The rage was like a silent storm brewing inside of me.

Daisy’s voice was soft and small and laced with courage as she recounted her story, in much greater detail than what she’d shared with me previously. My blood boiled as I listened. I wanted to make her stop, to keep the words from flowing from her mouth, to somehow take her past and turn into a bad nightmare that never really happened. I wanted to erase every ounce of pain from her heart, pluck every tremble from her voice, record over every bad memory.

I also wanted to rip Luke Sullivan, and every other person who’d ever hurt her, into shreds. My fists clenched under the big wooden table we all sat around, each of us listening quietly and respectfully as she recounted her story.

“I was fifteen when Ruby bought me from a particularly violent man. When she told me she was taking me to Oregon, I was actually happy about it. I’d not returned since I’d left. I think part of me thought I might find my mother, or that somehow, my home state would provide some sort of protection that every other state had not. I was still very naive. I went without a fight. At first, I lived with some other girls in a cabin near Mt. Hood. But later, Ruby made some adjustments. She figured out she could make more if she spread us out, marketed us as ‘elite’ and ‘exclusive’ to men of ‘considerable wealth’, as she was fond of calling them. She was very successful.”

“Was Luke Sullivan the first person she…leased…you to?” Grace asked, her voice like a gentle breeze in the dimly lit room.

“Yes. He was awful, don’t get me wrong, but it was easy for me by then. I’d learned how to turn things off when my emotions got too much. He was gone a lot. I had a small amount of freedom, even though Ruby kept me on a short leash. My job was to stay in shape, keep myself well-groomed at all times, and be ready to please the client on a moment’s notice.”

“And you said she had other women, too?”

“Yes. I don’t know how many. At least half a dozen, spread around the city. After I left the cabin, I lost touch with all of them. I don’t know where they went.”

“Was Sullivan aware of your age?”

“As far as I know. We never talked about it. Ruby seemed to think it was a selling point. Sometimes, when we were still up at the cabin, she’d tell clients we were even younger than we were. Luke didn’t seem to care that I was young. He was more interested in my…um, skills,” she said, hanging her head.

I was so furious I wanted to throw my fist through the wall, but instead, I called on my infamous zen-like demeanor that Slade liked to call unshakeable and kept my poker face on while I imagined smashing in Sullivan’s face.

“Did you know who he was? That he was a famous fighter?” Grace asked.

“Yes, oh yes. He never stopped bragging about it.”

“That must have been very scary for you.”

“I learned early on that he wasn’t opposed to violence.”

The silence in the room was deafening, as we all imagined the worst.

“So, when you became pregnant, what did you do?”

“I hid it. I told Ruby I was sick the one time she came around halfway through the pregnancy, so she wouldn’t come in my apartment. She has lots of girls, so she didn’t come around much. She kept track of us on our phones, she always knew where we were, so she didn’t feel the need to physically check on us too often. Luke was overseas, I think in Brazil, I’m not sure exactly. I received a small allowance, and I saved it up for months, until I had enough to buy a bus ticket to Seattle. I figured if I left and they didn’t know where I was, I’d be able to get away before they even knew I was pregnant.”

“Did you ever think about telling Sullivan about the pregnancy?”

“No. I’d felt his wrath. He had flashes of kindness, but for the most part, he’s a selfish, uncaring, violent bastard. I didn’t want my baby anywhere near him.”

“That’s completely understandable,” Grace said, smiling softly at her.

“I almost made it out. But Ruby stopped by, just a week before I was planning to leave, and she let herself in. I didn’t know she was coming. I was in the bath. I didn’t have time to hide my belly. She was furious. She didn’t believe it was Luke’s baby, because the clients have to sign a contract promising to use protection every time. Of course, Luke didn’t follow the rules, but she was convinced I’d been with someone else instead.”

“And then what happened?”

“She told her bodyguard to get rid of me. I was useless to her. She couldn’t have me talking. She found my stash of cash and the bus ticket and knew I was planning on leaving. She wasn’t going to let that happen. To her, I was still her property. So, she was going to dispose of me. She almost succeeded. I think the bodyguard felt badly about beating a pregnant woman, so he beat me up badly, but he stopped short of killing me. She threw me out of the moving car and I ended up passed out cold in a ditch. An elderly couple found me and I ended up at the hospital.”

Her lips quivered as she continued.

“If it wasn’t for Jason,” she looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears, “we both would have died. He saved me. He saved my baby.”

“And this was a year ago?” Grace asked.

“Yes. I’ve been at the shelter ever since. Well, until a few days ago.”

“I see,” Grace said. “Have you received any therapy in the last year, Daisy?”

“Yes, at the shelter.”

