Page 7 of Slavic

WhenIget out,Ihear her lock the doors.Hesitantly,Iwalk inside, my eyes searching for any familiar faces.Ittakes me a moment to spotJanetsitting in a corner booth by herself.Thereis nothing notable about her that you would notice at first glance, butIcan see how watchful her gaze is.ThemomentIslide in, she motions for the waitress. “Howdo you take your coffee?”

“Morecream than coffee, please.”Janetdoesn’t say another word until the server walks away.

“Isee your sister decided to stay in the car?”

“Shedid.I’mnot sure what you need from us, andI’mcompletely out of my element here, but we need help desperately.Evenif it’s just for a few days until we can figure out what to do next.”

“Takea breath, honey.Whichone are you,Rowan, orRuby?”

“I’mRuby.”

“WellRuby,I’vebeen watching the news.Sofar, neither of you have been mentioned, but that doesn’t mean anything.Ineed toknow who to watch out for.Ihave several other girls who are also under my care thatIcan’t or won’t endanger for anyone.Justwho was your sister messed up with?”

“She’smarried toSenatorRobertDeanMcAllen.They’vebeen together for several years.Rowanwas young and an easy target, with little family besides me after mom died.Hewas older and knew how to use all that fake charm to get what he wanted.Oncehe had that piece of paper saying she was his, in name at least, he apparently believed that it gave him the right to abuse her as he pleased.Ididn’t know any of this was happening until a few days ago.Shedid a great job keeping it from me.”

“Theyusually do.I’msure when she finally opens up to you, her story will be even worse than what you’ve imagined.Thosetypes of men thrive on control.Theyhave a way of convincing you that your only worth is what they allow, and somehow their abuse is all your fault.I’llput out some feelers to see if he has any mercenaries on your tail.He’llprobably want to get his wife back quickly to safeguard his reputation.

Idon’t thinkIneed to tell you that if she goes back, she won’t make it long.It’seasy for them to act heartbroken when the little wife unexpectedly has a bad accident.Ishould be able to get the two of you to the safe house before anyone knows or sees anything.Worstcase scenario, we might have to move you guys a few times later on.

Ruby, you do realize that this is your life now, at least for a while?There’sno way you can go back to what, where, or who you were before.Themoment he realizes she’s gone, he’ll be looking just as hard for you, if only so he can use you against her.”

“Janet,Iknew the momentIsaw the bruises on her body, that things were going to get really hard before they got any better.Rowanis allIhave left in this world, andI’llbe damned ifIever let that fucker hurt her again.”

Thewaitress drops my coffee off andItake a sip, trying to calm my nerves.Ifeel like every eye in the place is on us whileJanetsits there on the other side of the table, calmly sipping her own drink.

“Takea deep breath,Ruby.You’reno longer alone, fighting a battle you don’t have any clue how to win.I’mgoing to get up, go pay our bill, and then meet you out back.I’mdriving a brown, average looking minivan.Stayhere, drink your coffee, and take a moment for yourself to get your thoughts together.Onceyou’re outside, we’ll get your stuff transferred over into the van and be on our way.I’mgonna leave your car here for a few days.There’sa camera on the outside of the building over that particular spot, andIcan watch to see if anyone comes this far.”

Inod my head and she gets up, patting my shoulder gently as she walks past.Closingmy eyes,Itry to calm my mind, butI’mtoo wound up.Settingmy coffee back down on the table,Idig out the few dollar billsIhave in my pocket and throw them on the table.

WhenIget outside,I’mactually shocked to see thatRowanis out of the car, helpingJanetload the van with the few items we had in the back.OncetheSUVis empty,Ilean down usingRowan’strusty dime thatI’vekept in my pocket and take my old tag off the car.Rowanis already in the back seat of the van whenIcome around to get in the passenger side.

“Janet, we swapped my car for this one a few states back.Doyou think it could be returned to its owner?Wedidn’t steal it, but the man knew we were in trouble.”

“We’llsee what we can do in the next few daysYouguys sit back and relax because it’s a couple hours’ drive from here.”

Iglance atRowanwho has stretched out in the back seat with a blanket wrapped around her.Janetturns the radio on to an old seventies station andIkick my shoes off and lean back, enjoying the big seats in the van.

Myeyes glance over towardJanetseveral times, wondering what happened in her life?She’solder, probably early fifties.Herstraight, dirty blond hair is turning gray around her temples, and sunspots mar the skin on her hands and arms.However, her weary blue eyes show the horrors she has witnessed firsthand.Isee her glance in the review mirror atRowanin the back, and then she turns, giving me a sad smile.There’sno missing the age lines around her mouth and eyes, andI’msure she was quite pretty when she was younger.Butsomething took the light out of her eyes, andIswearI’mseeing that same dullness in my own sister’s eyes now.

Shakingmy head,Iturn and look out the window at the passing scenery.Theonly sound in the van is the low music coming from the speakers.Aftertraveling about an hour, the view changes from tall, lush, green trees to a dry desert area.Thehouses are getting further and further apart with each passing mile, andIlook over atJanetwhen we start to slow down.

“Girls,Iknow this is going to seem odd and it might make you a little uncomfortable, so perhaps should have mentioned it earlier.ButIneed you both to put these blindfolds on, not only for your own protection, but also the other women who areseeking sanctuary here.Thisis just one of the many precautionsIuse to keep each one of you safe.Myfirst priority is to make sure no one knows where you are, because many have passed through my doors.Ifyou don’t know where you are, you can’t tell anyone.

Thehouse is about a mile up on an un-marked road.Weuse a different route each time we come in and out so that no one realizes anyone still lives out this way.Theplace is well disguised and very few know of its existence.Weeven have an underground garage on the other side.Whenwe were building it, we did our best to find ways to keep it hidden.”

“Manytimes, the cameras on the property have picked up people walking right over it while hiking, never knowing it was below them.”

“How?”

“You’llsee.”

Chapter Five

RUBY

“It’ssafe to take the blindfolds off now, girls.”

TosayI’mshocked whenIremove mine is an understatement.Inever dreamedJanetwas going to bring us to a place this unique. “Wow,Janet, this is sweet.Howin the world did you find it?”

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