, attracting the attention of the nightmare in jewels across the hall.

  “Well, look who’s awake!” he said with a flourish. “Perfect, I was just coming to have a meeting with you. Guard, allow me to consult with our computer prodigy.” His motions resembled those of a circus ringmaster.

  The guard unlocked Salena’s gate and granted him entrance to mine. Tarun took the pile of off-white cloth from the guard and approached my mattress, sashaying his hips as he moved. I sat upright, unsure of the safest position to be in. Lying on the floor while he hovered over me probably wasn’t the optimal way to face this monster.

  “I brought you some new clothes,” he said, placing them onto the bench attached to the wall as if he really cared about me. He made a face as he inspected my current outfit. “As beautiful as your current dress is, these would be more appropriate for your position here.” He eyed my now filthy dress, a rag of its former self. Rips and holes covered the fabric, which was nearly black from being holed up in a dingy cell.

  I didn’t satisfy him with the thank-you that he sought, yet I was grateful for something clean and hopefully less revealing to wear.

  He grabbed my wrists and unlocked the handcuffs around them. My skin there was raw from the metal pressing into it for so long and it stung as the air hit it.

  “It’s such a shame that your life took this path. It wasn’t too long ago that you had a promising future, but then you had to get yourself mixed up with those dreadful Sethi brothers.” He clicked his tongue in pity.

  “How do you know so much about me?” I asked, willing my voice to stay steady and not show my true fear.

  “I have my ways,” he said, brushing over my question. “I know that you are quite the computer developer who specializes in facial-recognition software,” he continued. “You were able to crack my riddle from the email that I sent your former bosses to figure out that I was here in Jaipur. How you figured out my encryption technique amazes me, especially when that idiot Jai couldn’t figure it out on his own.”

  So, we really are in Jaipur. At least now I knew for sure what city I was in. “Please let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone about you,” I begged.

  “Not even that dear mother of yours?” His mouth hitched up in a maniacal smile.

  I stilled at the mention of my mother. My heart slammed in my chest and panic spread through my body.

  “Ah, that’s right,” he said, grinning at my obvious terror. “I know all about her. The nurse in Seattle, Washington. I think the photo of her next to your bed is most endearing.”

  How could he know about that photo? I thought back to my time in New York. “You broke into my apartment?” I remembered the time my door was unlocked and I thought I had just been careless, when he actually had one of his goons break in. Was that who was following me at the bar when I called Shyam to pick me up?

  He ignored my question, but his smile said everything I needed to know. “What do you think Mummy would say hearing about the trouble her only daughter got herself mixed up with? Her baby girl, aiding and assisting drug dealers? How scandalous! Maybe I should bring her to India so you can explain it to her in person?”

  “No, please. I’ll do anything, just please don’t touch her.” I clasped my hands together, praying that he would leave her alone.

  He moved his finger to his upper lip, as if considering my plea. “I’m feeling generous today. I do have a position open for you on my team that I think you’d be perfect for.”

  “What is it?” I asked, knowing it was anything but good.

  “I want access to all of Shyam and Jai’s sales accounts,” he said evenly.

  “I don’t really know how to get all of that for you,” I replied nervously. I didn’t. I had only ever dealt with tracking and facial-recognition software at Sethi Tech.

  His eyes grew furious with rage. He grabbed me by my arms and yanked me close to him. “Don’t fuck with me, little girl!” he screamed at me. His face was so close to mine that I could feel his spit fly onto my skin. “I know you have technological permissions to all of their accounts.” He slapped me across my face, and I turned with the impact, my cheek stinging. I grasped my face with my hand to ease the pain, my eyes filling with tears.

  He took a step backward and straightened his jacket, regaining his composure. “You’ll have to excuse me. I am passionate about my work. I’m sure you can see how great of help you could be to me, especially since I have been such a gracious host to you during your stay.” His eyes resumed their usual deceitful appearance, not showing any of the rage he had just unleashed on me. He truly was psychotic.

  “As far as I see it, you are no longer employed by the Sethi brothers, so you may as well join the winning side. I want access to everything so I can reach out to my new clients that I have acquired and thank them for their patronage. Even your mother would appreciate her daughter working for the right side this time.”

