Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Cannon
I’m seething inside. It’s hard to sit still and listen to my girl tell her story. I really shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve known since I met her that she’d been through hell, but it’s hard to be prepared to hear the actual details coming from her mouth.
“Where were you, Little one?”
“His mountain cabin. The only person who ever came and went was Larkin. He came about once a month to check on me. By that, I mean he came to make sure I was behaving, threatening me every time. He told me that after my ‘disappearance,’ when it was presumed I was a runaway, he reported me for drug possession. If I ever tried to escape my new life, I would be arrested. He would personally alert the local authorities and everyone in the state that I’d been spotted.
He had an elaborate story about the drug runs I was involved with that extended far beyond the cocaine he’d planted in my locker. ”
“What a fucking douche, but are you sure any of that is true?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t take the risk that it wasn’t.”
“So, this Westin guy, he…bought you?”
“I don’t think he actually had any money.
He just let the traffickers use his cabin as a stopping point.
He kept girls in his basement until someone came to pick them up.
In exchange, Larkin or whoever else brought the girls also came bearing food and supplies.
I think when he saw me, he decided he wanted me for himself.
Apparently, they had told him he could choose a girl to keep if he played nicely. I was that lucky girl.” She shudders.
I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. Rubbing her soft skin against mine, I wonder how “lucky” she was. “What did he want you for?”
“Apparently, his wife had died several years back. He wanted someone to take care of everything she used to do. Cooking, cleaning, washing…”
“Did he…” I swallow. “Did he force himself on you?”
She smirks, sitting up taller. “Oh, he tried. The first night I was there, he came to me. I was sitting in the corner of my room on that mattress. I hadn’t been asleep.
How the fuck could I sleep in that cabin?
All I had was that one dress, so I had it pulled over my knees where I sat under the window.
I didn’t want to rock the boat and risk him locking me in the basement again, so I played nice all day.
But when he came to me, opening his pants, I lost it.
There was no way I was going to let him touch me with even his hands, let alone his fucking cock. ”
I’m rather shocked by Eloise’s crude words, but I shouldn’t be, nor do I blame her.
“When he grabbed me by the ankles and dragged me toward him, I screamed and fought him. I got several kicks in, but the clincher was when I bit him. I sank my teeth deep into his forearm. I drew blood.”
“Good girl.”
“Yeah, he wasn’t pleased. I thought he was going to kill me.
While he was wailing and gripping his bloody arm, I ran out of the room and locked him inside.
I paced outside the door while he shouted and kicked at the hardwood.
It didn’t budge, which is how I knew better than to bother trying to escape that room myself. ”
“But you didn’t run?”
She looks down. “Maybe I should have. I don’t know.
He’d told me it was twenty miles to town and that there was only one road.
I searched the house while he was locked in the room.
He was wearing the only pair of shoes. I could have put on socks, but how was I going to walk twenty miles in the mountains?
And to what end? The moment Larkin found out I was gone, I would have been arrested. ”
Eloise is calmer now. She’s telling all of this matter-of-factly as if it happened to someone else. As if it were fiction.
She lifts her gaze. “I bargained with him through the door instead. I told him I would stay and be his fucking maid if he agreed to never touch me. I told him if he ever opened his pants in front of me again, I would kill myself. Then he wouldn’t have a maid.”
“And he agreed?” I lace my fingers with hers.
“Yes. I’ve asked myself a million times if I should have run that night. I’ll never know. I decided biding my time and playing the dutiful maid was preferable to risking prison time for crimes I did not commit.”
“And Larkin came to make sure you were being the obedient slave once a month.”
“Yes. Give or take. He wasn’t specific about when he showed up. Sometimes only a week later. Sometimes five weeks. Never more than that.”
“Did he continue to bring other women and girls, using the place as a waystation?”
She shakes her head and shivers. “No. I don’t think I could have handled that. I heard Larkin and Westin arguing about that the first time Larkin came to check on me. He must have found another place to stash his victims. No one besides Larkin ever came to the cabin.”
“Until when? What changed?”
“Westin died about six months ago.”
“Died?”
