Enticed:A Dangerous Connection (Secrets) (16 page)

Thanks to Jimmy’s firefighting efforts, the mess is even worse than I expected. Water and blackened ashes are all over the place. I find dirty towels in the laundry room to mop it up with. Just as I’m finishing, Jimmy returns with Tatiana in tow. “I blame you as much as I blame Serena for this,” he yells at Tatiana. “It’s your job to keep an eye on her and she’s out — ”

“I didn’t let her out,” Tatiana retorts.

“Then who did?”

Tatiana glares at me. What does she want me to say? Or not say? I have no idea.

“Who let you out?” Jimmy points his finger at me, jabbing it into my chest.

“I’m not sure,” I mutter. “I was … uh … asleep.”

He raises his fist like he’s going to smack me.

“Leave her alone,” Tatiana says in a blasé tone. “You know she’s supposed to look good for her date with Mr. T tomorrow.”

Now Jimmy turns to Tatiana and slams his fist straight into her face. I’m so shocked I let out a scream. “Get out of here!” He swears at both of us.

I head back to my room, but hearing a scuffle I turn around to see that Tatiana is fighting back. Is this my big chance? I run back, hoping I can help Tatiana against Jimmy. We can pin him down and —

I freeze when Jimmy’s stun gun appears. He’s got Tatiana by one arm, and before I can say or do anything, he presses the Taser into her neck. She lets out a scream and instantly begins to shake, falling to the floor, where she continues to tremble violently. I run to her side, worried that she’s having a seizure, and then her body goes limp.

“Help me pick her up,” Jimmy commands. But I feel like I can’t move, like I’m in shock. What if she’s dead?

I put a hand on her arm, peering at her pale face. “Are you okay?”

“Move it,” he growls. When I look up, I see his Taser aimed just inches from me. “Or you wanna be next?”

He grabs her bare feet. “Get that end,” he commands. I’ve barely gotten ahold of her lifeless arms and he’s already dragging her down the hallway. I stumble to keep up. “You two are bunking together.” He swears as he releases her on the bedroom floor, letting her drop with a heavy clunk. Then he slams the door and the dead bolt snaps shut.

I get the pillow to tuck under her head and, noticing that she’s trembling slightly, I remember the treatment for shock. I get the blanket from the bed and lay it over her. At least she’s alive.

Now I sit on the floor and close my eyes and pray that she’ll be okay. I have no idea what kind of damage a stun gun can do, but between her tremors and her clammy, pale skin, I’m concerned. However, if she needs medical attention, I know she won’t get it. All I can do is pray.

After what seems a long while, she slowly regains consciousness, and when she’s able to sit, I offer her a drink from my water bottle. She’s still a little disoriented, but her senses gradually come back to her. And she begins to quietly call Jimmy all sorts of profane names, saying how much she hates him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt because of me.”

She shrugs as she leans back against the wall. “I shouldn’t have let Ruby unlock your door in the first place.” She touches the red Taser mark on her neck and winces. Then she feels her lower lip that is badly swollen.

I offer her the water bottle again and she takes a small sip. “What did you do anyway?” She peers curiously at me. “Jimmy said you were trying to burn the whole freaking house down.”

So I explain my futile plan. “I wanted the smoke alarms to go off … so everyone would have to evacuate.”

“And you could run away.”

“Yeah.”

“And seriously, how far do you think you’d have gotten?” she asks in a hopeless way.

“Home.”

“That’s optimistic … if not delusional.”

“I have a plan. I think I could accomplish it. My mom would help me.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, well, you’re lucky to have someone who cares about you. Not everyone is so fortunate.”

I peer at her, wondering once again what brought her here. “Even if you don’t have a
real
home to go to, wouldn’t you rather be free … wouldn’t it be better than living like this?”

She glares at me. “
Free?
Are you really that stupid?”

“Freedom is stupid?”

“Do you honestly think there’s any place we can go and be free anymore?”

I nod. “Sure. Why not?”

She waves her hands in exasperation. “Because they are everywhere.”

I know she means Tom’s associates, but I’m still confused. “But you move away … go to another state.”

