Карен Кингсбери - A Distant Shore [calibre]

Jack had time, so after his workout and before driving to the beach, he sat on his balcony again. Shane, we were just here. Feels like a week ago . His brother was in heaven, Jack was sure about that. The kid loved the Lord. They both had back then, they were even baptized on the same day. Jack imagined Shane playing football in some blue field in paradise. He smiled. But then he had to admit something else. If heaven was real, God was real, too.

Because if God wasn’t real, what did that say about heaven?

Jack couldn’t let his mind go there. For now, he would ask for help again. He needed it. If You’re there, You know the situation I’m in. What I’m up against tonight. I won’t ask You to protect me. But could You please protect those girls?

Eliza especially. Jack was still angry with himself for what he had done when Asia opened the bedroom door. Not that he’d kissed her. He’d had no choice in that matter. But something else, something he’d wrestled with and berated himself for since he left the Palace last night.

The fact that he had enjoyed it.

JACK HAD BEEN in Eliza’s room for two minutes, and already they were under the sheets again, barely dressed, inches from each other. Everything about the situation felt uncomfortable to Jack, but he had no choice. This was the only way he could explain the ever-evolving mission details to her without risking being found out.

“Okay…” Jack looked into her angry blue eyes. “Do you remember everything I told you last night?”

“Sure.” Now that she didn’t have to marry him, didn’t have to please him, Eliza was angry. “You taking off your pants again, FBI man? I mean… you bought me. Or is that not part of the job?”

Jack understood her rage. It was a cover-up for her fear. She had lost control of her life long ago. If Jack was going to force himself on her, she was ready. What choice did she have? If that was part of the business deal she wouldn’t fight. She was too afraid of her father and maybe too afraid of Jack, too.

The only way to speak into Eliza’s victimized heart was to tell her the truth. As many times as he needed to tell it. “Eliza.” He searched her eyes. “Pretending I want to marry you was an act. I told you that.”

“I don’t believe you.” She looked so young, so afraid. “When you… kissed me.” She raised her brow. “I think you liked it.”

She was right about the kiss, and Jack hated the fact. He gritted his teeth and moved a bit further from her. Fine. If she was going to make this difficult he was up to the challenge. She was a teenager, a prisoner. Agent or not, he had no interest in anything but rescuing her.

“Eliza.” He heard the conviction in his voice. “I’m not here for that.”

“All men are here for that.”

“Not all men.” His mind was focused tonight. Nothing but the mission. He exhaled. “I’m an undercover FBI agent, Eliza. My name is Luke. I had to kiss you because we are raiding this place Thursday night.… I kissed you to save your life… and the lives of every girl here.”

“You really mean it?”

Something changed in her eyes. Finally, he told himself. Maybe he was getting through to her. “You are worth more than this, Eliza.”

“Don’t say my name.” She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Don’t tell me what I’m worth when you don’t even know me.”

“You’re a child. Every child is worth more than they know.”

That seemed to give her something to think about, as if maybe for the first time it occurred to her that Jack was right. She blinked a few times. “I’m nineteen. I’m not a child.”

“Yes, you are.” Jack studied her. Poor girl. What sort of monster would keep his own daughter locked in a place like this? All while making her wait for a forced marriage? Jack was careful with his words. “You were eight when your father kidnapped you. You haven’t lived a normal day since then. You grew up watching your only friends be trafficked night after night. Nine years old.” He paused. “Until you get help, you’ll always be that little girl.”

“The men never touched me.” She didn’t look at him. “I had it better than the other girls.”

“That’s not true.” Jack studied her defiant face. “Not every victim of sex slavery is violated physically. Your mental abuse is as much a crime.”

Eliza seemed to resonate with that last part. Or maybe she was tired of fighting him, tired of trying to make sense of him. Whatever the reason, she rolled onto her side and faced him again. “Tell me once more. What I need to know.”

And Jack did.

Eliza’s part of the plan had changed only slightly. The raid was going down at seven forty-five now. “You need to get all the girls to a single first-floor room by seven thirty.” He searched her eyes. He needed her to pay attention. “Fifteen minutes early. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She clearly loathed him. For being a man, for giving her no choice but to work with him. For putting her life at risk. But here and now, she had to be on his side.

“The boardroom.” Eliza’s voice fell flat. “That’s where the older girls coach the younger ones. I’ll call for the session.” Her eyes looked dead. “Anders loves when we teach the children.”

Jack’s stomach turned. He asked Eliza to explain in detail where the boardroom was located. Eliza didn’t hesitate. This prison had been her home for far too long. “My job is to coach the girls on kindness .” She practically spit the word.

The irony was sickening. Jack studied her eyes, in case she was lying about the details. “Okay, then.” Stick to the facts, Ryder. “You’re sure? Back of the house, first floor?”

“Yes!” She didn’t answer at first. “Yes, Luke. I’m sure.”

“Good.” He ignored her attitude. “Once the girls are in the boardroom, slip a wedge under the door and open the window. I’ll put the wedge in your top drawer when I leave tonight.”

She was listening.

“Tell the girls to be very quiet because your friend is coming, and he’s going to take them on an adventure.” This had worked in other trafficking stings, and Jack believed it would work here. “Make it fun for them. If the older girls are unsure, give them a wink or a smile. So they want to go along for the younger girls. So nothing spoils their fun.”

Doubt crept into Eliza’s eyes. “What if they don’t believe me?”

“They will.” Jack hesitated. “I’ll arrive at that exact minute. I’ll help you.”

Jack would be sure the girls made it out the window, across the yard, down the stairs and into a waiting school bus—which would be driven by Agent Terri.

“Who’s Terri?” More uncertainty showed in Eliza’s expression.

“She works with me. You’ll like her.” Jack checked the time on Eliza’s nightstand. He had twenty more minutes. “Terri is kind and she’ll keep you all safe.”

“What do I do then, once we’re in the bus?” Venom flared in Eliza’s eyes. “How do I know you’re an under cover agent ? You’re probably another evil ruler like my father, taking us to a new house. New customers. Instead of joining families, you’re taking all of us and making your own business.”

“No.” Only time would help Eliza understand. “I’m not like that. And I’m not making this up.”

Eliza closed her eyes for nearly a minute, as if she didn’t want Jack to see her afraid for even that long. When she opened them, the anger was still there. Same with her fear. But once again she’d made up her mind to help him. This time, no turning back. Jack could tell.

“Okay. I’ll do it.” She spit the words. “But I don’t trust you, Luke. I’ll only do it because I hate my father. And because if I don’t go along with his plans, he’ll kill me anyway.” She softened just a bit. “The way he killed Alexa.”