Present

Waking up to the man next to her was the part of her life.

Matt's body had been a refuge to snuggle against when she'd been telling him about what it'd been like in that jail cell with Rhonda trying to remember her life. She'd tried so hard at her cellmate's urging but the bits and pieces that emerged belonged to a little girl who'd had a father.

A birthday party where ice cream had wound up on her pretty dress and then an icy cold morning when she'd been standing in a different dress by her father's grave. The loss of him had changed her life forever and had done much to shape the woman she'd become. The pain had faded in the years since but she never ever forgot him.

The man next to her proved to be the strongest memory of all and she hadn't understood why until it all returned to her.

She felt him move next to her and knew he had awakened.

"C.J…"

She smiled at him as he reached his hand up to stroke her face.

"How you doing this morning?"

"Great…what about you?"

"Couldn't be better…you up for breakfast?"

She nodded.

"Sure am…in fact I'm starving…."

"Can't have that…I'll call room service"

She turned to face him.

"Don't forget the maple syrup."

He made a bit of a face.

"You know most folks put it on their hotcakes and not their eggs."

She sighed happily.

"Then they don't know what they're missing…"

She'd been having these…urges for quite a while but it beat the hell out of being sick to her stomach. It was all normal anyway or so she'd been told.

Matt got up to call room service and she watched him thinking it didn't get any better than right now.

Earlier…

Matt

I found the detention center which was surrounded with a concrete wall that stretched up about a dozen feet with wiring on top of it. The face of it looked seamless with no cracks to gain a foothold to climb up it I would the face of a mountain.

Not that it would stop me from getting inside the compound and finding her before…I didn't even want to think about it. I saw some armed deputies but they didn't see me. I was dressed like them now and I knew I could find a way to fit the part even if the sheriff's string of them was small.

I knew who I had to find from the two deputies I'd left shoeless in the desert. I'd left them without any means to alert Butz until they walked the five miles into town. Probably heading to that bar run by that Jake fellow who I realized now must have been the one to tip Butz off. No doubt C.J. had crossed paths with him and been caught up in this mess thanks to some deal he likely worked out with the sheriff.

I found where the wall cornered next to a tree and used that to climb nimbly over it walking on the top of the wall before dropping down on the other side close to what must be the prison yard.

That's where I knew I'd find this girl that the deputies told me about…the one who'd knew the place and practically ran it. Fran, her name was and if I could just find her and slip her some money, I'd find out where the sheriff had stashed C.J.

When I turned the corner he found a couple women standing together. One of them with short red hair and the other…from the description the deputies gave him I knew I'd just found her.

I walked up to them and they turned to face me.

"Who the hell are you," Fran said, "Haven't seen you here before…"

I pulled out my photo of my best friend.

"Look have you seen her?"

The red headed woman nodded.

"She's…"

Fran slapped her which shut her up fast.

"How can we trust this guy," she said, "He's one of them…"

I shook my head but knew that one thing spoke louder and clearer than I did. So I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out some cash.

"Here's 200 if you tell me…more when I find the girl."

She shook her head.

"Look do you like playing party doll for this guy Butz and his friends?"

She shot me a derisive look.

"What do you think?"

"Then you help me and we'll make sure it's a going away party okay?"

She looked at me for a moment and then glanced over at the other girl who nodded.

"Okay…I'll help you."

She grabbed the cash and tucked it away in her shirt before leading me towards the building.

Butz

I paced the office. Damn it all, where the hell were Womart and Jenkins anyway? I'd sent them on a simple errand which was to find that L.A. PI and take care of him just like they do the gals who try to escape.

How difficult could that be anyway? A simple bullet to the head and a body to dump in the desert…to be joined by Bunny's after Piser had his fun with her at the party.

I looked at the clock. Soon enough it'd be time to get the girls ready to get into the van and head out to Piser's ranch.

Hopefully some of them had cooled off after the cat fight in the yard. Ever since Bunny had arrived, a few of them had gotten riled up. There'd been a tussle in the shower which I would have liked to have watched with Bunny getting the jump and the upper hand on Fran, which few girls did. It must have something to do with her friend the PI.

It's not like Womart and Jenkins to flake out on me so did something happen to them? If so why hadn't I heard from them?

Damn if they didn't show up soon, it'd be up to Slim and me to handle a dozen girls ourselves. I didn't look forward to that as I glanced out the window into the yard.

That's where I saw him. A deputy who I didn't recognize standing there clearly talking to Babs and Fran which could only mean one thing.

I was looking at the PI I had sent two of my men to kill. Obviously they had failed in that task which left it up to me to decide what to do with him next.

C.J.

I feel sick like a dog right now. My stomach hurts so much and I'm too dizzy to stand so I'm lying curled up in the lower bunk while Rhonda's trying to figure out what to do. I know she planned on using the party to try to escape and she wanted me with her…at least in part to return me to the wealthy friends she thought I had …to get something out of it.

I didn't care about that. I just wanted to get out of this place and go home to a place which I would recognize…filled with familiar faces.

"Can you sit up?"

I shook my head as another cramp hit me, heating up my body and making it hard to keep from throwing up. What had happened to me? I'd been fine earlier and now felt hit by a ton of bricks.

"It must have been that poor excuse for lunch that did this…but I don't feel sick."

She'd looked fine as ever and that meant…how could it be the food since we both ate and drank the same thing.

Unless…

Rhonda stabbed a finger in the air.

"They must have drugged you specially but why?"

I couldn't answer that since I didn't understand much of what happened.

"You still have to try to escape Rhonda…"

She shook her head.

"Not without you…can't leave you here with them.

I curled up even tighter feeling my body break out sweating.

"Don't know if I can even get up…"

Rhonda sighed.

"I can help you…"

Then she glanced up at the door.

"Company's coming…"

I heard the clinking of the keys unlocking the door and saw the older deputy bringing in what looked like some awfully skimpy clothing.

I just caught a glimpse before lying back down again.

Slim thrust the skimpy outfits at Rhonda who caught them.

"Better get dressed for the party and don't waste any time you hear?"

Rhonda gestured to where I lay on the bed.

"She can't go. She's sick."

The older deputy just sighed.

"Not as sick as she's going to be if she doesn't get moving. Now get dressed."

He left us alone in the cell again and Rhonda sat on the edge of the bed handing me what looked like a bikini swim suit and a wrap.

"Best put these on quick. I'll help you get through this and maybe we find a way to escape."

As I struggled to get off the bed to change, the possibility of getting away from this awful place seemed further and further away.