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“They won’t load until the storm passes, but then it won’t be safe to be on the street. They got a head start before the storm hit. That halfway house where you found Jessie? It’s full of women. The ship is a behemoth. I could tell from the flattening of the grass it takes up half the field. The 300 passengers on the Star Cross were nothing compared to this. I’ll bet it holds 1,000 if they pack them in. This is such a large-scale abduction, it’s no wonder Imana wanted to be present to supervise.”
“Large numbers of humans. Imana herself present. We couldn’t ask for better,” I said. Catching her red-handed would finally give us the proof we needed to put her away.
“Everything under control on your end?”
“I’ve got Jessie contained.” A flood of tender emotion and heat surged through me. “She keeps pressing for answers. I’ve given her enough information to win her compliance, but not so much that she’ll figure things out. She still doesn’t suspect.”
“Good. When it goes down, it’s going to get crazy, and I may be out of contact for a while, but I’ll update you as soon as I can. You’ve worked the trafficking on New Terra for a long time. You were the lead. You should be there for the big moment, but I’ll do you proud.”
I regretted that I would miss seeing the look on Imana’s face when she got taken into custody. Other than that, I wouldn’t change anything. The time with Jessie had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I’m confident you have everything under control, Garrison,” I said.
Chapter Eighteen
Jessie
Don’t worry. I’ve got Jessie contained…enough information to win her compliance…she doesn’t suspect…Garrison.
Omigodohmigod. Bile surged into my throat. Maxx ended his conversation with Garrison. I clapped a hand over my mouth and ran to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and vomited into the sink.
Lies! All lies! He’s not LOP. Maybe Princess Imana isn’t involved with the cartels. His mother probably isn’t human. He told me that shit so I’d trust him. Or if she is, she’s a slave. He’s a trafficker. A lying, morally bankrupt slave trader.
I’d slept with him.
I yanked the pajama top off and jumped into the stall. Tears flowed with the water as I scrubbed away traces of his touch. I’m such an idiot. Stupid. Stupid. Gullible.
The man had broken into my apartment, later shocked me with the stun stick, and locked me up. Lied to me. I’d caught him at it. And still he’d managed to fool me. He’s good, very good.
Persuasion was always more effective than brute force. Force controlled behavior. Persuasion captured hearts and minds. You didn’t resist if you didn’t know you needed to.
But how could this have happened to me? I considered myself to be a sharp, savvy, perceptive woman. I’d been suspicious of Garrison’s out-of-character behavior right at the start. Yet I’d accepted the lies of a stranger, an alien.
Certain mind-control chemicals weakened resistance. Was that why he’d insisted on making all the meals? Had he slipped something into my food?
He’d acted so damned nice. It was still hard to reconcile his seeming concern, attentiveness, and passion with what had to be the cold heart of a slaver.
Or was I jumping to conclusions? Could I be wrong? I only heard half the conversation. Maybe it wasn’t what it sounded like. Should I give him the chance to explain? Confront him and ask him about the conversation?
But if I’m right about what I heard, he’ll know I’m on to him.
Occam’s razor postulated that if faced with two competing explanations, the simpler one was usually the best.
Complicated: The alien, who landed on my planet illegally, burglarized my apartment, shocked me, stunned me, locked me up, and then seduced me is a legit undercover government agent.
Simple: He’s a slave trafficker.
Can I get any stupider? I have to use my head, not my aching heart. There is little evidence he’s LOP, and overwhelming evidence he’s a trafficker. I have to get out of here! I’d stopped trying to find a way out after succumbing to his seduction.
Trust had a flip side. As long as he thinks he still has me snowed, he might relax his guard. He might become less vigilant. Leave his handheld unattended.
The device probably locked and unlocked the doors. If he forgets to log off, and sets the device down, I might be able to open the doors. Or the safe where he put the stunner. We’ll see how he likes receiving a paralyzing shock.
He rarely let the device out of his sight, but a couple of times, he’d left it on the counter and gone into another room. He’d have to shower sometime.
He’s going to wonder what’s taking me so long. I shut off the water and stepped out of the stall. Hurriedly I toweled off and dressed in a clean top and pants. I donned my shoes. No more walking about barefoot and half dressed.
Be cool and calm. Act normal. Taking a grim, deep breath, I exited the bath.
