“Hey!”

Terrified, Juliette faced her companion and her jaw dropped. “Maraveet?”

The woman looked nothing like Juliette remembered. Her auburn mane was a tangled, matted mess. Her face was drawn, streaked with makeup and pale. She wore jeans and a black coat, but her clothes were wrinkled. She sat on the floor of her cage, her green eyes enormous peering at Juliette through the bars.

“Are you hurt?”

The question took Juliette a moment to answer while she examined her own body. There was a crick in her neck from sleeping on cold cement and her cheek was throbbing, but…

“No, I think I’m okay.” She touched a hand to her brow. “Where are we?”

Maraveet shook her head. “I don’t know. This is where I woke up too.”

Juliette did another survey of their surroundings, noting that there were no windows or doors.

“I don’t understand.” She licked her lips. “What’s going on?”

“Someone’s trying to get Killian’s attention,” the other woman stated. “I wasn’t sure at first, I have my own share of people who want me … out of the way, but I’m positive now that you’re here.”

“Me?” The room kept spinning. She wasn’t sure if that was the after effect of the drugs or the situation, but Juliette squeezed her eyes shut tight and willed it to stop. “What do I have to do with—?”

“They killed Molly,” Maraveet interrupted. “I don’t know that for sure, but I’d bet my last dollar on it. Now I’m here and you’re here, the last two people Killian cares about.”

“They? Who’s they?” Juliette demanded, eyes opening and focusing on the other woman.

Maraveet shook her head. Her green eyes shot to the stairs then back.

“I haven’t been let out of this cage since I was brought in. I’ve seen four men. They take turns coming in twice a day with food and once to get the bucket. They don’t speak and they’re careful not to set a routine so I have no idea how long I’ve been here.”

Mind reasonably clearer, Juliette paused to think. “How long have I been here?”

“A few hours at the most.”

Juliette swallowed. “We went to see Molly three days ago.”

“Three days,” Maraveet muttered. “It felt longer.”

“Well, it’s okay, because Killian will know you’re missing and he’ll—”

Maraveet shook her head. “I left when you guys did. He has no idea where I am and he won’t look.”

Juliette blinked. “You … you left him … again?”

Green eyes narrowed. “This is why! We’re dangerous together. I thought I would have time to leave the country before whoever killed Molly came for me.”

“So you ran.”

Rather than answer, Maraveet heaved herself into the corner between the bars they shared and the wall. Her legs rolled out in front of her and she leaned her head back.

“I don’t expect you to understand. You’ve been protected and sheltered your entire life. How would you know the fears of dying?”

Juliette opened her mouth to remind the woman of Arlo, but the time for arguing about useless things would have to wait until later. They had a bigger problem.

“Where are we?” she asked instead.

“I think a boat. I can feel the room moving sometimes when it’s windy.”

Gingerly, Juliette shuffled to her feet and moved to the bar door and shook it once, just to see if maybe it would open. It didn’t. She tipped her head back and peered at the ceiling with its inbuilt lights and smooth, metal surfacing.

“How did they get us in here? Where’s the door?”

Maraveet pointed with one finger to the stairs. “It’s a concealed hatch. No doubt used to smuggle people across international waters without getting caught.”

Juliette snapped her neck around. “Smuggle people? They’re human traffickers?”

Maraveet shrugged. “Possibly. Why else would you build a hidden room with cages under your boat?”

A cold wave of terror plowed into her, sending her crashing into the bars. She hit the floor on both knees as icy claws skated along every nerve ending in her body, turning them numb. Balls of air lodged in her chest, withholding every breath until she was sure she’d pass out.

“Hey.” Maraveet scurried on all fours to the other side of her cage so she knelt just on Juliette’s left side. “Slow breaths. We’re going to get out of here.”

The absolute confidence in the woman’s voice momentarily made her forget the panic threatening to consume her.

“How do you—”

“Because Killian will know you’re missing.”

Juliette shook her head. “No, he won’t. He told me never to come back. He told me I meant nothing to him.” The memories doubled the anxiety already gnawing through her. Tears spilled in a steady flow to stain the front of her coat. “He won’t look for us.”

“He will,” Maraveet insisted in that same confidence. “Trust me. I know my brother. He won’t let you disappear, no matter what he might have said. Hey.” She reached through the bars and grabbed Juliette’s hand. “He’s coming. I know he is.”

Juliette broke down. She normally wasn’t the sort to shatter under pressure, but between losing Killian and being kidnapped, her emotions refused to hold together anymore. They dissolved in a fit of sobs she hadn’t ever allowed herself. Maraveet said nothing. She didn’t tell her to be quiet or stop being a baby. She gripped Juliette’s hand and waited.

“Done?” she asked, not unkindly once Juliette had run out of tears.

Juliette nodded, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her coat. “I’m sorry.”

Maraveet shook her head. “It’s fine, but that is the only cry you’re going to get, understand? After this moment, you’re going to bottle it all up, all your feelings and never allow them to see you break. You’re going to become the perfect little mute doll, got it?”

Sniffling, Juliette frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Intensity shone in the other woman’s eyes, a green fire that washed through the chill in the room. “They will try to make us talk, to tell them whatever they want to know, but the minute we do, we will no longer be needed, do you understand? Give them nothing. No matter what they do to you or to me. The longer we hold on, the more time Killian has to find us.”

Cold bile tightened around Juliette’s throat. “You sound like you’ve done this before.”

Maraveet grinned. “A few times.” Her smile faded. “Just be strong and remember it won’t be forever.”

Juliette opened her mouth to ask how she knew that when a soft click filled the room. It was followed by the sound of decompressing air. The square patch of wall disconnected from the rest just above the stairs and a door swung into view. A man, rail thin and dressed in jeans and a leather coat, ambled down the stairs, making sure to hit every step with a vibrating thump. He reached the bottom and stopped at the sight of Juliette.

“You’re awake! Good.” He ambled closer. “The boss was wondering when you’d be up.”

He reached for a set of keys hooked to his belt loop. He flipped through several before finding the right one. The rest jingled together loudly as he unlocked her door.

Juliette scrambled back, moving closer towards Maraveet. The other woman’s fingers tightened around hers, but the man marched in without missing a beat and grabbed Juliette’s free arm. He yanked her up and away.

The last thing Juliette saw before she was dragged up the stairs was Maraveet’s intense green eyes watching her through the bars, willing her to be strong.

Juliette had always considered herself reasonably strong. She had faced things most people would never dream of and she had survived. But everything in that moment felt lost and hopeless and shrouded with an impossibility she wasn’t equipped to handle. Not knowing what lay beyond the hidden door didn’t help. Not knowing what or who … no, she knew who. She remembered his face, his familiar, safe face. She had trusted him. Killian had trusted him. He’d betrayed them both. He’d brought her to that place and left her in a cage. Now, he was going to torture and possibly kill her.