by Marla Monroe
When she hung up, River thought about contacting the university to find out where they were this month, but decided to wait for now. They would call her when they checked their messages. Most digs weren’t located in prime reception areas, so more than likely checking to see if anyone had contacted them would wait until they had to go into a village or town for supplies.
Frustration churned in her gut as she shoved the cell back into her pocket and tried to relax. Not knowing something had always been a pet peeve of hers. She was naturally curious. Well, to be honest, she was overly, maybe even dangerously, curious. It was one of the reasons she did what she did for a living. To know something so important that someone was willing to kill for it and not remember what the hell it was had to be the ultimate torture for her.
She and the guys had talked twice more about her memories with a little more coming back to her each time. Unfortunately, none of it had been particularly helpful. She kept remembering things that suggested that she knew a lot more but not what it was.
Everything kept pointing to someone being murdered, maybe more than one person. If that were true, why were they still after her when it had obviously taken place down in South America? Wouldn’t they be relieved that she’d left the country? Maybe the two incidents weren’t even connected. Maybe her luck had run out and she’d been kidnapped by someone else entirely for a different reason.
She huffed out a breath and pounded the pillow in her lap. Frustration only made her boredom worse. One of the girls who was almost always there plopped down in a chair next to her.
“You’re bored, aren’t you?” she said with a frown.
“Yeah. Um, I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name. There’s been so many people in and out of here,” she said.
“That’s okay. It’s Cindy. Merrick and Cassius are really worried about you. They hate leaving you alone. I think finding out who’s looking for you is more important when they know you’ll be safe here.” The woman looked much younger than she sounded, and with her blonde hair, River realized she’d automatically assumed she was a little slow. Shame was a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Have you known them for a long time?” she asked the woman.
“Well, for as long as I’ve been here. That’s been about five years. They’re kind of scary, but then so are Ajax and Murdock.” She shivered slightly. “You don’t seem scared of them.”
“I’m not. They’ve been nothing but good to me. I think they just look that way to you because you don’t know them very well.” At least River hoped she didn’t know them that well.
“They pretty much keep to themselves. I mean, they don’t hook up with the women around here. Don’t know about when they’re out on the road, though.” Cindy shrugged. “I heard you guys talking about South America. I always wanted to go there. My sister went a couple of times with those mission trips that they have all the time. She helped build houses while she was there.”
“It’s really beautiful, but dangerous, too. Besides the animals, there are insects and even plants that can be deadly, not to mention the snakes. You have to really watch where you are and what you’re doing all the time down there. Why didn’t you ever go on the mission trips?” she asked.
Cindy shrugged. “They never picked me when I volunteered. Most people think because I’m blonde and hang out here that I’m useless.” She shrugged. “Their loss.”
“What do you want to do, Cindy?” River asked the woman.
Cindy smiled shyly then it disappeared. “I don’t know. I hate working at the diner in town, but there isn’t much else you can do in Reo. Cleary is too far away to drive every day for a minimum wage job.”
“Do you have any particular skills that might help you find a better paying job?” River asked.
“I actually have my bachelor’s in business management, but entry level for someone like me is a glorified secretary position, and with my voice and my hair, no one takes me seriously. I’d rather keep working as a waitress than get chased around the fucking desk all day.”
“You’re kidding.” River felt her jaw drop at that.
“About getting chased around the desk? Hell no. I worked at three different places and had to quit all three of them. The last one, Reece actually went up there with me to clear out my desk and get my check because the asshole was so pushy. I decided that until I could find a job working for another woman, I wasn’t willing to go through that anymore.” Cindy winked. “Besides. The men here are much better looking, aren’t married with kids, and have decent-sized cocks. They don’t mind going down on a woman either. I’m much better off here.”
River couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She liked the other woman. It pissed her off that she was being treated like a floozy just because she had blonde hair and a really good body. She looked the other woman over. A really good body. Something hit her, and she felt dizzy as a memory washed over her. Bile rose in her throat as the flashback hit her.
One minute she was sitting on the couch thinking that Cindy was a good-looking woman that most women would envy, and the next she was hanging by her arms with her wrists strapped together over a nail in a rafter. She could see dozens of cages with women and children in all of them. So many eyes staring at her, glad that it wasn’t them and afraid that it would be next time.
The odor of sex, sweat, blood, and hopelessness clogged her nose. Fear and hopelessness had a scent just like urine, acrid and vile. It permeated every inch of the massive room they were in. When she looked up at where her hands were held together by some sort of leather wrist restraints, she noticed that though the rafter she hung on was wood, the ceiling wasn’t. It was stone. They were underground.
A man stepped into her line of vision and recognition shot horror through her bloodstream even as bile rose in her throat. She knew in that instant that she’d never make it out of there alive. She had to pray that someone found the memory card with all of the pictures and the stick with her documentation. If they didn’t, nothing would stop him. He’d keep doing what he’d been doing for over five years. Sadness filled her even as the first blow landed, sending her spinning away until rough hands stopped her and turned her to face her greatest fear once again.
