Stealing Grace

by Shelby Fallon

  “Yes! I would love that! I have been so worried about them. I would feel so much better if I could actually talk to them and try to help. Yes.”

  “Now, there will be other women there. This is center for all the women in this region that have been rescued, but as I told you, lots of them don’t see it that way. They resent us for keeping them there so, it might be a hard sell. But I think just listening to your stories will be enough to give them hope enough to at least try.”

  “I think so too. I’m in. When can I start?”

  Wright chuckled a little at Elena’s enthusiasm and waited for Amy, with a sympathetic but expectant gaze.

  “Well, I’d love to help too as much as I can. I’m in too,” Amy said, not sounding so sure but probably just worried about the pregnancy.

  “Ok, great. Well since the girls and children have been at the center for a day already, I’d love you to start a.s.a.p. How about tomorrow morning? Just come in about 9:00 or so whenever you get ready. I’ll leave you names out front and help you get started on a little training and all before you meet the girls.” Wright was standing now but remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot. We got one of the men. We took in a man found at the airport picking up a ‘mail order bride’. He is willing to talk for a deal if we offer him protective custody. He seems scared outta his wits. In no time we’ll have him talking and get the bust going on the traffickers’ base. We’ve already shut down a few houses that they use, but they have a base of operations somewhere in the area, we believe it is the same place you girls were processed through. I’ll let you know when I have more to tell you.”

  “That’s great. Thank you. Maybe this will all be done with sooner than we thought,” Alex said, showing Agent Wright out.

  “I hope so, Alex. I Hope so. Take care, guys, talk to you soon.”

  Wow. Was all Elena could think after Agent Wright left. She was looking forward to seeing the girls. This was exactly what she was looking for, not knowing how to ask for it.

  During the rest of the day she thought and prayed about what to say, hoping she could reach some of them. Hoping they would understand, knowing some of them would be skeptical since she is still with the man who technically kidnapped her.

  It was a strange predicament, Elena knew that.

  Amy’s story was even harder to tell than hers. I just want to do some good.

  * * *

  While Elena had been lost in thought all afternoon, Alex had finished his book and was starting to wonder if Elena was going to snap out of it anytime soon.

  He knew she needed her space, but as his stomach growled he also needed to interrupt her thoughts and make some plans for the night. They were still stuck in the motel until further notice.

  Translation - until the traffickers’ base of operations was found and the trial was underway, as they would all have to testify. They would have to look for somewhere else to stay now.

  Alex and Roger, escorted by an officer, were taken to the house they had rented and boxed up the remainder of their things and brought them back to stack in the corner of the motel rooms, advising the landlord of the situation.

  Well, not the whole situation, just enough to get them out of the lease. He hoped the new tenants would be ok, and no one would go looking for them there.

  Chapter 13

  The motel had a nice patio and pool, though it was too cold to swim, Elena loved sitting out there with Alex on the lounge chairs at night, wrapping a blanket around them. There wasn’t that many tenants so they pretty much had the whole place to themselves.

  Elena sat in Alex’s arms, turning her ring around on her finger. You could see the stars perfectly out here, seeing as how the cabana lights were blown. For a run down beaten motel, it certainly had its charms. The pool gate squeaked in the wind as they sat and the frogs were already starting their nightly song.

  “I’m want to get a tattoo,” Elena said clearly out of the blue, taking Alex by surprise.

  “A tattoo?” His chuckles shook her body. “Where did that come from?” he asked with an unbelieving tone.

  “I don’t know. I’ve just always wanted one...but would have never gotten one simply out of principal before. My family was really big on tattoos, huge ones. My dads arms and back and one whole leg was completely covered with them. Some of them were pretty vulgar too. My mom had quite a few as well.”

  “So you didn’t get one because your family had them?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want to be like them, at all. I remember wearing pink to school just to make my mom mad. She despised pink, and I wasn’t too fond of it either but did it just because she would never be caught dead wearing pink.” Elena laughed at the memory. “Now, of course, I like pink just fine...and I want a tattoo.”

  “Well, if you want one, you should get one. Don’t worry so much about what other people think. You are a free woman now. You aren’t defined by your family, or your job, or a house, or even me. Just be who you want to be. Who knows, maybe I’ll get one to.”

  “You want a tattoo?” she asked mockingly.

  “Is it crazier than you wanting one?” he said tickling her ribs.

  “No! It’s a great idea,” she said through her laughter.

  “You gonna get my name somewhere on that pretty white skin?” he said, drawing his fingers softly down her arm.

  “Well, you’re stuck with me so, I’ll might as well let you brand me.” She laughed out loud throwing her head back.

  The kind of laugh Alex loved to see and hear. He couldn’t help but laugh himself.

