Page 57 of Mountain Refuge

“I don’t know which ones took us other than the boy, and I never saw him again. The other men were older. Maybe thirty-something? I don’t know. Old.”

Taya bit her lip to keep from smiling. “My age or older?” She hated to believe that her turning thirty next month classified her as elderly.

“Older. Especially the one they called boss. His hair was graying. Not much but some. He had dark eyes. A big guy with lots of muscles.”

“What about the others?”

“Some were around his age, some older, one or two younger.” She scuffed her boot in the dirt. “They fed us twice a day. Oatmeal in the morning, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the afternoon. Three water bottles a day. It was like a prison.”

Prisons fed better. Taya turned off the recorder on her phone. There wouldn’t be any more information coming that would help. But, she did have confirmation that her niece could identify the leader. That would keep them in danger until the man was stopped.

“Oh, and there was a woman. Older. Mean. She would put the makeup on us and give us clothes to put on before our pictures were taken. All the men called her Ma.”

Taya stared over the weed-grown clearing. A number of men and an older woman weren’t a whole lot to go on. “Did they take you anywhere else, besides where I found you?”

“No, but some of the girls left. I never saw them again.”

Taya’s heart sank. They hadn’t saved them all before they were sold. Spotting Ryan stepping from the woods, she pushed to her feet. “We’re going to town. We’ll get you some books, some better food, and charge my phone. Now listen. I don’t want you getting into a conversation with this man. We don’t know how much we can trust him.”

“I doubt the men who took me would be all the way out here, Taya.”

“We aren’t taking any chances.” Taya slipped her phone into her pocket. “I’ll get the charger and some money. Don’t move from this spot.” She hurried to gather what she needed and rejoined her niece outside who had just finished telling the man their first names.

Ryan smiled. “My truck is parked just over there. The path to this cabin can’t really be called a road in any sense of the word.”

Taya nodded. “Lead the way.” The gun she’d stuffed at the back of her jeans gave her comfort. If this man made a move toward her or Tracy, it would be his last.

~

The woman was as skittish as hot oil in a cast-iron skillet. Despite her unfriendliness, Ryan wanted to help. These two were in trouble and seemed like they could use a friend. Once in the driver’s seat, he turned. “What’s on the agenda?”

“The library, someplace to charge my phone, and a grocery store. Maybe a supermarket?”

“Sure. Langley has all those things. We can get a coffee while charging the phones, then hit the supermarket. On the way back to Misty Hollow, we can stop at the library. You’ll have to use my card, though, since you’re only visitors.”

She made a noise in her throat and stared out the window. “I’ll need to buy a vehicle.”

“The garage here in town might have one cheap.” A car, huh? Maybe they planned on staying for a while. Ryan could take them to the garage first and let them run the errands on their own, but curiosity won out. He wanted to know what haunted this woman and what put the fear in the girl’s eyes. The only time the girl had relaxed was with his dogs. “Want to stop at the pound? Your daughter mentioned wanting a dog.”

“I’m her niece.”

Taya shot her a sharp look. “We don’t need anything to take care of.”

“Please? I don’t have any other form of entertainment.” Tracy bumped her aunt with her shoulder. “Besides, a dog is a good warning system.”

“Stop talking.” Taya narrowed her eyes.

“Well, it is.” The girl crossed her arms and slouched in the seat.

So, they needed a warning system. The mystery around them widened.

“It’ll be too difficult to take a dog with us when we move on.”

“No, it won’t. We’re buying a car.”

Taya sighed and returned her attention back to the window. “Fine, but I pick out the animal. Nothing fluffy.”

Ryan had a strong feeling the girl got most of what she wanted. He grinned and turned on to the interstate to head for Langley.

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