CHAPTER FIVE
Blake turned the glass of water several times then nervously refilled it and drank it all in one gulp, as if she hadn’t had water in days.
“Honey, let me look at you,” said Marnie. Willa smiled at the young woman, taking the glass from her hands. Marnie examined the bruises and cuts on her body, all consistent with physical abuse.
“Blake, did they rape you?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly. “I tried to run. I couldn’t believe it. I’d escaped potential trafficking in one city and here I was walking into it in another. What’s the record for shit luck?”
“Around here,” smirked Willa, “maybe four or five times.” Blake just stared at her and then shook her head.
“I wanted to tell that guy this morning, Zane, I wanted to tell him to help me but I knew they would harm the animals if I did. That was always their threat with me. That and my student loan debt.”
“What about your student loan debt?” asked Marnie.
“They had these documents that said I’d taken money from Tom to pay my debts. It was all a lie. I knew that but Tom was gone, dead I think and there was no way for me to prove it. He said he’d make it go away if I just married him. How could I have been so stupid?”
“You weren’t stupid, honey. You were desperate. There’s a difference.” Marnie pulled the sheet up over her and patted her arm. “The wounds are all healing and it doesn’t appear that anything was broken.”
“Thank you,” she said nodding as she sat up. “What do I do now? Where do I go?”
“You stay here,” said Willa. “Our legal team is going to get the marriage annulled and you’ll have a safe place to stay here. Lucy and Sniff are going to hire you to work with the animals here and help you finish your veterinary schooling.”
“Wh-what? Why? Why would you do that for me?”
“We’re kind of responsible for getting you into this mess,” said Marnie. “Ham wanted me to tell you that. He regrets not getting you here safely himself.”
“It wasn’t his fault. None of it was. I have no family except a stepfather that annoys the hell out of me when he needs money.
I knew I needed to leave the area. I just wanted to be able to finish my schooling and get a job.
It was harder than I thought. I had no money, no prospects, and no way to get back into school.
It was like a recurring nightmare that got worse and worse every damn night. ”
“There’s a shower behind that door and clean clothes in there for you. We can get your things when you’re ready but for now, we have plenty for you. When you’re done, just step outside and the others will speak with you.”
Marnie and Willa walked into the hallway and saw the group of men waiting at the other end. Willa stayed behind while Marnie moved toward them.
“How is she?” asked Ham.
“She’s doing surprisingly well. No broken bones but plenty of bruises, cuts, lots of signs of abuse. She was sexually assaulted by at least one of the men, if not all three. She’s blaming herself.”
“That seems normal,” said Gator. “Maybe a few rounds with Shep will help.”
“It’s mandatory,” said Marnie looking at them. “Shep will see her starting tomorrow.”
“Is she able to answer our questions?” asked Ham.
“Yes,” said the soft voice behind them. “I can answer any questions you have if you promise not to judge me.”
“There is zero judgment here, honey. We just want to know what they were actually doing in that place. But first, let’s get you some dinner. I feel like you could use a good meal,” said Gator.
“Thank you. Thank you all. Especially, you,” she said looking at Zane. “I appreciate you protecting me like you did. No one has ever done that for me before.”
“It was no problem,” he said blushing. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you to dinner and that dress looks nice on you.”
“Thanks,” she said nodding at him nervously. They watched as Zane and Blake walked toward the back exit and the ATVs.
“What are the odds of that happening?” frowned Christopher.
“Around here?” smirked Cowboy. “About fifty-fifty.”
Blake couldn’t believe the number of people in the cafeteria. Zane helped her to carry her tray back to their seat and they sat quietly for a little while.
“Are you from here?” she finally asked.
“No,” he smirked. “It will seem ironic, but I ran from my family in Nebraska. They were running a compound that was injuring animals…”
“…and taking women,” she whispered.
“Yep. I had run away but I should have reported them sooner. I had brothers, seven of them. Only one is still alive.”
“God, I’m so sorry,” she said staring up at him. He shook his head, fighting back tears.
“I tried to save them. I was just too late and I vowed to never be late again,” he said taking a bite of the shrimp remoulade salad. It had become one of his favorites.
