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“It hurts.” She half-garbles in her drugged sleep.
“I know, baby. I got you some more medicine.”
“Nick?” she questions, her forehead crinkling. “You said I couldn’t have anything.” Yep, she’s pretty much out of it if she thinks I’m Nick, and just the mere mention of his name makes my blood pressure rise. Her muscles tense, and I have to pry her fingers from the death grip she has on the bed sheets.
“Changed my mind.” I give her one last shot of pain killer for the road and clear my throat. “I’ve got you now, sweet Jules. Shhh, I’ve got you.”
I take a set of cutters from my back pocket and snip the thick wire that holds her ankle tracker, removing it. When I pick up her lifeless body, her head falls listlessly to the side, along with her long hair as it drapes over my arm. Wasting no time, I carry her toward the bedroom door and quietly open it. I look down each end of the hallway, making sure the coast is clear. As we make haste through the corridor, I shift her head to rest on my broad chest, and she winces from the pressure my arms have placed on her backside. “Where are we going?”
Knowing I need to keep her calm and quiet, I speak into her ear to soothe her. “Shh, don’t speak. Just close your eyes and go back to sleep.” She nuzzles the side of her face into my chest, and I melt a little on the inside. She says nothing more as we make our way to the underground parking lot. When I lay her down on the back seat of my car, she stirs again.
“Travis, is that you?” She peers out through her half-lidded eyes, her forehead crinkling.
“Yeah, baby. Go back to sleep for me, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Travis, I won’t disappoint you again. I’ll take my medicine. I’ll do whatever Nick wants me to. Just please don’t let him sell me. I promise…I really promise I will be better.”
Every word coming from her mouth sinks its claws deep into my heart. “I hear you, baby. Now close your eyes and sleep.” She nods her head and curls up on her side. I lay a blanket over her then shut the car door.
Seeing her again, especially this way, I know I’ve done the right thing. She has too much fight in her to survive Nick, and I don’t see her ever relenting and bending to his will. I’ve seen too many girls in this situation, and I know how these men contend with insubordination. She’ll either end up highly drugged every second of every day, sold to the highest bidder, or worse, killed.
I have to believe there is something permanent between us, because I am willingly throwing away everything I’ve ever worked for by rescuing her. I get into the driver’s seat, crank the engine, and start making plans to begin the rest of my life with Julianna.
~Travis~
I’m almost thirty minutes away from approaching downtown Charleston, when a light smattering of rain begins to dance across my windshield. I’ve been driving for over five hours straight, and my shoulders and neck are wrought with tension. It had been an arduous last few days to say the least, and yet I can’t help but think the most difficult tasks still lay ahead of me.
Hell, I lived through combat zones and many touch-and-go scenarios in my past, but nothing in all of my training could’ve properly prepared me for what I’m about to do with another human being. The minute I took Julianna from her confines, going AWOL, I was asking for a war of stellar proportions, and it would be just me against an army of men.
Exhaling a huge breath, I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I lean over the steering wheel, peering up into the rapidly clouding sky to get a better view. Dark, billowing clouds are growing thicker by the minute, and have been since I got off Interstate 95; looks as if I’m headed straight toward the storm. The local radio stations have been dispatching warnings for flash floods for the downtown area, which is exactly where I need to be. Thank God that will not pose a problem for me, since I have my Suburban. This is the very town I grew up in, so I already know which streets are prone to flooding, and which areas I’ll need to avoid.
I rub my shoulder, squeezing the knotted bundle of tissue, trying to alleviate the tension. I shouldn’t be this tightly wound, especially since my plans are unfolding so perfectly before me. So far, everything has played out almost flawlessly, but I know better than to start getting cocky. Mistakes are made when one becomes too confident, and I can’t allow myself to bask in my success just yet. Half the battle is going to be with Julianna anyway.
