Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
Rawlins was thankful her driver Broderick had been sensible and not put up a fuss when Chaney informed him that they had company. He’d only nodded and drove them back to her condo in the gated community. Rawlins had never been to one before and he wasn’t sure he liked the thought of always having to show identification at the gate to just be let inside. But the driver didn’t seem to mind at all with the hassle and if it was keeping Chaney safe…well, he guessed, he shouldn’t either.
It made him wonder why some people chose to live in these communities. Did it make them feel safer? Had the world become that dangerous? And now looking at the spacious condo Broderick pulled up in front of, he began to feel his first impression of Chaney Daniels may have been off the mark.
“This place wasn’t my idea,” Chaney said as she opened the car door to get out. “My parents picked it out and even furnished it before they left me here. But at least there is plenty of space. There’s three bedrooms. You’ll have your own bed and bath for privacy.”
Rawlins looked up at the two-story condo and noted it seemed out of place among the houses on the street. He wondered why it was the only one in the gated community as he followed her to the front door.
“Out of the three bedrooms, I’m using two of them. One for my study room for when I return to campus and the other for my bedroom. Your room has a king bed in it that just needs to be made up,” she explained, opening the front door and leading him inside. “After all, my parents had to have a place to sleep if they chose to come back to visit.”
He noted a hint of humor in her voice.
“I’ll get you a set of sheets and a blanket from the linen closet. If you don’t like the comforter my mother selected for the room, we can order something online. It’s still in the bag in the closet.”
“I don’t need anything fancy. A quilt will do,” Rawlins said.
She led him upstairs to the bedrooms and pointed him in the direction of his room. “Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t want to use that comforter my mother picked out so I’m sure you wouldn’t want too either. It’s ugly as all get out, but that’s her taste as opposed to mine.”
She went to the linen closet and pulled out a set of pale green sheets and a quilt. “This quilt is one my grandmother purchased at a charity auction as soon as she found out I was coming to Colorado for college. She didn’t want me to freeze during the winter. It isn’t large enough to cover a king bed, but it will do until we can get something else,” Chaney laughed when she handed him the bedding. “I haven’t frozen yet, but I haven’t actually found myself that cold either. It’s far colder in Baltimore during the winter to be honest.”
“But grandmas worry,” Rawlins said.
“They do.”
Together, they began making up the bed.
“Why did you decide to come out here for college?” he asked, still trying to get a good read on her. He had mixed signals. This gated community and the way her parents were throwing money around gave him the impression she was from a wealthy background, but she came across down to earth. Which is the sense he got about Liberty and Justus and their background and if the two girls were such good friends he couldn’t see them meshing well otherwise.
“It was far enough away from my parent’s reach, and it had a good program in linguistics. My major of study,” she explained. “But after my abduction, I’m thinking I’d like to reconsider my major and focus on something else. Which is not going to put me behind because I’ve only completed the first year of study. I haven’t really gotten into my core classes yet.”
Rawlins held the top sheet out for her to take. “I have so many questions about what you just said. Do you mind my asking them? If you do, I’ll respect your privacy.”
She shrugged. “Sure. Ask away. After all, we are trying to get to know one another.”
“Why did you want to get away from your mom and dad? They bought you this wonderful place to live. Furnished it They can’t be that bad.”
She laughed again. “I can see why you’d think that. Since the abduction, they’re determined to keep me away from Justus and Liberty. That should give you an idea of the type of parents they are.”
“Not really,” he said.
“No?” she asked, tilting her head. “I guess you’d have to know them to understand them.”
“Help me then. Tell me about them. Were they that bad as you were growing up to make you want to leave them?”
She sighed as she stuffed a pillow into the case. “No. They provided me with everything I could have wanted and more, but they just didn’t allow me to work. I always wanted to babysit, but they wouldn’t let me earn my own pocket money like the other girls at school,” she said. “They wouldn’t hear of it. They claimed they didn’t want me associating with the wrong sort of riff raff or getting ill from a sick child.”
“Did they actually say that?” he questioned, stuffing the other pillow into a case.
“My mother did. But she could always come across as a snob,” Chaney said. “She grew up affluent where my father made his money. But he was ruthless getting there, pushing aside those in his way to the ground so he could reach the top. I got sick listening to him boast of his exploits to his friends when we had company for dinner parties.” She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, how they love to entertain.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t know about that. I’m from a working-class family.”
“And there isn’t anything wrong with it,” she assured him as they neatly tucked the quilt up to the pillows and spread it down toward the foot of the bed. “But they have always insisted I rely on them for financial support, which I don’t understand, especially my father. If he made his own money, then you’d think he’d want his daughter to stand on her own two feet and learn the value of earning her own way in life. Wouldn’t you? Am I wrong for wanting to do that?”
“No, but have you?”
“I was getting ready to get my first job out here this summer. I had my resume already to start applying for jobs when Justus excitedly came into our room telling me how she was going hiking with Kurtis. I immediately got the gut feeling that something wasn’t right and the next thing I knew I was inviting myself on the hiking trip. I told her I loved hiking and had always wanted to go to the Garden of the Gods. Would she mind if I joined them on their outing? She was thrilled and called Kurtis. He said the more the merrier and called his friend Dan. And you know the rest. And by the time we were rescued, working was the last thought on my mind.”
