door, and the girl wrenched her hand from Sloane’s grasp.
Spinning to face her, Sloane looked into her fear-filled eyes. “I’m going to take you someplace safe. But we have to go now.”
The boundaries this man had placed on the adolescent sickened her. She’d seen it before, in the five other girls she’d managed to free from such circumstances.
She registered a low growl emitting from the yard. Anxiety pulsing to the surface, she realized she had to leave this place, with or without the girl.
Molly Bains. High school student and cheerleader. At least she had been before her own sick family member had sold her to the likes of John Flint, who’d then married her off to the highest bidder.
Holding out her palm to Molly, she allowed her to make the choice. Go or stay.
When she placed her warm hand in Sloane’s, relief surged through her. She opened the door and they slipped out. The dogs stood at attention and then lay down in the too-high grass, stomachs full from Sloane’s offering.
Setting a determined pace, Sloane took off walking, past the dogs, out of the yard and to the lane. The girl came with her, silent and as biddable as a child.
Which she fucking is.
Goddammit, these girls didn’t deserve this life, and Sloane wouldn’t stop until she took John Flint and all his cronies down, one by one. And she wouldn’t stop until she found her own sister, who’d been missing the past four years.
They reached Sloane’s car, and she motioned for the girl to get inside. She hesitated only a second before jumping into the passenger seat. Sloane leaped behind the wheel and reversed out of the lane and onto the road. The crunch of tires on gravel set her teeth on edge, and she reminded herself that they were close to getting away with it.
She slammed the car into drive and stomped the gas. The girl gripped on to the dash while they sped down the road. Dust kicked up around the vehicle, but luckily the high beams cut through the worst of it. Sloane reached the highway and punched the gas, determined to put miles between them and that fucker who abused this poor young woman.
She threw Molly a look. “You okay?”
Hair in her eyes, she nodded.
“There’s a small cooler bag with drinks and snacks on the floor at your feet. You should have something.” A glance over her revealed what she’d seen in other girls she freed—they were either starved or couldn’t hold anything down due to their high levels of fear.
Slowly, the girl reached between her legs and pulled the bag into her lap. She unzipped it and withdrew a soda and candy bar.
“I’ll stop and get you something better to eat as soon as I can.”
“I-I’m…not going back?” Molly’s voice came out faint.
“No. You’re never going back to that…” She broke off, battling the lump choking off her words. Each time she freed a girl, she hoped the next would be her sister. Scarlett had vanished from Sloane’s life, but she didn’t forget the sisterly bond they shared, and she would be damned if she’d let that go without a fight.
She used all her money and influence to find Scarlett. So far, she’d only located other girls like Molly.
“Where are we going?” Molly asked.
Sloane shot her a soft look. “Somewhere safe where you’ll be cared for and protected.”
“You…” She paused.
Sloane gave her an encouraging smile to continue.
“You’re that actress, aren’t you? Sloane Sailor. I heard you grew up in Georgia.”
She nodded. “I did. Not far from here.” She gazed at the road again, northbound out of asshole country and as far from John Flint’s reach as she could possible take Molly.
“Why would a person like you help me? Shouldn’t you be filming a movie or something?”
“This is between us, okay? You can’t tell anyone that I saved you from that…terrible man.”
Molly sniffled and buried her face in her hand, the soda still gripped in her other. Sloane’s heart tugged, and she reached out to rest a hand on her arm.
“It’s going to be all right, Molly. You’re safe now. And in time, you’ll be all right. I promise.”
She drove for another hour before coming to a rest stop. After she went inside to buy the girl a couple slices of convenience store pizza and some other goodies, Sloane returned to the car and passed the bag to her.
“Thank you,” Molly said quietly.
She turned to the girl. She had to ask. Before they went further, she