by Skye Turner
She smiles and slants her mouth to mine again. We kiss for a long time. Both of us just relishing the simple joy of being in each other’s arms again after so many days of darkness.
A bit later, I tie the horse to a bale of hay and we sit in the tractor. Rose is straddling my lap, but there’s nothing overtly sexual about it. Her arms are around my neck and mine are hugging her waist and we’re content.
We kiss every now and then, but we’re mostly brainstorming.
Finally after a long kiss, she pulls back and tucks my hair behind my ears. She looks at me and says, “Jaye, we have to get them out of here. One of them is pregnant. I think it’s Raquel and she wants to kill herself.”
My eyes widen in disbelief. “Raquel wouldn’t kill herself! She’s pregnant?! Are you sure?”
She shakes her head and leans her cheek against my chest. “I’m not certain, but Gabby said one of them was. And from my own observations, Raquel is in a deep depression.” She looks up at me. “She cries all the time. The only time she’s out of the room is when one of those sick bastards comes calling. She leaves and then comes back and cries.”
I nod. “I’ve noticed that there’s a lot more traffic out here lately.”
She looks at me and I can see the unease on her face. “Jaye, this is not ok. These are grown men who are coming out here just to have sex with them.” She shudders and I feel it reverberate throughout her entire body. “Tobias is watching me a lot, too.”
My back goes ramrod straight. “Has he touched you? Has he touched you, Rose?”
She shakes her head no, but it doesn’t calm me down. “No, he hasn’t touched me. No one has. But I can see that he wants to.”
I see red as I spit out, “He will never touch you, Rose. I promise you that. He will not touch you. I’ll kill him first.”
She gasps as I say it. “No, Jaye. No, don’t say that. I’m never alone, so he doesn’t even try. But the girls… we have to help them. They protect me. So do you… it’s my turn now.”
Her eyes beseech me. “We have to help them, Jaye.”
I nod because I knew it would come to this. I always knew that this time would eventually come.
Looking at Rose, I let her in on my plan. When I’m done, she looks terrified, but she agrees with me. She says, “This is dangerous, Jaye. If everything doesn’t go as planned, this could be bad. You could go to jail.
“There are powerful people in this town who are involved. I’ve seen the people who come to see the girls… They won’t take kindly to being exposed.”
She’s right. This is dangerous, but it’s the only way…
I kiss her gently and lay my cheek on top of her head. This is nice and it would be easy to pretend this is all that matters, but it’s not… there are other lives at stake and it’s time someone pays for what’s allowed to happen here.
As we stare into the setting sun on the land of Hell, I mutter, “Sometimes it only takes one well-placed crack to bring down a house.”
Time to set some charges…
Chapter Nineteen
Rose
Things are good again. Or as good as things get around here. Jaye is no longer avoiding me and shoots me secret smiles as often as he can.
I’ve filled the girls in on the plan and while they were initially terrified of backlash, they are all on board now.
Jaye has been working hard to put everything in place and has finally agreed to involve Sam. That took some persuasion, but with him being a cop in a large city… Jaye finally realized that he could be an asset and the plan would have a better chance of working.
It’s been a few weeks since we decided that we were going to act and try to bring the Meagers and the town down and the weather has been especially bad. In fact, it’s been downright scary. The good news is that it’s kept the men away from the farm. No one wants to chance a drive out this way in Mother Nature’s wrath.
Tobias is angrier than usual and he and Bernice have been fighting a lot more than normal. He’s been unable to take his frustrations out on the girls since we all stay together, so Bernice is getting the brunt of his rage.
I don’t really feel sorry for her at all and that fact kind of bothers me. I try not to dwell on it though as I figure becoming a little hardened and jaded after living here is normal.
The power went out yesterday in the storm and we’re all on edge since the house is old and dark on a normal day, but throw in the ominous weather and no power and it gets even creepier.
