 
Second Chances

The Power of Renewal
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters,

and settings are product of the author's imagination.

Any resemblance to actual events,

names, locales, organizations,

or persons living or dead,

is entirely coincidental.
Published by Gabriela Louis at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Gabriela Louis

Discover other titles in the series

Second Chances: The Power of Renewal © 2015 Gabriela Louis

Second Chances: The Power of Forgiveness

Second Chances: The Power of Love

Second Chances: The Power of Hope

Cover designed by Danny Cross

Edited by Anthony Jacobs and Danny Cross at

AnthonyJacobs@booksforthehungry.com and dannycross@booksforthehungry.com

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to my husband and kids who encouraged me to continue writing and to my wonderful friend Pam who took the time to read each version of the book as it was being revised.
Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Epilogue

About the author

Other books by the author

Acknowledgements

Excerpt from Second Chances: The Power of Forgiveness
You may be deceived if you trust too much.

But you will live in torment unless you trust enough.

Frank Crane

Prologue

Although Rosalyn was in her A.P. literature class, she was daydreaming about the very hot football player who had spoken to her. She had fallen in love immediately. John was such a good looking man that when he asked her out, she thought that surely every girl in the school would be jealous. She sighed, smiled, and continued to dream.

"Rosalyn... Rosalyn Miller" Rosalyn heard the teacher call. "I do not know where you are, but you are definitely not here. I need you paying attention."

"Yes ma'am, I am sorry," replied Rosalyn, embarrassed at being chastised.

Rosalyn had just turned 15 and had never thought of herself as a beauty queen but knew herself to be attractive. It did not concern her because what she did not have in looks she had in brains. She was president of the math and engineering club and had won several competitions. She was also taking several AP classes and she was just a freshman. She was the only freshman to accomplish that. Her parents had to ask for special permission for her to take the advanced placement classes, and after several tests it had been granted. She was planning on being a chemist, wanting to use her talents to find cures for the different types of cancers. She had dreams and those dreams were big.

Now though, her dreams had taken a back seat to John White, the hottest guy in the school. He had asked her out and she was so excited. She already loved this boy so much. She had spent every lunch period staring at him. He was so very hot and perfect in every way. She was thankful that he was tall, but not overly so. She could just imagine her five-two stature next to a seven-foot guy. It would be like a Chihuahua with a Great Dane. John was probably less than six feet tall, an absolutely perfect match for her. He also had the most wonderful brown eyes, and looking at them was like looking at a fondue chocolate fountain. He wasn't built huge like most of the football players, mounds of meat that were all muscle and no brains. She disliked those guys who thought that every girl would fall at their feet just because they were bigger than Mount Everest. Her future husband was going to have more brains than muscles. That had to be a prerequisite for whomever she dated.

John had a checkmark on every item on her list, and she would do anything for him. He was everything any girl could want her first boyfriend to be; he was just perfect, and to top it all, he was the team quarterback.

Everything was going to be great tonight. They were going to hold hands as they walked to the park, He was going to kiss her - her very first kiss, and it was going to be every one of her dreams coming to life. She could not wait.

* * * * * * *

In her room later that day, she was so frustrated. She could not find anything to wear. She was short and fat, and she did not have any girly clothes like the other girls at school had. She saw herself in the mirror and saw the plainest looking brunette girl ever to exist, looking back at her. Why was this good looking guy paying attention to her? She was not going to question it. She was so excited. She saw herself now; there was nothing to notice. She was a little over five feet with short legs. Her butt and breasts were too big compared to all of those petit cheerleaders. Her hair was overly curly and brown, not even a deep brown, but a light brown at that. When God was passing out parts, He must have given her the leftovers, but this boy - this man - had paid attention to her. Maybe he saw something special she could not see.

She had never felt comfortable lying to her parents, but John had asked her not to tell anyone they were going out. She could not understand. Is that how it was for all the other girls? She regretted all those hours with her nose in the books and not paying attention to her surroundings. John had asked her to wear a dress or skirt, something girly he had said. The only dresses she had were church dresses, and they were not girly. She settled for her prettiest dress, pink with small white flowers. It had a high neckline, and it reached right below the knees. She also donned her walking shoes and a white cardigan. She went to her mom's bathroom and used some of her makeup. She did not want to look like a clown but hoped to accentuate her eyes with a little eyeliner. She also used some blush and lip-gloss for good measure.

