Page 13 of Avenging Laura

“You better speak up, Kathy. You don’t want to be on my bad side any more than you already are,” General McCoy warned the woman.

“Um, he had two other brothers. I know the younger one was killed in Afghanistan at the height of the war on terror. The oldest one, Milton, I think his name is, got out of the Marines after he was injured in the Gulf War and went into business with their father. Their mother had supposedly died when the boys were younger, so they were raised by their dad who was a businessman after serving in the Marines himself. I don’t know much about them. They rarely ever came around. After Dominick was born, David went to them,” Kathy stammered through her explanation to them.

Dominick’s head turned back toward his mother so fast, it made Highlander’s head spin. He didn’t know a head could turn that fast if he was honest. Something that Kathy had said had caught Dominick’s attention.

“What is it son?” General McCoy noticed Dominick’s head spin.

“I remember Dad taking me to meet someone named Milton and an older man, James, I think he said his name was. I was never told their relationship, but the old man got angry when I refused to join in on something they wanted to do. Said I was soft like someone named Delbert and that’s why he was killed.”

“What did they want you to do?” Ghost asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“I don’t remember much. I kind of blocked it out. That was the last time, until the whole thing with Adamson years later, that Dad took me anywhere with him. I remember hearing someone crying in another room. I refused to go in there because they wanted me to hurt the person in the other room,” Dominick answered, tilting his head as he looked at his mother, his eyes going wide when she looked away from him.

“Who was in that room?” Captain Irby questioned Kathy when she saw Dominick’s expression when he looked over his mother.

“L-Laura. They wanted Dominick to hurt Laura. He refused to. They were getting ready to go in and hurt her when word came in that the house was being raided by federal agents. James and Milton were under federal investigation for something Milton had done. David had to get Dominick and Laura out of there. They went underground after that.” Kathy sniffled as she looked continued to look down at her hands.

“Wait the fuck a minute! Are you telling me that David was part of a human trafficking ring even then?” Jeannettedemanded, standing up as she bent down to get into her daughter’s face as best as she could.

“Yes. His family is part of an underground society that trains women to do their bidding, harshly. Women are nothing but property while the men are king,” Kathy admitted before staring up at her mother, glaring. “That’s whatyoulet me marry into.”

“I will backhand you so damn hard if you don’t stop blaming your crap on everyone except yourself. You and you alone trapped that man into marriage. You could have told me and your father what was going on and we would have gladly gotten you out of there. Your father had pull, even then. But you never told us anything. Even when we came to you after we found the bruises on Laura, you still lied to us.”

“I was scared!” Kathy screamed at her mother, jumping up out of her seat.

“I think that’s the most honest thing you have said since you’ve opened your mouth about anything!” Captain Irby told the woman, no compassion in her voice.

“Now, tell us what you know about your ex-husband’s other children and what their names are. I know that you know, so don’t pretend like you don’t. I know you like to keep your fingers in everyone’s business,” Sheriff Phillips demanded as he walked into the room looking around before his hard, cold eyes landed on Kathy.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Laura was startled awake. Groaning, she attempted to move but everything in her body hurt. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and just let the darkness take her again.

“Mommy!”

Laura jerked awake when she heard the scream. Where was it coming from? Did she really hear that or was that just something she thought she heard?

“Mommy! Help me! Mommy!”

“R-Ryleigh?” Laura croaked as she tried to move.

Hearing the cries and screams of a child, Laura forced herself to move. Everything in her body hurt. She was beaten, battered, destroyed. She couldn’t move without crying out in pain.

Laura pushed herself up, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Everything was on fire. Cyrus and Ziegler really did their damndest to destroy her. She never gave them a sound or a tear. At least not physically. Inside, she was officially dead. Ruined.

She wanted to lay down and let the darkness overtake her and never return. She knew inside that her husband and children would be fine without her. They would move on without her. Her team would move on without her.

“Mommy! Help me!”

“Ryleigh? I’m coming, baby. Hold on.”

When Laura couldn’t get to her feet on her own, she slowly crawled over to the wall and leaned back against it. Leaning her head against the wall trying to catch her breath, she tried assessing the situation she found herself in.

She was naked from head to toe. She would probably die if the way everything felt was real. Of course it would be a slow death. Cyrus and Ziegler didn’t see her as a threat. They probably thought she was dead since they didn’t keep her chained or put her in a locked room like they had been.

When Laura heard the child screaming again, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. Looking above her head, she saw a bar that she could use to pull herself up to her feet.

Taking a deep breath, she turned herself around to face the wall as she reached up and gripped the bar with her one good arm. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself up to her feet and nearly buckled at the pain that shot through her body when she put pressure on her right leg.

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