Page 20 of Unspoken Passions

“That’s a cattle truck,” he said, his back teeth clenching tightly. “Keep an eye on it,” he ordered, once again heading towards the exit. “If that truck changes direction, let me know immediately. I think that the cattle truck is to transfer the women.”

Mick hated the idea of Ella, or any woman, being treated like that. Whoever was doing this could have just as easily hired a bus to transport the women. They were purposely using a cattle truck, stuffing the women into the trailer, to completely humiliate the women, to make them feel like cattle. Like they were nothing!

Ella, he thought! She wasn’t nothing. She was his everything!

He gave the agent a gentle tap on her shoulder, a silent “thank you”, before he rushed out of the office, heading to one of the old pickup trucks that he kept in the back of the building for just this sort of situation. When he needed to cruise around the county, without bringing attention to his presence, he drove the beat-up pickup truck. The town of Newnan was urban and quaintly historical, depending on the street one was on. Then there were suburbs and, further out, farmland. It was a large county and he had multiple vehicles at his disposal, depending on the task.

Today, he needed to get close enough to the old factory without being detected. The truck, with its rust spots and angled side mirrors, wouldn’t be considered a serious threat by the people he was after.

“This way,” Aida ordered, snapping her fingers towards Ella. “YOU can hang out with the rest of the product.”

Ella slowly followed the woman, not sure what to do next. But one of the four men leaned in to whisper in Aida’s ear and Ella took that moment to grab another dress from the box. They were each slightly different, but all were red. Perfect, she thought. If she couldn’t get out, at least she could signal to the rest of the world that they were in here.

Pressing it against her side, she curled her shoulders forward, hunching over to hide the extra dress. She also slipped her feet into her sneakers. Unfortunately, they were still tied so she couldn’t stuff her foot fully into the inside, but she walked as fast as possible without drawing attention to her feet.

Stepping through the door that Aida had gone through earlier, she looked around. The new room was about three stories high, without much else in the space. She knew that this used to be a factory of some sort, but she couldn’t remember what had been processed here.

The windows were extremely high and there were several doors. But as she looked around, she noticed that they were all locked shut with deadbolts. Okay, the doors weren’t a solution. But she refused to give up. Ella was determined to get back to Mick!

She was shoved through the next set of doors, then the metal doors slammed shut behind her. Ella spun around and found she was alone.

Then she heard movement. Turning back around to what she’d assumed was a massive, empty space, Ella saw a pair of women in red dresses emerge from the gloom. Moments later, more women followed. Finally, an additional forty women stood before her, staring back at Ella with vacant expressions. They were a mess, hair matted, makeup badly smeared; some seemed terrified and others appeared…resigned to their fate. Ella wasn’t sure which made her heart ache more.

“Who are you?” one asked. She had blond hair that was sticking up on one side. There were bruises along both of her arms. Some of the bruises were new and some had a yellow tinge, indicating that they were older.

“I’m Ella,” she announced, then dropped the red dress. “Is everyone okay?” she asked, looking around. She thought to use the red dress as a flag. Ella knew that Mick and the deputies were searching for this place. If she could figure out how to get the dress outside, then that would give them a sign that this was the hideout.

The blond woman with the bruises pulled her attention away from the high windows. The woman sneered at Ella, one hand defiantly on her too-thin hips. “You will sleep on the floor for now. Until you’re broken in, you don’t earn a cot.”

Ella blinked at that news, given in such a harsh tone. “I’m…sorry?”

The woman jerked her chin upwards. “I’m in charge of everyone. If you don’t like it, then we’ll make sure that you’re the first one out every night and the last to come back in.” She didn’t smile as she added, “And when the guys want extras, then you’ll provide anything they ask for.”

Ella wasn’t sure what that meant, but she was fairly certain that she didn’t want any details. “How about if someone shows me a place where I can let this fly out of a window?” she offered. “And then we can get down to the details of your statements.”

There was a long silence, then the blond sneered at the dress. “What’s that for?” she demanded.

Ella looked around, then paused to untie her shoes and slide them firmly onto her feet. She tied the laces securely, then straightened up. “This is one of the red dresses.” She surveyed the others. “I’m guessing that they change out the dresses fairly regularly?”

“Just who the hell do you think you are?” the blond demanded, taking a defiant step forward, but she didn’t get too close.

“I’m Ella. And I run the coffee shop here in Newnan, Georgia. I know that you ladies have been badly abused, but there are people searching for you.” She let her eyes move over the group of women. “They’re searching for all of you.”

“Not all of them speak English,” the blond explained. “And you say we’re in Georgia?”

“Yes. We’re in the north-western part of the state.” She walked over to the wall, peering up at the tall windows. “Can someone help me reach that window? If I can get this up there, it will help the police find us.”

“They aren’t coming for us,” the blond announced. “We’re the forgotten ones.” She looked around. “If Liam finds out you’re trying to escape, then he will…” she paused, swiping angrily at the tears that escaped, leaving a trail down her thin cheeks. “He’ll break you.” She sniffed. “It’s better if you just go along with whatever he tells you.”

Ella glanced over her shoulder at her. “Liam is in a jail cell. He was arrested two weeks ago and is now awaiting trial.”

There was a long silence after that as Ella looked around, searching for something that she could stand on that would get her up the extra ten feet. She knew that if she could just get this dress high enough, and attach it to something outside, then Mick would see it.

She felt someone grab her arm, yanking her around. “Liam is gone?” a brunette demanded.

She had emerald green eyes and a swollen, bloody lip. There were several other wounds on her body that were healing. Obviously, this woman had been through hell!

“Yes, he’s in jail. And he’s facing charges that, well, there’s almost no chance that he’ll get out. He’s charged with kidnapping and attempted murder.”

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