15

Author's Note: Finding Treasure is the sixth book of the Treasure series:

Treasure

Buried Treasure

Claiming Treasure

Aztec Treasure

Abandoned Treasure

It is not intended as a stand-alone as it picks up events from the end of Abandoned.

The story makes references to human trafficking of children, organ harvesting, and sexual abuse. All of these were happening in real life during the timeframes of the story. "Trafficked" with Mariana van Zeller episode on Black Market Organs (available on YouTube) inspired part of this story.

The truth is more difficult than the fiction.

Unknown POV

Tijuana Cartel Staging Center

Ensenada, Mexico

Monday, August 3

rd

, 2020

It was better to be dirty and unattractive than a young and beautiful teen when the guards came in drunk.

I had learned this lesson the hard way over the past six weeks. I was raped the first time before the Cartel traffickers even left my village in El Salvador. I'd lost count of how many times it had happened since then. The traffickers didn't care about us beyond what we were worth to them. If we reached our destination ready to work off our debts? No one cared about what happened to us along the way. If you resisted them, you got a beating. My left eye was still swollen from being slapped a few days ago.

That's why I stank like old piss, and left my hair matted and dirty. I had to hope they liked girls younger than my sixteen years. The men looked past me, picking two of the newer girls. They screamed and struggled as the guards carried them out, and we did nothing.

No one wanted to take their place.

The thirty other girls kept their eyes down and stayed quiet. If the girls were lucky, they'd be dumped back into our room in a few hours, sore and bleeding. We'd clean them up and tell them lies about how things were going to be all right soon. We'd have new lives in America, just like we saw on television.

Other times? The girls didn't come back, and no one spoke of them again.

I looked down at the wristband. It had a barcode on it, letting the bad men track us like cattle. I ignored the pains in my stomach and tried to rest on the dirty pad in the corner of the room. We were only fed once a day, and not much at that. Sixty of us rode a crowded bus for two days straight to get here. A nurse used a device to scan my barcode, then checked my eyes and mouth before listening to my chest. She took a blood sample and attached a label she printed out. The whole thing took two minutes, and she didn't even ask about my injuries. Other than the guards, I'd seen no other adults since I arrived four days ago.

I didn't cry as I heard the screams from down the hall. Crying only got you in trouble.

This trip was not what my family expected when they paid six thousand American dollars to send me to America. The smugglers told her I'd be safe and happy in America. Her life savings were only half of the money the smugglers required, though. The other half I would have to earn after I arrived. If I worked hard, they said I'd easily earn enough to pay the balance by Christmas. Another year, and I'd make enough to rescue my whole family from poverty.

One man teased me I'd pay it off from my back, making a dollar a fuck minus expenses.

I fell asleep. I woke once when the two girls returned crying, and a half-dozen more times to noises or nightmares. In the morning, I waited to use the bucket toilet and wash my hands before breakfast. An hour later, I heard the guard call my name. "Yes?"

He checked my wristband with a device, looked at it, and nodded. "Come with me." I almost got sick as he pulled me to my feet and out of the room.

It was a relief when I ended up in the back of a delivery van instead of a room with other men. "Where are we going?"

"Clinic," he replied. "Be quiet and don't say anything unless you are asked."

I sat on a blanket by the spare tire for the next twenty minutes. When the door opened, a man in scrubs took custody of me and the van drove off. He led me through a back entrance, down a dirty hallway, and into a small room. "Strip," he ordered. I left my dress and underwear on the floor.

He led me to another room, this one brighter with medical equipment and a narrow gurney. "Get on, face up," he told me. I crawled up on the bed. I was afraid to fight him, and then it didn't matter after he strapped down my ankles and wrists with leather cuffs. He took a syringe from the table and injected it into my right elbow. When it went it, it felt like ice was moving up my arm. I tried to get away, but my arm didn't work. The sensation flowed into my chest, then spread through my body. Before I knew what was going on, I could no longer move. I started to get lightheaded, and realized I wasn't breathing. I tried to take a breath, and nothing happened. That's when I knew I was going to die.

