by Ann, Bry
She stands and extends her hand to me. I take it. Her green eyes shine as she loops her elbow through mine. We turn to head inside, and there stand Nix and Landon.
I'm getting ready to give Landon shit for it when Sage wiggles her way out of my grip and practically runs to Nix. He wraps his arms around her from behind and whispers something I can’t make out in her ear. When he catches me looking, he smiles softly.
“Hi,” I mouth, even though it’s hard.
“Hey,” he mouths back with that gentle smile still in place.
I nod and fast walk over to Landon, who immediately leads me inside, because it’s not ‘til I'm in his arms that I notice I'm shaking.
“You okay?”
“I'm happy, Landon.”
His eyes widen. “Yeah, angel?”
I want to swat him for using the nickname I hate, but I can’t get myself to do it.
“Thank you, Landon. I love you. So, so much. More than I’ll ever be capable of telling you.”
“Come here, sweetheart.”
I step forward into his arms, where I'm surrounded by warmth.
“I love you, too, Essie. So much. I may not always tell you, but I’ll always show you.”
“One hundred forty five days, ten hours ‘til we’re married,” I whisper.
He grins impossibly wide. “You forgot the minutes, baby doll.”
“Thirty.”
His head falls back and he laughs.
“My little genius.”
His words don’t bother me, because I am a genius. I am a survivor. I am a fiancée and a friend and a makeup artist. I am all of those things. But none of them define me. Because before all of those, I'm simply Essie Tammy Taylor.
* * *
Landon
Ten Years Later
Sage, Kyle, his girl, Dana, Collin, and Arabella sit in the seats next to me. We’re seated in a handicap-friendly section for Arabella. The seat where I'm fucking stuck. I want to be right by Essie’s side for this, but it’s not my place.
“Relax. She’s got this,” Kyle whispers, more like demands, in my ear.
“I'm relaxed,” I bark.
“Mmm. Yeah. You’re the picture of calm right now.”
Kyle’s fiancée laughs. Collin’s lip twists up a bit, but he’s worried for me. I see it in his eyes.
“Let me tell you from personal experience,” Arabella cuts in, “this, what Essie is doing, will change her life. It’ll help her see herself as a strong, powerful woman. Don’t worry for her. Be thankful she has this opportunity to use her voice.”
With that, she turns away, and I'm left feeling a little chastised. Collin pats my knee with a laugh. He’s married to her. Damn.
We all turn back to the stage when heels start clicking. There she is, my wife. My beautiful, strong, cynic of a fucking perfect wife, standing tall and strong.
Hello everyone,
My name is Essie Taylor and I survived being kidnapped and sold into a sex trafficking ring. For so long, I didn’t see myself as a victim. I thought that it was my fault. You see, the man who had me kidnapped was my best friend’s brother and my boyfriend.
I loved him.
When he asked me to move in with him, I didn’t say no. I said yes. And that action led to me being kidnapped.
So it was my fault.
That was my reasoning.
Essie shakes her head and leans forward on the podium, making eye contact with the audience.
It was not my fault.
Not one thing. Not being taken. Not the awful things I did while I was in captivity. Not the role I played in helping my captors hurt others after they’d murdered my friends and threatened the ones I had left.
That wasn’t on me.
I think the biggest message I want to get across today is that whatever crime you’ve been a victim of—unfortunately, as women, there are too many—nothing you did made their crime your fault.
Now, another reason I was asked here today is to touch on life after trauma.
Essie sighs and meets my eyes, her strength flickering for just the barest of moments. Sage and I make cheesy hearts with our hands, which we both know she’ll hate, to perk her up. We know she sees us. Even with the spotlights on her. Clearing her throat, she continues.
So I'm gonna list out the top three things that helped me, if that’s okay.
First: support. You can’t recover alone. You’re gonna want to do it alone. You’re not gonna trust that anyone’s intentions are truly pure, and wow, do I understand that. Even before I was kidnapped, I was that way. It’s just how I am. However, trauma has a way of warping your mind. You need help. You need support. I never could have found happiness if I didn’t have help. I mean, literally never. See, as a side effect of my trauma, I have these episodes. I don’t even know how to explain them. I go away in my mind to a land filled with animals. Sometimes, it’s all numbers and math. It’s weird, I know. Over the years, my control over my episodes has improved, because of my team! Because I trust them. I’d never be on this stage if I hadn’t committed to letting the agents and therapists on my case do their job. Or if I didn’t let my friends and family love me. It’s hard, but trauma recovery can be life or death.
Second: find something you enjoy. Anything. Without something that lights up your soul, it’s so hard not to dwell. For me, that’s makeup and spending time with my goofy husband. You have to find yours. You will. I promise.