“I can see how that would take a back burner,” he said. “And of course, Kurtis was happy to have you come along because he was then getting two girls for the work of one.”
“Damn, I never realized that. I walked right into his trap, didn’t I?” Chaney said. “But I wouldn’t change a thing. I couldn’t image Justus going through that alone.”
“A good friend wouldn’t,” he said.
Chaney got the quilt to put on the bed. “With Broderick keeping tabs and driving me everywhere plus my weekly appointments with Dr. Saunders, getting a job after the abduction was essentially impossible even if it crossed my mind.”
“Your parents would know what you were doing.”
She nodded. “And now they are threatening to remove my financial support if I don’t go along with their demands.” She sighed. “It really puts me in a tough situation. I was already on thin ice for applying to only one university and not telling them.”
“What?” Rawlins felt like he was getting whiplash from the twists and turns in this conversation. Chaney Daniels was more than she was cracked up to be. He first thought she was a spoiled rich girl, but it was clear she was down to earth and very clever. He’d have to be careful around her.
“You heard me. I was so desperate to get out on my own to see what it would be like that I only applied to one university,” she explained. “They didn’t know until I was accepted. Then it was too late to pull any strings to get me in anywhere closer to home because even the waitlists were too long to do anything. My parents were furious, but in the end, they let me come once they realized I’d chosen a really good program of study for what I want to do. Now, if I do change my concentration, they will be livid. That’s why I’m not going to tell them.”
“What are you wanting to change to?”
“I was thinking social work.”
He chuckled, his brown eyes twinkling. “Sorry. You’re right. That will push your parents over the edge if you go into that line of work. But if that is where your heart is leading you.”
“It is.” Her heart beat a little faster. As close as she’d been with Justus, she’d never shared any of what she’d just told Rawlins about her parents. Why had she done that? Was it because he’d asked that simple question?
“I’d like your friendship. A girl can’t have too many these days,” she said. “Since it looks like I just lost Justus.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t write her off just yet.”
Later that evening, Chaney went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, frowning at the contents. She was so tired of sandwiches. They were fine for lunch, but not for dinner too. She heard footsteps on the stairs and looked in that direction. “I don’t suppose you know how to cook?”
“Don’t you?” Rawlins inquired carrying his laptop with him.
“No.”
“Then how have you been surviving since you came to live here?” he asked.
“Frozen dinners. Sandwiches.”
He put his laptop on the sofa and came to the island that separated the living space in two. “And before you came to live here?”
“Moni did the cooking when Justus and I roomed with her and our other two roommates in a house near campus,” she explained.
He was quiet for a few moments, he appeared to be studying her huge kitchen. “My God, look at the appliances you have. Ninja blender and air fryer. Kitchen Aid industrial mixer.” He opened the bottom cabinets until he found the cookware and pulled out the expensive stainless Steele and copper bottom fry pan. “I’ve seen similar ones in magazine spreads for Martha Stewart and Ina Garner and you tell me you don’t know how to cook?”
“What can I say? My mother likes to have the very best in the kitchen even if we had a cook who did all the cooking,” Chaney replied sounding upset. “She equipped my kitchen with the same as our house in Baltimore.”
“But they are aware you can’t cook?” he asked. “And it’s just sitting here not being used.”
“Of course,” Chaney replied. “But for appearances…if I were to entertain… my mother has to have my kitchen looking like I am the greatest cook.”
He ran his hand around to the back of his neck and stared at her. “I don’t get it. Did your cook never offer to show you how to do anything when you were growing up?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“Once, but my parents caught her and she was almost fired for it,” she said.
He frowned. “Why? Were they desperate to keep you dependent on them for the rest of your life?”
Chaney shrugged. “Welcome to my world.”
“Do you want to learn to cook?” he ventured.
“It would be nice to do more than punch a few buttons on a microwave,” Chaney said. “I don’t want to be forced to eat frozen meals forever.
He nodded. “I’ll help you learn to feed yourself at least. I am no chef, but I can survive. My mother made sure all her children could do basic skills no matter what our gender. Do you do your own laundry at least?”
“Sure. I had to learn that before I left home so I could manage out here,” she said. “My parents had our maid show me. They had no problem with me learning to do that.”
“At least that’s something,” he muttered. “But your parents didn’t think you needed to know how to cook?”
“They believed I would be living in a dorm on campus where I would be eating on a meal plan the whole time I was here,” she said. “I believe they thought it would be for only one year really. I feel they always thought they’d get me back after that to go to another university of their choice. I think that is why they are trying so hard to get me back to Baltimore now.”
“And did they force you to apply elsewhere?”
“No.” Chaney leaned against the island and smiled at him. “But that doesn’t mean they haven’t applied for me, or talked to friends who are on boards of admissions to get me in this coming year if they can get me back. I know they’d love for me to go to Georgetown.”
