Page 146 of Ethan's Sky

“Mmhm.”

“What’s your name, Sweetheart? My name’s Skyler.”

“Lilah. Lilah Schwartz.”

“Where are you from Lilah? How old are you?”

“Where areyoufrom? How old areyou?” I hear the attitude in her voice, and it makes me smile. She’s still got some fire in her. She’s going to need it to get through this.

“All right. That’s fair. I guess I shouldn’t be the only one asking questions.” I tell her. “I’m from a town called Oak Ridge a few hours from here, assuming we’re still in. Devil’s Canyon.” Without knowing how long I was asleep, it’s damn near impossible for me to gage where we are. How many hours we were on the road. The thought turns my stomach.

“I’m twenty-four years old. Now, your turn.”

“Thirteen, and I was staying at a shelter in Crestview.”

Crestview is only two hours away from Oak Ridge. It’s a smaller town like Oak Ridge. Not so small you’ll miss it if you blink, but not big enough to be considered a city.

“Why were you in a shelter? Is your family there?” So many scenarios run through my mind.

Did her family lose their home and had to move into a shelter?

Was her father abusive and she left with her mother to find a better life?

Is she a runaway?

All are heartbreaking situations to consider. All make me want to wrap her in my arms and keep her safe.

“I don’t have family. My father died when I was a baby and my mother kicked me out three months ago.”

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

Sensing her tension, I decide to hold the conversation about her mother and being kicked out for a later time. There are more important things I need to know.

“Lilah, how did you gethere?How did Spider and his goon snatch you from Crestview?” I hate to ask, but I need to know. The more information I have the more I can pass along to Gabe and Hawk. And the club will be able to put an end to all this.

“I was panhandling outside a grocery store. He said he wouldn’t give me money, but he would buy me a sandwich. I followed him into the store. He grabbed a basket and told me to pick out my sandwich in the deli department. He put his hand on my shoulder and guided me through the store telling me to pick out a few snacks and drinks, adding them all to the basket. Once he decided we had enough stuff, he guided me to the check stand. He paid for everything with cash, but when the cashier went to hand me the bags, he told her to put them in the basket, we would carry them.”

Jesus. He preyed on the fact she was hungry.She must have been starving to follow a stranger into a store to get food. I imagine her sitting in the cold, alone and hungry with no food for days and it makes me want to be sick.

“I was stupid, I know, but I was so hungry.”

I can hear the crack in her voice and the sniffle as she cries. I grab her hand and give it a little squeeze wanting to give her some kind of small comfort.

“When we got outside, his grip on my shoulder became tighter as he continued to guide me to his van. I knew something was wrong. I tried to tell him I didn’t need the food anymore. I was no longer hungry, but it was too late. He opened the back door of the van and another man jumped out. I tried to scream, but the man with the spider on his neck, covered my mouth and the other put a syringe of something in my neck. When I woke up, I was here. Until you called out, I thought I was alone.”

“Oh, Sweetheart. You’re not alone. I’m here and as soon as my man finds out I’ve been taken, the calvary will come and we’ll both getting the hell out of here.”

“You really think so?” Her small voice sounds so hopeful. I pray the Kings don’t let us down.

“I know so.” I tell her. “My uncle is part of a motorcycle club the same one my man is part of. They won’t stop until they find me. And since most of the men in the MC are a little crazy, I can promise the men who took us will suffer.”

We’re silent for a few minutes. Both trying to take everything in while also maintaining our sanity. The way Lilah is twisting her hands, I know she’s worried and I wouldn’t doubt if she’s struggling with herself, not wanting to hope for a rescue that might never come.

My thoughts drift back to Daddy and what he was doing the night he was killed. Ethan had mentioned Daddy was trying to help some people who were expected to be sold as sex slaves. It was the load he was delivering the night he died, only he didn’t deliver the load to the people he was supposed to. I don’t know if Ethan ever discovered who Daddy delivered the trailer to, but it wasn’t the intended sellers.

I wonder what Spider’s plans are for both of us. It’s obvious he plans to sell Lilah. I don’t know what his plans for me are. Is he going to sell me to the highest bidder and wash his hands of me, or will he use my body for his own twisted revenge?

“Skyler?” Lilah’s soft voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

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