The man shoved a metal scoop into my mouth, and I felt a tube in my throat. He turned on a machine, and I could sense my chest starting to expand. The blackness went away, but the feeling of helplessness did not. I was strapped down, my body wouldn't respond to my commands, and I could only sit and watch my own death.

I watched him as he washed his hands at a metal sink, then put on gloves and a surgical gown. I could feel him rub a smelly solution on my chest and stomach with cotton balls. Somewhere, deep in my mind, I knew I was in trouble. When he picked up the scalpel? That's when I tried to scream, and nothing came out.

He turned on the bright overhead light. I couldn't move my head or even close my eyes to avoid the glare. "I'd tell you to relax, but you can't move a thing," he teased me as the scalpel began a cut. I couldn't move, but I could still feel everything. I could see my skin splitting open and felt the blood leaking out. "Look at me. I love to see a person's eyes when she realizes she is going to die, and there isn't a goddamn thing she can do to stop it."

"But I can," a woman's voice said from behind us.

The scalpel slid down my side, bounced off the table, and clattered to the floor. "Who the FUCK are you?"

The woman walked forward until I could see her. She was tall, thin, and beautiful, and held a big gun in her hand. She was fashionably dressed in slacks, heeled boots, and a print blouse. "Sit the fuck down," she said.

The man held his hands up and moved over to sit on the desk chair. "You can't do this," he warned her. "I'm connected."

"That's what I'm hoping for." The woman grabbed his chin like a disobedient child and looked into her eyes. His eyes were full of fear, while hers were scary and black as midnight. I watched the staring contest while the machine kept me breathing.

The woman stared at him until he finally relaxed, slumping back into the chair. Her eyes returned to normal shortly after and she turned to look at me. "He's under my control now. He can't harm you, and he will tell me what I want to know."

She set the gun on the table with the other instruments before returning to my side. She turned my head and forced me to look in her eyes. They weren't black, but they weren't normal, either. They looked dead, and I was scared. "What did you give her?"

"Succinylcholine. It's a paralytic used to keep the patient from moving during surgery."

"When are the Cartel men coming to pick up the organs?"

"Thirty minutes."

"What are you to deliver?"

"Her heart, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. They said they have buyers for the heart and liver, so I was to take those last."

I couldn't believe it. The man was going to kill me and take my heart!

"How much were you getting paid?"

"Thirty thousand pesos."

She reached into her purse and took out a photograph. His eyes got wide. "This man was brought here?"

"Yes. Yesterday."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. A man comes by to get the bodies out of the freezer at night. I don't know where he takes them."

She shook her head. "How did he get here?"

"The men brought him here. I don't do anything but the harvesting."

"How did they know to get him?"

He looked at the ground. "He had his blood tested at the hospital last year. His DNA went into the system and showed a match for a man willing to pay for it. They brought him here to the hospital transplant center."

She shook her head. "That man was one of mine. I don't like it when people take my toys," she said coldly. "It makes me want to take everything from them."

"I'll give you money if you'll promise not to kill me," he begged.

"Where?"

"Wall safe behind the mirror."

The woman followed his directions, removing stacks of bills and a bag of gold coins. She put the stash in her purse, then turned back to him. "It's not enough to save your life."

"It's all I have!"

"And now it is mine, just like you are." Her hand shot out, grabbed his hair, and yanked his head back. I saw a flash of fangs in her mouth just before she bit down on his neck. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as she sucked the blood down. I could see drops running down his neck and off her lips as she drained the blood from his body.

It took a while before he stopped struggling. A few swallows later, his eyes glazed over, and she dropped him to the ground.

The woman stood up, licking the blood from her lips and her pointed teeth. She looked in my eyes, and I couldn't hide the fear. "He won't hurt you now," she said. "The men who are coming will kill you unless you do what I tell you. Can you move?" The most I could do was to move my eyes side to side. "Do you want me to save your life?" I moved them up and down. "Fine."

She used one of the scalpels to cut her finger and wiped the blood inside my mouth. The metallic taste filled my mouth before it set it on fire. While this was happening, I felt her licking the blood from the cut in my stomach. I felt the fire sensation course through my body until it reached my toes, and I could move again. She'd already unbuckled the shackles, and when I reached down, the cut was gone. "Thank you," I whispered.

