SYNOPSIS
When no one comes to save you...you have to save yourself
Maia Duncan learned "Stranger Danger" and the perils of the internet when she was just 12 years old. Unfortunately after her captivity and forced participation into the sex trade, it was a lesson she learned too late.
But after six long years when her next assignment was to groom other young girls in the sex trade, Maia knew she had to escape...or die trying.
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EXCERPT
Maia’s heart pounded in her chest as she was being lead to the
minivan. As always, they were taken out
in the cover of night, rarely seeing the sunlight or enjoying the fresh air on
a spring day. Her life had become that
of a vampire, waiting for the sun to set then sneaking around town like a thief
in the night. It had been so long since
Maia had seen daylight, she was certain she’d go blind from its brilliance.
Maia stood in the line behind the other girls as they waited to climb
into the minivan. She shivered from the
chill in the air, though she was sure most of the chill she felt was from the
trepidation she felt about what she had planned for tonight. If she isn’t careful and is caught in her
scheme, she knew her life would be forfeit. And though she wasn’t ready to die without
giving her idea for freedom a chance, she couldn’t help but feel the cold hands
of fear grip her soul.
When the last girl climbed into the awaiting minivan, Maia began to climb
in behind her. As she lifted her leg to
ascend the step, she was yanked back violently by the hair. “You follow me, girl,” Drago said between
clenched teeth.
“Ow. What are you doing?” Maia
cried out as she was being pulled towards the docks, her body was being
half-dragged as she fought to keep up the pace set by the brute escorting her
towards the darkened area.
“Shut up! I’m gonna to give you a
glimpse into your future,” Drago let out a short bark of laughter. “Whatever you have planned, this should put a
stop to it.”
Maia’s heels pounded on the wooden board as she trotted to keep up with
Drago before he pulled a chunk of her hair from her head. Her breath came out in short pants as the
fear began to mount inside her. No
matter what, Drago was a cruel and violent man and whatever he had planned for
her was not going to be pleasant. In all
the years she’s known him, he’d managed to put a fear inside her that would
only be outdone by the next deed.
Drago continued to drag Maia through a confusing maze of buildings and
alleys. The skittering sounds of rats in
the darkness was enough to make Maia want to yell out, but her fear of what was
to come outweighed her immediate danger of being eaten alive by rodents. She was sure what Drago had in store for her
would make a rat pit seem like a vacation in paradise.
Drago stopped in front of a building that was known to house the new cargo when they arrived. Maia could hear the wails and whimpers of the
people inside as they were trying to come to terms with their new lot in
life. It was a piteous sound she had
grown accustomed to hearing. Not too
long ago it was a sound she had made…but now she learned how to remain silent
and take life as it came. All the years
of crying and pleading and the unanswered prayers weren’t enough to bring about
the solace she craved. In the end, she
only had the strength of compliance in her heart and body to keep her alive.
Maia looked up at the three-story building. The windows were covered by boards and
appeared unused and abandoned. But that
was just a cover. It was how all of the
buildings on this pier looked. They were
all owned and operated by the same man…Paolo Freitas. But inside, there were people…women,
children, boys, girls…all used for the same purpose. To make more money for Paolo.
“Go inside!” Drago ordered and shoved Maia so forcefully she nearly fell
to her knees.
Maia blinked a few times as she walked into the dimly lit building. The scurrying sounds of rats seemed more
profound in this enclosed quarters. She
pressed down on her lips tightly as she attempted to prevent herself from
crying out in distress. Her steps slowed
as her feet touched something on the ground in front of her, but Drago didn’t
seem to care and gave her another shove forward.
“Move it!” he barked out.
The anger in his voice made her feet pick up the pace. To where, she didn’t know. She only did what she was told. Afraid to go forward…afraid to stop. The wailing sounds of young children on the
other side of the doors made her wish she could do something…anything to help, but at the moment, she
was not in a position to help herself.
For all she knew, she was walking her last mile to her execution.
Funny, she imagined herself fighting ‘til her last breath, yet here she
was walking to an unknown destination for an unknown purpose, like a sheep
being lead to slaughter. If it came down
to her life, would she fight or would she pray and ask God to accept her
wretched soul into Heaven? Do I deserve to go to Heaven? Would
hell be similar or worse than the last six years of my life?
“Here. Open the door,” Drago’s
voice growled behind her.