“Good,” Grace replied. “Then what I’m about to say won’t come as a surprise then. Daisy, the most important thing to remember is that none of this is your fault. Nothing you’ve ever done has caused any of the things that happened to you. I’m so sorry they did, though. Nobody should have to go through what you have.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Good,” Grace said, smiling. “That’s very important. I’m assuming Jason has told you a little about our organization.”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll tell you a little more. I used to be a cop. I was working an undercover assignment, investigating a rape trafficking ring, when I was beaten and left for dead by a pimp. Fortunately, he left me just up the road here and Ryder found me. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember who I was or how I’d gotten there. It took a while, but my memory came back. My partner had betrayed me. But we were victorious in the end, and well, Ryder and I fell in love in the process. I turned in my badge and started Solid Ground, but I couldn’t have done any of it without the help of the Gods. Now, we’re a team, working cohesively to be there for anyone who needs us. We have people out in the field, observing and collecting information, giving out our number to anyone they think might benefit from our services, discretely, of course.”

“That’s amazing,” Daisy said.

“Thank you,” she said. “In addition to removing people and providing a safe place to land, we also guide victims through the transition phase. We help find new identities, new jobs, new homes, new cities, whatever the situation calls for. We do whatever it takes to help victims begin a new life, free from violence and abuse.”

Daisy nodded, taking it all in.

“Daisy, you’ve been very brave. Look how far you’ve come all on your own. But Sullivan appears to be a very dangerous man, and his actions today prove that he’ll stop at nothing to get to you and Alex.”

Daisy nodded again, and I saw the tears stinging her eyes.

“What should I do?” she asked.

“We’ll come up with a plan together. We’re completely safe out here, so we have plenty of time. Sullivan won’t find you here,” Ryder said. “Riot will sit down with you tomorrow and we’ll begin working out a plan, finding the best city that suits you.”

“City? You think I should leave Portland?”

“That’s probably best. Maybe even Oregon.”

“Oh,” she said, her voice sad and dejected. “I love Oregon.”

“Well, we’ll see. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What we do in a situation like this is study all aspects of the case. Sorry to sound so clinical. You’re certainly not just a case to us. But we’ll look at everything. We’ll look at Sullivan’s background, Ruby’s background, and your own. That’s essential in choosing the correct path to take. It takes a little time. In the meantime, you can relax here, knowing that he can’t get to you. Enjoy the forest, enjoy the solitude and try to relax and recover from the trauma you’ve been through today.”

She nodded, her pretty face streaked with tears now. I wanted to gather her in my arms, and as soon as we were done here, I intended to do just that.

“I’m very glad Jason brought you to us. We’re here to help. With anything at all. You just ask.”

“I just want to say…” Daisy began, her voice trembling, “Well, I wanted to apologize to Slade and Riot. I feel so terrible that you got hurt.”

“Hell, this is nothing,” Slade said, shaking his head. His nose was indeed broken, as indicated by the strip of gauze and tape I’d put on his nose, but he was completely unfazed by it. “Riot and I are used to taking a beating. We do it for fun. Not as much as we used to now in our old age, but trust me, we can take it.”

She mustered a smile and looked over at me.

“Jason, I’m so sorry about Chester.”

“Chester?” I said, smiling at her. “I just talked to the vet. Chester’s doped up and happily eating steak and sleeping like a baby. The bullet didn’t hit anything, just lodged into his muscle and came out in one piece. He’s going to recover completely.”

“Still. You hired me to take care of your dog and I got him shot.”

“Once again,” Grace interjected, her soft, saintly voice smooth as butter. “None of this is your fault, Daisy. You’re strong and brave and no matter how many times you need me, or anyone else here, to remind you of that fact, we’ll be happy to.”

“You’re all so kind,” Daisy said, her voice breaking before she broke down completely and began sobbing.

I ran over to her, pulling her into my arms. I knew they were all watching, but I didn’t give a damn. This beautiful, strong woman needed comforting and if there was nothing else I could do, I could at least do this.

She sobbed in my arms as they all looked on. One by one, they began to trail out. Grace walked over, placing a gentle hand on Daisy’s shoulder. Daisy looked up at her.

“We’re here for you, Daisy. Ryder and I live in the cabin in the trees. You’re welcome to stop by any time you want to talk, or if you need help with Alex, anything at all, okay?”

She nodded and pulled away, standing up and facing Grace, before pulling her in for a hug.

Grace enveloped her in her arms, slowly rubbing her back.

“Thank you so much,” Daisy said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“You already have. We’re just glad you’re safe now.”

She smiled a gentle smile at her one last time before walking out and leaving us alone in the room. Cherry’s voice drifted in the open door as she played with Alex just outside the room.

“Thank you, again,” Daisy said, staring up at me. “They’re just as wonderful as you said they’d be.”

“I knew you’d like them. They’re good people.”

“Now I understand,” she said.

“Understand what?”

“I understand why you’re drawn to them.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they’re just like you. I never really believed there were people like this in the world, until I showed up in your hospital.”

I stared down at her, the urge to kiss her, to kiss all the pain away ripping through me like a freight train. I couldn’t take away her past, no matter how much I wanted to.

But I could damn well make sure her future looked nothing like it.