We’ve spent the day cleaning the kitchen and organizing the pantry, a chore that we are normally not allowed to do since Bernice doesn’t like to share the food. When I saw the amount of food in the pantry, I was enraged. There’s more than enough food to not only feed us balanced meals, but to splurge and we’ve seen none of it. We get slop. I’d be willing to bet that hardened criminals locked away in prison are fed better than we are.
I snuck a jar of fruit cocktail in my skirt pocket earlier and I plan on giving it to Raquel when we head upstairs. She is pregnant and she looks haggard from the lack of heathy food and the way we’re worked to death. The fruit cocktail won’t solve the problem, but I bet she would enjoy it.
The house is quiet other than the howling of the wind outside as I clean the last of the dishes from the joke that was dinner. I hear the old rotary phone ring and something inside me has me stopping and listening before heading up the stairs.
Silently, I creep to the door to the hallway and listen as Bernice answers it. “Yes… Hi Judge… She is here… No, she’s only fifteen… Of course she’s a virgin… Her birthday is in a few months… You know the rule… This one is special… A lot of interest… No, I understand…
I get lightheaded as I listen to her.
Fifteen? Are they talking about me? Judge?
I’ve seen him out here… with Raquel…
There is no way they are talking about what I think they are.
Bernice hangs up and I hear Tobias ask what that was about. She laughs in glee and tells him that was the judge in town and he’s interested in me.
Interested in me? What the hell?
Tobias grunts and asks how much and Bernice says he’ll give them seven thousand dollars for my virginity.
WHAT?! He wants to pay them to take my virginity? A judge?
A judge wants to pay the Meagers money… SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS… to have sex with me.
And they are laughing about it…
I try to stop the screaming in my head so I can listen to them finish talking.
Tobias’s next words make me ill. “Seven thousand, huh? That’s the best money yet.”
Oh my God… “the best money yet?”
This is not the first time?! They SELL the sex with the kids… and a judge wants to pay to rape me?!
Stop it, Rose! Focus. You have to stop and listen.
Bernice laughs cruelly and I hear her shuffle. “Yeah, that’s good. Best money yet to screw one of the whores.
“I know you wanted to take her, but for seven thousand big ones, the judge gets to do it.”
Tobias hits something and I jump as I push the bile in my throat down. He snaps out, “She’ll fight. I wanted to tackle her, but for seven thousand, I’ll let him and I’ll just watch. I’ll have a go at her when he’s finished.”
I can’t hold it in anymore. Whirling on my heel, I race down the hall with my hands clasped over my mouth to hold the screams threatening to erupt. I gasp as I reach the kitchen. I can’t breathe. My face is covered in tears.
Grabbing a pot I just washed, I empty my stomach into it and my chest heaves as I try to quell the rising panic.
I hear a sound in the kitchen and grab the first thing I find, a bread knife, as I whirl.
It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and I see a male outline. He’s too big to be Tobias
.
It’s Jaye. His eyes are glaringly white in the darkness as he looks at me. He takes in my heaving chest and the fact that I can’t breathe, before he looks at the pot I’ve just retched into.
In the darkness his voice is strangled… “Oh my God, Rose. Baby… you heard that, too?”
I can’t speak. I still can’t breathe and the blackness is threatening to pull me under. I manage a jerky nod, but before I can open my mouth, he crosses the kitchen.
I’m shaking with terror and disbelief when his arms close around me. He sweeps me into his arms and the knife clatters to the floor as I clutch desperately at his neck.
My tears are falling so fast, I can’t see. I don’t realize what he’s doing as he pushes the back door open. The cold rain beats against us as he races across the yard with me in his arms.
He shoves the door to the barn open with his shoulder before he ducks inside. The wind sucks the door closed with a loud bang. It reverberates in the dark barn.
I can’t see through the utter blackness, but Jaye carefully navigates around until we’re in the tack room he uses as his bedroom. He sets me on my feet, telling me to stay put, as I hear him shuffling around in the dark. Suddenly, I hear the strike of a match and watch as he holds it to a small candle on a makeshift table.
