Page 92 of Protecting Addison
“Don’t hurt her!” Ellory yelled as she slowly scooted across the seat.
As soon as she was within reach, Brady reached out and grabbed her arm too. She almost fell out of the truck when he yanked her forward, but got her feet under her at the last minute.
“Stay quiet, or I’ll leave you here and take Yana with me when I go. I’m sure I can find someone who wouldloveto buy this beautiful little girl for his own pleasure.”
It took a moment for his meaning to sink in, but when it did, Ellory gasped. “You’re a monster!”
“You should’ve been nicer to me, daughter dear. If you had, you might not be in this position right now. But you blew it. And for the record,youwere the one who insisted I pick up Yana. She wasn’t supposed to be a part of this.”
Ellory’s mouth fell open, and Brady smiled in satisfaction. He’d rendered her speechless.
He dragged them across the blacktop filled with Conex upon Conex containers, all waiting to be loaded onto huge ships to be taken to the other side of the world. Brady went straight to the container his contact had indicated. The only one with an open door. Inside, there were boxes stacked from floor to ceiling except for a narrow passage down the middle.
The sound of an engine behind them startled Brady so badly, he almost lost his grip on the girls. When he turned around, he saw his contact sitting behind the wheel of a forklift. There was a stack of boxes ready to go on the lift. He suspected the guy was making sure he wasn’t being double crossed, but Brady wasn’t insulted. The man had just handed over a lot of cash. He wanted to make sure he got what was promised.
“In,” Brady said, shoving Ellory toward the open container.
He wasn’t surprised when she balked. “No.”
“Right. Come on, Yana, let’s go meet your new daddy. You have to do everything he says, even when he tells you to take off all your clothes and?—”
“Stop it!” Ellory shouted.
“Then get inside. Now,” Brady told her with zero emotion.
“How can you do this? She’s just a little kid!”
“Money. It makes the world go ’round. And she’s just another orphan no one wants. She’s expendable.”
“Wrong.Wewant her. And what about me?” Ellory asked. “Your own flesh and blood. Was it all a trick? Were you planning this the whole time? Did youeverwant to get to know me?”
“In the beginning, sure. But I repeat—you blew it. You should be thanking me, Ellory. You're going to be useful for once. Your organs are gonna save someone else’s life. Another girl. Someone who isn’t disgusting, like you. Once she has your heart, she’ll be as good as new.”
Ellory gasped yet again.
“In,” Brady said, squeezing Yana’s arm once more. She was screaming and crying nonstop now, and it was grating on his nerves. “There should be some water in there to tide you over, but I’d ration it, especially now that there are two of you. In a couple of weeks, you’ll arrive at your destination and you’ll meet your new owner. He’ll take you to a facility, where you’ll both be put to sleep and your organs harvested. You won’t feel a thing, and you’ll be saving the lives of who knows how many other kids.”
“You aren’t going to get away with this,” Ellory whispered.
“I already have. Now hurry up, I’ve got to prepare for the role of a lifetime…that of a grieving and worried dad. When it’s discovered that you and Yana are gone, Addison and your precious Ricky will freak out. I’ve already made arrangements for someone to call with a ransom demand. And I know they’ll pay. So I’ll getdoublethe money for you and this little brat.”
“There are cameras at the schools. They’ll know you picked us up.”
“Of course they will. And I’ll show everyone the texts you sent me, begging me to pick you up because you were bullied by that chick again, and you just couldn’t take it. But you were too embarrassed to tell your mom or anyone else, so you asked me to come get you. It wasyourplan to tell the school there was an accident, because you knew they wouldn’t let me take you if it wasn’t an emergency. You’re a smart cookie; everyone will believe you’re capable of coming up with something like that. And all I have to say is that you asked me to drop you off a few blocks from your house, so no one would see me with you. You were trying to protect me, after all…and apparently, someone snatched up you and Yana right after that.”
Brady was feeling pretty proud of himself. This was almost done. He just had to play a part for a little longer. “No more talk. Get in there.Now!”
Ellory took a step back, toward the interior of the container. Then another.
“Good girl,” Brady praised sarcastically.
Without warning, he shoved Yana toward Ellory, hard enough that the little girl fell to her knees. She cried out and sobbed even harder. Then she got to her feet and ran toward her sister.
He motioned to his contact, and the forklift moved toward the opening of the Conex.
Brady’s last view of his daughter was her backing up quickly as the stack of boxes on the forklift was fitted into place, blocked her from his sight.
Seconds later, his contact reversed and parked the forklift, and Brady helped him close and lock the doors of the Conex.