  “Ok, Mrs. Brooks, I’m calling your bluff. I’m going to get a tattoo. You can choose to come along and get one yourself...if you’re brave enough. We’ll see who’s being crazy when I have your name in big bold scribble across my backside.”

  They both laughed hysterically as Elena pounded his chest in feigned horror. Another tenant peeked out of the curtains to see what all the fuss was about. That helped them come to their senses. After they settled down, Alex started picking up their soda cans and blanket.

  “Well, we better get you to bed, at least one of us has something to do tomorrow,” Alex spouted, undeniably bored and even though her task wasn’t going to be easy, jealous that she at least had something to do.

  Alex shot the cans to the trash bin, at least six feet away, and rang them both in the basket.

  “Ah, I’m sorry. I think I might tell Agent Wright that I need a bodyguard. You and Roger could go and talk to the director. Maybe there’s some work you can do that doesn’t deal directly with the women.”

  “Yeah, maybe. We’ll see. Alright, let’s get you to bed,” Alex said as he scooped Elena up and carried her to the elevator then set her down on her feet, wrapping the blanket back around them both as he hugged her tightly and the doors closed.

  * * *

  The next morning as they drove to the facility, the girls were anxious but excited to see the girls again and the new faces. Elena considered that if she were in the girls positions and someone who had also been came to talk to her, she would have liked that.

  Trying to put herself at ease, she didn’t like being the center of attention or talking in front of people, not really knowing how this was all going to work, she took deep breaths and slowly sipped her to-go cup of coffee that Alex had gotten for her.

  As they pulled into the facility, she felt the huge lump in her throat had seemed to grow in size with every minute as they got closer to that front gate.

  The facility was bright and white, like a hospital, but with bars on the windows. Agent Wright was the liaison from the bureau for the women’s facility and spent quite a bit of time there, though not directly with the women.

  For the most part the women only encounter other women in the facility, mainly because most have been traumatized by men and wouldn’t respond to anything from them. Agent Wright told Alex and Roger they could come and speak to officers, telling them all they knew about the trafficking ring and the community so they
can better understand what they need to look out for.

  He personally escorted Elena and Amy to a conference room where they were questioned and asked some questioned themselves. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered the whole time and there was a plate of stale donuts on the table in front of them, adding to the interrogation room feel, Elena thought.

  They were told what things to say and not to say. After a couple hours, they were taken into the common room where most of the women spent their days and introduced to the group.

  Elena recognized some as did Amy. A couple ran up and hugged them. One told Elena that she overheard her husband say something about there being traitors in the community but had no idea who or what he meant.

  Elena and Amy had already been told about the events that went down at the community the day of the raid. They sat down, all gathered around the couches and arm chairs, some on the floor.

  The rest of the women seemed weary but intrigued, but no one wanted to ask the first question. After an awkward silence, Elena mustered every ounce of boldness she could and began to speak.

  She told them everything.

  From the day she was abducted to this day and Amy chimed in every now and then and then told her story. They listened to their gasps and smiled and cried and explained. Before they knew it the room was exploding with questions and they had been talking and answering questions for almost three hours.

  Most of the girls were far more intrigued with Amy, since she was pregnant and still with Roger, who she admitted took a little convincing and forgiveness before he became who he is today. They didn’t understand that at all.

  One of them even huffed off to go sit in the windowsill, alone. Elena knew most of them wouldn’t understand that part of their lives but hoped they would look at the rest of it and take something from that.

  They broke up for lunch and Elena and Amy promised the girls they’d come back the next day. In the truck, everyone was quiet, drained from talking and reliving all day. They had stopped quickly at a local drive thru for some burgers and then back to the motel.

  None of them minded much tonight. A quiet night alone was what they were looking forward to. Elena told Alex all about the women, how some of them were mad at them, some refused to speak, some cried, some were happy to hear their story and felt encouraged.

  They ate quickly and only stayed up until 9:00 and then laid down together, emotionally exhausted.

  * * *

  The next day at the center wasn’t any better, in fact it was way worse. Some of the women were yelling at each other and fighting. Some lawyers had come in to try to have the women released, lawyers the women had never even seen or heard from before.

  Agent Wright told Elena and Amy that sometimes the traffickers would send lawyers in to scare them into silence. That’s bold. The mothers of the children wanted to leave with them. The children were crying, some asking about the fathers.

  The next few days at the center were pretty much the same. Elena nor Amy felt like they were doing much good by being there but a few girls had befriended them besides the other wives they already knew.

  “I can’t believe you helped Pam escape...and Rachel.” Maryann, one of the wives from the community had been asking them questions and commenting all day, in awe. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “My husband did it,” Elena corrected. “It was all his idea and his money. If it weren’t for him, none of this would have happened. All of us would still be in the community.”