Rawlins nodded and walked around the island. “Okay. Let’s look and see what there is to work with in your refrigerator.”
“Not much I’m afraid.”
He opened the freezer and examined its sparse contents as well. “Right. Shopping trip tomorrow. For tonight we will have to make do.”
He pulled out the sandwich ingredients and asked her to get out the bread. “Do you have a chopping board?”
Chaney shrugged.
“Go sit down and I’ll fix tonight’s meal.” He searched for what he was looking for and then he washed his hands. He opened the half-used head of lettuce and took out a knife from the drawer and shaved off enough for two servings. Then he built hero style sandwiches complete with thinly sliced onion, pickles, and tomatoes for each of them.
“Do you like mayo, mustard, or both?”
“Both,” she said.
“Fix drinks for us while I finish up here,” he said.
“Sure thing,” she said.
She went to the cabinet and got down two glasses, filled them with ice cubes. “Do you want water, soda…” she opened the refrigerator and looked inside. “I guess those are the options right now. There’s only a little milk for cereal in the morning.”
“Soda is fine.” He was silent as put the sandwiches on plates. “Does that mean you aren’t a coffee drinker?”
“Afraid not.”
“Is there a coffee shop close by?” he asked.
“Ask Broderick, my driver. He always has one when he takes me to my appointments with Dr. Saunders. Which I have tomorrow.”
“Good to know,” Rawlins said.
She liked how well they got along. It was nice. It reminded her of the way she and Justus fell in-line as friends when they had first met on campus that first day. They’d been totally lost and thought the other one knew where they were going when they’d asked each other directions. And not wanting to look clueless they’d both tried to fake it until it became obvious, they were both newbies to campus. They’d ended up laughing and going to find someone to help them both. And when there had been a freshman housing shortage, they’d decided to find a place off campus together. It had only forged their bond.
And now look at them? She couldn’t understand why Justus had turned on her the way she did today.
“Is the sandwich that good that you can’t talk or so bad you don’t want to say anything?” Rawlins said.
Chaney jerked her head in his direction, laying the half-eaten sandwich back on her plate. “What?”
“You’ve been staring into space for the last five minutes just holding your food in mid-air.”
“Have I?”
He nodded.
“Sorry. I was thinking about when I met Justus on campus and how easily we became friends and trying to understand how she could say what she did to me today.”
He touched her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I am sure she didn’t mean it. Think about what had just happened and how she reacted in the rotunda,” Rawlins suggested. “You’d just given a deposition, had someone threaten to throw acid in your faces if you testify at trial, found out you’d been assigned protectors, and she was not happy about it.”
He took a breath. “Although I’m not sure why? Asher is one. He’s been with Liberty for months and helped find the two of you. Justus knows what the organization is all about.”
“I know. I’m happy to have you in my corner. I feel so much safer with you here until I go to testify at trial,” Chaney said. “It was one thing to have Broderick watching and driving me everywhere. He is here for my parents. He doesn’t make me feel safe, only watched. But with you here, it’s different.”
She picked up her sandwich. “This is really good. I was not looking forward to another sandwich for a meal, but you make one heck of a hero. Which makes me think I could live on them now.”
“I worked in a deli one summer,” he said. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“I’m glad.” She began eating again.
He chuckled, sitting back and watching her finish. “One thing I didn’t ask you earlier when we were talking about why you decided to come out to Colorado, was why here? I know you said it had a good linguistics program, but was that the only reason other than the distance from your parents?”
She shrugged. “Not really.”
“Have you ever thought that if you hadn’t made that decision and stayed back east, that you’d have not been human trafficked,” he said.
“Something worse could have happened to me instead.” Her matter-of-fact response left him silent.
She stood and cleared away their dishes, putting them in the dishwasher and cleaning up the counter. “Any other questions I can answer for you?”
He shook his head. “None at this time.”
“Good. Because I’m a little tired of thinking about it all. It has been a long day. I’m going to go take a shower and try to fall asleep early if I can. My appointment with Dr. Saunders is at one. Do you want to go to the store before and get the groceries in the morning?”
“Let me think about it.” Rawlins scratched his chin. “How do you notify your drive if you want to go somewhere?”
“I call him ahead of time,” she said. “He knows I have my appointment tomorrow, so he’ll be coming to take me for it. If we want to go in the morning, I should let him know tonight so he will be here on time.”
“I suppose we could go afterward,” Rawlins said.
“Then let’s order a pizza around eleven for lunch,” she said. “Night.”
“Night.”
He walked to the door and made sure it was locked. He was certain he had done it when they came in earlier, but he wanted to make sure it was before he went to his room for the night. It had been a long day. Closing the bedroom door, he sat down on the bed and tested it out. The mattress was firm because it was new, but that wouldn’t matter. He’d become accustomed to being able to sleep just about anywhere while serving in the army.
Unpacking his backpack, he stowed his gear in the three-drawer chest, glad he’d come prepared. Neither he nor his twin had known how the day would unfold when they went to meet up with Chaney and Justus. They’d both packed for the inevitable. Nothing was worse than being caught stranded unprepared. And a Ranger was never unprepared.