  He wanted information on all Shyam’s distributors so he could sabotage all their pending drug sales. This would completely destroy their busines
s. It was essentially a hostile takeover in the criminal world. And he was using my mother as collateral.

  I was too scared to answer him.

  He glared at my lack of response. “I can see I’ve given you a lot to think about it. I’ll give you some time to consider my job, offer since I’m such a considerate man.”

  He moved closer to me and tucked his nose into my neck, sniffing my skin. My stomach churned at his proximity. He brought his mouth to my ear. “Maybe we can get together and sign the contract in private. No need to make wifey over there jealous,” he said nodding his head over to Salena’s cell. He moved his grubby hands to my abdomen and slid them downward, toward my groin. I felt bile rise up my throat.

  He pulled away from me with a grin on his face. “I will be back to hear your acceptance. Guard!” he called, signaling to be let out of the cell, then he turned back before exiting to strike one more arrow into my heart. “Your Mummy would be so proud of you.”

  He strolled down the hall as the guard locked up the gate and then followed behind, leaving Salena and I alone in our cages in silence, for fear of our captor returning.

  Chapter V

  Amelia

  Another period of sunlight shining through the skylight followed by overhead lights in the hallway cycled through. It was never truly dark, so my circadian clock was completely off, making it difficult to sleep during the “night.” Although, it was probably safer to stay awake—easier to see danger coming.

  Salena had left with a guard a few hours earlier, so I took advantage of the privacy and changed into the clothes Tarun had left for me. It was a long top with matching harem-style pants, like what Salena wore, except it wasn’t adorned with embroidery. A matching white shawl was included in the pile. I had seen Salena wear hers around her shoulders and sometimes over her head when she appeared to be deep in thought in her cell.

  She was allowed to leave her cell with the guards sometimes. I never asked where she went. She usually came back with a fresh change of clothes on and more bruises on her body. I sensed she was Tarun’s punching bag to vent his frustrations on.

  Eventually, Salena returned, following a guard. He let her into her cell and left without paying me any attention. Thank God. My face still stung from Tarun’s slap and my stomach was bruised from being kicked days earlier. I didn’t want any more of their attention.

  I waited to hear the dungeon door lock before I resumed pacing about my cell. My legs fell asleep often since I was sedentary now, so I wanted to keep my blood circulating by moving about. Though, the walking only slightly distracted me from Tarun’s threat on my mom’s life.

  “How do you know Shyam?” Salena’s soft voice interrupted my focus on my steps.

  I looked over to find her standing close to the bars of her cell so she wouldn’t have to talk loudly for me to hear her. I moved closer to my bars, grabbing them gently. “I work with him.”

  I decided to spare her the details of our relationship. How could I tell her that I was in love with her ex-fiancé?

  Yes. I was in love with him. It all seemed so silly, tiptoeing around my feelings for him back in New York. I loved him and might never get the chance to tell him.

  “Do you work for his company?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’m a software developer.” That part was true.

  “Oh. How did you know who I was?”

  Shit. I hesitated. How could I explain that without giving away more information than needed if I was just his employee? “I saw your picture.”

  She furrowed her brows. “How?”

  “I was helping him locate Tarun before I was kidnapped. Tarun sent Shyam your engagement photo.” This was also the truth, but again, not the whole truth. I couldn’t tell her that Shyam had first mentioned her while I was on my knees after giving him mind-blowing head. Yeah, that definitely wouldn’t make her feel too great.

  She looked away in disgust at the mere mention of her engagement. “Shyam saw that? I was wondering what Tarun was doing when he took the photos,” she said, her eyes downcast and voice full of shame.

  “Yes. Our software was able to decode the coordinates of Jaipur from the photo and catch the reflection of Tarun in the background of your photo,” I said.

  “Does Shyam know where we are?” she asked hopefully.

  I didn’t know the answer to that question, so I answered honestly. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

  The door down the hall clanked as it shut. Someone was coming. We both hurried back to our benches, putting distance between us so no one would suspect we had been talking.

  “You!” the guard shouted at me. “Get up! Boss wants you for work.”

  Apparently, I no longer had a choice about Tarun’s offer. But then again, does anyone ever have a choice when Tarun is involved?