She told her parents that she was going to her best friend's house and walked out. They did not even look up. Her dad was reading a newspaper and her mom a book.

Rosalyn knew that her parents cared for her greatly, and they trusted her implicitly. When she walked out, they did not question her about her plans. She felt the guilt begin to rise because she had never lied or hidden anything from them before, but she wanted badly to be with John.

* * * * * * *

Rosalyn had forgotten how fast it got dark in the fall. When she had walked out, everything looked beautiful and bright. As she got closer to the park, the pretty pink skies had turned into darkness. She wished now that they had chosen a different place, but this was actually the halfway point and she was early. She would just sit on one of the park benches and wait. Everything would be just perfect.

Behind her in the playground were a group of boys ranging in ages from fourteen to about twenty-one. They were the ruffians of the neighborhood. It was a good neighborhood, but they had decided to run their business from the park. There were no cops here and the park was deserted on weeknights. Unfortunately for Rosalyn, they had noticed her. A pretty prim girl, sitting all alone in the dark was a gift, and it was rude to decline a gift.

* * * * * * *

Nine months later a child had been born. At the hospital they had done all the necessary things to make sure that there were no repercussions from that night, but it had not worked, and she had not noticed her periods missing. Her mother and father had not known what to say to her or how to deal with the situation either. The subject became the white elephant in the room everyone avoided. When they had found out she was pregnant, it had been too late for a termination of the pregnancy. It would have been too dangerous, not that her parents would have felt comfortable with that. She knew that they would have supported any decision she made, but she knew her parents respected life. The life of an unborn child was still a life, regardless of the conception circumstances.

Her mom had tried to get pregnant for so many years unsuccessfully, and then all these other women got pregnant so easily, and discarded their babies. The unfairness of the situation had caused her mother many tears. Every time her mother had gone to an abortion clinic to rally for the right of life, she had come back home torn and broken. She had wanted a child so desperately.

She had finally gotten pregnant when she was 40, and they adored their daughter, even this imperfect daughter. Rosalyn could not help it. She cried at how she had disappointed them.

*****

But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Chapter 1

Boris Brockovich was a man in his late 50s. He was a fit and good-looking man and was a very successful businessman. He was respected and loved, not only by his employees but also by those people of influence in the community. Boris was a charismatic man who always knew what to say in the midst of chaos. He was a big supporter of the armed forces and took the time to remember individual agents and their families. He also supported schools and children's programs in general.

He owned a successful import/export company, —Global International Import Export Trade. He wasn't always successful though— at one point during the recession, he almost had to close his doors for good. Those events had influenced Boris to make drastic changes to how he ran his business.

Boris loved life, but life wasn't worth living without money. Money made things possible. Money bought power, comfort, and women. So if there was one thing you could say about Boris, it was that he would do anything for money.

When the recession happened and his carefully made plans for the future were endangered, he figured that there were things he could do to save his company. Those things might not be legal, but that was irrelevant. It would not be the first time that he lived on the other side of the law. In his opinion, one could do anything as long as one did not get caught. He was not planning on getting caught.

His plan was finalized at a bar when he and two of his friends, Kruno Ivanovo and Davor Petrov, had been drinking their customary vodka. Boris, who had been quite intoxicated, remembered asking, "Gentlemen, how are your businesses doing? Kruno, I know that you are not doing so well in the housing market right now, and Davor, you cannot be doing any better with the banking industry. I cannot be the only one hurting."

Both Kruno and Davor had nodded emphatically, but Kruno had spoken first, "I know you Boris, what do you have in mind?" Davor and Kruno had been friends since they were in grade school in Russia and they had become closer than brothers with every conflict they had to survive. Later they had added Boris to their group, but the relationship was not the same. Kruno and Davor were there for each other and as long as Boris served his purpose he was accepted. Boris was a source of amusement for them, and most importantly, he was also the one to get his hands dirty.

