Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Tears of relief flooded her eyes. She had managed to escape herself, but it was nice not being alone.
“We have to go back and help them!” Jane whispered furiously.
“We can’t help them without getting ourselves killed.” Cade took her arm, leaving her no choice except to walk away from the house of horrors.
“I can’t leave them!”
“We have no choice. Do you see a swat team to back us up? Javier has turned his house into a military stronghold. I had to call in a favor or I would never have found this place.” Cade dropped her arm. "If you try to help them, you’ll get them killed. At least they stand a chance of surviving when he sells them.”
“He sells them?”
“Javier sells everything. He’d sell his own mother if he thought someone would buy her.”
“Where are we going?” Jane asked, hating herself for leaving those women behind.
“We’re going to get your sister and get the fuck out of here.”
Chapter 8
“She won’t want to leave. She’s completely blinded by Raul.”
“Then we’re going to enlighten her. I haven’t busted my ass for half a payday.”
Jane tried not to let his words bother her, but it stung being reminded the only reason he was there was for money.
“Do you always have to be such an ass?”
“Yeah.” He held up his hand, motioning for her to be quiet. “Follow my lead.”
Jane watched as he peeked around the corner then began to maneuver across the grounds. She followed on his heels, dodging into the shadows of trees and staying still until he moved again. She was relieved when they were behind the house Bailey had described as hers. They went to the back door where Cade knocked quietly.
“How do you know she’s alone?” Jane whispered.
“I scouted here first before I went to Javier’s house.”
He tapped on the door several times before Bailey appeared.
Her frightened eyes saw Cade first. When Jane could tell she was about to scream, she stepped out from behind Cade.
“Let us in, Bailey.”
Bailey’s eyes widened, opening the door wider yet blocking the doorway with her body.
“Jane, what are you doing here?” She didn’t try to lower her voice.
“Shh! Let us in.” Jane wanted to reach out and shake her sister when she hesitated, but then Bailey moved back, letting them walk inside.
“What are you doing here?” she repeated as soon as Jane and Cade were both inside. “Who are you?” she asked Cade.
“I came to get you out!” Jane snapped. “He’s Cade. Dad sent him to help us.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not leaving my husband,” Bailey hissed.
Jane’s mouth dropped open. “You’re serious? You wrote Dad…” Jane had held out hope that her behavior at Javier’s house had been because they might have been overheard. It appeared her sister had been serious, though.
Bailey shrugged. “I was scared at first. Now, I’m not. Raul has assured me everyone is very friendly toward American women, and I’ve even made several friends,” she boasted.
“Are you fucking insane?” Jane was almost yelling at her sister then regretted her words. Bailey was difficult to deal with under normal circumstances, and she never liked to feel as if she was in the wrong.
“I’m not leaving. You both need to leave before Raul gets back and finds you here.”
“Fine. Let’s go,” Cade said, moving toward the door.
“I’m not leaving without Bailey,” Jane refused.
Turning back to her sister, she implored, “How can you want to stay here? Are you deaf as well as blind to what’s going on around here? They are hurting women!”
The screams from the women couldn’t be heard inside Bailey’s home, but sound traveled, and the men didn’t seem worried about quieting the women’s screams. The houses were close enough that Jane would bet Bailey had heard them before.
“Raul explained that to me. It’s their culture. They admire power, and violence here is an expected response to challenges of power.”
“The women they are holding hostage in that house aren’t challenging them. They just want to get away from their rapists.”
“They’re not raping them; their courting them.” Bailey waved her hand. “Raul explained it to me.”
Jane’s mouth dropped open. At that point, she almost left her sister. If not for her father and stepmother’s anguish, she would have.
“Those women are being raped! They are being used as sex slaves. No woman in their right mind would believe anything else.”
Bailey paled. “But Raul told me—”
“Is Raul courting another woman?” Jane interrupted. “Because I saw him go inside the house and rape a woman who barely looked eighteen.”
“You’re wrong. Raul wouldn’t have touched those women. Maybe he was trying to stop them.”
Jane shook her head. “No. I saw Raul drag one back who was trying to escape, and then he had a guard hold her down while he raped her. Believe me; I saw more of him than I wanted to. Does he really think a tattoo of two pistols framing his dick is sexy?”