Take Her Home – Part Six…

They decided to hit the road for an early start, finish the last two pieces of the pizza in the car, then find someplace on the road to grab something more. They didn’t have any desire to see Salt Lake City other than what was observable as they passed through; besides, any activity in a large city was spoiled by having to wear masks. The lunacy of having to wear them into the restaurant, only to take them off to eat, offended both of them and spoiled the interaction with people in major metro areas. It was obvious that people were going to eating establishments and sitting for hours just so they could legally avoid wearing the masks. Besides, as part of his training he’d read the intel reports and knew that the team had flown one of the Wuhan scientists out of South Korea months before. It was profoundly disturbing to watch what was going on, and the lies people were being sold. So, instead of being around major cities, they preferred the less compliant attitudes of people in smaller communities, or just avoiding people altogether. What they really wanted was to spend the day getting as close as possible to Zion National Park and intended to find a spot in Cedar City to spend the night. He had the thought of stopping to get her a cell phone, but decided it was too soon and didn’t want to give her any cause for anxiety. They were getting along fine using his phone and laptop, although the hotspot on his phone was a poor internet connection, especially when they were on the road.

The scenery was only mildly interesting as they drove south on Highway 84. The night before, on the other side of Caldwell, they had left the trees and greenery behind them. Since then, they had traveled through several hundred miles of Idaho farmland , largely in the company of long-haul truckers. Once they hit Utah, it was less agricultural and more desert, and the mid-September weather, in the high 80’s and low 90’s, was typical for that time of year. As they casually observed the surrounding scenery, Lydia researched the history of the LDS church and how they settled in the area during the mid-1800’s. She was fascinated by his phone and laptop, devices she had been kept from during her captivity. He found it curious and repulsive that Carl had secluded them to the extent that she hadn’t had access to a phone or computer for five years. As she researched the history of the state, they had a casual conversation about the practice of polygamy. She was fascinated that the criticism of the practice by an Illinois newspaper fueled the killing of the church founder and his brother. Jordan and Lydia found it an especially interesting discussion due to the relationship of the three Bookers as well as some others he had met recently. They talked about the fact that relationships between numbers of people didn’t pose a legal problem, even to the point of having children, until they sought to legalize and legitimize their status. At that point laws prevented public acceptance, which they thought seemed illogical and capricious, although neither of them were attracted to that lifestyle.

By the time they were twenty minutes into the morning drive they were drawing near to Farr West. They were starting to feel hungry so Lydia, the designated navigator, located a Maverik store and when they got to that exit, they pulled off. Trips to the bathrooms, cups of coffee, a bag full of breakfast sandwiches, a couple of coloring books, and a hot chocolate to go, found them back in the car and on the road.

They drove, and she helped him and Chloe with their food while she ate hers. It was an obviously traditional familial interaction; him driving and her helping with his and her child’s food. The normality of it wasn’t lost on either Jordan or Lydia. Several times their eyes met as she handed him another sandwich or a drink, there was a gentle current between then when it happened. Soon they were finished, the remains bundled up at her feet, and they settled into the rest of the drive.

She was looking out the window at the passing countryside as the traffic slowed for the morning commute. It was a mundane drive, and he was mindlessly cruising down the road, thinking about her more than about the highway.

“Lydia, why did you run now, why not before?”

She thought about the question, unsure how much detail she wanted to share. “When Chloe was a baby I ran once. He caught me and beat me so badly I could barely take care of her for days. That wasn’t the worst of it though; he told me that if I ever ran again he would sell her and send me back to the gang.” She looked at him, then back at Chloe, who was focused on her coloring book. “He would have done it, too; he didn’t care about us. So I stayed.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked away. “He was gone a lot, sometimes for weeks at a time. I would hear them talking and he always said they had to make a delivery. He’d load the trailer with a couple of horses and take off with one of the guys. The other would stay behind to work on the ranch and take care of the rest of the horses. He would come back a week or two later with the same horses he left with. I think he was running drugs for the gang.”

“But the gang wasn’t there?” he asked.

“No, they are from Oklahoma and Texas, their main place is a ranch near Amarillo.”

He nodded, thinking about what she had said. “Sweetheart, if you don’t want to talk about this just tell me, it’s okay.”

She smiled; he’d called her Sweetheart. “No, it’s alright. Actually, I want to tell you about it… it’s just… some of it is hard to admit.” Again, for a while she looked out the window, trying to decide what and how to share more. She drew a breath and released it; she had been doing a lot of that as they talked.

“But you only had one child, right?” He had hesitated to ask that question, fearing there had been more children, and what might have happened to them.

Silently she nodded and another mile flew by before she looked even further to her right, so he couldn’t see her face at all. Quietly she whispered it, “He only fucked me in the ass.”

He closed his eyes and winced, understanding both the pain that admission caused her and the courage it took to share it. Years of being raped anally, putting up with that to protect her daughter. It was heart wrenching to imagine, and he reached across to rest his hand on hers. She looked down, accepting it into hers before looking at him.