"Nothing that is too illegal." He chuckled, and then continued, "We bring people to work here, and we get them jobs, but a percentage of their salaries come to us. We buy a house and we rent it to them. We charge them for rent, food, etc. and we let them keep some of the money for necessities and some to send back to their families. Whatever we give them will be better than what they will get over in their country. They are happy. We are happy. They will pay for their passports, tickets and visa, and then pay us for bringing them and giving them a job. It could be quite lucrative if we have enough people."

So the idea had come to life, and the three friends decided to use their companies to bring immigrants to the States to work. It was actually brilliant, because people in other countries would be selling their souls for the opportunity to come to the States, and once here, they would never know they were being cheated. Boris had seen it as helping them and making their dreams come true, while he was getting paid for his services. He had not realized then, how ambitious his friends were and how out of control his idea was going to get.

Boris thought that his plan would work to perfection, except that it had been a great idea until his friends and partners got greedy and they had come up with a twist to his plan. Davor and Kruno had come to his office and Davor had said, "We like your idea, but it is not profitable enough. I believe that if we bring girls and rent them out, we will make more money." Boris was shaking his head as he was hearing them. "That won't work. One girl gets hurt and we are in deep trouble. Anyhow, how are you going to control it?" Boris knew that, as long as they benefitted from their actions, it did not matter who got hurt.

"Simple," answered Davor, "we bring them here to work as Au Pairs with a J1 visa, but once here they'll be totally dependent on us."

Boris had gotten up and walked to the door. He opened it and replied, "I do not think so; I am fond of my freedom. I'm out." Kruno and Davor had walked up to him and without any hesitation; Kruno punched him in the gut while Davor closed the door. Boris fell to his knees on the floor as he tried to catch his breath. Then Davor came behind him and pulled his hair, pulling his head back, forcing him to look at Kruno who said, "you are in, and you will do as we say, or else." As he said that he punched him one more time for effect. Boris nodded.

"One more thing," said Davor as he approached the door. "You try to cross us, and you will be praying for death to come."

He knew karma; he had seen it many times. The bad you did in the world had a way of getting back to you. And his hell had just begun. Once one dealt with the devil, one was enslaved to him. He had known his partners for a while, and knew that if he refused, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

It had been several years since he became part of this business. He did not remember how to be honorable and moral anymore. He had built an empire, a very successful empire at a very high cost: his soul.
The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9

Chapter 2

Rosalyn loved college life. As soon as she had graduated from high school, she had gone away to college. She had chosen a school that was about eight hours away from home; close enough that she could drive back and forth when needed, but far enough away that she could not do so very often. She knew she was going to miss home. She had never been away until now, but living at home had been difficult. For the last three years of high school she had felt like a stranger in her parent's home, and she had needed to move out, to get away from the people she loved. It had become a matter of survival.

Since that fateful night, her parents had become controlling and demanding. She had gone from having all the freedoms in the world to having to ask permission for every little thing. Not only that, but if she did not call or check in several times a day, they drove to wherever her activities were to make sure she was okay. She had become involved in every extra curricular activity her schedule allowed her to participate in just so that she could stay away from home, but it did not matter, she had to call them from each one of those activities. She had to make one call apprising them of where she was and then one call letting them know she was done and on her way home. In her opinion, she needed breathing space. Her parents had become micromanagers of her time and life and a constant reminder of the worst night of her life.

On the other hand, at home they barely spoke to her. They whispered and plotted among themselves. Her parents had insisted she spent time with her daughter, so Rosalyn was not surprised every time she found herself taking care of Mariah, her sweet daughter. Her parents had not understood that she needed space. Although Mariah was a great kid, Rosalyn wasn't a great example for her and Mariah was a reminder of that fact. Rosalyn understood that the events of that awful night were her fault, but she wondered if she would ever be forgiven.

Her need to be away from home had become necessary for her sanity. While in high school, she had been busy with her normal school load. When that had not been enough, she had become part of every extracurricular activity that fit into her schedule. Her college life was no different. Rosalyn had managed to stay busy, working and studying.

As a student she took a minimum of fifteen credit hours, and then she managed to work a minimum of 30 hours a week. She did not need the money as she had been awarded several scholarships. The busier she was, the less time she had to deal with her memories. She did not like remembering that night. She had created for herself a fantasy world where everything was all right. She was just a normal busy girl who did not have time for the social demands most other young people were part of. She understood academics, and she had made school her shelter.