Maia didn’t question him. She
reached for the knob and turned. The
room was smaller than the one she shared with Becca and China. It was bare except for a pallet that was made
in the corner of the room by the clothes on their backs. One little girl lay sleeping on it as the
other three girls…approximately 13 to 15 years in age, remained huddled on the
other side of the room.
The room was lit by a single, low watt bulb in the center of the ceiling
and the shadows that were cast off the walls appeared like demons waiting to
collect the souls of the damned.
“Choose,” Drago said.
It was a single word command, but it spoke volumes to Maia. Choose. “I…I can’t,” Maia’s voice squeaked,
showing her fear and her weakness. She
resented her voice for betraying her, but she was frightened. Not for
herself, but for the others. “What are
you going to do?”
This time she looked at Drago. For
the first time she saw the feral expression on his face. It was a look of a man gone mad. Maia realized Drago loved what he did,
instilling fear in the heart of a defenseless person. In his pathetic life, this made him strong
and bold. But he was a coward and a
bully. He was pure evil.
Drago pulled the gun he had concealed in his jacket and pointed it to the
girl who stood as they entered the room.
One bullet to the head and she slumped on the ground. The other girls screamed and cowered in the
corner, but to no avail. They too will meet
the same fate.
“Choose!” Drago demanded. This
time he pointed his gun at the sleeping form on the pallet. Maia was certain she was no older than 5 or
6…the same age as China when she had come to these shores.
“No! Please, don’t. I’ll choose,” Maia pleaded.
Drago pulled the gun back and waited for Maia to make a choice. “Well, I don’t have all night.”
“I…I choose the child, the one who’s sleeping.” She squeezed her eyes shut as she knew what
this meant. Drago was going to execute
the other girls right in front of her, leaving her to forever remember their
lives were in her hands and she
failed them. She did not want to
watch…she couldn’t.
“Ah…so you have a soft spot, huh?” Drago teased. He aimed his gun at the girls cowering in the
corner and pointed his barrel at one.
“Come!”
The young girl was clearly traumatized and her knees shook as she made
her way over to Drago. She looked
imploringly at Maia, but Maia turned her eyes, ashamed of what she’d done and
afraid of what she’d see in the other girl’s expression.
The gun went off with another loud bang that echoed through the small
room and reverberated straight through Maia’s heart. But she didn’t look. She had seen enough dead girls in her
lifetime and she did not want to see another.
Still, she knew she would forever dream about this night. Much like she did the other nights that
haunted her dreams.
Another shot rang out…another thud landed on the floor where the doomed
girl stood. Maia let out a small yelp of
surprise at the noise. She knew it was
coming, but it still made her startle with helplessness for being unable to
stop it. It was the sound of a life
being taken. For the second time in her
life, Maia felt the blood of another person’s life on her hands.
The blast of shots ringing out in the silence woke the sleeping
child. She sat up and wiped her eyes and
began to wail as she found herself in a strange place with strange people and
death surrounding her. Maia was sure she
wasn’t old enough to understand what was happening, but she knew she was
frightened. Who wouldn’t be? It was all Maia could do not to wet her own
pants at the moment.
Maia rushed to the startled child and scooped her up in her arms. She tried to quiet her down, but her attempts
only made matters worse. “Shh…don’t
cry. It’s going to be alright,” Maia
said in a soft, motherly tone. She knew
the tiny, little girl didn’t understand her words, but she hoped she was
familiar with her tone. The tone of a
mother’s love.
Drago took two long strides over to Maia and the crying child and placed
the muzzle of his gun to her small head.
The gesture brought out an instinct in Maia she didn’t know she
possessed. Maia twisted her body in such
a way she was protecting the child with her own body, but the gun was now
pointing at her. But she didn’t
care. If he killed her right now, she
would not be here to witness him kill this poor, innocent child. She would never be able to live with herself
if he did. In her heart, she knew she
would fight until he was forced to kill her, too.
Drago looked at Maia for a long moment, his jaw clenching in a rhythm
that showed his discontent. His finger
itched to pull the trigger. Maia could
sense his taste for blood as he bit down on his tongue to resist the
overwhelming urge to shoot. His eyes
grew dark and empty, hatred marred his ugly features. Then he did the unthinkable…he pulled the gun
back and put it back in his holster beneath his jacket and shoved Maia and her
sobbing bundle forward and out of the room.
MORE BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
The Gift of Joy - Contemporary Romance
Second Chances - Contemporary Romance/Suspense
The Nation's Daughter - Crime/Legal/Thriller
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