Page 85 of Loving Trent
There is enough light coming in from outside that I watch a blush creep up Dad’s neck, and I want to ask what that is about, but not right now. “She is a victim of that evil bastard as well. I swear if I hadn’t agreed to Leon’s plan, I would plunge my hand into his chest and rip his bleeding heart out just to offer it up on a platter for her.”
Oh yeah, there is something there, and one day I will pester him until he tells me what it is, but for now I just say, “I agree.”
Dad stands, wipes his hands on his pants, and heads toward the door. “We are leaving in an hour. Make sure they eat and shower. It’s going to be a long night.”
“I love you,” I say quickly before he walks out.
“I love you, too.”
Had I known what was awaiting us, I would have never left the peaceful room that night.
The night is silent around us except for the sound of our footsteps and our breaths. It’s like the trees and animals surrounding us are holding their breath, waiting to see what unfolds. My hand finds Trent’s in the dark, and I link my fingers through his. He has been silent since I woke him up, fed him supper, and then washed him. He has the same look in his eyes that I saw the afternoon he killed Nathan and Steven. He’s determined and focused on the only thing that matters right now. Stopping Stanley and Jules.
The plan is laid out perfectly, and we all have a part to play. I thought Trent would fight the fact that he isn’t the one going after the people who hurt him, but he quickly agreed to what he was told. So here we are, sneaking through trees heading to an unassuming barn in the middle of nowhere. We pause at the edge of the trees for a second and wait for our signal. I take this time to take in my surroundings. There is a single light source that only illuminates the faded brown double doors of a barn. There is a path straight ahead of us that leads to a single-story ranch house, closer to the dirt road that leads into town. The night sky is clear and full of stars, which would be beautiful if it were seen under any other circumstance.
Harley’s small hand trembles in mine, and I look over at her. She is staring up at me, and I thought I would see worry or hesitation in her gray eyes, but there is nothing but a fire. She is ready for whatever is about to happen, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. She is facing her darkness head-on, like the man to my right. No matter what happens after this, I will be here to hold both of these amazing humans up and remind them that they are safe.
We should be getting our signal any second as the other group, led by Leon and Dad, gets into position. Jenna, Betty, Uncle Joey, and April, who both got in this afternoon, are waiting to check another building on the other side of the house.
However, it all changes in a single, heart-stopping second.
A terrified scream full of pain rips through the night air. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and fear slams into me. Without thinking, we all take off like bullets shot from a gun. It’s roughly five hundred feet between us and the barn where another scream pierces the air. It feels like miles, and I can’t make my legs move fast enough. Trent gets to the doors first and almost rips them off their hinges as he throws them open. The smell is the first thing that hits me, and I almost gag. The air is thick with the ammonia smell of urine and the foul, rotten stench of feces. My eyes water and blur my vision as Trent shoots forward with a roar.
I swipe the moisture from my eyes in time to watch him football tackle someone to the ground. Another scream rips through the air, pulling me out of my stunned stance. Rushing forward, I pay no attention to Trent wrestling with what I see is a naked man. Instead, I focus on the young girl strapped to the bed in the middle of the room. “Harley, find me something to cover her with,” I yell as I lean over the naked child and cradle her face. Fuck she can’t be more than eight or nine years old.
“No!” the child screams again, trying to pull away from me. The blood on her face makes my hands slip, but I just move them back, needing to calm her down somehow.
“We aren’t here to hurt you,” I say loudly. The sound of fists hitting flesh fills the air, and I pray that it’s Trent throwing the punches, not the other way around. Harley approaches the other side of the bed and throws what looks like an old seed bag over the girl.
Steve and Jerry are our eyes, giving us peace of mind that if anyone comes toward the barn, they will be stopped.
“Stop struggling. You’ll only hurt yourself. My dads are here to rescue you, not hurt you. I promise,” Harley says in a soft soothing tone. The young girl turns her head and focuses on Harley.
“Please,” she begs, and my heart lurches in my chest. I pull the knife from the holder wrapped around my thigh and slice through the ropes holding the girl’s arms and feet to the bedpost.
“Harley,” I say, getting her attention. I hand her the knife, and she does the same on her side. When the girl is finally free, she scrambles into Harley’s lap. Harley holds her closer and starts to rock her back and forth. Both girls are sobbing and trembling. The need to punish the man behind me is strong, but we need to check the rest of the barn before I can do that.
The sounds of fighting have stopped, and Trent steps up beside me. He is panting, and I take a second to run my eyes over him. His shirt is rumpled, his hair is messy, and his hands are bloodied, but other than that, he looks unharmed. “Are there any other children here?” He asks, his tone softer than it should be right now.
“Over there,” the young girl says, raising her arm to point to the far-left corner. She never pulls her face from Harley’s neck, but that’s okay. If she is finding safety in the arms of our amazing daughter, then that is where she will stay.
“Come on,” I say, patting him on the back. Hitting the earpiece I’m currently wearing, I say, “Jenna, we need you.”
“On my way. The outer building is clear,” she replies.
“There’s a trap door,” Trent says as he bends down and grabs the handle. I stop him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Let me go first.” Trent stands up, cradles my face, and pulls me in for a quick kiss. I pull the flashlight from my pocket and descend the ladder. The smell is a million times worse downhere, and even breathing through my mouth doesn’t make it better. Turning around, I turn on the flashlight, and what I find brings me to my knees. There are five cages made to hold small animals, and inside all but one are terrified children.
They all scramble to the back of the cages as they hold their hands up. An invisible force is squeezing the air from my lungs right now. “Please don’t hurt us,” a broken male voice says from the cage closer to me.
I look away from the dirty floor to the small naked boy shaking like a leaf in a storm. His body is covered in bruises in all stages of healing, and there is also dried blood, dirt, and other substances on his skin. “I would never.” My voice shakes and breaks just like my heart. “I’m here to get you the hell out of here.”
“Baby Boy, I’m coming down,” Trent calls from above, and I push off the ground to get out of his way. “Fuck me,” he exclaims when he gets down here and sees everything. “Help me get them out.”
We work together to open the cages, and I guess the kids can sense that we aren’t going to hurt them because they come out willingly. The girl in the last cage is too weak to stand alone, so I ask her, “Can I carry you?” She nods her head, and I pick her up in my arms. She weighs next to nothing and smells horrible, but I say nothing about it. “Wrap your arms around my neck. I’m going to help you move to my back.” She does as I said, and when she is secured, I move toward the ladder.
Trent has already helped the other kids up and is waiting for us. “Hand her up.”