She handed me a car clicker. "Mercedes SUV out back. Get in and lock the door behind you," she ordered.

"Clothes?"

She opened a cabinet and pulled out a set of scrubs. I pulled them on and ran out of that place barefoot. The silver car's lights blinked when I hit the unlock button. I jumped in the passenger seat and locked the door. A second later, I saw another car turn into the road behind me. I moved down in the seat, hoping they wouldn't see me behind the tinted glass.

Two men, each carrying lunch coolers, walked past me and went in the back door. I watched the clock on the stereo as I shivered and waited. Seven minutes later, the mystery woman strode out and got in the car. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I shouldn't be here."

"You're better off than those assholes." She drove off, but we hadn't gone a block before there was a fiery explosion behind us. I looked back in horror, but she didn't even slow down. "They are dead. You should be dead. I'm one of the undead."

"You are a vampire?" I'd seen them in the movies and read about them in books. I never expected to meet one.

"Yes."

"What happens to me now?"

"I'll take you back to my home, remove your memories of today, and send you home."

As much as I wanted that, I knew what would happen if I did. The Cartels didn't forgive. Ever. "I can't go home," I replied. "The Cartel turned me over to that man so he could take everything of value out of me. Now, he and their men are dead. If I show up at home, they'll torture me to find out what I know, then kill everyone I love."

She thought about it for a moment. "What do you want to do then?"

I had no way to get to America now, and any life with her would be better than being alone and unprotected here. "You saved my life. Take me into your house, and I will serve you until you send me away."

"Interesting," she replied. "You know what I am, yet would bind yourself to me?"

"If you will protect me from them? Yes."

"Done," the woman said as she turned towards the beach. "What is your name?"

"It doesn't matter now. I will be known by whatever name you give me, Mistress."

She smiled but didn't say anything for a few minutes while she drove through the expensive neighborhood. Finally, she pulled into a garage and stopped the car. "Come with me, Dawn. It's a new dawn, it's a new day."

By nightfall, I'd exposed my neck and voluntarily allowed Veronica Maida to drink my blood. I became a Familiar in her household, swearing an oath to obey and serve my Vampire Mistress.

There was no turning back now.

Chapter 2

Nathan Storm's POV

Fort St. John's Hospital, British Colombia

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

"Finally," I said as Stanley Biggs pulled our rental car into the entrance area just after nine in the morning. Getting away from Arrowhead and to my mate had taken longer than I expected. The Council may have given me a task, but they were playing hands off for the rescue. Scared that this was a trap set by the Feds to bring the Council under their thumbs, Colletta said they were sitting this one out.

It didn't help that I wasn't getting any information over the phone. The hospital confirmed she was out of surgery and in the Intensive Care unit, but further details weren't available. Coral's doctor wasn't answering his phone, and her doctors hadn't called me back. We'd spent a lot of time on the phone looking for information and contacting people who might be able to help instead of sleeping.

Vic put his hand on my shoulder as I turned towards the door, ready to jump out as soon as we stopped. "Stanley will check us into the hotel while I follow up with the Mounties on the search for Spider Monkey. Call me when she can talk."

I nodded as I took one last sip of coffee before getting out. Neither of us got more than an hour of uninterrupted sleep overnight, and caffeine only worked for so long. We'd hitched a ride on Coral's private jet to the airport in Kamloops, then hired a private pilot to fly us the nine hundred kilometers north to Fort St. John. Weather and airport hours kept us from reaching Jade any faster.

I walked through the hospital entrance doors and up to the reception desk. "I'm here to see Jade Storm, she is in the Intensive Care Unit? I'm her husband."

The woman looked my driver's license, then at her computer. "Room 1987." I started to turn away. "Sir, you need a wristband." It took a minute to set that up, then she gave me directions to the ICU.

I arrived at the nurse's station a few minutes later. "I'm Jade Storm's husband, where is room 1987?"

The nurse checked me out, then checked my wristband. "I'll take you to her." I followed the thirtysomething brunette down the hall, ignoring the smell of her arousal. She knew I was married, right? "How is she doing?"

