Page 6 of Zane

“Blake?You okay, honey?” asked Ham.

“No, sir,” she said.“I had no idea you all were in the area.”

“Are you this man’s wife?”She nodded.“By force?”She nodded again.

“You fucking bitch liar!” yelled the man who’d abused her when they walked in.Gator slammed his fist into his face so hard, he wasn’t sure the man would ever get up.Nor did he care.

“I-I asked you for a referral and I spoke to Tom.He was wonderful.He said for me to come down and I could work here part-time while attending vet school.Except when I got here, he wasn’t here.Those three were.He said if I didn’t marry him, they’d blame me for Tom’s death and all three of them would use me.

“I tried to call you but they took my phone, took everything from me.They made me wear this stupid walkie-talkie that they could track me on.I’m sorry,” she said looking up at Zane, “I wanted to tell you.You seemed nice.”

“It’s okay,” he nodded holding her beneath his arm and slightly behind him.Zane didn’t quite have the muscle mass as the other men but he was tall, physically well-built and was a man used to using his hands, mostly in self-defense.

“I’m going to ask one more time,” said Ham pulling the man up off the floor and slamming him against the wall.“Where is Tom?”

The room suddenly exploded in a roar of gun fire and animal feed, spilling the contents all over the floors.Zane pushed Blake to the ground, covering her with his body as the others swarmed toward the windows.

Two of the men who had worked at the store were lying in pools of their own blood, the third was gasping for air against the wall.

Before they could make their way outside, the two pick-up trucks raced down the road and disappeared around the bend.

They slowly stood, staring at the mess made by the gunfire. The man against the wall was taking short, raspy breaths.

“Who are you working for?” asked Ham.The hissing sound of air leaving his lungs but not returning made them all know he was about to die.“Who?”

“Ca-Ca-,” he whispered the last syllables of his life.Ham looked at the others and nodded.

“Call the sheriff and coroner, then call home for help.”

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.”