“I’m such a mess,” she said exhaling and leaning back in the chair. “I thought I had my life together. I thought I’d be the first person in my family with a college degree. Then suddenly I was standing in front of that man over there. Matt.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions,” said Matt. “We won’t hurt you. We want to find these men.”
“I hope you cut their dicks off,” said one of the girls. She had flaming red hair and enormous blue eyes, almost too large for her small face. Her nails were chipped, the peach nail polish nearly gone.
“Believe me, it’s on my list of tactics to use,” said Matt. “How did they get you out here?”
“We were all asked to interview for a job on a large ranch. We’ve had experience working in animal shelters, zoos, that sort of thing. I’m in my final year of school to become a veterinarian.”
“Did you all come out here together?” he asked.
“They said the road out here was rough and they’d have someone pick us up and take us back. We were all stupid enough to believe that,” she frowned.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked gently. She swallowed, shaking her head.
“No, but it was made clear that was their intention. We were going to be given to the ranch guests to do with as they wished. We could either cooperate or they’d tie us to the beds. When the man over there found us, we were trying to dig out of the cellar.”
Matt nodded, giving a grin at the young women.
“You’re all very brave and the kind of women we’ve all married. Strong, intelligent, and fighters. Good for you,” he said. “We’re going to leave you our contact information. If you need help while this is playing out, just call us.”
“Thanks,” she said taking the sheet of paper. “I’m Blake. That’s Lula, Oona, and Pia. She’s an exchange student from Spain. I doubt she’s going to hang around for the trial. She wants to go home.”
“We can make sure she gets home,” said Matt. “We’ll have our legal team help her to give her deposition and any testimony ahead of whatever trial might be coming.”
“You act as though there may not be a trial?” she frowned. JB stared at the woman and then stepped closer, speaking softly.
“Blake, if we have our way, I can assure you there will be no one left to put on trial when we’re done.”
“I heard that!” said the sheriff. Matt turned to him and glared at him.
“No, you didn’t.”
“I laughed for the first time in months. Months. When the legal team here called and said there would be no reason for a deposition, I was more than relieved. I thought, ‘well, it’s all over’. I was so damn wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong,” said Zane. “Your timing was wrong but you weren’t wrong.”
“They had those papers and they looked so real. Like I’d blackmailed poor Tom for my tuition money. I didn’t even know the man! But I was sitting there all alone, staring at those three idiots and I thought, I’ll get out of this.”
“I’m sure you thought you would,” he said staring at her.
“How arrogant of me?” she whispered.
“Not arrogant,” said Jill. “And the good news is that the marriage was a fraud. You were not legally married. We filed the paperwork to ensure its stricken from any records but we don’t believe it ever made it to a legal record book.”
“But why marry me? I had no money. I had no ties to Tom. What purpose did I serve?” she asked with confusion.
“Maybe you provided an appearance of normalcy,” said Ham pulling his chair closer. “From the outside, it would look as though a mysterious family member and his wife took over the business. But they weren’t there to run a feed store.”
“That’s for damn sure,” she said. “They knew nothing of what animals should receive what kind of feed. They didn’t know anything about animals at all.”
“How do you know?” asked Zane.
“The orders were coming and they were getting them confused. They would have harmed the animals had I not straightened the orders out. I made all the major orders from the big suppliers for the same reason. I wish I had known it was all of you that were my mysterious deliveries. I would have run across that bridge the first chance I got.” She shook her head and the others smiled at her.
“You’re here now and no one is going to harm you. You’ll stay for as long as you like but I know that Lucy and Sniff would like for you to stay and help with the animals,” said Ham.
“Believe me, I’ll take that offer,” she smiled. “Hey, I don’t know that it matters now but they were supposed to be picking up some big shipment of feed on Saturday night.”
“Where?” asked Ham staring at her sideways.
“I’m not sure which one but one of the docks. They said it was some kind of exotic feed, which I thought was strange since we hadn’t served any exotic animals.”
“Did you hear or see a name of a ship or a company?” asked Christopher.
“Cerberus. The name of the company was Cerberus.”