Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
“Can you tell me how you came to be rescued, Miss Daniels?” the defense attorney, Bernard Felty from Felty, Reynolds and Kline, asked.
“It was during the auction. We were told each man there would be allowed to bid and buy one of us, but there was a bidding war between two older gentlemen. And one of them ended up with both Justus and me. The other gentleman got upset and caused a scene. The man who purchased us took that moment to take us down the backstairs and get us out of harm’s way.”
“That man was Dr. Palmer?” Felty asked.
“That’s correct.”
“Had you ever met him before that night?” Felty continued his questioning.
“No, and I haven’t seen him since.”
The United States Assistant Attorney Bryson McAdams cleared his throat. “I think we should move on, Mr. Felty. I’m not sure what you’re trying to prove here.”
“It’s simple, Miss Daniels and Miss Killion were singled out at that auction by Dr. Palmer. Why them? Why not two of the other girls? How did Dr. Palmer know they were going to be at the auction? Maybe they had prior communication with him,” Felty said.
Chaney shook her head, gripping Justus’s hand. “How could we? We had nothing. We were stripped of our clothing once we arrived at the house. We were given skimpy bikinis to wear and a pair of high heels. We didn’t have our cellphones. There was no way to contact anyone we knew before being taken to that horrible place. If you want to blame anyone for the auction not going the way it was supposed to, then blame your clients. They obviously did a shoddy job organizing it. Someone within their organization must have messed up. Why don’t you grill them?”
Felty sneered at her. “You have a smart mouth, Miss Daniels.”
“So, I’ve been told.”
“I think you’re done, Mr. Felty,” McAdams said. “I have only a few questions for my clients.” He smiled at Chaney. “Thank you, Miss Daniels for your cooperation today.”
“You’re welcome,” Chaney said.
“One last question, Miss Killion,” 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 stood.
Chaney squeezed Justus’ hand again and they looked at one another, glad to have gotten through this. It had been comforting to be by her side, but she knew once they walked out the door, she wouldn’t be seeing her again until the trial and it made her sad.
She watched as the defense attorney gathered his things and left the room. He couldn’t scurry away fast enough. Likewise, the court stenographer packed up her equipment without saying a word and left. Justus looked at her with relief.
“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. Sorry to rush off but, I have a plane to catch back to DC. 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 weren’t. It’s horrible, but a common tactic to blame the victim instead of the perpetrators.”
“Do you know how long it will be before the trial date will be set?” Justus’ sister Liberty asked.
“It’s tentatively on the books 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 shrugged. “Hard to say. With three defendants it could last anywhere from four to six weeks, maybe longer.”
“I really think trying to go back so soon would be a mistake,” Liberty said. “I think you need to talk to Dr. Saunders before you decide to register and get her opinion.”
“I don’t want to graduate late,” Justus protested.
“My parents are already threatening to pull my funding,” Chaney said. “I can’t risk the credits I have not transferring if they force me to go to a private institution back east.”
“Even if you go back this semester, you don’t have to take a full load,” Liberty pointed out.
“I’ll be happy to submit letters to your professors if necessary when we do go to trial for the days you have to miss,” McAdams said.
“Maybe we can take online courses where we don’t have to be there in person at a specific time,” Chaney suggested.
“If there are any in the fields we’re taking,” Justus agreed.
McAdams looked at his watch and picked up his briefcase. “I really have to go. I’ll be in touch.”
“How about lunch?” Liberty asked, trying to sound cheerful and lighten the mood after McAdams left.
“Whatcha say?” Justus asked.
Chaney hesitated. “My parents hired a driver and he’s waiting for me downstairs, otherwise I’d say yes.”
“How would they know if you didn’t return straight home?” Justus said.
“Oh, they’d know. He’d make sure they’d know,” Chaney said.
“It’s okay, honey.” Liberty placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re in a tough position right now. You want to honor your parents by abiding by their wishes, but you also want to make your own decisions. It’s hard because you feel at your age you should be able to assert your independence. And we don’t want to make it harder for you so we understand if you can’t go today. Give them time and they’ll come around.”
