Page 3 of Liberating Mia
After what felt like an eternity, the task was complete, and Mia pulled the flash drive out, put the computer back to the screen she’d found it on, and returned it to sleep mode. It would never do for someone to discover that she’d been there if she hoped to get away without a trace.
She made her way back to the door as quickly and quiet as she could, then spotted the wall safe standing open. Praying it wouldn’t make a sound as she opened it wider, Mia rocked back in surprise at the neat stacks of cash within. She stuffed as much as she could into her clothing, anywhere she was able, before bolting from the room.
Dashing up the stairs to their bedroom and into the walk-in closet, Mia grabbed an overnight bag and haphazardly threw things in. She cast a critical eye around to ensure nothing appeared to be out of place, and she hurried out of the house, making sure to avoid anyone. There would be no way to explain her way out of her apparent departure.
As Mia slipped into the driver’s seat of her Mercedes SLK, she breathed a sigh of relief. She backed the vehicle out of the open garage and quickly made her way to the gate. Once she was off the property, Mia drove like one possessed to put as much distance between her and Dylan as she could before he realized she was gone.
She could only hope he wouldn’t figure out she’d been witness to his little “meeting” with the dead man. Considering what he’d done to his one-time friend in his boardroom, she had no doubt that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her too.
What she couldn’t understand was how she could have been so wrong about him.
Had there been signs of the real Dylan that she had missed? Or had she subconsciously ignored any warning signs? Looking back, Mia supposed there had been, but she’d been too dazzled by the persona he had presented in his fierce and single-minded pursuit of her.
At the time, Mia had been overwhelmed by the charming man he’d appeared to be. He was wealthy, sophisticated, and had seemed so far out of her league. When he had started wooing her, Mia had been so deeply flattered this sought-after bachelor had wanted her she had been too star-struck to see him for the ruthless cut-throat he apparently was.
Smothering a yawn, she pulled into the parking lot of a small hotel. The adrenalin rush had subsided, and she was crashing. She would get herself a room so she could get some rest and regroup — try and figure out what to do next.
Mia figured her best chance at survival would be to stay on the run. She couldn’t, no, wouldn’t, put her family in danger. She’d been the one to bring this monster into their midst. So it would be up to her to find a solution to this problem.
A meal and a shower later, Mia felt a bit more herself. She powered up her laptop and inserted the flash drive she’d taken from Dylan’s office. The directory came up on her laptop, and she started opening documents to see what they were.
Mia reeled in shock as she began to realize exactly what it was she was reading.
The documents were detailed records of transactions buying and selling women and young girls. They listed dates, exchange points, and how much each female was bought and sold for.
Sweet baby Jesus, her fiancé was a human trafficker. The man she’d promised to marry was this man – this … monster!
Overwhelmed, stressed, anxious — exhaustion crashed over Mia, dragging her down in a pit of despair. No longer able to hold her head up, she lowered it onto her arms and sobbed as if her heart were breaking. She needed to find a way out of this nightmare, and she had no idea how she was going to do it.
Chapter Three
Mia was about ready to go out of her mind. She was stuck in a hotel room in Cape Town, cut off from her family, and loneliness ate at her. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she’d last seen or spoken to them, and she was feeling the isolation deeply.
Staying on the move, she’d zigzagged her way across the province of Gauteng before finally making her way back to the Western Cape and repeating the process in that province too. Finally too exhausted to keep going, she’d found a small hotel away from the popular beach area to hole up in and rethink her options.
Since she’d been on the run for about four weeks already, she hoped to hide in plain sight.Hopedthat Dylan would think it too obvious a move for her to go home. She was beginning to feel like a rat trapped in a maze with no way out. If this was what her life would be like from now on, she’d far rather end it now.
There was no way Mia could see herself living the rest of her days on the run like this, always looking over her shoulder. Wandering from place to place just waiting for the day Dylan found her. And each day, she grew to hate him a little more for forcing her into a life that was no life at all.
Mia knew she couldn’t stay – she’d already been here for a few days. She just didn’t have it in her to move on quite yet. However, to stay in one place for too long meant the chances of Dylan finding her improved exponentially. In a day or two, she would need to be back on the road, but Mia realized that, at some point, she was going to run out of places to hide. Johannesburg and Cape Town were out of the question. Those were his home territories, and the risk was too high that he would find her.
By now, her family would have figured out something was going on since she used to speak to her mother almost daily, and it tore her up inside knowing they would be beside themselves with worry. But her fear was so great she didn't want to contact anybody lest she put them in harm's way. If Dylan suspected she had anything incriminating or that she'd seen what had happened, she knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her family to draw her out.
Mia couldn't believe she'd never seen this side of him. How had she missed such a fundamental part of his personality? How could she have been so blind? Apparently, he’d simply been so good at hiding that side of himself. She'd never suspected such a monster lurked under that suave exterior.
Standing at the window staring out as the rain sleeted down, it echoed the desolation in Mia’s heart as the tears rolled unnoticed down her cheeks. What she wouldn’t give just to connect with someone without fear of putting their safety at risk. Even if only for a little while. Even a couple of hours interacting with another human being would be better than this deafening silence and godawful unrelenting loneliness.
Watching a water droplet slowly slide down the windowpane and collide with another, to be absorbed and make a bigger droplet, she got lost in the chaos of her thoughts. When she could no longer take it, she spun away from the window. Mia grabbed the remote off the bedside table and channel surfed aimlessly. Nothing grabbed her attention, and with a sigh of disgust, she threw the remote onto the bed beside her.
In a moment of rebellion, she decided to go down to the bar, and maybe later she’d treat herself to dinner in the hotel restaurant. She pawed through her meagre supply of clothing for something suitable to wear. Then she took extreme care getting ready, making the most of this one opportunity she would allow herself. When she was satisfied with the results of her efforts, Mia made her way to the elevator and to the bar.
She crossed the room, oblivious to the looks she was getting. Sitting down on a barstool, she ordered a drink. When the bartender put it down before her, she smiled her thanks.
Mia sat sipping her drink, contemplating what to do as yet another lonely evening stretched out before her. Inevitably, her thoughts turned to Dylan and the mess she found herself in.
In an effort to get away from her thoughts, she twisted in her seat to look around the room and noticed a man sitting at a table by himself reading a newspaper. She couldn’t see his face, but she could see his hands. And what hands they were. Tanned, manly, strong looking; they conjured up all kinds of thoughts as to what he could do with them.
No companion, no wedding ring. Her curiosity was piqued. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do other than stare at this man and create a fantasy in her head about who he was and what he did. Whether he was married, involved, single? Why was he here? Business? Or was he here for some personal business? Maybe he was here on holiday? But maybe, most importantly, how would it feel to have those hands all over her body?
