“Where am I?”I mumble, trying to figure out how I got here.
It takes several minutes before my mind catches up and I remember.
I continue on towards the back of the house where the beeping is coming from.As I get closer a shadow walks past the window by the backdoor and then another one follows.I stop, frozen in my tracks.
Did Papa find me?
I notice the door isn’t locked so I rush over to secure it, but an arm comes from behind me pulling my body to the intruder.A gloved hand slaps across my mouth keeping my scream mute and hidden.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” a man’s hot breath flits over my ear.“Come quietly, and we’ll leave everyone else alone.”
My mind immediately goes to Zane and Martha who should be getting home soon from the park, so I nod in agreeance.
His body starts to move, pushing mine forward as the backdoor opens and a handful of men come in carrying something large.Before I can turn to see what they deposit on the floor, I’m shoved out into the Texas heat and feel a stab in my neck.My limbs immediately feel like they weigh a ton, and my vision starts to become blurry.
“Nighty, night,” I hear off in the distance as someone picks me up.I watch with heavy blinks as I’m taken to the next door neighbor’s backyard through a missing wooden panel of their fence.
Giving up, I step back down on the cot.Off in the corner there’s a stack of water bottles and the shelf above it with boxes of dry food.Whoever did this must’ve been planning this for a while.I just hope Beckett and the MC find me before all of the supplies run out.
I’m not sure how long I sit there, but when my butt starts to prickle because it’s fallen asleep, I carefully make my way back down the few steps.I need to find something that will help me when whoever comes back opens the hatch.
“Wake up,”I hear before a sting lances over my cheek.Hot pain throbs against my face as I stagger awake.I didn’t realize that I’d even fallen asleep.I look up to the voice and see Jared, my father’s righthand man and Judy’s ex-husband, standing above me.“You sure are more trouble than you’re worth.”
“Wha-What?”I ask dazed, trying to wake fully up.“What happened?Where am I?”
An evil smirk crosses his face, and my body leans back involuntarily.Jared isn’t in his normal attire.Today he’s wearing work pants, a long sleeved shirt, and a hat.He almost looks as though he’s been out doing yard work instead of always being behind a desk or right beside Papa.
“The only thing you need to know is that everything is working out just as planned.Our friends from Colombia came through, and payback has just begun,” he says.
I don’t want to take another hit so I stay quiet because one thing I’ve learned over the years is to be seen and not heard.
Jared looks around the small area then shakes his head.
“You’re going to have a lot of time to reflect on running from the farm.I hope this will straighten out your priorities.Shepherd Walter is adamant that you be taught a lesson and that what he has planned next for you to go smoothly.”
“What’s next for me?”I ask above a whisper.My chest tightens as the thud of my heart starts to increase.
“Since the man you were supposed to marry was murdered by the guys you were hiding out with, it changes things a bit,” Jared reveals.
“Murdered?”
Jared narrows his eyes.“Do you not know the kind of men you’ve been traipsing around with?”he asks, then shakes his head.“You foolish girl, those men killed the grandson of our associate, Juan José.Hector, the grandson, was to be your husband and connect our families.We’d be set for life, having our ties in the Colombia cartel, but now it’s a shitshow.Juan wants revenge on the biker boys, but I think we’ve convinced him that you’ll still make a good bride for him.”
I gasp at the information he divulges.
“You want me to marry the grandfather?”
“You’ll marry whoever Shepherd Walter tells you to marry,” Jared practically yells.The vein in his neck bulges in his fury.I move to the corner of the small area and pull my knees up to my chest.“Juan José will be back in the states in a few weeks and will make his decision about you.He will need an heir since his grandson is gone.Shepherd Walter assures him that you can fulfill that duty.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and a flutter bubbles in my tummy.I’ve been getting a lot of flutters lately, and I think it might be from the baby.I’m almost positive I’m pregnant, but what is going to happen if Jared or Papa find out?
Jared looks around the small shelter.
“Shepherd Walter has granted you supplies.Make it last because you never know when your next delivery will be.”He smiles that evil smirk again.I have to roll my lips inward to stop my comments from slipping out.He turns to head up the stairs but stops and glances over his shoulder.“Oh, I’m sure you’re aware of this since I hear that this is what is done on mission trips, but the buckets are in the corner are for when you need to use the ladies’ room,” he taunts while chuckling.
I see the two five-gallon buckets with a few packages of toilet paper rolls next to it.Humiliation consumes me, and I’m transported back to Colombia when I had to share a hut with multiple people, and this was how we were treated.I always swore I’d never find myself in that position again, but here I am.Right where I said I’d never be.
Light shines down on the steps, and my body lunges for it, but I’m not quick enough to see the outside.Jared slams the hatch down.I’m left in almost darkness.My emotions take over and I start to sob.
