AllFreeNovel
Share Us
21
“Robyn!” Rhianne’s scream of her sister’s name was loud, and she doubted she’d ever moved as quickly in her life as she did then, leaping to her sister’s side. She grabbed her into a hug, making sure to swing her around so Robyn couldn’t see Arturo’s bleeding corpse.
“Rhi-Rhi.” Robyn’s voice came muffled from somewhere in the vicinity of Rhianne’s chest. “You’re squashing me.”
“I know.” Rhianne spoke into the top of her sister’s head, tears sliding from her eyes into Robyn’s hair. “And I’m going to keep on doing it.” She hugged tighter still, wondering if she’d be able to let her little sister go ever again.
“Good,” Robyn replied, then burst into tears.
“Birdy. My baby bird.” Rhianne rocked her and soothed her as she’d done when her sister was really a baby, then a little girl, before she’d become a surly teenager. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” she repeated when Robyn poured out her thanks for Rhianne coming for her, for rescuing her.
“The others!” Robyn suddenly tried to pull away, but Rhianne was having none of that.
“Show me,” she said, her arm entwined with Robyn’s, still holding her hand.
“Showus,” Charlie corrected, hurrying to them, Ian coming from the opposite direction.
Rhianne squeezed Robyn’s hand when she flinched. “It’s okay. These are the good guys,” she promised. Her gaze searched for the third of the trio, and it was her turn to recoil.Eric.Where was he? He— No. Nothing could have—
“Hey.”
Her heart settled down when he came into view, his rifle on his back. “Robyn, this is Charlie, Ian, and Eric. Former SEALs and your rescuers,” she told her sister, indicating each man as she said their names.
Robyn wasn’t the only young girl stammering out effusive, borderline-hysterical thanks to Bronte Security Services, when, a minute later, they persuaded the trafficked women inside the dormitory to dismantle the barricade they’d erected and open the door to them.
Rhianne smiled when a girl with long brown hair embraced Robyn. She remembered seeing her delivered to the compound and fighting back from the very first second.
“You said help would come!” the girl hiccupped between sobs, as, shaking, she hugged Robyn. “You said your sister would get us out.”
“Of course.” Robyn wiped away the girl’s tears. “Like I said, she works in Search and Rescue, and she searched and rescued us! Yeah, I said she’d come in her helicopter— Did you?” she demanded of Rhianne, who shook her head. “Well, never mind. See, she was a Coast Guard before, so she’s really tough, you know? These stupid traffickers didn’t stand a chance against a real hero.”
“Heroes. I had some help,” Rhianne demurred, pointing at the three former SEALs. “I couldn’t have done this alone.”
It sank in then, that “this” was over, and what the former SEALs had done to bring it to an end…what Eric had done. The adrenaline that had kept her going ebbed, and she wanted to collapse into a chair, her knees weak. But no. Not yet. She accepted an energy drink from Charlie, whose knowing gaze had assessed her state, then focused on what remained to be done. These girls had been through hell, living in fear every minute, and were traumatized, nervous of interacting with the three men. She had her work cut out for her—for the next few hours, anyway.
“Is this…everyone?” Ian asked.
Rhianne understood. He was asking if any of the girls had been sold on or even eliminated, and she was more relieved than ever when Robyn nodded.
“We were brought here at different times, in different batches, but we’re all here,” she replied.
Charlie had each girl speak into the camera on his phone and state her full name, address, and also add their parents’ or guardians’ names. When he’d recorded everyone and sent the files to the FBI, he got the girls to line up, two-by-two. “Let’s get you out of here,” he said to loud cheers.
They set off, Eric and Ian leading them toward the bus to drive to safety. “They’ve all held up well,” Charlie commented, bringing up the rear of the little procession, after Rhianne and Robyn. “I think you had a lot to do with that, right, Robyn? You tried to keep everyone going.”
Rhianne’s heart swelled with pride for her sister. “You’d make a good Coast Guard,” she told her.
“I guess,” Robyn replied. “But I think I’d rather be a Navy SEAL. No disrespect, sis.”
In spite of everything, Rhianne had to laugh. They reached the bus and although a few of the girls reacted badly to the sight of the vehicle that had brought them here, they were all happy to get in it if it was their means of escape.
“This should cheer you up,” Rhianne promised, just before they got to the gate from the road, or what was left of it and the guard houses. She pointed to the damage.
The sight of the destruction did go down well, the girls cheering on seeing it.
“Next stop, the border,” Charlie promised, negotiating a sharp bend.
The girls settled down, although more than a few were sobbing. In relief, Rhianne knew. She felt the same. She craned her neck to make another quick visual check of everyone and this time her eyes met Eric’s, a few seats behind.
