I hadn’t spoken to Rylee in three days and I was currently sitting in the living room of the guest house with Nadia and Tina. Nadia had finally agreed to tell me her story and I had put my phone on record which she agreed to.“I lived with my lair in Greenbay, Wisconsin. I was walking home after school when a van stopped at the curb and two men jumped out and grabbed me. They pulled a black hood over my head and tied my hands behind my back. We drove for hours and when the hood was removed I was in a large warehouse and I could hear screaming and crying. There were other girls there, some in cages and some in cells. At first I was taken to a cell and left there for a few days with three other girls. They announced it was inspection time and we were taken out of the cell one by one. I was forced to strip and they had a doctor who checked if I was still a virgin. I was and they seemed pleased by that, another man stormed into the room and he claimed that I was his bonded half. I was tak

We had arrived at the exact location and left the vans on the other side of the thick grove of trees and we silently made our way forward. Rev had looked up and smiled and I realized what he was thinking. I nodded to him and we started climbing.We sat in the branches of the trees hidden from view and we watched as four SUV’s made their way to the location spot. These were obviously the buyers but we couldn’t be sure since nobody made an effort to climb out of their cars.We waited another fifteen minutes before we saw a van similar to ours drive up. It circled the four other vehicles and then parked in the middle. The driver and passenger doors opened simultaneously and two men climbed out surveying the area.“Let’s get this over with,” the first man said loudly. I didn’t know his face and I wasn’t sure if he was McIntyre or not. We waited patiently for the buyers to climb out and the side door of the van opened. The other cars had switched off their lights and I saw that Rev had alr

The next three weeks passed by in a relative blur but Rylee and I could talk to each other in a civil manner although she didn’t come back to our room and we didn’t talk about anything that really mattered unless it was lair business.The other three girls had been reunited with their families and Nadia had accepted our offer to stay in the guest house and work with Tessa. She had expanded her network and she took in women from other lairs that were being abused or needed a place to stay until they could get back on their feet.I mostly ignored the Elders and I had Hannah talk to them when we needed to make claims on behalf of these women that we took in. Rylee had seemed to settle her differences with Tessa and she was very involved in the happenings at the guest house.Brandon had phoned to let me know that Kimberley had spent a week at home with her parents and family and everyone loved him. She had gone back to Wisconsin with him and she had settled into his house. His mother was

I picked up my phone and called my best friend as I walked back to my office. I needed some down time right about now and although he probably wasn’t the best person to give me advice, he was the only one that would be brutally honest with me.“Hello,” he answered on the second ring.“I’m fucking screwed,” I said.“What else is new, what did you do this time?” Jasper asked me with a laugh.“Not over the phone, where are you?” I asked him.“At some hotel but I can meet you wherever,” he said.“I’ll be at that bar in an hour, you know the place where we had our first fight?” I said to him.“Man that was a fun night, see you soon,” he said and I ended the call.I grabbed my jacket and keys and headed outside to my car. I needed to get away before I did something stupid. I took my anger out on the road and I made it to Chicago in just under an hour. I sat down at the counter of the bar and ordered two drinks before taking a table in the back.“I see you started without me,” Jasper said as

I hadn’t made it further than the living room couch not wanting to see Rylee so I slept downstairs and regretted it in the morning. Baz still had me on ignore and I saw Rev on the other couch still asleep. I remembered then that Hannah had gone to visit her friend and he had probably gone out drinking.“Wake up,” I said as I kicked his leg and he sat up straight.“What time is it?” he asked me.“Nine am already,” I said to him. I couldn’t believe that we had slept that long or that Martha never woke us for breakfast.“Shit,” he muttered and stood up.“I’m going to go shower,” I said and headed up to my room.Rylee wasn’t there and I was thankful as I showered and dressed. I found Rev in the hallway and we made our way downstairs to the dining room and sat down as Martha looked sternly at us. Preston joined us after ten minutes still yawning.“Nice night out?” I asked and he grimaced.“My head’s still pounding,” he said.“You drink like a girl,” Rev said and I laughed.“I’m not keeping