* * * *
“I think she’s coming back around now,” Merrick said.
“What were you talking about when she started acting odd?” Cassius asked.
River’s head ached, but it was nothing compared to her fear. She needed to get up. She had to get to that memory card and stick before someone else located it. There were people’s lives at stake and she’d wasted too long not being able to remember.
“I’d told her about how I had so much trouble with working as a secretary and how Reece had to take me to my last job to get my things. Then she just went glassy eyed for a few minutes. Nothing I said or did seemed to faze her. The next thing I knew, she had passed out. I made sure she didn’t hit her head or anything. I called Jugs and she called y’all.” Cindy’s voice sounded worried.
“Thank you for taking care of her, Cindy,” Merrick said.
River finally managed to open her eyes. There were quite a few people leaning over her on the couch. Cassius’s face swam into focus first. He smiled when he saw that her eyes were open.
“Hey there, sweetness. You had us worried,” he said.
“Sorry. We need to talk,” she said, trying to sit up.
Merrick held her down with one hand splayed across her upper chest. “Hold on there, kitten. Let’s give you a minute to get your marbles in order. How do you feel?”
“I’m fine, Merrick. We can’t waste time. I’ve wasted too much already. He has to be stopped,” she said, her voice rising.
“Easy, River. You’re breathing too fast. Slow down.” Merrick spoke to her in a deep calming voice. She knew determination when she heard it.
“Okay. I’m okay. How far is Roswell, New Mexico from here?” she asked, gripping Merrick’s wrist.
“Roswell? I don’t
know. About six hours, I’d think. Why?” He asked.
“We’ve got to go there. Right now.” She started to get up again, and this time he and Cassius helped her sit up but stopped her before she could stand.
“Take it easy, River. We’ll go if that’s what we need to do, but you need to go slow or you’ll end up falling off the damn bike,” Merrick fussed.
Cassius turned to Gill, the guy she knew was a prospect with The Ghost Riders. “Call Dom and Reece and tell them she remembers and we’ve got to leave as soon as possible.”
“What’s in Roswell, River?” Merrick asked.
“Proof that my uncle is a murdering bastard who deals in drugs and human trafficking,” she said.
She felt everyone’s eyes on her in that instance, including the ones from her nightmare. All this time she’d been suppressing the truth about the monster her father’s brother had become. No. Not become, he’d always been one and she’d done nothing when she could have stopped him sooner. How many lives had he taken while she’d refused to say anything? How many deaths were on her hands? Tears slid down her cheeks as she realized that she was going to have to tell them everything.
She looked up at Merrick. “I need to tell you all of it, but I just can’t with all of these people around.”
Merrick didn’t say a word. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Cassius opened the door then closed and locked it behind them. River started crying as he passed her to Cassius while he removed his boots and got up on the bed. Cassius handed her back then did the same, climbing on the bed to sit across from them.
“You can tell us anything, River. We aren’t going to think any less of you. Understand?” he held her chin up so that she had to look in Merrick’s eyes.
She nodded but wasn’t holding her breath. When they found out that she’d kept quiet instead of doing something about her uncle, they might change their minds.
“Look at me, sweetness.” Cassius waited while she looked up at him. “We mean that. You don’t have to be afraid that we won’t care about you anymore. We will.”
She drew in a deep breath and began.
“When I was young, my uncle lived with us off and on for several years. He was my father’s brother and traveled for his job. I don’t remember what he did back then, but he would stay with us for several days nearly every week. His family lived nearly six hours away. I never thought anything of it until I was thirteen.” River sighed, wishing she’d been braver back then. Maybe that was why she’d been taking chances all of her adult life. She was subconsciously trying to make up for her cowardice as a child.
“I didn’t really notice at first because he was my uncle and I was used to him hugging me and picking me up to swing me around, but gradually, I began to feel uncomfortable around him. He seemed to squeeze me a little too tight, or his hands felt weird on my bare thighs. He was always wanting me to sit in his lap even though I was too old for that.”
“He was working up to molesting you,” Merrick said through clenched teeth.
“I didn’t understand that at the time, but yes, I believe so. He was constantly seeking me out and getting me alone, so he could talk to me. He brought me gifts all the time and I hated taking them because I felt like I owed him something when I did. Then one day he actually touched me between my legs. I was wearing a skirt and had just arrived home from school. Mom and Dad weren’t there yet since they taught, but my uncle was. He caught me just as I made it up the stairs and picked me up, talking about how I was such a big girl now and how much I’d grown since the last time he’d seen me. I knew real fear for the first time in my life.”
“Did he rape you, River?” Merrick almost snarled. “I’ll kill him.”
“No. He didn’t rape me.” She needed him to calm down so she could tell it all to them.
She told them about him and what he’d done, making sure they understood that he’d threatened to kill her momma if she’d ever said anything to anyone. Shame that her silence had allowed a monster to go free and continue his atrocities nearly choked her. River’s gaze remained on her hands. She didn’t want to see pity or anything in their eyes. She still had to tell them what she knew.
