PROLOGUE
“You livebecause I let you live, do you understand me, girl?” The beefy man snarled, standing over her cowering form. The scent of dill pickles and raw onions rolled off of him, filling the small, locked room with a putrid stench that made her gag. “You will do what I say, or you’ll be punished. Now strip and put this on.” He flung a skimpy piece of fabric at her.
Justus tossed and turned, as the man's two hands reached for her.
She fought against the tangled bed sheets, screaming, trying to get away from the man. Panting in the darkness, she finally got free and sat up, pushing her damp hair away from her face, and wished she could get through one night without reliving the same nightmare she’d gone through after being rescued.
It all started when Kurtis– the guy she’d believed to be her boyfriend –had taken her and her roommate Chaney on a hiking trip with his pal, Dan. Instead, that weekend trip had landed the girls in the hands of human traffickers who only wanted to sell them for profit.
Justus pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth, closing her eyes against the nightmare that had changed her life forever. While she hadn’t been raped or bodilyharmed by those brutes, she’d been trapped and held for days in preparation for being auctioned off on the black market.
She hated to think of what might have happened to her or Chaney if her sister Liberty and the Brotherhood Protectors had not stopped the auction from going through.
She still couldn’t believe she’d been so naïve to trust Kurtis and gotten her friend Chaney involved in this ordeal. Now, Chaney’s parents wouldn’t even allow them to contact each other.
Justus sighed, and went to the dog bed in the corner, scooping up her sleeping puppy, For All. Dan had given him to her. He claimed to have found him in the bushes near the house one day and thought he’d cheer her up. For All was her saving grace while in captivity.
She’d not questioned the action because the puppy had done just that and she’d promised Dan to keep him hidden if Bo, who kept all the girls in line, or Poe Polaski, the gruff, security guy came to her room. She didn’t want to get Dan in trouble because she’d heard they criticized him for doing things wrong. He wasn’t the smartest guy she’d ever met, but he was always kind to her, even more so after they had been taken to the house. Kurtis had cut all ties with her. But not Dan.
She knew that Kurtis, Bo, and Poe were captured and arrested the night the auction went south, and she and Chaney were rescued by that sweet Dr. Palmer who had joined forces with Liberty and Asher, her Brotherhood Protector boyfriend. She’d never heard what happened to Dan, but secretly hoped he’d gotten away. She knew that ringleader, Leland Warshafsky had escaped capture, so maybe Dan had somehow slipped away into the night as well.
The thought that Dan got away made her smile. She cuddled the sleeping For All as she walked to the bed and climbedbetween the sheets. “You’ll keep me safe, won’t you, baby?” she murmured.
One sleepy eyelid opened, and the dog yawned inching closer to her before they drifted off to sleep again.
CHAPTER 1
“One more question, Miss Killion,”the United States Assistant Attorney Bryson McAdams said. “Do you believe Mr. Kurtis Nuchols meant you bodily harm from the start?”
“I do,” Justus said.
“Thank you. I have no further questions. This concludes the deposition today.” McAdams closed his folder and pushed back from the conference table to stand.
Justus looked at Liberty who sat on her right and Chaney who sat on her left. It had been a grueling two hours answering the questions from the defense attorney Bernard Felty who had insisted on the deposition in the first place. But McAdams had assured them they had nothing to fear as long as they answered truthfully.
Once the defense attorney and stenographer left, a calm settled over the room.
“Ladies, thank you again for your cooperation today,” McAdams said as he quickly packed his briefcase. “I will be in touch as we go into trial prep. Right now, I have a plane to catch back to DC. But the three of you did great. And don’t let anything Felty said today dissuade you about the upcoming trial. I know he has tried to act like you were at fault, but we know you werenot. Such a horribletactictrying to blame the victim instead of placing the blame where it belongs on his clients.”
“Do you know how long it will be before the trial date will be set?” Liberty asked.
“It’s tentatively scheduled for after Labor Day, but the defense has already filed a motion for a postponement due to a schedule conflict on their end. We’re waiting to hear back from the judge on his ruling. I’ll let you know when we have a confirmed start date.”
Justus frowned. “Labor Day. I was hoping to register for fall classes.”
“Me too,” Chaney said.
“How long will the trial last?” Justus asked.
McAdams shook his head. “Hard to say. With three defendants it could last anywhere from four to six weeks, maybe longer.”
“You both are being ambitious wanting to return to college right now,” Liberty said, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I get that you want everything to return to normal, but do you think you can handle that and focus on your schoolwork during the trial? Perhaps it would be best to wait another semester before going back.”
“That would mean graduating late,” Justus said.
“My parents are already threatening to pull my funding,” Chaney said.
“Then at least discuss this with Dr. Saunders and see what she thinks about you returning before making a final decision,” Liberty suggested. “And even if you go back, you don’t have to take a full load.”
