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“If something does go wrong, take care of her for me, Jess. Make sure she’s okay. That’s all I ask.” I swallow back my emotions, not used to feeling this way. Vulnerable. My heart feels like it’s flayed open, an inch away from being stomped on.
“Nothing is happening to you, Nathan,” Jesse fires back.
“Jesse,” I prompt, needing him to reassure me this time.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay.” His response is barely above a whisper like he struggled to say the words out loud.
“Thanks, buddy.” I take a deep breath, trying to collect myself.
“Anytime. Be safe, brother.” He ends the call, leaving me with the silence of my truck as I fly down these mountain roads. Preparing myself for the most important fight of my life.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Callie
All I see are stars. Over and over, Tony throws me down, kicking me across the dirty floorboards. Picking me up to sneer some filthy, degrading words in my face, then dropping me again. I feel so helpless, my brain won’t cooperate, and my thoughts are too scattered from the beating I’m taking. Every time I open my eyes, I have to squeeze them shut again to ward off the dizziness from being thrown around like a rag doll. I need to run, I need to escape, but my body is so rattled I don’t think I could make it ten feet without falling.
I choke as Tony’s boot knocks the wind out of me again, the tears coming from me are silent from the lack of oxygen in my lungs. I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but it feels like these are going to be my last moments. In pain and crying, being left for dead on the cold dirty floor.
“What do you want from me?” I scream, the words coming from somewhere deep within my soul. My will to live is crumbling, I might as well use my last bits of energy to yell at the man doing this to me.
“Let’s start with an apology! Me and my brother were shot at! Because of you!” Tony yells back at me. Gesturing to his shoulder, wrapped in a white bandage. “And look at his face!” He points to Bub, who I just noticed standing in the opening of the hallway, watching the entire ordeal. His cheek has a red, puckered scar running the length of it.
“You kidnapped me! You fucking psycho!” I cry, not understanding how someone can be so deranged. I know I have no hope of surviving, not with people who aren’t right in the head, there’s no reasoning with someone like that.
Suddenly, the front door opens, and a gust of cold air fills the space drawing my attention. Any hope that it could be someone here to save me diminishes as soon as I see that it’s Sheriff Donahue standing in the entry, simply gawking at the scene before him. His eyes linger on the woman still tied up against the wall, and if I’m not mistaken, he looks sorry for her. Why? Why her? Why not me?
That’s when it hits me, my brain fog clears just enough to remember why this lady looked so familiar. She’s the Sheriff’s secretary, the one who was at the station the day I went to report my incident. Why is she mixed up in this?
“Tony, you no good son of a bitch. I told you to use Doris, not to fucking tie her up. She did what you wanted, didn’t she? Now you’ve dragged me even deeper into your shit than I ever wanted to be!” He yells at Tony, slamming the front door closed behind him as he walks further into the cabin.
Tony grabs me under the arm, hauling me up so I’m closer to his face. “Ah, yes, ol’ Doris had the pleasure of setting our trap. Should we give her a round of applause for her incredible performance? You know, making you believe your beloved mountain man was taking his last breath in the hospital.” He laughs exuberantly, making spit fly at my face. I cower away, trying to avoid it.
I glance in Doris’ direction, feeling betrayed by this woman I don’t even know. Even though I know it’s unfair, she’s obviously a victim in this as well. I try to give her an ounce of empathy, knowing this is probably the last night for both of us to be alive. Two women whose lives are ruined by these selfish, cruel men.
She’s crying, her eyes pleading with mine, I think apologetically. It doesn’t matter, I’ve already forgiven her. Nothing she did outweighs the hatred I feel for the man beside me, and the other two standing in the room not doing a damn thing to help.
“It’s okay, Doris, it’s okay,” I tell her, needing to relieve her conscience, giving her the only bit of relief I can in our situation.
Tony scoffs, dropping my arm, and in turn, letting my body slam to the floor again. “Bub, take the old lady to the back. Do what you want with her.” He dismisses them with a wave of his arm. Bub excitedly takes Doris by the arm, dragging her across the floor and down the hallway. The eagerness is wrong, his pleasure in the situation is so incredibly disturbing, I have to squeeze my eyes shut to avoid thinking about what he’s going to do to her. As if not seeing him drag her away will change her outcome.
“Now, me and you. We’re gonna have some fun.” Tony’s face twists into a smile, as sinister as he is. “My brother-in-law here,” he points to Sheriff Donahue, finally connecting the dots for me. “He’s gonna wait outside until we’re done.”
“Tony, I don’t want to be involved in this shit,” Sheriff Donahue huffs.
“Too damn, bad. Unless you want me to tell my dear sister where you’ve been spending your nights, you do as I say,” Tony lashes at him, making the Sheriff hang his head in defeat.
“You’re going to let him kill me because of a little blackmail? Are you fucking kidding me?” I’m too exhausted to care that my outburst is risky. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The selfishness and lack of remorse for our lives continues to baffle me. Where is their humanity?
“Kill you? Girl, I’m not going to kill you. I’m fixin’ to sell you,” Tony whispers in my ear, making my blood run cold. Sell me? I didn’t think this could get any worse.
“To who?” My voice squeaks, not able to contain the fear I feel.
“That’s no concern of yours. The next stop for you is the back of a semi heading North.” His laughter cackles in my ear, making my whole body shake.
What the hell did I get mixed up in? Human trafficking? I thought that stuff only happened on TV. This doesn’t feel like real life at all. I can’t catch my breath, short bursts keep escaping my lips, the impending panic attack finally catching up to me. My whole body is trembling now, I curl into myself on the floor, not able to move. I can faintly hear Tony and the Sheriff arguing by the door, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. It doesn’t matter, my life’s over anyway, not by death but by captivity.
I just wish I could see Nathan one last time, and tell him I love him. I picture his face in my mind, the way his eyes crinkle when I finally coax a laugh out of him, his soft lips against mine. I imagine touching him again, being wrapped up in his strong body as he holds me in his arms. I hope he doesn’t regret meeting me and sharing the time we had together. Even though it’s only going to bring him more pain in the end. Something I never wanted to do to him. He’s been through so much, and now he’s going to lock this away as another nightmare that plagues him.