In her junior year of college, her roommate had been persistent, to the point of obsession about them going out. Alana had decided that a social life was a must. Rosalyn did not know what to do with her happy extroverted friend. She had been tempted to request that she be moved to a different dorm, but was too afraid to ask and was apprehensive about who the new roommate might be.

Her roommate Alana was everything Rosalyn wasn't. Both girls were as opposite as oil and water in every way possible. Alana was tall, Rosalyn short. Although Rosalyn was not overweight, Alana was overly thin. Not because she did not eat, but because she was extremely hyper. She burned every calorie she consumed just by having a conversation. Rosalyn would look at Alana in amazement as she went from one activity to the next in the blink of an eye. Keeping up with conversations was difficult because Alana had three or four conversations running at once. One minute she was talking about one of her classes, then she started talking about something she had watched on TV, and all of the sudden she was back in the conversation about her class, which would lead to something she remembered about the last guy she had dated, and then she was back to conversation one or two. Rosalyn had decided that when Alana spoke, she would nod and agree with whatever she was saying, but would not try to keep up. Every time she tried, she ended up with a migraine.

Alana also took as few classes as she could get away with and avoided work as one might avoid the flu. Alana's main concern was how to look good and what guy she was going to go out with. She chose not to have a boyfriend, as that would cramp her style; Alana's main goal in life was to have fun and she wanted Rosalyn to party with her.

Alana wasn't a girl with loose morals; on the other hand, she was very conservative. She just liked to have fun, flirt, and dance. Her clothing was conservative but also feminine. She wore very light makeup serving only to accentuate her already pretty features. No one could ever say anything wrong about Alana because she was a beautiful person inside and out. The guys she dated wanted more, but not Alana. One of the reasons she refused to get involved with any guy was because they expected more than she was willing to give. All Alana wanted was good clean fun.

Rosalyn was so thankful that her schedule did not permit her to go to parties. She did not have the time or the inclination to have a social life. Her life did not include boys or friends of any kind other than an occasional conversation with Alana; Rosalyn was too busy for that nonsense. Socialization was not something she felt comfortable with. Unfortunately for her, her roommate did not take no for an answer.

"I am going out with this hot guy today, I can arrange for his roommate to go out with you. We can go on a double date."

Rosalyn sighed; this invitation was a weekly occurrence. "I am sorry, but I work today. After work I have to complete a research paper due Monday."

"Come on, Rosalyn! Every weekend you have a research paper, or an essay or a test. You keep putting one excuse after another... Really!? I think you do not want to go out with me."

Really, what gave you that impression? Rosalyn thought, but instead said, "I am sorry I am busy," and ignoring her friend, she continued to get dressed for work. Her uniform consisted of blue jeans, a red t-shirt with the restaurant's logo on it, and black tennis shoes. Of course she also needed a small apron to put her tips in.

Rosalyn loved her after-school job. She waited tables at the school cafe and her job made her feel safe somehow. She felt free to talk to people and flirt a little there. It was a required part of the job. At her job she had met many people including Sean. She had found out that Sean was a classmate in one of her psychology classes. He was the kind of guy every girl dreamed about, —tall and handsome, with the most gorgeous green eyes and a great sense of humor. He was the kind of guy every mother wanted for her daughter —he was polite, responsible and knew how to dress, in other words, he was a nice guy.

Sean had seen Rosalyn around campus and she had been in a couple of his general education classes. She seemed to be the kind of girl he would like to get to know better. She always acted serious, she dressed conservative, and from what he could tell, she was very responsible.

He had asked his roommate's girlfriend, Alana, to introduce them, unfortunately Rosalyn had refused. It was going to be up to him to meet her. He decided on a strategic plan of action. He was going to get to know Rosalyn. It was going to be a challenge. Sean loved challenges.

Sean had asked her out until she had finally agreed. She had tried everything to push him away but he had been relentless and persisted on befriending her. He had been at the cafe every day while she worked. He sat there and studied. Their interaction had started in a polite and friendly way, very professional.

"Hi Rosalyn, how are you doing today? May I please have a latte?"

