Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
S am stared out the window of Edwyn’s car, glad that he’d been resigned to the back seat. He wasn’t as sure as Connor was about where they were going, but he wasn’t the boss. Connor had decided to head for Denver after the police had checked highway cameras and found a limo matching the description of the car that escaped headed south of Cheyenne.
Sam was pretty sure there was a lot more south of Cheyenne than Denver, but Connor agreed that these types followed a pattern. They would go where they felt comfortable. For Nathan, that was Denver.
“Are we going to meet up with any of the local human trafficking task forces to see if they know where she might be?” If Connor was right, they should be able to find the few places where Nathan was comfortable and find out quickly if Kelly was there. Nothing was ever done in a vacuum and tips were the best way of finding missing persons.
“There’s a group I’m trying to reach, FREE International. I don’t know if they can help us, though. They are out of Las Vegas, but the site says they travel all over. It’s a long shot, but aside from government agencies, this group comes up first when I search.” Connor scrolled on his phone. “That’s where I’ll start.”
Nothing about this felt right. He wasn’t even sure Kelly was still alive. For the first time in his life, he felt completely out of control. His usual easy-going nature took a back seat along with him and he only wanted to do what would get results. The quicker the better.
Zeus nudged his hand from his spot on the seat next to him. Sam scratched the dog behind the ears. “It’s okay, boy. I know you did everything you could.” He’d already picked a dart out of the dog’s neck that he hadn’t noticed before. Someone had shot it at the dog, but he didn’t know what impact it had on Zeus, since whatever drug had been in the dart had worn off by the time Sam had found Zeus.
The dog inched closer and whined. If there was one thing Sam had learned about this particular dog it was that he didn’t take well to what he considered failure. Zeus hadn’t done his job. He’d let Kelly get taken. It didn’t matter that Sam didn’t blame him. Zeus would be morose until they got Kelly back.
“Maybe she’s right. Maybe you would make a good service dog. You have the mind for it, the temperament for it, and you have the drive. I just don’t know if I want to give you up.” Zeus might not hold his heart like Bubbles did, but that was only because Bubbles was nearly useless as far as ranch dogs and Bubbles played with Pete, Cole’s son, which made him a favorite.
“Would you like that? Would you like to train to help Kelly? ”
Zeus perked up and his ears turned like he was focused on Sam.
“What are you thinking about back there?” Connor asked. “Isn’t having a dog trained to be a service animal kind of expensive?”
It was, and Kelly had no money to her name. She’d even commented that she would love to do it, but there was no way to find a job and she couldn’t get her account back with no money. “What else do I have to spend my savings on?” And if he couldn’t ever show Kelly love any other way, he could do it this way. He could give her something that would help her heal and protect her when he couldn’t be there. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect. Zeus hadn’t been able to keep Kelly out of the hands of her captors, but once Kelly came back, he wanted to make sure she stayed this time.
“I suppose you have a point. There’s only so many dogs you can rescue. I can’t fault you for wanting to do something for her.”
Edwyn snorted. “I guess we’re just throwing everything out the window on this one, huh? Should I assume that we’re just going to start wedding planning on the way home? Are we pushing this any further?”
“Your concerns are noted, Edwyn,” Connor glanced over at him. “Sending a dog out for training that will take months and is very expensive isn’t offering marriage. Sam never said he was doing this with any romantic intent. He’s the closest she has to family right now. Her parents and grandparents are all dead. I wasn’t able to find a single aunt or uncle for her. We would normally have someone go live with their family after they’ve been with us, but she has nowhere to go. ”
“Except with Sam.” He snorted again. “How convenient. I wonder what she’ll choose.”
Sam tried not to let Edwyn’s words get to him, but that was impossible. He cared about Kelly and what had happened to her, where she was, and what was going on with her. He couldn’t deny that. She’d already told him she might never be able to love him in return. He wasn’t sure how he was going to live with that, but he would if he had to. At least he wasn’t going to see her fall for someone else along the way. She didn’t think she could love anyone.
“I’m not sure why you’re so concerned that we aren’t following the rules with Kelly. I am already completely aware that our chances are somewhere between slim and none.” The only sign of hope he had was that she’d said she was sorry. Before she’d kissed him, most likely to distract him or maybe to say goodbye, she’d told him she was sorry. That was enough.
On the outskirts of Denver, Edwyn pulled into a hotel. He and Connor went inside to rent a few rooms and verify the place was dog friendly while Sam took Zeus for a short walk. Denver, even though it was only about an hour and a half from where they’d started, felt much warmer.
Zeus ran off a little pent-up energy in the end of the parking lot while Sam waited to hear back from Connor. A few minutes later, Connor came up to his side.
“Edwyn is already in the room. I asked him to let me come get you alone.”
Sam snorted, knowing it wasn’t for his benefit that Edwyn wasn’t there. “And?”
“He has a point, but I don’t know what to tell you. You seem to be doing everything right so far. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t trust you. I already told you I do. But, if anything goes south, you need to be okay reaching out for help. Maybe not help from Edwyn, but someone.”
“Thanks.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Edwyn. He liked the foreman most of the time and his insight was invaluable when it came to the ranch. This was the only time they’d gotten on each other’s nerves. “I just hope that his unwillingness to let this be is just his need to follow rules and not any feelings for Kelly. I’m not about to let anyone else near her.”
Connor laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “That’s not it, and I think you know that. He’s nervous. I’ve only just reached Nadine, but she won’t return any message from me. I think he’s nervous that his second chance could be even harder than this one.”
