Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,7
all the crap they begged us to let them do. Baseball, soccer, dirt bike races…and that’s on top of everything else like clothes and food. I mean, I love my kids and all, but I swear some days it feels they’re like little parasites sucking my husband and I dry.”
A collective laugh erupted amongst the three women. Jenna chuckled and nodded, feeling like a total fraud since she didn’t have any kids, yet. Considering she didn’t even have a boyfriend, her chances of popping one out anytime soon were slimmer than slim.
Not that she was ready for a kid. Truth was Jenna wasn’t even sure she wanted kids. But it was awkward as hell standing around listening to the other women go on and on about theirs.
When they began pulling up pictures on their phones to pass around, Jenna opened her mouth to excuse herself but was interrupted when a short, middle-aged woman clapped her hands and addressed the entire room.
“Good afternoon,” she spoke when the room quieted down. “I’m Taylore Wood, and on behalf of Saje Staffing, I want to thank you all for being here. As you know, hospitals around the country seem to get busier with each new year, yet quality nurses are harder and harder to come by. That’s where Saje Staffing comes in. Each of you were chosen for this assignment because of your proven dedication for taking care of your patients, and we feel very lucky to have you on board. Now, if you’ll take a seat, we’ll go over the rules and policies you’ll need to follow while you’re in town.”
Marie leaned toward Jenna as they followed Amy and Shawna to a row of empty chairs. “This is where she tells us we can’t go anywhere or do anything outside the hotel.”
“What?” Confused, Jenna swung her head around. “What do you mean, we can’t go anywhere?”
“It’s true,” Amy whispered over her shoulder. “The agency enacted a lockdown policy after those two nurses went missing.”
Jenna felt her eyes grow wide. “Lockdown? Wait. What are you talking about? Nurses are missing?”
Amy nodded but waited until they were seated to fill her in. With Shawna sitting between them, Amy leaned forward and spoke with a hushed tone from two seats down.
“It’s not an official lockdown,” she whispered. “Taylore won’t say anything about it. No one around here will. That’s why you haven’t seen it on the news. The first one vanished two weeks ago after she left the hospital to come back here after her shift. Five days later, another nurse didn’t show up for work. From what I heard, when Taylore went to the woman’s room to look for her, she found it empty. The bed hadn’t even been slept in.”
Shawna met Jenna’s blinking eyes. “I heard a group of men from Mexico had been kidnapping nurses and doctors from here and taking them back over the border.”
“That’s what I heard,” Marie nodded.
Horrified, Jenna looked around at the other women. “Why would they risk sneaking into our country to kidnap a couple of nurses and then have to get back over the border with them?”
“Forced medical labor,” Marie answered for the group. “At least, that’s what I heard. But you never know.”
Oh, my god. “Did they ever find the two missing nurses?”
The three women shared a look before Marie shrugged. “They found one. That’s how my friend heard about the forced labor.”
“Yeah, but the girl who was taken could be lying to cover up something she doesn’t want us to know,” Shawna pointed out.
Jenna glanced at the blonde. “Like what?”
“My guess? Sex trafficking.”
Sweet Jesus. “Seriously, why haven’t we heard about this before now?”
“Would you still be here if you knew ahead of time?” Amy directed the question to Jenna.
Jenna didn’t hesitate. “Hell, no.”
An agency that not only lost two women—one possibly permanently—but then swept it under the rug? No, thank you.
“Exactly. Taylore and the others want to keep the incidents hush-hush so it doesn’t hurt their business. But you didn’t hear any of this from me.” Shawna gave Jenna and the others a pointed look.
“Me, neither.” Marie joined in. “I need this job.”
“Same.” Amy nodded. “As quiet as they’ve been about the whole thing, Taylore would probably ship our asses back home if she caught wind that we were even talking about it.”
Stunned by the revelation, Jenna returned her focus back to the woman at the front of the room. Taylore looked nice enough but looks could be deceiving. Actions, too, for that matter.
Her thoughts