The flame catches and the small glow illuminates the room as I stand there, shivering both in fear and from the cold.
Jaye just watches me for a bit while he grabs the back of his neck. His voice is strangled as he says, “It won’t happen, Rose. I promise you. That will never happen.”
I just stare at him in the candlelight.
How can he make a promise like that?
He crosses the room and wraps his arm around me. He feels my tremors and says, “Baby, you have to get out of those wet clothes. You can’t stay in that.” Ripping the blanket off the bunk, he hands it to me before he turns his back to me. “You’re as white as a ghost, Rose. You need to get out of those clothes. You’ll get pneumonia if you stay in them. I won’t look.”
I stare at the blanket in my hands for a bit while I try to process everything that just happened. I realize he’s right. I need to get out of these clothes…
I slowly undress because my hands refuse to work. As I do, I replay what I overheard in my head. Finally, I’m naked. Wrapping the thin blanket around me like a tunic, I turn. Jaye is staring at the wall intently with his hands clenched at his sides. I call out softly, “Jaye, it’s ok. You can look. I’m covered.”
He cautiously turns and glances over me. My hair is down and I’m certain looks like a rat’s nest and the blanket is thin, so it doesn’t conceal much. I’m so cold that my nipples are beaded. I worry that they’re clearly visible through the light blanket.
Jaye swallows as his gaze lingers over my curves. My stomach starts to tingle like it always does when he’s near, but this time the feeling is different… It’s hungry… Desperate.
His eyes meet mine and I can see his are dilated.
He stays where he is and says huskily, “You can stay in here tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I shake my head and say softly, “I’ll stay in here, but you aren’t sleeping on the floor, Jaye.”
He glances down as I sit on the bed and clutch the blanket over my chest, then he hurriedly jerks his gaze back up. His voice is strangled as he mutters, “I have to sleep on the floor, Rose.”
Making a decision, I let the blanket go and call his name. “Jaye.”
His eyes sweep over my body before he leans his head back, stares at the rough beams of the ceiling, and takes a deep breath. He breathes out hoarsely, “Rose, don’t do this. This can’t happen. I can’t… We can’t!”
Reaching out, I take his hand and press it over my pounding heart. His eyes open and the war inside his head is written on his face as his warm hand presses against my cold skin. I whisper, “I love you, Jaye. I want it to be you. I can’t… they can’t sell what isn’t there. Please…”
His eyes are tortured as he says brokenly, “Rose, you don’t know what you’re asking… I can’t… You deserve more than this…”
Looking around in the glow of the candle, I see the man I love standing in front of me. I yank his hand. He lies over me as I lean up and kiss him softly. “I deserve to lose my virginity to the person I love and trust… I deserve to give myself to you because I want to. You deserve this gift because it’s freely given…
“I love you, Jaye.”
He groans and grabs my face to kiss me. When he pulls back, both of us know what’s about to happen. He whispers, “God forgive me. I can’t say no. I love you, too and I can’t deny you this.”
* * *
Jaye presses a kiss to my shoulder as I snuggle against his chest.
That just happened and it was magical. I gave myself to Jaye and he embraced it. I chose to give him my virginity because I love him and I knew he would cherish it.
It was everything I ever imagined it would be. No, it was more…
It was so special and meaningful because it was Jaye.
He sighs and his breath stirs my hair. “I love you, Rose.”
Turning my head, I press a kiss to his chin. It’s stubbly and tickles my face. I whisper, “I love you, too, Jaye,” and lay my head on his chest so I can listen to the steady beat of his heart.
He presses another kiss against the top of my head and sighs. His chest reverberates with the sound as he says, “You’re not a virgin anymore, Rose, but they don’t know that.”