Since it seemed so innocent and no different from the other customers, she had responded to his banter and mildly flirted with him. Their relationship had progressed from business to friendship without her realizing it.

One day after work, when he was going her way, he had walked her to her place. Since that day, he had walked with her every evening at the end of her shift. She had not noticed that he was breaking her so carefully built walls. Finally, on her day off when he had shown up at her dorm with a picnic basket, she had agreed to go out with him.

He had taken her to the local State park; it had been so very nice. They spent the day talking and getting to know each other. Their picnic contained fried chicken, dinner rolls, and cheese with sparkling grape juice to drink. For dessert their picnic had also included a scrumptious slice of chocolate cake. Sean fed her a bite and then took a bite for himself until the slice was finished. It felt so very intimate to her.

After their picnic they had gone for a walk around the park. As they walked, he held her hand or placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to wherever he had seen a pretty flower or a wild animal. She felt cherished and beautiful that day with him.

When she spoke, he paid attention to every word she said. As they talked, she noticed him rubbing her arms, or touching her hands. The touches were so very innocent and the more he touched her, the more relaxed she became, until very gently and slowly he had started to bend his face drawing near to her own, and she had panicked and pushed him away.

Although Rosalyn felt scared when he had tried to kiss her, it had also felt exhilarating. She admitted that he had been so very kind and respectful to her. She could not deny that she had loved going out with him. She had felt pretty while she had been with him.

Sean did not understand her attitude. One minute she acted as if she would welcome his attention, and the other she pushed him away. Was she a flirt, playing hard to get, or was she truly old fashioned? He liked her enough; he was not giving up until he figured it out. He accepted the fact that he was in no hurry and there was plenty of time to have her relax around him. Her personality was so skittish, like a recently adopted kitten in its new home. For this reason, he understood that he had to be patient. She was the type of girl he could think of as permanent. He loved to talk with her. She had a great sense of humor and her laughter was contagious. He loved touching her hands; they were so very soft. He definitely wanted to explore the possibilities of more, so much more with this girl. She intrigued him.

Alana and Sean, how had that happened? Wondered Rosalyn. These two did not allow her to hide in her private world. These two made her smile and she truly enjoy spending time with them.

"Hey, what homework are you working on?"

Rosalyn was distracted, so when Alana asked her that question, she had no time to think of excuses and answered truthfully, "I just finished."

Rosalyn had not even realized the importance of her answer until Alana had screeched, done a little victory dance, and said, "We are going out today. You, Sean, Luke and I." Rosalyn had felt trapped, but agreed to go.

They went to the movies, then to eat and finally they made it to a fraternity party. They had such a great time together, that after that one outing Rosalyn felt that her safety walls had crumbled. She felt happy where she had not felt happy in so many years. Her feeling of contentment had also transferred to her relationship with Sean. She realized that she was relaxed in his presence, instead of tense and in constant guard. She felt that she could actually fall in love with him. This was something she had not allowed herself to consider until now. She looked forward to seeing him and hoped that he could break all the barriers she had so carefully built around herself. Unfortunately in the quiet of the night, once she was alone in her room, she felt the voice in the back of her conscious rise up, loud and clear, and reminded her that happiness was not for her. Would she ever be normal? Could she be happy?

With him, every day was a day she had felt freer than the day before. With his love and attention she had felt treasured. Everything had been working wonderfully, until he had invited her to church. It had all started so innocently. They enjoyed spending time together doing their homework, or watching a movie.

This particular day Alana, Sean, and Rosalyn were sitting at their small table talking as Rosalyn was searching for an article in the paper. She needed something to help support her point of view on her research paper and as she skimmed through the paper, she said,

"Every article I read on illegal operations brings me back to modern day slavery? Who would have thought that would continued into this century?" said Rosalyn, distracted as she was skimming through the paper.

"Hmmm..." Was Sean's reply, as he was trying to figure out this beautiful girl. He wanted to move their relationship to the next level, but she was always so skittish.

"Sean are you ok? You are acting distant today. By the way, I am off on Sunday. It has been forever and a day since I had a Sunday off. Would you like to go to the beach? Alana what about you? I think it would be fun." Rosalyn felt exuberant, and her constant chatter was a reflection of her old happy self, escalating to the surface.