“It’s okay, River. That’s in the past,” Cassius said.
“Only it’s not. I never told anyone what he did or what he tried to do. I was afraid he’d kill my momma so I kept my mouth closed. Even when there were accusations from others that he was a pervert, I didn’t say anything. I was too ashamed and afraid. Now I know what my silence cost,” she whispered.
“What do you mean?” Cassius asked, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
“The lives of hundreds of people, maybe even thousands. I don’t know.”
Merrick grasped her chin and turned it so that she had no choice but to look at him. “You’re not to blame for anything that monster did, River. You were a child who’d been traumatized and threatened. It’s not your fault. He’s the only one to blame in this. Do you understand me?”
“When I got to Almeirim, Rubi and Erik wanted to spend the day visiting with their friends. We went looking for them but didn’t find them right away. Then someone told them they’d gone to the local police in Santarem. We caught up with them there. They were devastated. Their daughter, Aja was missing. They said she’d been playing with her friends at the edge of the jungle as always and someone took her according to the others. Aja was twelve. Erik’s friend was fifteen and Aja’s brother.”
River fought down the tears that threatened once again. She needed to get through this without breaking down. It just cost them more time and they needed to get on the road. She had to tell them all of it though before they left. If they didn’t want to go with her, she would have to rent a car.
“Go on, River. What happened?” Merrick asked.
“The local authorities were useless. Said that there was nothing they could do except fill out the missing children report. Thousands of children disappeared every year. The jungle was a vast place full of dangers. Smart parents taught their children to stay out of the jungle. It didn’t matter that they swore she never went into the jungle.”
“We went home with them and I looked around the area where she’d been abducted. We talked to the other girls and I searched for some clue to who took her. But there was nothing. I felt terrible that we couldn’t help them. I still had a job to complete. I offered to find a new guide so that Rubi and Erik could stay with their friends, but they insisted they would continue with me.”
“Where did you go next, River?” Cassius asked.
“We headed to Parintins. I talked to people and took pictures, but my heart wasn’t in it. I decided I wanted to see where the Kaxuiana tribes lived and how they were being affected by the loss of the rainforest in their area. We headed in that direction, due north. We had gone maybe four hours into the jungle when we were attacked and taken,” she said. “They weren’t locals. They were Mexican and American men who captured us and took us to a camp deeper in the jungle. It turned out to be one of the Kaxuiana villages that they’d taken over. They’d killed most of the men and older women. The younger women and children were made prisoners in the various huts according to their age and usefulness.”
“Jesus. They just killed anyone they thought wasn’t worth something to them?” Cassius asked.
“Yes. They’d gone through all of our stuff, but they hadn’t taken my camera yet. I took pictures anytime they weren’t looking and used my voice drive to record notes about what was going on. I don’t think they were much worried about us at first. They just carried on what they were doing for the first few days. I watched them take women and children out of the huts and decide what they would be good for and how much they could get for them. Some they slated as workers for the drug fields in Mexico and some were slated for skin trade, sex slaves to the highest bidder. When they came across someone they decided wasn’t worth the cost of feeding them…” She hesitated, swallowing at the horrific memories.
“Sometimes they shot them, and sometimes they slit their throats and took bets on how long it would take for them to bleed out. It was usually the very young children who were not even good enough for those who liked young children that they slit their throats. I took pictures of all of it for evidence. It made me sick, but I knew I had to have proof of what was going on in order for someone to do something.”
“Good God, River. I don’t know how you were able to do it,” Cassius whispered.
“I felt like those sick bastards who watched people die as they shot their prize photos instead of stopping to help them. I wanted to stop them, but they would have just taken my camera and beaten me or killed me. I did the only thing I knew how to do, I photographed it. The ground was soaked with blood by the time they stopped each night. And still the horror wasn’t over. I heard the women’s screams as they raped them. God, those screams will haunt me till I die.”
“How did you manage to get away, River?” Merrick asked after a few seconds.
“They finally came to our hut one day and took one of the teenage boys who’d been with us. He was maybe a year younger than Erik, I think. I knew we would be next, so I took the memory card from the camera and hid the camera under some bedding. Then I hid the memory card in my hair. Rubi and Erik made knots all in my hair so that it looked natural and one of them had the memory card and the other held the memory stick. My hair was much longer then. I had to cut it later.” She shook her head.
“Anyway. They took Rubi next. We’d figured out that the strong young men that didn’t act brave or defiant they marked as slave labor for Mexico so he acted scared and avoided looking at them. They moved him to the hut with the others that were to be transported out the next day. Erik and I both figured he would go as well, but when they came and got him, they didn’t even bother looking him over or anything. They just pushed him in with the ones slated to be sold into the sex trade. He was scared to death. I could see him staring in my direction with so much fear in his eyes. I lost it and ran out to try and stop them. I was an idiot. Why did I think I could stop them?” Her voice cracked. “They slit his throat just as I reached him.”