I look up at him. He’s right. I gave Jaye my virginity willingly and he took it. He treasured it, but it doesn’t alter the fact that the Meagers and the disgusting people of this town will still try to buy and sell me.
Chewing on the inside of my lip as the fear once again creeps in on me and destroys the beauty of the moment, I ask cautiously, “What are we going to do, Jaye?”
Chapter Twenty
Jaye
I just made love to Rose. Everything about it was right. I love her. She loves me. She gave and I willingly took. I tried to fight it. I tried to be strong, but what did that get us?!
Nothing… They were going to sell her like a possession to the highest bidder! The fucking judge… the highest piece of shit in this chain of command was going to pay seven thousand dollars to take Rose’s innocence.
The rage is once again flowing through my veins. I want nothing more than to drive to his house and pull him out the front door while I beat his ass in front of the whole town and expose exactly what kind of man he is.
But I can’t. I can’t do that.
The only thing that would accomplish is I’d be arrested and every other crooked son of a bitch in this hellhole would cover it up. I’d be hauled off and no one would be here to protect Rose and the others.
So, I sit on my rage. I absorb it and I think of a way to use it.
I’m going to take every ounce of this feeling and I’m going to use it to destroy them. I’m going to destroy them all.
I need to get in touch with Sam. But I have to leave the farm to do that. The weather is keeping the filth away from here but it’s also preventing me from implementing our plan and after tonight… it needs to be steam-rolled.
It’s go time.
We can’t wait anymore. The time to act is now…
My thoughts are frantic as I hold Rose against my chest. Pulling her with me, I sit up, wrapping both of us in the blanket to protect her from the slight chill in the air. Pressing a kiss to her unruly hair, I answer her question. “It means I need to get in touch with Sam. The plan has to happen and it has to happen now. We can’t wait anymore. Your birthday is in a few weeks and they’ll try to sell you around that time. We need to get everything in order as quickly as possible.”
She shudders and looks up at me. The love and trust on her face steals the breath from my chest. But even that can’t hide the terror in her eyes.
This has to work, Jaye. There is no other choice. Failure is not an o
ption. This is literally life or death.
I’ll die to protect Rose, but I know that they would kill us all to keep the secret, too.
Everything has to be perfect.
We have so much work to do.
Sighing against my chest, she rubs her cheek against me as she quietly says, “I know you’re right, Jaye. But, I’m terrified.” Her emerald eyes stare into mine and the blatant fear and rage have them glowing. “This has to work. So many people are depending on us…
“But, what can we really do?! Will this work?”
I nod and squeeze her tighter before releasing her and reaching for my jeans. I slip them on as she watches me. Her cheeks flush as I dress, but she doesn’t look away from me. She bites her lip and exhales as her eyes travel over my physique. My chest swells and I can’t prevent the smile of masculine pride that spreads over my face. Buttoning the clasp on my jeans, I turn and grab her dress. I drape it over the single chair in my room and grab my only other shirt so I can toss it to her.
“Put that on while your dress dries. I don’t want you naked if someone comes in here. No one can know what we did, Rose. It has to stay between us.”
She nods as she slips the shirt over her head. Her hair is tousled and she’s so sexy, but above all that, she still looks so innocent… so pure… so good… She’s still Rose.
She chuckles as her cheeks flush again. “Stop staring at me like that. I know I must look dreadful.”
I can’t have her thinking that. Dropping to the bed, I pull her into me and cradle her face in my hands. Before I brush her pink lips with my own, I whisper, “Baby, you couldn’t look dreadful if you tried. You’re beautiful.”
She laughs and I swallow it with my kiss. It ends on a breathy moan as I pull back.
We can’t forget where we are. Or the fact that anyone could walk in here and we don’t need to be caught in a compromising position.
My foot bumps something on the floor and I look down. Leaning down, I grab it and raise it to my face. Squinting in the dim light to read the label, a look of confusion comes over my face. “Fruit cocktail? Where did this come from?”