"Sorry, I'm busy on Sundays," said Alana looking at Sean.

Sean was quiet, which made Rosalyn nervous. This was so unlike him. So she continued, trying to fill the silence. "I know it is kind of far, and the weather is not hot, but perhaps we can have a picnic there."

Rosalyn was trying to figure out how to push her demons away, and she figure she needed to go back to her life as it had been. In North Carolina, she lived in a small town by the beach, and she had loved spending hours there. She wanted to see the water again and maybe go swimming. She had moved away from everything that represented her old life, and she felt that this was one step closer to healing.

She really liked Sean and was hoping to change the direction in which her life was going. She had even made an appointment with a therapist. She needed to start living her life. "Sean, come on, say something. I am off Sunday. Did you hear me? Would you like to drive to the beach with me? I know it's not officially summer yet, but I think it'll be fun."

Sean smiled at her. He was holding her hand, rubbing his thumb over her palm, so very gently, "Sure, but we cannot go until about noon."

"Oh, I was hoping to spend the whole day there. Come on, what is so important we cannot go earlier?"

Sean had been thinking of a way to move their relationship forward. He wanted so much more than friendship. Was she the right girl? He now realized that something was terribly wrong. He was starting to figure out something he did not want to see. Alana had tried to warn him, and now this conversation was taking him in a direction he did not want to go. The next day was Sunday, and church was part of it, not because he had to attend, but because he wanted to. Something did not make sense. He just couldn't figure out what. Every time that he had tried to bring up his faith in the conversation, something had happened and the conversation had gone in a different direction. He had not given it much thought, but somehow he assumed they shared similar beliefs. He should have known better.

"Rosalyn, I would love for you to go to church with me tomorrow. I teach Sunday school to high school boys, and you would love my pastor. He has a way of teaching the Word. He honors Jesus as he makes you think of ways you can become a better person, without feeling that you are going straight to hell."

He was telling her this with apprehension. Every once in a while he would glance at Alana for support, but finding none he waited for Rosalyn's response. He really liked Rosalyn and was not ready to call it quits. He noticed her pull her hand away from him, she looked away from him and he was astounded when she stood up and walked to the door, opened it and looked at him. She only said one word, "out."

"Rosalyn?"

"Out"

Sean had gotten up, and felt that he had been sucker punched in the stomach. He could not figure out the level of her anger, and how did inviting her to church have earned him that type of dismissal. She had kicked him out, without an explanation.

On the way to his car he was reflecting on the events, trying to figure out what had just happened. Why was she so sensitive about church? Most people would decline the invitation, but to show him the door. I actually thought we might have a future together. He liked Rosalyn, and now he needed to walk away, even though his instincts were to run right back to her. He looked at the heavens; You are the only one who can sort this out.

Alana realized that her mouth had dropped open. "What was that about Rosalyn?"

Rosalyn had looked at her friend, and ran to her room. She buried her face in her pillow and begun to sob.

Alana had felt glued to the floor. What did she miss? She sighed; her friend needed her right now. She walked to Rosalyn's room, and sat next to her on the bed. "I do not know what just happened, but I want you to know that I am here if you need to talk."

Rosalyn cried harder, and Alana, true to her word, sat next to her, while caressing her friend's hair. She begun praying silently, other than that she was silent. She did not know what else to do for her friend.

Rosalyn knew she had overreacted, but she could not help it. 'God,' she was definitely not ready for. He had abandoned her when she was 15 and now she wanted nothing to do with Him. She was doing fine on her own. She felt awful. She wanted to fix it, but did not know how. She could still see the confused and hurt look of Sean's eyes as he walked out the door. She had suspected that his faith and his God were the most important constants of his life.

If he was anything like she had been before that awful day, he probably felt that without God he was nothing. She knew she blamed God for the events of that night. As a child, she had been involved in every activity at church. She had been saved and baptized when she had been fourteen, but then a year later, He turned His back on her. Sean was not to be blamed though, but she had still thrown him out. Why was she surprised that he had invited her to church? She had grown up in church. She knew that believers invited people to church. She broke into tears. Those tears became uncontrollable sobs that did not cease until she fell into an exhausted sleep.

