Millie's Second Chance (29 page)

“How the hell am I supposed to do that? There are cowboys everywhere and two of her men come to pick her up every night.”

“Then get her here during the day. I don’t care how you do it, just do it.”

“Where’s my five hundred?”

“I’ll make it five thousand if you get her here.”

“Are you serious? You’re not going to stiff me and take her anyway?”

“No, honey. If you get her here and no one follows, you get the five g’s and I’ll take care of the rest.”

She thought about that. Five thousand was a lot of money.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“Good. Now get back there before you get caught.”

Jessie hurried back to her bike. As she made her way to Pearl and the shelter, she thought she had gotten away with sneaking out, but one of the other girls, Sally, busted her as she entered the shared cottage.

“Where the hell did you go to? We’re not supposed to leave the grounds.”

“Says you, the one with the attitude that keeps breaking the rules.”

“That was before. It’s nice here and these women aren’t trying to hurt me.”

Jessie didn’t want to make it obvious that she was helping some guy find his girlfriend.
Maybe that’s how Millie wound up here in the first place. Maybe that guy beat her.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone,” she began to say as her mind made up the lies.

“Tell anyone what?” Sally asked.

“Tell anyone about my friend. She’s only fourteen. She’s been abused and she fears everyone. I mean I couldn’t even talk her into sneaking in here and staying in the cottage for the night. I’ve been bringing her food and stuff. Please don’t tell anyone. She’ll be so upset.”

Sally nodded her head in agreement.

“Good. Now can we get some rest? I’m really tired.”

“Sure, but you may want to talk with Cindy or even Millie. They’re both really nice and can be trusted.”

Jessie thought about that. It was what she was counting on.

“Maybe. I’ll see. I’m going to meet my friend tomorrow.”

“During the day?”

“Yep. She said some guys saw her and started harassing her so she had to run through woods to hide. It’s not safe out there.”

“Oh no, you better tell Millie. She’ll help you tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.” Jessie walked toward her bed. It was a really nice place and she wouldn’t mind staying there a while, but after tomorrow she would have no choice but to leave.

* * * *

“Dalton, be serious, will you? I mean it now.” Millie yelled at Dalton as he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. Hank chuckled, but Millie was getting fed up. Just as they began to move around the mats and work on some moves, Dalton wouldn’t keep his hands off of her.

She wasn’t really getting annoyed with him, but she did want her training to be taken more seriously. After all, he was supposed to be her instructor.

“Okay, I’m sorry, baby, but you smell so damn good. It’s hard to concentrate.”

She twisted out of his hold and stood in a ready stance with her fists a few inches apart as well as her legs. She was ready for his next move.

Dalton stepped toward her and made her circle back. He took a few shots, which she countered or ducked. Then Hank came at her from behind. She grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. Dalton laughed as he pointed down at his brother. Hank looked shocked.

“Holy shit, baby, that was hot,” Hank told her as he jumped up from his position without using his hands.

They continued this until Dalton went in for the kill. He grabbed Millie around the waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder. She screamed. She hadn’t expected that or the smacks to her ass. She wiggled furiously until he lost his hold nearly completely. She made her way like a snake down his back, between his legs, and made him fall.

“She got you good,” Hank teased and Dalton rolled her to her back, straddled her waist, then held her arms above her head.

“Looks like I got her good.”

She couldn’t fight him nor did she want to. He thrust his cock against her body and she moaned.

“That isn’t fair,” she stated, out of breath.

“Now was that a slick move, climbing over my back between my legs,” Dalton replied.

“You told me to improvise, overcome, and adapt. That’s exactly what I was doing. Aren’t you proud of me?”

“I’ll show you how proud I am,” he whispered then rubbed his erection against her mound. He leaned down and kissed her, releasing her hands from confinement. Millie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

“Mmm. Sweet,” he stated after releasing her lips.

“Is this what goes on in these private combat training sessions?” Marco asked as he stood in the doorway. Hank was hiding his chuckle. Millie felt her cheeks blush and Dalton just shook his head.

“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” Dalton asked as he stood up, offered a hand to Millie, and then pulled her up to him.

“Sure have, but then that defeats the whole point of sneaking up on you,” Marco replied with a smile.

“I heard him come in, but you two were having too much fun,” Hank stated as he took Millie’s hand and pulled her toward him. He kissed her softly.

“You did good, even though Dalton began to fool around at the end,” Hank told her, and she gave him a squeeze.

“You ready to go, honey? I have to be back in town in thirty minutes,” Marco said.

“Definitely,” Millie replied as she grabbed her water bottle and bag. As she approached Marco, he pulled her against him and gave her a kiss.

“Where are you going to be?” Dalton asked her.

“Your place, taking a quick shower, then Marco’s going to drop me off at the shelter.”

“Okay. Are we still on for lunch?” Dalton asked.

“Of course. I’ll be by Anna’s and Stacy’s waiting for you.”

“Okay. See you then,” Dalton replied then Hank and him walked Marco and Millie out.

* * * *

“So things have been going extra great with the Lewis brothers?” Anna asked Millie as they talked in the main office at the shelter. Cindy was in session with one of the girls and a few others were beginning to settle in and ask about work schedules. Stacy was organizing the tasks, the pay, and the locations.

“It’s been fantastic. I can’t believe I’m in love with five men.” Millie smiled. Anna touched her shoulder and squeezed.

“You deserve great men to love you and protect you. I’m so glad you came back to Pearl,” Anna replied then smiled.

“Me, too.”

“Hey, have either of you seen Jessie?” Cindy asked as she came out of her office.