“Aren’t
you
from another state?” she says.

“Yes, but — ”

“But you just don’t get it, do you?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean this is big business, Serena. Big money-making business. In the Portland metro area alone, there are probably thousands of people connected to guys like Tom. They trade us around like livestock. And if something goes wrong or if someone runs away, the thugs work together. They help each other.”

“You make it sound like they rule the world.”

“They rule the underworld. And the underworld rules the rest of the world.”

“That’s probably how it seems to — ”

“That’s how it is! The sooner you get that, the better off you’ll be. And then you won’t go around trying to burn down what is probably the best place you’ll end up in.”

Now she’s agitated and on her feet, pacing back and forth and swearing like a sailor again. It’s clear I need to change my tactics if I’m going to get anywhere with her. She’s so hopeless. Somehow I’ve got to convince her that there’s a way out of this slavery racket. I’m trying to remember what the woman who spoke to our school said about human trafficking last year. Surely she had answers. Suggestions for ways to end the madness.

“What about safe houses?” I ask suddenly.

“Huh?” She pauses in front of the window, staring out the same way I do much of the time. “What are you yammering about?”

“Safe houses,”
I say. Besides trying to bring human trafficking to our attention, I now remember how that speaker wanted to raise money for safe houses. So surely they must exist … somewhere. “Those are places where girls like you or Ruby or Kandy or Desiree can go to get help. Places where you’re protected and given new identities, and I’m sure they have counseling and stuff.”

“Right.” She turns around with a scowl. “And they probably hand out money and new cars and paid vacations to Honolulu too.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t know that much about safe houses. But I do know there are good people out there. People who are ready to lend a hand. Even my church would help out if someone really needed it.” Now I tell her about how our church has assisted homeless families and women in abusive relationships. “I’m certain they’d help with girls caught in trafficking too.”

“What about girls who don’t want help?” she says bitterly.

“Like you?”

With her arms folded in front of her, she glares at me.

“Or do you mean girls like Kandy?” I persist, hoping not to press her hot buttons.

She rolls her eyes toward the ceiling. “Yeah, well, Kandy likes her life just the way it is. She gets high in exchange for … all of this. Someday she’ll wake up dead.”

“Will she die from an overdose? Or will she be murdered?”

Tatiana shrugs.

“How do you guys endure this?”

Tatiana looks like she wants to hit me, and I know I should be a little more cautious. Except that I feel desperate to get through to her.

“I know you’re tough. Probably the toughest girl in this house. And you’re good at pretending this life is no big deal. But I also know you’re definitely not happy in this life.”

She leans against the wall, sliding back down to the floor and pulling her knees up in front of her, almost in a fetal position. I don’t want to push this girl too hard, but I don’t want to lose this moment either.

“And I know Ruby isn’t happy. Neither is Desiree. How can any of you be? You have no rights. You get beat up. They’ll use you and lose you … and go out and find another girl.”

She lifts her head, giving me a bored look, as if nothing I’m saying even registers with her. “Sure, you can come in here and act like you have all the answers, Serena. And you can pretend you’re better than us … and like you’re going to escape this hellhole.” She narrows her eyes. “But in the end, you’re stuck here. Just like us.”

“But I won’t be — ”

“Listen!”
She points her finger at me. “Once you’ve spent some time with Mr. T
tomorrow night
” — she shakes her head in a dismal way — “well, maybe by then you’ll understand how we feel — what our lives are really like. Until then, you should just keep your big mouth shut!”

There’s a long silent pause now. Her words have a chilling effect on me and I’m sure she knows it. She knows how much I’m dreading tomorrow. Yet somehow I want to convey confidence. And I want her to trust me … so she will help me.

“I know you think it’s hopeless,” I say quietly. “But I still believe God is going to spare me.” I brace myself for her sarcastic laughter, which comes as predicted, and then I continue. “I know, you think I’m crazy, but I’ve really been praying. And I honestly believe God is going to get me out of here —
before
Mr. T. Somehow I’m going to get out of here.”

“Like your little torch-the-house escape plan?” She looks disgusted. “That worked so well for you.”