He had tried contacting her a couple of times afterwards, but she had refused to see him. She could not understand how they could have been friends for about six months and God had never been part of the equation. She knew that was a lie, everything Sean did, every class he took, the way he spoke, the way he lead his life, all were clues that he was a strong Christian. She just didn't want to see it, until now.

With her busy schedule she had always managed to work most evenings and on Sundays. She never had to admit to him that she avoided church. Every time he had begun to speak about his faith, she had managed to change the subject. She should have realized that avoiding subjects of faith and religion was not conducive to a healthy relationship. She had hurt Sean and she really did not want to hurt anyone anymore. She had done enough of that to last her a lifetime. She had hurt her parents, then Mariah, and now this wonderful young man. He had always made her feel special, and she repaid him by kicking him out.

Sean somehow had not given up on her. Since she had refused to speak with him, he had settled for written messages. In a weekly basis, for the rest of the term he had sent her little notes telling her how much she was loved. She felt that she could not hide from him. The notes had come in the mail, or accidentally dropped on her desk, she had even found notes written on napkins at the cafe she worked at. The notes said things like, "you are loved," "Jesus loves you," "I am a good listener," "I am your friend," "call me, we can discuss this." She never called him, and it had been so hard because she continued to see Sean everywhere. It was hard not to, when you lived at the college and took classes together.

All through that term he had done little things to show her she was special, but she had been too afraid to let him in, so she continued to avoid him. Everyday after class or after receiving one of his notes, she went to her room and cried until there were no tears left. Sometimes during her bouts of hysteria she would scream at God, if you are there why didn't you protect me? Were you trying to punish me? That would make her cry even more and she would step deeper into her impenetrable cocoon. Her depression was a chasm that soon she would not be able to climb out from.

The following term Sean was gone, just like that, no good bye, no anything. What else did you expect? Didn't you push him away?

She missed Sean so much she had gone out to see a therapist, but once he had started asking questions, she had shut down and walked away. Is this the life she wanted? This way her heart was safe and those around her were safe, she told herself, but was it worth living away from her parents and everyone else, not letting anyone in? She felt lonelier than ever. Blast it, Sean, if you had not come into my life, I would not have remembered what it felt like to be part of something; I miss being part of my family. I miss hanging out with friends. You were so good to me and I pushed you away. She burst into tears.

Rosalyn was so lonely that she considered moving back home, she missed her parents and she missed Mariah, but then again she did not know how to be a good mother to this beautiful child. She did not want to ever blame Mariah for things she was innocent of. No matter how much she missed her family she had to stay away to protect her baby. She was poisoned and she knew it. Everyone she touched she hurt.

She wished Sean were with her. He had been a great friend, and had always made her smile. She missed him so much she regretted her actions. After that term when Sean had asked her to go to church with him, she had not seen him anymore. She had heard that he moved on to seminary school. Funny they had been friends for about six months and she never knew that he wanted to be a pastor. Something else to help her realize how selfish she was. He had been so good to her, and she had pushed him away, and she had stayed behind lonelier than ever.

Alana, who was dating Sean's roommate, saw fit to apprise her of every one of his decisions. Rosalyn had never felt so lonely.
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 13:20

Chapter 3

Rosalyn's childhood dreams had changed that fateful day. Not only the dream of one day becoming a wife and mother, but also her dream of becoming a chemist and researcher. She had wanted to use her talents in medicine and find cures for different diseases. Instead, because she did not want any reminders of her prior life or perhaps because she felt a need to punish herself, she had chosen to be part of the business world.

She had tried to make more drastic changes, but her parents did not allow her to withdraw from them completely. They loved her so much; they could not accept her need to stay away. They did not understand that she was trying to protect them. She had seen the pain in their eyes, and she had been the cause.

Rosalyn had decided to stay at her dorm her first Christmas away from home. She knew that it was going to be tough for her, but she believed that it would have been better in the long run. It had not worked out quite as she had planned it, though. She had called her parents letting them know that she was so busy she could not come, so instead of her going, the very next day, they had shown up at her dorm. They had rented a large suite and brought all the Christmas' presents with them. It had been chaotic. At first, she had been put off by their presumptuous behavior. She did not want to have any good feelings softening her carefully built protective barrier. She could not help it; their act of love and kindness had melted her heart a bit. Only parents loved unconditionally and she knew that her parents were the best and deserved the best. Unfortunately, she wasn't the best.

