Chapter 33

All the women and children met at Ava's house for dinner on Thursday. It was perfect, with the kids entertaining each other so the women could chat.

They talked about work and tasks they wanted to accomplish this year. Ingrid wanted to paint a few rooms, and Ava wanted to do some thrift shopping and redecorate some of her rooms. Jessica wanted to take a few classes for education credits and then take a vacation to Hawaii. They all gushed about Hawaii, but it was one of those dream locations Haisley was sure she would never get to.

“Why do you think you’d never make it there?” Ava asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know if I could. The flight here was the first time I’ve ever been on a plane. Flying over the water, I don’t know if I could trust it.”

“I get that,” Ingrid said. “Sometimes life can be scary.”

Haisley shook her head. “I can’t imagine what the guys are going through.”

“It’s best not to imagine,” Rory said .

Everyone sighed, and Ava turned to Rory. "So, what do you want to do this year?"

Rory shrugged. "I'm busy with work, but I'm still working with the therapist. I think I'd just like to have a good year and that nothing bad happens."

Everyone agreed that it would be a good year. Mel spoke up next.

“I think we all know what I’m going to be doing this year.”

“Oh, you’re going to be so busy,” Ingrid said.

“Yeah. I just want to be healthy next year and survive.”

Haisley nodded, thinking about her baby and how she would get through it all. Her mom hadn’t been a great example of what to do. She loved her parents, but they’d done some weird and questionable things. She couldn’t trust her parents to guide her. No question, she would be going to Ingrid and Mel in that first year as she tried to figure out what to do.

Close to eight, she and Mel headed out with her driving Mel's car. It had been a while since she'd driven, but she picked it back up easily. Mel looked like she was about to burst, although she still had some time.

“Do you think they’ll be home soon?” Mel asked.

“I don’t know. The other girls thought they would be home in a few weeks.”

“God, I hope they get home before that. I don’t know that I can last. I’m starting to feel different.”

Haisley glanced over as they entered the house, noticing that Mel’s belly had dropped. She agreed but didn’t want to say it. There was no way Mel would last more than a week. Maybe ten days at most.

The house was quiet and dark. She flipped on a light in the main room and headed to the kitchen to set up the coffee maker for the next day. Her eyes were on her phone as she checked the weather, though it didn't change much here, when someone stepped out from the pantry. Dark shoes filled her vision, and her eyes traveled up jeans-clad legs as a scream formed in her throat but didn't make it out before Sheriff Eason's hand snaked out and clutched her arm, jerking her to him.

Mel screamed, and Haisley tried to look over her shoulder, but Eason had her pinned to him. Her head swam, and her stomach threatened to revolt.

“It took a while, but we found you.”

Eason spun her, and she saw Will holding Mel, a twisted smile on his face. "It's a two-for-one, Eason. We can sell both of them and get a good price."

“Nobody wants them that pregnant. They’ll just be a liability,” Eason spat out.

Fear for Mel filled Haisley. They would kill her or her baby.

“Yeah. I guess we can just kill her now.”

“No!” Haisley shrieked. “Don’t you know how much people pay for babies?” She couldn’t let them kill the baby. If it survived, they could find it, maybe. But if these men killed Mel’s baby, she knew it would destroy her friend.

Eason laughed behind her. "Now that's thinking. Remember that, honey," Eason said as he pointed a fat finger at Mel. "Your so-called friend here is okay selling off your baby."

Haisley wanted to tell the man to fuck off, but he had such a tight hold on her neck she couldn’t get free.

Now, she wished they'd spent the night at Ava's place. Why had she asked Mel to stay here? Mel would be safe if she'd stayed with Ava or anyone else. She never thought these men would come for her.