  The guard opened the cell. I stepped out and followed him, sneaking a glance at Salena on my way out. She looked at me apologetically.

  We made our way out of the dungeon and through the door that gave me anxiety every time it made noise, revealing a new visitor. The guard pushed me up a long flight of stairs, until I reached the main level of the house, where dingy concrete and chipped paint were replaced by opulent stone and ornate tiles. A large fountain in the middle of the entrance way added a false sense of peacefulness to the ambiance. One wouldn’t be able to tell that a raging psycho who kept women prisoners in cages lived in this beautiful palace.

  We passed the foyer where I had first met said psycho on the left. The guard shoved me to keep going because I was too busy observing my surroundings instead of walking. I needed to remember the layout of the house if I ever found a chance to escape.

  We approached a steel door on my right that didn’t fit in with the rest of the extravagant décor of the house. The guard scanned his finger on the biometric scanner at the door, granting us entrance.

  The room looked like an old library. Bookcases filled with hardcover books lined the perimeter. Four dark wood tables sat in the center of the room, with two computer stations at each table. A brown chair dotted each station. The musky scent only added to the outdated appearance.

  Tarun stood impatiently in the center of the room with his hands on his hips as if he had been waiting for a long time. Today, he was decked out in a purple-and-gold brocade jacket with gold pants. A long necklace strung with pearls adorned his neck, and his mishappened birthmark peeked out from his collar. The gold medallion pendant that sat in the center of the strand of pearls rested on his abdomen. He was as ostentatious as ever.

  “Ah, there she is.” His voice sounded high-pitched and melodic, like he was singing a song.

  “Welcome to your new office, Miss Becker,” he exclaimed, waving his hands around. Then he eyed my new outfit.

  “I see your shalwar fits perfectly.”

  I looked down at my clothes, unsure how to respond.

  “Come, sit down. We have work to accomplish.” He motioned at one of the leather chairs.

  He pulled the chair out, allowing me to sit. I obeyed his order. His fingers rested on the back of my neck, under my hair, giving me chills on contact. I hated his hands on me. It made me feel violated and dirty.

  He inserted a flash drive into the processing unit. Who uses a flash drive anymore? The login page for Sethi Tech software was already loaded onto the screen.

  “Log in,” he commanded me like I was his slave. I obliged without argument. If I protested, I was sure he’d make good on his threat to hurt my mother. She was completely innocent in all of this and I’d die before I’d let him touch her.

  I entered my password, then the software prompted me to scan my finger for complete access. I was glad they had never re-cuffed my hands; having them bound would have made working on the keyboard difficult.

  I had little experience with the sales accounts. I had only seen Shyam review them a few times, but I h
ad never needed to use them for my work.

  After loading the home screen, I accessed the page with all Shyam’s clients. Account information for all their distributors were listed, including dates of past shipments, bank account information and contact information, and dates of their next shipments. It was surprising how much drug-dealing sales logs resembled regular online shopping logs. All these dealers needed was an online shopping cart and a website and they’d be set up for home delivery.

  A ringing sound echoed through the otherwise silent room, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Tarun removed his hand from my skin to pull out a phone from his pocket. I noticed it was an old-fashioned flip phone. He really was such a strange character. It was like he didn’t trust technology, yet he had access to the best of it like Shyam and Jai. Maybe he just didn’t want to use a phone with Wi-Fi capability so no one could keep tabs on him. Paranoid!

  “I’m sorry, Miss Becker. You’ll have to excuse me. I have another matter to tend to. I trust you are comfortable enough to continue working in my absence?” His voice was overly considerate, which made me feel even more uneasy.

  I nodded silently, hoping that I didn’t seem too eager for him to leave.

  He barked a warning in what I assumed was Hindi to the guard, then whipped the tail of his jacket around and left the room. “Keep an eye on her and make sure she finishes the job,” he shouted in English.

  His dual personalities were exhausting to keep up with. It was like he was playing the role of a fabulous host one minute, but he could turn maleficent in a matter of seconds. I never knew what personality I would be dealing with, so I preferred to stay silent to avoid pissing him off. My body couldn’t take any more abuse.

  The guard looked at me with a menacing look, as if warning me not to try anything funny.