Page 45 of Protecting Talia

“She can stand. Stand on your own, Talia.”

The two guys tried to let go of Talia, but she dipped to her knees. Zip wanted to cheer her on, but he stayed silent as they moved closer. The idiots weren’t paying attention because they had five men surrounding them, and not one of them had realized it yet.

“We made a deal. She’s fine, just a bitch.”

The guy shook his head and turned, waving his hand like he wanted nothing to do with them. Zip had no jurisdiction, but the asshole was a trafficker and needed to go down. Of course, the man was a small node in a huge machine. There was no way the boss was picking up women from a marina. Taking him down wouldn’t kill the beast, but he wanted to stall them.

“Listen, lady, she isn’t standing on her own. She’ll die on the way over. We need healthy women, not used-up bitches. Toss her in the ocean. I’m out of here.”

“No!”

The shriek was loud and echoed around them. Zip needed to be closer to Talia to get her free. They had moved as close as they could without exposing themselves. It was time to act and get Talia free from her sister.

Zip was about to move when the guy from the boat spun and punched Talia’s sister in the face, dropping her to her knees. The move shocked him, but he couldn’t stand idle. He had to save Talia.

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Talia wasn’t going to cooperate. If Cheryl wanted her to stand, she sure as heck wasn’t going to. The two men beside her gripped her arms tighter, yanking her up, then released her, trying to force her to stand. She wouldn’t.

The person they were selling her to didn’t want an injured woman. She would play the injured woman part up, making it seem like she wouldn’t survive for long.

Cheryl turned to her and growled. The man was arguing with her, telling her sister to leave. When the guy suggested Cheryl toss her into the ocean, Talia’s knees went weaker.

When Cheryl screamed, Talia flinched. She couldn’t believe Cheryl was acting like such a fool. Then the man spun around and punched Cheryl.

The two men standing beside her jumped back. She half-expected the men to rush toward Cheryl, or maybe attack the guy, but they were moving away, and fast.

Two other men were there and punched the guys who’d stuffed her into the trunk of the car. What was going on?

Riding in the trunk of the car had disoriented her, but everything seemed very odd. So very odd. Why were two men attacking those guys? Was she about to be attacked by these people?

“Talia!”

The voice sounded familiar. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the man from the boat pick up her sister and drag her toward the boat. But she wasn’t crying for her sister. The sound of Zip’s voice had made emotions rise. Was this for real? Was she really hearing Zip?

She spun, looking for her man, and there he was. Zip knelt beside her. His hands were on her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Zip?”

“I’m here, babe. I’ve got you. I’m going to carry you. We need to get you out of here.”

“My sister.”

Zip paused, and she looked over, seeing the boat heading out of the marina. Zip said nothing as he picked her up and carried her away from the boats and into the parking lot.

“What is going on?” she asked.

“We found you. I can’t believe we found you.”

“Zip. You were looking for me?”

“Of course.”

Another guy came over to the car where Zip had stopped. “I’m on the line with the police to report that woman being taken. What is her name?”

Talia turned to look at the guy. She kind of recognized him but wasn’t sure. He was one of Zip’s friends. Though she knew her sister would never help her, she couldn’t be the same kind of asshole as her sister was.

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