  “I can’t believe that either. Timothy was so horrible to me. Why were they so different?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s over now. We can’t be bitter. We can’t let this ruin us for life. We’ve gotta move on and get our lives back together.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Elena heard a bitter voice from across the room from the girl who always huffed and stomped and then took up the window sill. “You’re out there and we’re in here. It’s probably easier for you to move on than us. Why aren’t you forced to be in here like the rest of us anyway?”

  Elena hadn’t prepared herself for that question.

  “Our situations were a little different.”

  “Yes, they were.” She got up and walked towards Elena. “You had nothing compared to us. You have no idea what we went through with your precious husband and his big conscience. Well. Good. For. You.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you. All of you. And I’m not saying that I know best or that I know what you’ve gone through. I just want to help if I can,” Elena explained.

  “You can’t,” the woman growled, curling her lip bitterly.

  Elena decided to go over to the children’s wing, Amy stayed behind, feeling she might be too emotional for that just yet being pregnant and all. What Elena saw broke her heart. The mothers were there with them usually but left the children there for therapy sessions and other things.

  Elena looked at the play room full of children and a few sitters. As she went in, the children looked at her as if they assumed she was just another person stuck here like them. They didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t always think they were there to help them.

  In their minds, these people had taken their daddies away. She sat next to a little boy, maybe 5, in the nap corner not playing with the other kids.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hello. Whose mommy are you?” the boy asked, looking very shy and untrusting.

  “Oh, I’m not a mommy. I’m Elena. I just came to check on you guys. How are ya doing over here?” She looked around to see if he may have been playing with something.

  “I’m ok.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “My name is Mitchell and I miss my daddy and mommy,” he said defiantly. “I don’t wanna play right now with those other kids. They are not playing very nice.” Elena tried to hide her smile as to Mitchell, this was a very serious matter.

  “Well, that’s no good. You wanna play something with me? Or maybe I could read you a book or something?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I’m supposed to be napping. At my old house, I would be napping right now, but here I haven’t had to take a nap yet. Mommy likes to read to me, too. What do you like to read?”

  “Well, let’s see.” She looked at the short bookshelf and pulled a colorful one out.” Um...here’s Dr. Seuss. Do you like his stories?”

  “Yes. He rhymes a lot, right?”

  “Yep. Ok...” Elena began to read as the boy nestled beside her on the mat. As she read aloud a few of the nearer children stopped to listen as well.

  “I have heard there are troubles

  of more than one kind.

  Some come from ahead

  and some come from behind.

  But I've bought a big bat.

  I'm all ready you see.

  Now my troubles are going

  to have troubles with me!”

  The children laughed and laughed as if it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Elena laughed too. She turned and showed the pictures as she kept reading to the end.

  Then she learned patty cake from a sweet little girl, who said her name was Allison, who was 7. She asked if Mitchell wanted to play too but he had advised Elena that ‘boys don’t play patty cake.’

  Elena could only think about how much fun this would be one day. She and Alex had brought it up a few times but there were no plans. She guessed that was still a good idea. They were newlyweds after all. They needed some time with each other first.

  * * *

  The children continued to play with Elena until their moms came back from a session. They all ran to their mothers like it had been days since they’d seen each other. Elena wanted to cry at the sight of it.

  She said goodbye to her new ‘friends’ Mitchell and Allison and made her way out the door, making sure to pull it to click shut behind her.

  When Elena got in the hall, Alex was waiting for her and smiling. He had apparently been looking and listening through th
e one way window.

  “What are you smiling about?” Elena asked, not realizing she had an audience.

  “Some adorable woman playing with some kids. It looked really sweet to me.” Alex moved towards her and she leaned against the wall by the elevators.

  “Uhuh. Spying on me, huh?”

  “Not at all... Ok, a little. You were pretty cute playing patty cake.”

  “Me? She was cute. Did you see those pigtails? Adorable. They all are. It’s not fair to them. They don’t understand what’s going on. And those poor moms are gonna have to tell their kids one day that their daddy’s are in prison because they’re bad men.”

  “Well, you seem to be good with them. And yeah, Pigtails is pretty cute.” Alex was looking at the little girl and smiling.

  Elena saw her whole life flash before her eyes. Them getting pregnant, labor, delivery, Alex peeking through the nursery window at their daughter, him swaddling her in the rocker, terrible twos, loose teeth, riding a bike, drivers license, graduation. Elena couldn’t help but smile at his expression, his eyes glowing.

  She cleared her throat to get his attention.

  “You want me to ask if we can keep her?” Elena joked and he laughed, looking bashful at being caught.

  “Maybe, she is pretty cute,” Alex repeated and laughed grabbing Elena around the waist. “Maybe we’ll just have to have one of our own.”

  He leaned her against the wall and kissed her. Elena noticed this was a very extra eager kiss and she felt a little embarrassed because they were still in the hall, in a government facility. The children couldn’t see of course but, still.