“I doubt it. They’re threatening to withdraw my college tuition and housing money if I see Justus outside of the trial proceedings. They want me to cut all ties with her and you. It doesn’t matter that you spearheaded our rescue with the Brotherhood Protectors. If it was up to them, I’d be back in Baltimore with them right now. Locked in my old room.”
Justus hugged her tightly. “It’s okay. We’ll get through this. We’ve been through worse.”
Chaney nodded. “I hate living alone especially after our abduction, but they have me in a gated community with round the clock security so at least I know I’m safe.”
The three walked out of the district attorney’s law office conference room toward the bank of elevators. They didn’t have to wait long before the doors opened on one and they stepped inside. Two young men standing at the back were the only other occupants. Then before the doors closed two middle aged men jumped on, causing Justus to bump into her.
“Sorry,” Justus said.
“It’s okay.” Chaney shot her a quick smile, but looked around at the two men.
The elevator stopped on every other floor picking up a passenger or letting someone that got on before off. The men who bumped into Justus inched closer to her and she grabbed for Chaney’s hand.
“What is it?” Chaney whispered.
“It would be a shame if two pretty young things like you had acid dashed onto your faces just because you said something you shouldn’t,” one of the men sneered.
In a split second, Liberty grabbed both the girls, pushing them behind her as the two young men stepped forward. Before Chaney had time to process what was going on the people in the elevator had scattered to one side, getting away from the threatening men as the younger men pushed them against the wall, bending their arms behind their backs to secure them with zip tie cuffs.
Fearing for her life and recalling the threats she’d received while captive, Chaney covered her eyes and began to cry. “I can’t take this.”
“Liberty, what are we going to do?” Justus asked.
“You both need to calm down,” Liberty ordered. “The Brotherhood Protectors are not going to let anything happen to either one of you.”
“But Asher is in Fool’s Gold,” Justus pointed out. “We’re all alone in Colorado Springs.”
“That’s what you think,” one of the young men said glancing over his shoulder at them. “The Brotherhood Protectors have you covered. Specifically, the Lone Wolf Agency. I’m Rafferty Grainger.”
Justus nudged Chaney in the ribs. “Look at them,” she whispered.
Chaney made a face but wiped away her hot tears and took a deep calming breath. Then she looked at their rescuers and her pulse sped up as she took the young men in from head to toe before she mouthed, Oh my!
Liberty snickered at them as the elevator doors opened on the next floor and the other passengers quickly got off, leaving only the two Brotherhood Protectors and their snarling and verbally abusive captives with them.
“Shut up you two or you’ll wish you had once we get through teaching you a lesson,” Rafferty ordered.
“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots,” one of the men scoffed.
“Me too,” the other one said.
Rafferty punched the first in the gut while his twin held the other one and he punched him as well before they men doubled over grunting.
“Who hired you?” Chaney asked.
“Hank Patterson sent for us,” the other one said making eye contact with her and for a moment Chaney lost her breath. He had the deepest dark brown eyes she’d ever seen.
“But more importantly, Asher and Liberty filled us in on where you’d be today and thought you might need us here to watch over you as you left the building,” Rafferty said.
The elevator doors opened again to the lobby and the Grainger brothers carefully escorted their detainees out, keeping an eye on the surroundings before motioning the all clear before Liberty led the girls out.
Chaney hurried ahead of Liberty and Justus to catch up with the protectors as they led their captives to the security checkpoint. “Pardon me, but I didn’t catch your name.”
“Rawlins,” he drawled and it sounded like he was saying New Orleans if he had been from Louisiana, but she was studying Linguistics and her ear picked up a clear Texas dialect.
“Rawlins. That’s an unusual name. Just like Rafferty. They’re more like surnames than first,” she said.
“That’s right. We were named for our parent’s grandmother’s families. Luckily, they both started with Rs,” he said.
“And you’re from Texas?” she said.
“Correct.
