Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
I t was like Lacy had known Kelly was supposed to be somewhere and wouldn’t leave her alone to let her go. Kelly paced her living room, window shades still drawn, heart still racing. She hadn’t meant to ignore Nathan’s direct order to meet him. What if something awful had happened to Jasmine because of her?
She waited for the watch to buzz again. It had to. He had to tell her what she needed to do to make up for missing him. Hopefully, he hadn’t killed Jasmine after such a small issue. She bit the inside of her cheek. Drat Lacy. Kelly had used every excuse she could think of to get rid of the overly friendly woman. She’d pled a headache, backache—which had been the absolute truth — and finally that she was exhausted after a long day.
Lacy had insisted on hanging out with her long into the evening, well past the time when Nathan had said he wanted to meet her. “If only I had a way to message you.” She shook the watch fiercely. “This isn’t fair.”
As if on command, her watch buzzed seconds later. She looked at it as she headed for the sofa to sit. Though she’d wanted to hear that there was nothing wrong with Jasmine, hearing from Nathan was still terrifying.
Where were you? You must be too stupid to know how to use the watch. Did you read the directions that were in the box? Scroll to the bottom, click the button, and speak your text. Here’s a hint, you’d better start with an apology and end by saying you’ll meet me tomorrow.
Her fingers shook as she read the entire message, then read it again. The text was so small that making out the words was difficult. She glanced around her. Silly goose, you’ve been alone for hours. Though she still felt strange about talking into the watch. She wasn’t James Bond.
“I tried. I’m sorry. I need to know that Jasmine is okay.” She waited and the watch asked her if she wanted to send her message. She pressed the little button that appeared, and her dictated text whooshed away. Her breathing wouldn’t calm down, no matter how often she tried to slow down and think. She was going to make the same mistakes over again. Was she destined to be a bad girl the rest of her life?
Her grandma had been the first one to tell her she was a bad girl. She’d been flirty. Not physically, but she loved to laugh and smile and being friendly with guys had always come easier than friendships with girls. She loved to joke in a way that made men notice her. Since she’d gone much of her life unnoticed by women as friends, this sudden interest and affection from men felt good. She’d always wondered how people could have friends and acting like a flirt—or so she’d been called—fixed that problem.
Her lack of close women friends was her first slide into the dark world of human trafficking. Since Jasmine befriended her, probably for her money and the fact that she was one of the few women she knew that had a house to herself at her age, Jasmine had immediately wanted to move in. Kelly had agreed, even though Jasmine had been unable to help with the house payment or the groceries.
If only Kelly had known then that Jasmine was already stuck in a life she couldn’t leave. That life had soon become Kelly’s. She shook the watch once more and headed for the phone in her bedroom. She’d avoided using it other than that one time to talk to Connor. Talking aloud still felt strange when she hadn’t used anything technological in years.
She dialed her old landline number, hoping someone friendly had been assigned that number it over the years. She had no other way of getting information.
“Hello?” An elderly man answered the phone.
“Hi, don’t hang up. Please.” She bit her lip for a second. “I’m stranded and I need to call my bank, but I don’t have their number. Could you look up a phone number for me?” It was a long shot, but an elderly man was more likely than most to help her.
“What was that? I can’t hear so good.” He chuckled and it sounded more like wheezing.
“I’m looking for the West Central Savings and Loan, but I don’t have a way to look up the number,” she said slowly and loudly into the receiver.
“Oh, the Savings and Loan? Sure.” She could hear pages flipping, and Kelly almost laughed. She would’ve done the same thing, reach for a phone book. If she’d had one for her hometown, that’s exactly how she would’ve solved the problem. But without access to the internet or other means, calling someone in town was the only answer.
“Yup. Got a pencil?” he asked.
She tugged open her bedside drawer and found a golf pencil and tiny notepad inside. “I do. Go ahead.”
He gave her the 1-800 number and said he hoped that she found what she needed, then hung up. After all the worry about Nathan, the old man had been a breath of fresh air in her life. She took a moment to pray for him, whoever he was, then dialed the number.
Before the phone quit ringing once in her ear, someone picked up. “Vanda Darin, West Central Savings and Loan. How may I direct your call?”
Kelly fumbled over the words, then realized she didn’t have a check with her or even her identification. “I need to find out my account balance. I lost my register . . .” And everything else.
“One moment please, while I transfer you.”
Kelly waited, knowing her wrist was going to buzz any moment with a new text from Nathan.
“Good afternoon. This is Becca Tumes, account specialist. How may I help you?”
“Becca, hi.” Kelly sighed and scraped her hand through her hair. “I’ve lost all of my information, my checks, my driver’s license, everything. But I remember my social security number. If I provide that for you, can you look up my account and tell me the balance?”
“Absolutely, and if you need further assistance in getting a debit card or anything else, please let me know.”