“No, why?” Anna asked.

“I just stepped inside to speak with Mary and I was supposed to meet with Jessie two hours ago. No one has seen her,” Cindy replied.

“We should go look around the cottages,” Anna stated then began to head out.

“I’ll look over near the rec center. I know sometimes Sally hangs out on the benches near the fields. Perhaps she told Jessie about them since they’re sharing a cottage.”

“Okay, I’ll call the stables and see if she’s over there,” Cindy told them and the women split up.

* * * *

Millie was walking by the side of the cottages and to the pathway leading to the rec center. Along the way she spotted Sally.

“Hey, Sally,” Millie called to her, and Sally waved back. Millie was glad that the young woman was coming out of her shell and got rid of her bad attitude. She was already working and pulling her weight around the shelter.

“What’s going on, Millie?”

“Have you seen Jessie? She was supposed to meet Cindy two hours ago and hasn’t been seen.”

Sally shook her head, but she turned away.

“Are you sure?” Millie pushed, feeling that perhaps Sally knew where Jessie was but didn’t want to snitch. “You won’t get in trouble for telling me. I just want to make sure that she’s okay and not in some kind of trouble.”

“She’s okay. She may have gone to see this other girl. She mentioned her last night.”

“Another girl? Who?”

“She wouldn’t say. She told me that the girl is scared and doesn’t trust anyone. She’s been hiding out and Jessie’s been bringing her food and stuff.”

“Why wouldn’t she just bring her here to the shelter?” Millie asked, feeling concerned for the girl.

“Jessie said some guys went after her friend and she hid in the woods. The girl is afraid of everyone. Maybe Jessie is with her now? I can help you look,” Sally offered and Millie agreed. They both headed toward the wooded area behind the rec center.

“I’ll go this way if you want to check down the path that leads off the property and toward Turbank,” Sally stated.

“You know where this path leads?”

“Sure. We all want to know a quick escape in case we’re in danger. We’ve lived in some shitty shelters, Millie. This place is the lap of luxury.”

Millie smiled in understanding. It was a reminder of how desperate these women had become and how untrusting they were of others.

“Okay. You go that way and I’ll go this way,” Millie stated, and they separated.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and the temperature warmer than usual. Millie felt the perspiration reach her brow. She was nervous, concerned for Jessie’s well-being as well as the friend Sally mentioned. It would make sense as to why Jessie would disappear sometimes. Millie, Cindy, and the others felt it was her way of dealing with her emotions. Jessie wanted to be alone and that was acceptable. As the social worker assigned to each woman who came to the shelter, it was her responsibility to get through to the women and help them with whatever they needed. Cindy was doing well getting the women to share their stories of struggles and then providing what they needed to heal and put their pasts behind them. Millie, Anna, and Stacy recently connected with businesses in Turbank where the women could work if they didn’t feel comfortable working for the bed and breakfast or on the ranch. There were delis, clothing stores, shopping centers, and other much larger stores that Pearl didn’t have.

As Millie entered the thicker area of fields right before the dirt path that led out of town, she spotted Jesse’s green shirt.

“Jessie!” she called, and sure enough Jessie came out of the pathway and began walking to her.

“Millie, what are you doing out here?” she asked, looking rather surprised and a bit nervous. Millie had that uneasy feeling in her gut. Something seemed off and the best thing to do was to walk back to the ranch and call one of the men for help. She began to turn.

“Come on, let’s head back and you can tell me why you’re out here and why you missed your meeting with Cindy.”

Millie felt Jessie grab her arm.

“Wait, I can’t go back yet,” Jessie stated, and Millie turned toward her.

“Why not?”

Jessie looked back toward the fields and then to the ground.

“I can’t say, but I can’t go back yet.”

“What is it, Jessie? Tell me what’s really going on.” Millie didn’t want to let Jessie know that she knew about the girl. She was afraid that Jessie might get angry with Sally for confiding in Millie about her friend.

“I just need to go over there, at the end of the trail. I’ll come back later.”

“Who are you meeting, Jessie? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Millie asked.

“It’s just a friend of mine. You see, she’s scared. Really scared, Millie, and I’ve been bringing her things.”

“Why won’t she come to the shelter? You see how we are there? We’d be more than willing to help your friend if she needs it.”

“Like I said, Millie, she’s scared. Some guys chased her through the woods in Turbank. She got away, but it frightened her. She won’t go far, but today I got her to meet me closer to Pearl. I think if I can convince her that it’s a nice, safe place then she’ll come and you can meet her.”

“What if I talk with her? Do you think she’ll run if she sees you coming with someone?”

“I’m not sure.” Jessie looked back toward the path as if deciding what to do. Millie reached over to touch her arm. She understood her fear and Millie wanted to help.

“I won’t upset her. Why don’t you let me try?”

Jessie smiled then swallowed hard before nodding her head.

“It’s just a little ways past the end of the trail,” Jessie told Millie, and they headed that way.

The farther they walked the more uneasy Millie was becoming. She didn’t know what made her turn back to take a look at how far they walked, but when she did she sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see Frank sneaking up behind them with a knife in his hand. Millie lost her breath and her ability to scream. She looked quickly toward Jessie, concerned for her life, but Jessie didn’t look scared. She looked relieved.

* * * *

Wyatt pulled up to the Triple C by the main house. He was going to have lunch with Anna, but just as he made it up the drive, his cell phone rang. He placed the truck in park and pulled out his cell phone. In the rearview mirror he noticed Dalton’s truck approaching.
He must be meeting Millie for lunch, too.