“At least I haven’t given up. Not like some people.”

Her dark eyes narrow. “Are you saying I’ve given up?”

“Haven’t you?”

She gently runs her finger back and forth over her swollen lip. It looks like she’s thinking … I can only hope. Without saying anything, I just wait, silently praying that God will help me to get through to her.

“You seem like an intelligent person to me,” I finally break the silence. Okay, this is a tactic I’ve learned from watching Dr. Phil. When he wants to get someone’s attention, someone who’s being difficult or hard, he will catch them off guard with a compliment. It’s worth a try.

Her eyes flicker with interest.

“And despite everything you’ve been through, and I’m sure it’s a lot, you still seem like a strong person. Like you really don’t want to be anyone’s slave. Like you could still be in charge of your life … well, as much as possible … under the circumstances.”

“What’s your point?” She gives me her bored look again, but at least I know it’s an act now.

“My point is that you could have a really great life, if you wanted it.” Now I stand and start pacing, gathering my words. “Seriously, Tatiana, you’re smart. I can tell. I know you could finish school or get your GED. Then you could go to college and you could probably get a really good job.” I pause to watch her expression and I can tell she’s listening. “And maybe you’d meet a great guy … or even get married and have — ”

“A great guy who wants to marry someone like me?” She narrows her eyes. “Get real.”

“It could happen — everything I just said could become a reality. If you believe in yourself.”

“What I
can’t
believe is how someone like you — someone who claims to know all about God — can act like a girl like me can turn it around so easily. Seriously, are you that naive? Do you honestly think I’ll ever have anything besides this kind of life? I deserve what I have, Serena. Don’t you get that?”

“But God has so much more for — ”

“No! According to what I’ve heard about your Mr. Goody Two-Shoes God, he is not real fond of bad girls like me. He has fire and brimstone for sinners and — ”

“That is where you are dead wrong,” I cut her off. “God is
not
like that at all. He loves us all so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to earth. And Jesus, who has the same power as God, gave up everything in order to forgive us and restore us to God. And just so you know, while Jesus was living on earth, he reached out to
everyone
. I mean, he was friends with people from all walks. He hung with hookers and thieves and all sorts of losers.”

She looks surprised by my unexpected sermon. I’m actually a little surprised myself, but I think maybe God helped me with those words.

I go over to the window and look out. I want to give her time to chew on what I just said. And as I stand there, I pray for God to do a miracle in Tatiana’s heart. Or at least to make her trust me.

… [CHAPTER 16]………………

A
fter what feels like nearly an hour, Tatiana speaks up. “Do you honestly believe what you just said? About God and Jesus?”

“Absolutely,” I assure her. “Every word of it.”

“But how do you know it’s really true?”

“You mean that God loves you and wants to forgive you?”

“Yeah.”

“All my life, my mom and I have gone to a church where they preach the Bible. So I grew up hearing all of that. And I’ll admit I went through a rough spell a few years ago, when I doubted everything, including God. But then I was at a summer camp where I experienced God’s love and forgiveness for myself, and it all just connected and made sense. And I completely committed my life to him. Ever since then I’ve been reading the Bible and experiencing these things for myself.”

“And what you said about Jesus being with hookers and all that? Is that really in the Bible? Is it true?”

“Absolutely. Jesus was really drawn to people with problems. He reached out to anyone who was down and out. I swear it’s true. And that’s how God is too. He’s just waiting for us to realize how much we need him. Sometimes you have to get really low to reach the place where you can look up. God wants us to be so needy that we cry out to him for help and — ”

“And you’ve been doing that,
right
?” Skepticism creeps back into her voice.

“Yeah …” I brace myself for her attack.

Tatiana’s dark eyes glimmer with meanness as she waves her hand toward me. “But you’re still here, Serena. And your date with Mr. T is still tomorrow.”

“It’s not over yet,” I say calmly. “I’m trusting God’s goodness to take care of me.”

To my surprise, her expression softens slightly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pick on you just because you have faith. And I shouldn’t keep throwing Mr. T in your face. You’ll get that soon enough.”