Kelly gave her the information rapidly. Even after losing everything, she was still protective about her social security number. It was the one thing Nathan hadn’t gotten to, at least that she knew of .
“Miss Chambers, I’m sorry. Your account is empty and has been for quite some time. We haven’t had any action on that account in over three years when the last of the funds were drained. It looks like the secondary account holder wrote most of those checks.”
“Secondary?” She’d never added anyone to her checking account, and she’d been glad of that fact after Jasmine had emptied her account the first time. There should’ve not only been a few thousand dollars in her account from before Nathan held her; he’d promised to put money in there.
“Yes, it appears that you came in here about six months prior to the last use of the account and added Nathan Klein to your account. After that, none of the checks on file have any other signer than him.”
“I didn’t add him. How can that be?” She’d given him a deposit slip to put money in the bank for her, but she’d never agreed to give him access to her account.
“Well, you must have. We don’t simply add people without a signature. I’m sure you’ve just forgotten after this much time has passed. Since the account is empty, I won’t be able to send you a card until you deposit something. Will you be sending money in?”
Kelly thanked the Lord that she hadn’t signed up for an account like her parents that charged them monthly for additional security. Namely, if she had, Nathan would’ve gotten around it anyway and all those years of monthly charges would be waiting for her, ruining her credit even more. Nathan had won again.
She’d let him use the lie that she would get money as a dangling carrot in front of her. There was no way that years of work would be spent to find her, especially since no money had been added to that account in years. But what about Jasmine?
She hung up the phone as her wrist buzzed.
You obviously don’t care about Jasmine. She paid for your mistakes as usual. Don’t miss the next meeting. It will be more than Jasmine who pays if you don’t. Meet me by the fence tomorrow night at 8PM. Come alone.
“I hate you.” She wasn’t supposed to hate anyone and immediately felt guilt for saying the words yet couldn’t bring herself to take them back. “I’m sorry, God. I’m sorry that I can’t find a shred of care for him. I need to leave that up to you.”
She scrolled to the very bottom of the screen and pressed the icon to reply, speaking her text aloud. “Where is my money? You said you were saving it for me. I called my bank. I know you’re a liar. Why should I believe you now?” She pressed the send button.
Her breath came faster as she waited for a response, but what could he really say that would change the truth? He’d lied. She’d done horrible things thinking she was working her way out of a pit and into the truth, only to discover the pit was bottomless.
Her wrist buzzed and the reply was short enough that she didn’t need to scroll at all to read it.
I own you.
Sam sat with Connor and Lacy in Connor’s office. He was getting used to having the door closed, but not feeling trapped. He hated that his leg bounced, giving away his worry. He wasn’t supposed to worry. He was supposed to always have everything under control. Since Kelly had arrived, his entire world had been tossed into the air like confetti and pieces of him were landing all over like he’d never be one again.
“It’s okay, Sam. We can do this,” Lacy said as she gave him a weak smile, “but we’re going to have to think of a new way to protect her because I think Kelly caught on to me last night. She knew something was up when I wouldn’t leave her alone.” Lacy toed off her boots and tucked her feet under her with her legs akimbo on Connor’s sofa.
Sam wanted a distraction, needed it like he needed air, but couldn’t let go of the worry. “She’s going to do it. She’s going to find a way to meet with him against our wishes. We can tell her not to, and she will. What is the hold this guy has over her?”
Connor took a deep breath and laid a huge hand on Lacy’s knee, completely covering it. “You’re right, Sam. Until she trusts us, we won’t know. Dominic thinks he’s found the line of communication, but it will take time to hack into. It’s like the watch has its own internet and that makes hacking it more difficult.”
“It’s a good thing you saw that image, so we had confirmation she didn’t have that watch before she arrived here. I would’ve looked pretty ignorant if I’d called the halfway house and accused them when they knew nothing about it,” Lacy said, twisting her long hair into a loose knot.
“Nathan has some pull over her, whether it’s real or imagined, physical or psychological. I talked to Brendon this morning and he told me she hasn’t said anything about the communications, but he did note that she was really nervous at her session today. She kept gripping her wrist, spinning the watch, and looking out the window every few seconds. He said if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was on drugs. She seemed that paranoid. We know that isn’t the case,” Connor said.
Someone knocked outside Connor’s office, then opened the door. Dominic came inside and sat in a chair near Sam, facing Connor and Lacy on the sofa. “I did some digging into the drone Sam shot down. They are made at a shop in Denver, Colorado. Most of the sales are over the counter and they come in two sizes. Interestingly, the smaller one is used for surveillance and the other for deliveries. Lots of small cafes and similar places use the larger ones for food delivery to save money. They don’t have to hire someone if they can deliver by drone, take a picture of the door as they’re dropping it off and email a picture to the consumer.”