He needed her to understand, and knew that she wouldn’t, yet. “It’s over now. Nobody will ever hurt you again and you’re both safe.”

“I wish I could believe that, but I don’t even know what safe means. How can I be safe? He’s still out there and so is the motorcycle gang. I don’t know how to do anything; I never went to school after the eighth grade. I have a kid to take care of, but I have no idea how.” She started to silently cry, tears sliding down her cheeks as she struggled to wipe them. Stuttering softly as she continued to pour out her soul, she gave up her most private fear, “I can’t take care of myself, and no decent man would want me. I could be a prostitute, but I don’t want that life for her. I saw it, and I can’t do that to her.”

He looked at her, admiring her courage and sacrificial love. “You sayin’ I’m not decent?”

She didn’t understand his question. “What do you mean?”

“You said no decent man would want you.”

What he was implying dawned on her. “You don’t know me yet, being attracted to someone isn’t the same as wanting their shit, warts, and baggage.” She shook her head. “No, you’re decent, but I’m not thinking you’ll want into this.”

He huffed. “You’re not the only one with shit, warts, and baggage, you know? Shit can be cleaned up, warts can be treated, and we all have baggage. I’m not making any pledges, I’m just saying you have a lot to admire and desire, so for a while, let’s enjoy our trip and see if we like helping each other carry the baggage. Just remember, you haven’t heard all of mine yet. You might be the one to run for the hills.”

She giggled. “Fair enough, we’ll see. At least I have that off my chest and you didn’t pull over and kick us out.”

His lips formed a wry smile and he looked at her as they connected in the eyes. “Far from it, just the opposite actually.”

She was quiet for a while, watching the Utah scenery as they drove south on Veterans Memorial Highway. They passed through West Haven, Clinton, Layton, and Kaysville; one urban area after another. They all looked the same, sandwiched between the Great Salt Lake, and the mountains to the east. She was thinking about their situation, wondering who he was and why he would express any interest in her at all. Chloe was busy working on her coloring books; she was used to entertaining herself, so this was only slightly unusual and a welcome chance to enjoy being out of the house.

Somewhere south of Bountiful, near the city line of Salt Lake City, she and Jordan caught each other’s eyes again and she smiled. “What about you Jordan Sabina, what’s your story? You said you were just coming out of some training situation?”

He nodded in affirmation. “Yes, every year this team I joined holds a month-long training camp at the leader’s farm in Eastern Washington, incredible place. I’ve had harder training situations, but none that were as…” he struggled for the right words. “It’s hard to describe actually. The technology, the high level of development, the introduction into a new world of operations. I guess the word I would use is growth. They take people at the peak of their profession and open up an entirely new perspective of what is possible.”

“Wow!” she muttered. At the café she’d had seen him perform and was impressed. Her appreciation bordered on reverence. “So how did you end up there? I gather they picked you?”

“Yes,” He confirmed. “Without wanting to seem boastful, they recruit the best of the best. Men, and women from all over the world. They pick us based on our experience and a very exacting behavioral profile test. Outside of a very few high-level authorities, we are completely unknown.”

She was intrigued by what he said. She had heard of people like this but to meet one was entirely unexpected. “How did you get started? Did you grow up in a military family?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. My mom was an only child, and she worked in the senior living industry as a leasing specialist. I don’t remember my dad; she told me they met when she was really young. They had one night of hot steamy lovin; she never saw him again and didn’t even know how to contact him. After she finished school she got on with a company and stayed there, although it meant moving every six months or so. The company she worked for had hundreds of senior communities and she specialized in what’s called ‘lease up’, going into newly built communities and filling them up after they were completed. After the community reached a certain occupancy, she went to a new city and did it again. I remember for a while when I was young, she had a boyfriend who beat her. She had bruises too, but she eventually left him.”

He looked at her with understanding, and she knew that he hated what Carl had done to her. “One of the places she enjoyed the most was Wichita, Kansas. She got really close to the couple who were the managers there and even moved her mom to the city. Up to that point, I had traveled with her from assignment to assignment, but by that time I was about Chloe’s age and ready to start school. My Grandma moved there, and I stayed with her; my mom came back between assignments. A couple of years later, the wife on the management team died and the husband needed a partner in order to stay as the manager, so mom applied for the position, and they teamed up. At first it was just professional and friendship, but a year later they married and they’re still there. When I graduated from High School I enlisted in the Army and became focused on being a Ranger. Three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and I was ready to come home. A company offered me an insane amount of money to go back for one last mission, so I did. That was a bad mistake, after that I was done. A lady friend of mine had joined a different part of the Booker organization and when she learned they were recruiting, she recommended me.” He shrugged his shoulder as if to indicate that was it, simple as that. It wasn’t and Lydia sensed as much.

To be continued in part seven, Lydia and Paige.

This is from the soon to be published book, "Take Her Home" by V S Campbell.

Come read the other books in the Gary Booker series of novels, available on Amazon!

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