Chapter Eight
Adam~
I’ve noticed that there are guards on every floor, but not outside. I pointed this out to Cameron, and his answer was simple – it’s so that no attention is drawn to the property.
It makes sense. The perverted fucks doing business with him know about the guards, and won’t try anything. Whereas people on the outside have no fucking clue about all the sick and twisted shit happening here.
We’re taken to Cameron’s office to finalize everything. It feels as if I’m balancing on a live wire. Something is wrong. I’m on high alert.
“There’s been a development,” Cameron says. His beady eyes dart from River’s face to mine. He’s looking for a reaction from us which only makes me more on guard.
I can feel River tensing next to me, but she keeps her cool as she says, “I’ve paid for the slaves.”
“Indeed you have,” Cameron smirks. “You will have them, but they are no longer in the same condition.”
My heart stutters at hearing his words. What the fuck does he mean? What did he do to them?
“You see -” The fucker clears his throat. “The male slave attacked my son. Seeing as the female was in charge of all the slaves, she should have protected my son. She failed in her duties. Both of the slaves had to be punished. It’s the law of my house.”
River grips the armrests tightly and grinds out, “Just let me have my slaves.”
Cameron nods towards the door. “They have been taken to your vehicle. I just thought it would be in good form to advise you of their condition.”
River darts from the chair. I follow close on her heels, making sure that this is not a trick.
When she gets to the car, and yanks the backdoor open, I hear her gasp. I rush forward as she visibly pales. I take hold of her so I can get her in the car, when I catch a glimpse of something bloody.
Fuck. Rage engulfs me as I take in the bloody mess on the back seat. I can’t even tell if it’s Jack and Sophia. Instinct takes over, and I push River to the passenger side.
I just need to get us away from this fucked up place. There’s no time to check on the people in the backseat and whether they are still alive.
When we stop in a small town to swap cars, River places our bags in the station wagon. We always switch cars after an operation, that way they can’t track us back to the sanctuary.
I open the back door and lean into the car. Once I feel that each of them still has a pulse, relief washes over me.
I slip my arms under the girl’s body. I can’t believe it’s Sophia.
As I lift her from the car, River snaps, “Be careful! She’s hurting.”
I watch as tears streak down her face. She can’t lose her shit now. We need to get home and I can’t do that if she’s not with me all the way.
“She’s out cold,” I snap back at her. “The sooner we have them home, the sooner we can ease their pain. I’m not going to waste time, and risk them coming to while we’re on the road.”
Once I have Jack in the back of the station wagon, I search all the usual places they would plant a tracking device. It’s a fucking mess but I finally find one on Jack’s hip. I use the pocket knife I always carry around and quickly cut the device out. It’s just another shitty part of the whole process.
I set the car alight before running for the station wagon. As River gets us back on the road, I close my eyes.
Only when we drive through the gate of the sanctuary, do I feel like I can finally breathe.
We all work together to get Jack and Sophia into the house. We place them in one of the rooms that has twin beds.
When Nanna places the buckets of water between the beds, I start to work on Jack. I can’t look at Sophia right now. I’ll go insane with anger.
We can’t risk their wounds getting infected. While cleaning Jack, I notice that some of the wounds have already scabbed over. That means they were beaten yesterday.
We should have insisted on leaving immediately with them. Fuck!
We spend hours trying to clean and attend to their wounds. It’s gut-wrenching seeing them beaten like this.
I’ve done all I can for Jack. I stand back up and take in his broken body. What the fuck is wrong with people? How can you do this to another person? If you hate them so much, then put a fucking bullet in them. But to torture people for fucking fun? I can’t wrap my mind around this kind of brutality.
River places her hand on my shoulder. I glance at her and see how visibly shaken she is.
With a trembling hand she points to Sophia’s leg. There’s a chunk of flesh ripped out of her thigh. The sight of her once flawless body, brutalized so violently, makes my insides shudder with rage and aggression.
I sit down next to Sophia and drag the first aid kit closer. I try to focus all my attention on the needle and thread, but nothing stops the nightmare from overwhelming me.
My ears ring from the blast as I choke on every breath of dust I suck in. I struggle into a sitting position and quickly inspect my body. I only took some shrapnel to my side.
I hear a pain filled groan somewhere behind me, and I quickly get to my feet. I glance at my rifle that’s grey from all the dust.
When I look up, I’m gutted by what I see. I was lucky, but my team was not. Ryan is mere inches from me. It looks like his body has been put through a grater. There are only shreds of meat where his legs once were.
I fall to my knees beside him. Quickly, I yank the first aid kit from my pack. Common sense tells me it’s of no use trying to patch him up. Human spirit begs me to try and save him.
“Fuck,” Ryan whispers, and it makes droplets of blood fall on his chin. The red is in stark contrast with the deathly grey of his skin.
“Hold on. We’ll get you out of here now. They’ll fix you up.”
Lies! All fucking lies.
I give him a shot for the pain before I start to bandage what’s left of his legs. I have to stop the bleeding.
Fuck, there’s so much blood.
He wails as I tighten a bandage around his left leg.
“Hold on, buddy. Just one more minute. They’ll be here now.”
When I start on his right leg, he cries out, “Stop. Fuck, please stop.” He gasps and I can hear the air rattling in his lungs.
He grabs hold of my left arm. Tears streak from his eyes as he whispers, “It’s no use. I’m fucked.”
“Just one more minute, Ryan. They’ll be here now.”
Just then, we hear a chopper, and it makes hope soar in my chest.
“Just one more minute,” I say, smiling down at Ryan.
His eyes turn glassy, and I watch life fade from them. I hear the chopper land behind me as Ryan’s hand slips from my arm.
Just one more minute …
I’ve somehow managed to stitch Sophia’s leg without losing my shit. I get up and reach for River, needing to hold her right now.
She’s more than just my best friend. She keeps me grounded. River gave me purpose when I had none and right now, I need to be reminded of that.
I need her strength to get through this. River has always been the stronger one between us. I’d walk through hell for this woman. Fuck, I have. But none of it compares to the hell she has saved me from. I owe her my life, just like everyone else here at the sanctuary.
I tell River to go clean up first. While she’s gone I stare at Jack and Sophia. The deeper we dig into the world of human trafficking, the more fucked up it gets. In the beginning it felt good saving people, now I fear what I’ll see next.
After River has showered, I leave the room. Instead of heading for the shower myself, I walk to the kitchen.
Nanna is standing by the backdoor, her eyes on nothing specific. I wrap my arms around her. This woman is more than just my grandmother. She raised me. She’s always been there.
She pats my arm. “You did good, my boy.”
She says the same thing to me every time we come back with someone.
“Your parents would be so proud of the man you’ve become.”