“We’re only a couple hours or less from Denver.” Sam shifted in his seat. “Is that where the halfway house is?”
Connor nodded. “That’s why the halfway house was somewhat eager for us to provide a place for Kelly. They didn’t think it was safe for her to remain in the same town she’d been kept for so long. Though, whether it’s a mental block or if she truly didn’t know, Kelly has never said where she was held.”
Sam hadn’t asked her. There were a lot of things he hadn’t asked her. He’d avoided her the rest of the evening the day before, letting Lacy do the job of making sure she stayed in her room. There was no way he could face her after hearing Edwyn run her bath. He hadn’t been able to stay there to make sure Edwyn left when he should. Not even to tell Connor what he might have heard. Confrontation was his worst enemy, but avoidance left him tied in knots.
“I think Edwyn should stay with her. We should move her into one of the family cabins and Edwyn can stay in the second bedroom.” His words stumbled out of his mouth like he hadn’t slept in days.
Lacy’s eyes softened as she looked at him. “Why do you think Edwyn would be good for that job? Didn’t he scare her the first day she was here?”
Should he accuse Edwyn when he didn’t know everything? He would hate to be accused of a crime if he didn’t commit one. “I heard him helping Kelly earlier. I think they are closer than either of them let on.”
Connor sighed and let his head fall against the couch. “First my dad gets a wild hair and decides he’s going to a little town near Devil’s Tower for a month, now Edwyn is doing things behind my back? What is going on around here?”
Dominic grinned. “People tend to have their own minds. I know your rules are there for safety purposes, but your men are respectful. If Kelly feels comfortable with someone, she should be able to.”
Connor shook his head. “No, that’s where your lack of training in human trafficking betrays you. Kelly barely trusts anyone. She literally can’t make the choice to have a relationship yet. If she is choosing that, it’s because she thinks she has to, for some reason. Even if we count the time she was at the halfway house, which was less than two months, that’s not long enough for her to know herself well enough to commit to anyone. There must be another explanation. Not to mention the fact that Edwyn knows Kelly is at Wayside, so that Sam can work on mending the disagreement between them.”
Dominic glanced quickly between Connor and Sam. “Sam is part of the second chance missions? Kelly is a second chance?” His eyes widened. “I’m surprised you allowed that.”
Connor frowned, and Lacy laid her hand over his. He took a moment before he spoke. “I had to pray about it. Ultimately, I decided that if Sam could talk with Kelly and they could come to some sort of an acceptance of one another, a happy ending after a bad break, then that might help her heal from other trauma, too. It would show her that she’s worth working for. She’s worth fighting for.”
Dominic slowly nodded. “Very commendable. I hope it works.” He paused, then took a deep breath that foretold he had something very weighty to say. “I’ve broken into the messages sent between Kelly and Nathan. He is telling her that he is hurting one of her friends if she doesn’t do as he says. She is to meet him tomorrow night in the pasture where she was knocked off her horse. I suspect that accident wasn’t an accident because she was supposed to meet him there yesterday. I’m glad you arranged for her to stay in her room last night, since you didn’t know what was going on. If you hadn’t, she wouldn’t be here now.”
Sam closed his eyes and breathed a prayer of thanks. Sometimes God worked in little silences, not in weighty sentences. “So, now we need to figure out how to keep her out of his clutches when she is clearly working against us,” said Sam.
Connor looked Sam straight in the eyes. “Well, I think it’s time we have a meeting with all the Wayside men, except my dad, and tell them what’s going on. We’re to keep eyes on Kelly at all times. If she’s outside her cabin, she’s not alone. I like Sam’s idea that we move her in with someone, but I don’t think Edwyn is the right man for the job.”
Sam slowly shook his head, knowing exactly what Connor would ask of him. This was too much. Working with her was too much, but living in the same cabin? He couldn’t. He’d have to watch her every moment. How would his heart be able to withstand that? “Don’t.”
“Who else?”
All eyes were on him, and he hated that he knew there wasn’t anyone else he would trust to do the job. He’d already accused, at least only in his head, his friend of doing something with Kelly merely because of what he’d heard. If he had no right to look at her the way his heart screamed at him to look at her . . . then no one else could either.
“What about Lacy?” He knew Connor would never allow that. Connor wanted Lacy close by at all times, and she wasn’t one of the guys, as much as she sometimes acted like one.
“I could?—”
“No,” Connor’s definitive response silenced Lacy.
Dominic grinned. “If you want the opportunity to make amends, then this will give you all the time in the world to do so.”
Had he really asked for time just a day before? Now, he wanted none of it. “I don’t feel right about this.”
Connor nodded. “I know. Because it’s not the way we do things. But Junior had to stay with Gabby when she came and got mixed up in Scarlet’s family mess. He had to protect her even though he didn’t want to. Protecting is what we do.”
Connor was right, but that didn’t make Sam hate the idea any less.