Axel

I moved around the back of the barn and froze when I saw the freshly turned dirt. I ran my gloved hand through it and fought to not throw up when I saw bits of bone and hair. This was way worse than we had thought. "Alert authorities. There's a dismembered body out here. Looks fairly fresh and the dirt was just recently turned," I whispered into the coms with no response. They must already have boots on the ground. We get the girl first, then the cops.

The barn doors were closed and I couldn't see where the men were at, so I scaled the side and entered through the hay opening. Nothing in this world could have prepared me for what I saw. On the outside, it looked like a normal farm, but instead of animals, there were humans in the breeding stocks. Four metal pens were constructed, each holding a woman in a sling of some kind. Avery was in the last one as the man, Shane, held a feeding tube down her throat, forcing her to swallow the contents. Her struggles became less and she appeared to pass out. He gently secured her head in the sling, then spoke in a low voice to her, "Soon number four, soon Mike and I will make sure you're good and bred. A few babies and you'll be ready for training just like Ma." He stroked her face as she slept.

I pulled back and hissed, "Avery's unconscious. One male in the barn, other unknown."

"Female in the house with an infant boy, large male outside the barn," Gabe replied.

"Authorities are en route and advised, Ax. We need to secure the barn and the women before they arrive," Owen said.

"Going after the big guy," Nate said.

"I'll take the old lady and kid," Marc said.

"I'm in the barn. Four women including Avery. They're bound like livestock and appear to be drugged." I heard curses as Kota's voice came back.

"En route to the barn. This ends now," he growled.

Marc

I entered the house, moving silently. The baby was in his crib and the woman was in the kitchen cooking. I knew she wasn't innocent in all this, but damn, I hate hitting women - even batshit crazy ones. "Ma'am," I said calmly. "I need you to place your hands in the air and turn around slowly."

She laughed, "I don't think I will, sonny." Before I could say anything else, she spun around and threw a knife. It barely missed my shoulder as I let out a curse.

"Fuck, lady!" I pushed the table towards her, sending her reeling against the counter. She threw her head back and screamed before grabbing two more knives, and launching them at me. One missed, but the second found its mark in my bicep. I grunted and threw a plate at her head when suddenly she made an odd sound and convulsed.

She fell over the table and I looked up to see Gabe with a taser in his hand. "Really, Marc? You throw a fucking plate at a knife-wielding psychopath? How the fuck have you even survived this long?" He walked over and looked at the knife in my arm, hummed, then grabbed a towel and the sugar bowl. "Wow, that looks painful. Here, can you hold this?" He held out the taser and when I reached for it, he yanked out the blade and dumped sugar on it massaging it in, then tied it off with the towel.

"What the fuck, Gabe?" Shit that hurt. "Hey, it's not bleeding?"

Gabe grinned, "Yeah, sugar staunches the blood and fights infection, but you're still gonna need stitches."

I just shook my head, "What the fuck did they teach you in art school?"

He laughed and patted my cheek, "And here you thought I was just another pretty face, huh? Come on, let's search the house for anything of use."

Nate

I instantly recognized the guy called Mike when Victor and I rounded the corner. He smirked when he saw me, "Well if it isn't the impotent boyfriend. Didn't you get the message? She broke up with you, and decided my brother was a better candidate."

"And I suppose by breaking up you mean you kidnapped and drugged her? Because that's the only damn way she'd think you or that slimy brother of yours was better." I snarled. "Give it up man, authorities are already on the way. Just put up your hands and we can do this the easy way."

He laughed and grabbed a crate near him, throwing it towards my head. "What's the fun in that?" He swung as I jumped back and he didn't see Vic's fist until it connected with his jaw. He reeled back, shaking his head and spitting, then lunged forward. It was like everything went calm in me and my training took over. Blow after blow was exchanged until I finally landed a hard kick to his head. He landed with his neck at an odd angle and I knew I'd killed him.

"Fuck," I grumbled and fell to the ground, vomiting.

"It was self-defense, Nate," Victor said as he helped me up. "He wasn't going to stop. The guy had nothing to lose and he knew it."

"Yeah, but I'm ex-military. They can still charge me," I said with a grimace.

"That's a worry for later. We need to get Avery." I nodded and we both headed inside the barn.

Kota

No way in hell Axel's description was enough. This was like something out of a horror movie. My eyes instantly located Avery. She was in a sling with her legs and arms bound tight against her body. Feeding tubes and farm-grade insemination tubes littered a nearby wooden table along with rectal thermometers and whiteboards. Each woman seemed to have a board with details on feedings, inseminations, fertility cycles, and/or pregnancy updates. The board titled number four had only two entries - the first showed what time she'd been fed and how much Laudanum had been dosed in the feed. The second was her insemination window. My blood boiled. They were treating these women like cattle.

A rustling noise from the hayloft drew my attention. Axel pointed toward an enclosed stall, signaling one male unarmed. Then he pointed toward the slings where I saw Owen checking each of the victims. I began to move toward the stall as Axel made his way down. The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance and Shane swore, then bolted out of the stall, pulling up his pants in a panic. He froze when his eyes landed on me. "Who are you?"

"The man who's going to make sure you never see another day outside of a prison," I said calmly. He tried to run but crashed into Axel, who quickly subdued him.

The barn doors slammed open as Guarda filled the room demanding we raise our hands until Owen handed the Captain a card. I have no idea what was on it, but the man paled and apologized immediately, then began asking what we had found. Nate and Vic came in quickly explaining where to find Mike's body and what had happened. Officers took their statements as paramedics arrived and began evaluating the women.

"I know you want to help her, but for now, let us do our work. We need to get photos before any of them are moved and then assess them individually," a female paramedic said.

Gabe and Marc came in with an infant. "He's only a few days old," Gabe told her as he handed the baby to her. "There's an unconscious crazy lady in the kitchen and years of records in the back office. Dates, names, financials. They've been doing this for a long time. Looks like a family business that's been passed down to each generation." Again, I fought the urge to vomit.

"There's a fresh grave in the field. I found hair and bone fragments on my way in," Axel told the officers.

We watched as each woman was placed in an ambulance. The girl I recognized as Jennifer had a hollow look in her eyes and didn't respond when they asked her questions. Matter of fact, none of them did.

"We need to take her to the hospital now. Which one of you is the boyfriend?" the paramedic asked. The four of us raised our hands and she paused, then said, "Well I can only take one of you. The rest can meet us there."

"Go with her Vic," I said. "We'll be there soon." He nodded and hugged each of us, then kissed Gabe before getting into the ambulance with her.

"Uh, guys, you might want to take a look at this," Axel said from the opening of the stall where Shane had been. We stepped inside and saw the walls lined with photos of Avery - some recent, some from much farther back than we'd known her.

"Holy fuck," Gabe muttered as he pointed to a photo. "This was at the club the night I met her seven fucking years ago."

Officers came into the room and began photographing the walls. "It's surprising he didn't take her before now, he's obviously been stalking her for years," Marc said.

"She's fucking blessed," Nate whispered.

Author's Notes:  See...this wasn't a terribly dark rabbit hole.

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