“You don’t think Nadine was a victim, do you?” Sam hoped not. Just knowing that he might someday learn just what Kelly had been through was terrifying. He wanted to see victims on the upswing, not reliving the past. But if Kelly was the woman he wanted to know better than any other, she couldn’t just shut that part of herself off, and he didn’t want her to.
“No, but I do get the feeling that she knows a lot about cyber security. More than the average person.” He gave Sam a weighted look that conveyed trouble.
Sam whistled and Zeus immediately returned. “Well, I guess if she comes to Wayside, we can use her help with security when the Guardians have to go back to Minnesota.”
Connor nodded as they headed for the hotel. “I hope she’s the good side of security, but that’s not the feeling I got when I was digging around for her.”
Nathan strode toward Kelly, a chain slowly swinging from one hand. One of his men had immediately met them at the door and taken her to the basement. She could hear the sounds of scuffles from other rooms. Odd that she knew it was people, not rats, near her.
He’d done his worst, told her to sit on the concrete slab in the corner and wait for Nathan. Odd too that she would’ve blocked the pain before, but now couldn’t. Maybe hope wasn’t all good because now she knew what was right outside the door to this apartment building. She knew what life was like without chains, degrading expectations, mental and physical abuse.
Grandma’s voice came back to her, loud and clear, echoing loudly in her head in the dark room. I told you so. Tears gathered, but she blinked them away. Yet again, her choice had led her to this place. She tilted her face up as far as the collar would allow. “Are you there?” she whispered. “I can’t even tell anymore.” One tear managed its way past her defenses.
Nathan slammed a chain on the floor, making her jump. He knew she hated any loud noises. “Well, what have we here?” He shoved the chain onto the loop at the back of her neck, forcing her to pull on the front of it or risk choking.
He laughed at her struggle. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to put up with this for long. Viceroy’s plan was delayed because of interference, but you haven’t got much time left. You’ve seen his face. Do you think he’d let you live after that?”
“So did Ramona. And you,” she choked out, momentarily forgetting that she shouldn’t say anything.
“Ms. Butters isn’t going anywhere. She is Nicholas’s third wife. The child is his, not that he cares about it. She forgot her place, but she’ll be back begging to shelter under his wing as soon as she gets here. It’s a long walk.” He laughed. “We’re all expendable. Some more than others.” He caressed along her jaw. “Too bad you had to leave. I had your money all ready for you. You were almost done with your term.”
She yanked her face away even as her jaw collided with the collar. “That’s a lie. It was all a lie. You never saved a penny for me. You stole everything I had, then took everything I was. You made me feel like I had no choice.”
His smile was as cold as the arctic. “I was only preparing you for this moment where you’d exhausted all your choices. You won’t even get the choice to breathe. In two hours, Viceroy will be done with his meeting. I’m to bring you up to him, then.”
Kelly closed her eyes and listened to Nathan’s footfalls as he left her tiny cement enclosure. She’d heard about that place but hadn’t wanted to believe it.
“Kelly?” a small voice came from outside her door. “Is that you?”
Kelly lifted the chain around her neck and tried walking toward the door. “Yes, who’s there?”
“It’s Anna. Remember me?”
Fresh tears poured down Kelly’s cheeks. “Yes, of course. What are you doing down here? I was told you were dead.” The one who’d brought her to faith had been alive this whole time?
“I lost count of how many days I’ve been down here. Nathan accused me of leading an escape. He decided this would be a worse punishment for me than anything else he could do. He’s right. If I died, I’d see Jesus and that would be a reward, but he knows I won’t do that. So, I keep praying for Jesus to take me home.”
“Are you locked in?” What if there was a way out for both of them? Could she finally repay the goodness Anna had brought into her life? She’d supplied the hope that had literally saved her.
“Yes. I’m right across the hall from you. I can see your door through my food slot. Can you get to your door?” Anna asked.
“No, my chain can’t reach that far.” And she only had two hours to figure out how she was going to get out of this and try to save Anna, too “Are you all right?”
Anna chuckled. “I’m as all right as I can be. Faith tested day after day sometimes doesn’t get stronger. Sometimes, I’m only hanging on by a thread.”
Kelly sat on the floor with her chain stretched as far as she could, holding the weight up in her hands to take the pressure off her neck. Kelly didn’t know what to say to the friend who had so much more faith than her but was still struggling. Who wouldn’t struggle in this dungeon of torment? “Maybe that’s just a human thing. Maybe we never learn to fully accept our lives because this isn’t really our lives,” she chattered, not knowing what else to say.
Anna snorted. “I know you’re right. This isn’t my home. I’m to a point where I’m not even looking to hear, ‘well done, my good and faithful servant’, but ‘my child, your chains are gone.’”
“I wish I was in there with you.” Kelly swallowed a sob that wouldn’t make the situation better. Nicolas Viceroy would revel in her weakness and tears.
“I haven’t seen a single true human in months. It would be a joy to see you. ”
Kelly let Anna’s words sink in. She’d always known that Nathan and the men who used her didn’t see her as human, but she wasn’t the one with the major flaw. They were. Anna was right, they were less than human. Not her. Lord, we deserve life. If I’m not meant to live after today, so be it. But please find a way to save the people in this building who need it.
She glanced down at the spot where the watch used to be on her wrist and flinched. That watch brought her back to this place. It had allowed Nathan a door into her life when he shouldn’t have had one. Now she only had two hours to live and no way to tell when her time was up because the watch was gone.
“Anna, pray with me?” Kelly whispered.
“You know it,” Anna answered.