She nods. “I guess he had a heart attack. He was eating breakfast, suddenly clutched at his chest, and fell onto the floor. I stared at him for a long time. There was no way I was going to help the piece of shit. I think he died instantly because his eyes never blinked. They stayed open and never closed. His body went slack and still.”
“Jesus, Eloise. That must have freaked you the fuck out.”
“It did. I didn’t have a clue what to do.
On the one hand, I felt freer than I had in years.
On the other hand, what the hell was I going to do?
I figured I had two choices. Wait for Larkin to come, who would undoubtedly sell me to someone else, or make a run for it.
So I stole the shoes off Westin’s feet, strapped them on tightly, stuffed my backpack with sandwiches, took all the money from Westin’s wallet, and started walking.
I should have known they’d both lied to me.
It was only a few miles to the nearest town.
I didn’t dare stop there, though. I went around the town that night and kept going.
I walked that entire night until I got far enough away that I thought I could at least stop for shoes that would fit me better.
I went into a gas station that morning, hoping for tennis shoes.
Instead, I got lucky. An older woman was pumping gas.
She saw me approaching and offered me a ride.
I took a chance. She didn’t ask me a single question.
She simply made small talk as she drove for miles and miles until she came to a larger town.
She stopped in front of a bus station, opened her purse, and handed me all the money she had.
I don’t know how she knew I was in trouble, but I thank God for her every day.
She patted my hand and told me to get a ticket as far away as I could go. ”
“Do you suppose she knew who you were or where you’d come from?”
Eloise shakes her head. “No. She said someone once helped her when she was in a dire situation. She recognized that I was desperate, so she wanted to pay it forward.” My girl wipes at her eyes. “It had been so long since I’d known kindness.”
“Thank goodness for her. So this was six months ago?”
“Yes. I figured Seattle was as far away from Virginia as I could get, so I bought a ticket in cash and rode that bus across the country.”
“And you’ve been looking over your shoulder ever since?”
Eloise nods. “I don’t know what kind of pull Larkin has, but I never take any chances.
I bought that piece-of-shit car because I like to be able to move around as often as possible.
I hadn’t driven in four years, but I’ll forever be glad that the mom at the last house where I lived taught me how to drive.
That car I bought was my home. It gave me a place to sleep.
I never give anyone much information. I find jobs in small towns, usually in diners where the owner needs help and is willing to overlook the fact that I prefer to be paid in cash.
I negotiate really low wages in exchange for free food and no questions. ”
A million thoughts are racing through my mind.
I need to know her last name so Mace can dig around.
I suspect nothing was ever reported to the police.
I doubt Larkin would have bothered. He didn’t need to turn her in for drug possession.
That would only draw attention to him. Everyone in town assumed she’d run away. It was a closed case. No one cared.
“What’s your last name, Eloise?”
“Manning,” she mutters.
“I’m going to have Mace see if there are any warrants out for your arrest, Little one. We’ll go from there.”
She twists to fully face me and fists her hands against my chest. “I can’t get an ID or open a bank account because he’ll find me.”
“He’ll never find you, Little one. I promise.”
She swallows hard. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“Definitely.” I won’t lie to her.
“But he’s a police officer. What if you get caught?”
“I won’t, angel. I never get caught.”
She uncurls her hands, grabs my face, and flattens her mouth against mine so fast it takes me a moment to react. My girl is kissing me. She’s not shy about it. She tips her head to one side and kisses me as though she has ten minutes to live.
I slide my hands around her waist and haul her closer, letting her lead things. There’s no way I’m going to stop her. For one thing, I’m putty in her hands. Her lips are so soft. Her little moans make my cock hard. Her hands roam up around my neck.
She kisses me until she’s breathless. We both are when she finally breaks free. “I’ve been wanting to do that,” she whispers.
“I’m glad you did, angel.” I nuzzle her nose with mine. “You’re welcome to kiss me anytime, Little one.”
“Will you have sex with me?”
This surprises me. “When you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
I fight the urge to groan as I lean back a few inches. “You’re not, Little one.”
She narrows her gaze. “How do you know what I’m ready for?”