“Nice meeting you. I’m Chaney Daniels.”
“I know. I’ve been assigned to protect you.”
“Me, specifically?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
She chuckled. Things were looking up for her. “I already have a driver that my parents hired who is keeping tabs on me. Do you think you can get rid of him?”
Rawlins shrugged. “That depends. Why do you want to get rid of him?”
“I just told you. He’s keeping tabs on me and reporting back to my parents,” she said. “I feel like I’m a prisoner. I have no freedom to do what I want. They can’t be bothered to be here for me, yet they have hired a stranger to watch me and report back. I don’t think they have that right. All I want to do is be able to see Justus when I want, but they don’t want me to do that.”
He nodded. “And why don’t they want you to see Justus?”
“They blame her for my abduction. If she hadn’t met Kurtis, none of this would have happened.”
“True,” Rawlins said. “They do have a point. But she had no idea Kurtis would turn out to be a human trafficker mule when she started seeing him. At the same time, it isn’t fair to keep the two of you apart either.”
“A mule? Is that what they call what he was doing?” she asked.
“Not sure. But to me, it’s the same as a drug mule who facilitates the passage of drugs from one point to another,” Rawlins explained. “He did that when he took you and Justus to the ring leader.”
“Hey, Rawlins, I need your help here,” Rafferty called.
“Coming.” He looked at her apologetically. “Sorry. I need to…”
“Go.” She watched him walk away, appreciating his walk as much as she had looking him up and down. Realizing she was gawking, she mentally shook herself and went back to Liberty and Justus who looked to be in a heated conversation.
“Hey, the other one is named Rawlins. They’re named after their grandmother’s families. Isn’t that sweet,” she said rejoining them. She looked between them and paused. “Uh, did I just interrupt something?”
“It’s nothing,” Liberty replied.
She didn’t believe that for a second, but she wasn’t going to press the issue. She had her own family problems to worry about without disrespecting their boundaries and prying.
“Are we ready to go then?” she asked, instead.
“Not so fast,” Rafferty called as he and Rawlins handed over the two men to the police that had arrived. He left Rawlins to deal with it and came over to them. “I’m sure you’re anxious to get out of here, but I’d prefer if you had an escort to make sure there are no other obstacles in your way.”
“Do you think they’d be bold enough to go after the girls a second time today?” Liberty questioned
“We have no idea what their plan of attack was. There could have absolutely been a contingency in play if this attempt failed,” he explained. “If you don’t have somewhere you have to be and can hang on while we take care of filing the report against these men on your behalf, we’ll be happy to see you home.”
“We were going to lunch,” Justus told him. “Maybe some shopping afterward.”
“I wouldn’t advise that. Ordering to go and picking up under the circumstances yes, but shopping is out of the question,” he said.
“I will not be held a prisoner!” Justus shouted.
“Sh-h-h,” Liberty hissed, reaching for her arm. “You need to calm down. No one is trying to lock you up, he’s only suggesting we take precautions.”
“Come on, Justus, be real here,” Chaney said. “The last thing I want to do is go out today after what happened. The sooner I get back to my condo the better.”.
Justus glared at her. “I thought you said your driver was waiting to take you home meaning you couldn’t even go to lunch or anything else with us? That means you don’t have a say in this.”
Chaney stepped toward Justus, narrowing her eyes. “That’s just cruel. Even if I could, I definitely wouldn’t want to after what you just said.”
Justus took another step toward her until they were almost nose to nose. “Maybe your parents are right. We shouldn’t see one another.”
“If that’s how you feel,” Chaney choked out as tears stung her eyes.
Rafferty slipped his hand between them and snapped his fingers. “Cool it ladies. Raw, see Miss Daniels home.”
“Sure, Raff.” Rawlins touched Chaney’s elbow. “You said your driver is waiting for you outside?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Do you think he’ll oppose my riding with you?”
She blinked away the tears forming at Justus’ hurtful words. “He won’t have a choice when I tell him who you’re with.”
“Let’s go then,” Rawlins said, leading her away.