The last one is the hardest. That’s why I saved it for last. I'm not quite sure I’ve accomplished this yet, but I'm a lot better thanks to one of my friends. You have to forgive yourself. For your flaws. For your mistakes. For the times you hurt others in your suffering. For the stuff you were made to do. You have to forgive yourself.
To close out, I want you to know that I specifically told this lovely organization to make my time slot short. I'm not great at speaking in public, but since I started doing social media posts for this organization, I’ve been asked to speak by several survivors who said my story inspired them. I hope I didn’t let anyone down. I hope you all find your peace like I’ve found mine.
Again, my name is Essie Taylor.
Thank you for hearing my story.
Did I tell you I love my wife?
‘Cause I do. She’s the fucking best!
And judging by the smiling face staring back at me right now, she’s on her way over to me. Black hair straight, form-fitting black dress, modest black heels. A vision.
“Well, what did you think?”
I loop my hands around her waist and pull her toward me, sassy cocked eyebrow and all.
“It was perfect, angel.”
If You Loved This Story…
If you loved Landon and Essie’s story, please pop on over to Amazon and/or Goodreads and tell me who or what you related to and what parts you loved.
You can also help spread the love by telling your friends or buying them an e-book and having it sent directly to their Kindle!
Do You Want More?
Do you want more of these characters?
A lot of the people featured in this book have their own stories! I’ll list them below.
Sage and Nix~ Shattered
Derek and Iris~ Enzio: FBI Undercover Romance
Collin and Arabella~ Collin: FBI Special Agent in Charge
*A lot of the characters in this book will be getting their own stories in time, so stay tuned and follow me on my newsletter and social media to get updates!*
All links are on the following page.
Coming Soon…
Follow me on social media to find out what’s next!
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Also by Bry Ann
Roses & Thorns (Mafia Romance):
*Roses & Thorns: Sven, Rose, Lacey, and Adam’s Story
*Roses & Thorns: Women
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*Roses & Thorns: Men
*Roses & Thorns: Conquer
*Roses & Thorns: Box Set
FBI Brotherhood Series:
*Enzio: Derek and Iris’s Story
*Collin: Collin, Arabella, Raven, and Rhett’s Story
*Landon: Essie and Landon’s Story
Saving Her Series:
*Saving Her: Sam and Logan’s Story
*Saving Him: Dana and Gunner’s Story
*Saving Them: Alex and Rex’s Story
*Safe
*Saving Her Box Set
Shattered Duet:
*Shattered: Nix and Sage’s Story
*Accepted & Rebuilt
Assassin Brothers Duet:
*Kill or be Killed: Tobias and Scarlett’s Story
*Desperation Kills: Anatoli and Addy’s Story
Standalones:
*Axel: Axel and Aly’s Story
*Cut: Cut and Maria’s Story
*Graveyard Girl: Frances and Marley’s Story
*Se7en: Seven and Isla’s Story
Author Note
Human trafficking in its various forms is probably one of the things I am most passionate about in this world. I can’t even begin to put into words all the things it makes me feel every time I hear of a ring being taken apart or another woman getting freed. I want to emphasize that a lot of what happened to Essie is based on something that happened to a real woman. I tried to lighten it somewhat for the sake of the book, while also getting across how seriously horrific this is. For some, the detail will be too much, for some, it will be too little. I didn’t want to ever risk glamorizing or exaggerating anything.
Another thing I wanted to touch on is that Essie’s condition is NOT based on any real life condition, though it is based on my studies of trauma. Sometimes, when trauma is severe, it can cause delusions, somewhat similar to what Essie suffers from.
I’ve cried over this book. I’ve sat in my room and shed tears for all the women this has happened to. Know this: human trafficking comes in so many forms. Someone does not have to be kidnapped for them to be trafficked, as shown in Essie’s story. Someone can be manipulated into having sex for money by a boyfriend who makes them believe that is love.
That’s all I’ll say here, but I'm going to attach some links. I know there are so many things in this world to pay attention to, but if you have five seconds to even look at the signs someone is being trafficked, that would be amazing. You never know if you’ll be the person who notices something and helps another soul.
SIGNS SOMEONE IS IN TROUBLE
REAL STORIES
MYTHS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING (There are so many!)
GET INVOLVED
Let’s Chat!
Hi, thank you for reading! I am a writer, psych major, and yogi who enjoys weight lifting, dancing, car rides, reading, and all things Halloween. I have a love for giving struggling, complicated characters happy endings. I currently live in Dallas, TX, but will probably move again... we’ll see!
Everything about weird, sexy, and emotional writing makes me happy.
I'm very active on social media and love to chat!
Anyway, thank you guys so much! I really hope you loved their story. Please let me know your favorite parts and what you thought!
Here are my social media links, where we can chat and you can get updates on my upcoming books. I loveee hearing from you guys!
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xx- Bry