"Jade is recovering from surgery. The damage to her leg was significant, but the head injury is our biggest worry right now. The neurosurgeon removed the skull fragments and temporarily closed the wound. We have her on medication to reduce swelling in her brain. Once she is stabilized, the doctor will put in a plate to replace the missing section, and we'll bring her out of the coma."

"Wait, she was awake after the shooting!"

"She was unconscious when she arrived, and X-rays showed some fragments had penetrated her brain. The swelling from the concussion had to be relieved with immediate surgery. If they hadn't airlifted her here, she wouldn't have survived the ambulance ride." We got to her room, where a uniformed officer was standing guard. I showed her my identification, and she let me in.

"Fuck," I said as I looked at my wife in the bed. Bandages wrapped her head, and a breathing tube was in her throat. Machines monitored her vital signs. Her left leg was elevated and wrapped in bandages. I rushed to her bedside, grasping her hand in mine, and looked at her as the tears fell.

The nurse moved a chair next to the bed and told me to sit down. "I'll leave you with her and let the doctors know you are here."

I just nodded, unable to do more. I wiped the tears away as I gripped her hand. "Be strong and heal up, baby. We need you."

A man walked in a few minutes later; my nose identified him as a Pack wolf. "Mr. Storm, I'm Doctor Finch from Blue River."

"Alpha Coral said you were coming here. Thank you."

He nodded. "I had to inform the doctors here that Jade is a werewolf and help them understand the implications of that. The surgeons did a fine job given the injuries."

"What do you mean?"

"It would have been better if she hadn't shifted until her injuries had been treated. The leg injury changes when you swap shapes, and I'm pretty sure those bone fragments in her head moved around too. The good news is that as a wolf, her body will heal faster than that of a human. We should be able to bring her out of the coma in two days."

"Is there any permanent damage?"

"We won't know for sure until she's awake. The fragments didn't go deep, but the swelling could cause other damage." I dropped my head towards her hand, praying to the Goddess for healing. "You don't know how lucky you are that she is still alive. She had a 5.56 round hit the side of her head hard enough to shatter bone, but it deflected away. A millimeter closer and it might have gone inside."

"What about her leg?"

"She'll need to stay off it for three weeks while it heals up. It's too early to tell if there is nerve damage."

"But she'll make it?"

"She's survived a lot, but she's not out of the woods yet," he said. "You should get some sleep while she recovers. It will be a few days before we know any more."

"Thanks, Doc." I made sure he had contact information for me, Vic, and Stanley before he left. I couldn't use my cell phone here, so I talked to Jade until I fell asleep. I checked my watch when the nurse woke me up to kick me out of the room so they could do more tests. I'd slept maybe an hour. I yawned and stretched out my back as I walked out the door.

Vic was in the waiting room when I came through. "Where's Stanley?"

"Sleeping at the hotel. He and I are going to alternate schedules to make sure someone is awake and monitoring things all the time."

"When is my shift?"

"Whenever you want. Come on, let's get some breakfast and I'll fill you in."

"I need to be here."

He shook his head. "Doctor Finch will be here until four. If we're going to catch these fuckers and get my mate back, I need you to be sharp. That means you sleep while she does."

He was right. "Let's go then."

We ended up at the W restaurant on the recommendation of our driver, and he was spot on. The food was good, even if the conversation was troubling. The short answer was that Spider Monkey disappeared without a trace, and the men who took her were likely dead. "Their plane blew up?"

Vic nodded. "It wasn't an accident, based on the residue testing. They've recovered some body parts and wreckage, even some American dollars. Nothing they can tie to Spider Monkey or Oki."

"No bodies?"

"That lake is cold as hell, even in the summer. Bodies don't come back up once they sink." Like Lake Superior, it never gives up the dead. "It looks like the plane made a stop at a private airstrip near Williston Lake, then blew up over the lake after takeoff. The working theory is that the attackers delivered Spider and Oki before their employers killed them."

"Any surveillance or witnesses?"

"None. By the time the Mounties figured out what happened, Spider Monkey could have been hours away."

"What now?"

He shrugged. "The Mounties have sent her photograph to every transportation hub in Western Canada. We wait for the wreckage turns up a clue or the kidnappers get sloppy, and we catch a lucky break."