Picking up the thread of the story, Ransome said, “We showed up at this ratty-ass house outside of Houston. All was quiet and we were thinking this was a simple in-and-out operation. Dornan had warrants in multiple counties out of state and our part of his bounty fee was sizable. We didn’t plan on walking in and finding a woman shackled and cowering naked in a corner of one of the bedrooms.”
“Holy shit,” Justin breathed. “That’s her?” He pointed at the phone.
Val nodded. “We found out through our own sources that Jessica had been reported missing by her employer in Houston two months before. Dornan had kept her there, giving her barely enough food and water to keep her alive, with only sporadic access to the toilet and shower. He raped her repeatedly during the time he kept her a prisoner. We set her free and found her some clothes and fed her while we waited for him. Hang on and I’ll take her off of hold now.” He turned on the speaker-phone and said, “We’re back with you, Jessica.”
“Okay,” the soft voice said over the speaker.
“We were ready to call the authorities, the bounty fee be damned, but she wanted him to get what he really deserved, so we waited for him. He showed up and we took care of business.”
Justin heard Jessica chuckle and say, “That’s an understatement.”
Ransome didn’t exactly look proud of himself, but he nodded and said, “We let her watch while we beat the crap out of him. Once we had him ready to go—”
“Gagged and trussed up with duct tape,” Jessica inserted with a snort.
“We got on the road with Trevor and called the authorities for her.”
Justin raised an eyebrow. “You left her there?”
Before Val or Ransome could speak, Jessica said, “You have to understand, they were the ones who set me free, sir. They were there to do a job and I wanted them to get paid. If the police had been called, they’d have taken Trevor into custody and they would’ve lost their bounty fee as well as their friend’s fee. That didn’t seem like the right way to repay their kindness. I knew that where Trevor was headed he would get his justice and there was plenty of evidence in the house to tie him to my abduction. He was found guilty last December once he was able to stand trial.”
Justin said, “It sounds like there’s more to this story.”
Val answered for her when she hesitated. “He was attacked while in jail awaiting trial. Someone castrated him and he nearly bled out. We never found out all the details but he must’ve pissed off someone who had ties inside the facility he was being held at.”
“And you need my help?” Justin asked with a frown.
Val nodded. “Jessica was notified last night by the officers in charge of Dornan’s case that he escaped during a prisoner transport. He murdered a sheriff’s deputy before he got away. Jessica’s pregnant with Dornan’s baby. It was obvious when she testified against him at the trial. One of the investigators was told by one of Dornan’s fellow inmates that he planned to get his kid back from Jessica the first chance he got. Says it’s his ‘seed’ and belongs to him. They thought she should know.”
“That sounds pretty threatening,” Justin said, shuddering. It sounded crazy and obsessed but he didn’t want to risk upsetting a pregnant woman who probably already felt hunted as it was.
Jessica said, “I definitely feel threatened, sir. This is my baby and I have no intention of giving him or her up to that lunatic. Val gave me a business card and told me that if I ever needed their help to call them.”
Val said, “We followed the progress of the trial and they really put her through the wringer. She doesn’t have any family to fall back on. And Ransome and I know just how easy it is to track someone down. She needs to fall off the grid for a while.”
“Where are you, Miss Bright?” Justin asked, worry creeping up his spine.
“I just got into Divine. I’m sitting in my car parked outside…” There was a pause as if she was looking for a landmark or a sign. “Outside of Batson’s Grocery Store.”
Justin grabbed his set of keys from their hook and said, “I think I can help.”
They instructed Jessica to sit tight and to expect them in just a few minutes.
The phone tree that Charity and Grace had with the girls was nothing compared to the one the men had developed over the years. Justin called his dad and explained their delay in getting in to work, and they were at Batson’s within five minutes. An auburn-haired woman in her early thirties climbed from her compact car, revealing her expectant state, and her relief at seeing Val and Ransome had been evident when she set eyes on them.