Rosalyn did not understand that undeserved love her parents felt for her. She had failed them, but they were there loving her and supporting her. Then Sean had come along, and as expected she had hurt him as well. She did not understand her own actions. She knew she was being irrational but she could not help it; she knew she could not run forever. Eventually she was going to have to face her demons. The question was how?

She continued to live her life away from friends, away from family, away from relationships, afraid of getting close to anyone. She had even managed to avoid Alana who continued to pester her. She loved Alana; didn't she understand that she was protecting her? She so wanted to love and be loved, but was afraid of the pain she could cause the people who loved her. She was afraid of the pain she caused herself every time she tried. She had made her parents extremely sad with her sin. At the hospital, she had seen in their eyes how deeply she had disappointed them.

They had tried to be supportive. They had said the right words, but Rosalyn knew them and purity was so important to them. How many times had they told her that her purity was a gift for her husband alone? Her parents were so conservative, that every time they referred to her virginity, they used the word "it." "It" was the greatest gift to her partner and should only be given in marriage.

They were so ashamed of her, that during her pregnancy they did not even want her opening the front door. The one time she did, she was scolded. She knew they did not want the neighbors seeing her protruding stomach.

Rosalyn continued her monotonous life —school, work, visit family at Christmas. Change she did not think she was emotionally ready for was coming soon, — graduation was near. It was time to grow up. This was her last term and she could not hide in her books anymore and going back home was out of the question. She needed a job. To get a job she had let people know who she was. She had to complete an application and she had to go on interviews. She had tried to be invisible, but invisible would not give her a job.

"What are you doing after graduation?" Came the unexpected question from her roommate. She had been avoiding Alana, but she seemed relentless.

Rosalyn sighed, "I do not know."

"I know you like to live in your private world, and you probably don't like me, but I like you. If you need a roommate let me know."

"It's not that I don't like you, it's just..."

"Save it! I don't want to hear it." Said Alana as she walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

***********

Rosalyn had gone back and forth with the idea of having Alana as her roommate. She liked her, and that was reason enough to keep her away. She was tired of causing pain on those around her. She just felt so lonely all the time, that having Alana around was enough to put a smile on her soul.

Rosalyn just needed to set some boundaries and everything would work out just right.

"Alana, if we are going to move together we need to discuss rules."

Alana sighed and flop on the sofa across from where Rosalyn was standing, "Okay, spill it."

"No more inviting me out. Just let me be. I know I have issues, so just let me be."

Alana smile, "What kind of issues?"

"Alana you are doing it again, my issues are not the problem here. Can you just let me be?" Rosalyn was losing her cool. Alana always managed to aggravate her, but she was so tired of feeling lonely.

"Rosalyn, I am a psych major. I can try to let you be in your own world, I just don't know how successful I am going to be. I'll tell you what, I promise that I will try on one condition."

Rosalyn gave her a speculative look, "What condition?"

"That you remember 'I am your friend,' even when you do not see it like that. I love you and I am here for you. I don't know what has you hiding, but sometimes its good to let it go and trust someone. You are holding so tight to your pain; I feel you are going to break at any moment. When you are ready to talk, I'll be a room away."

So it had come to be that, they were moving together.

After graduation the two girls had moved together. Rosalyn, who was the one with all the requirements, took it upon herself to find the place, and this apartment in the downtown area suited her just right. They did not need much: a stove, refrigerator, microwave and dishwashers this one even had a washer and dryer in one of the closets. It was almost perfect. What this place needed was security. Neither girl minded the fact that it was small, or that it hadn't been updated since it was built thirty years earlier, but for Rosalyn the security of the modern places was a must. Moving was going to take adjustment and she did not want the nightmares back. She had not cared for anything fancy; she only needed the apartment to sleep in after all.

She had looked at several places, until finally she found what she needed. The managers did not care if she installed alarms or extra lighting, as long as she covered the cost. They would not pay for anything extra. So Rosalyn took it upon herself to upgrade as much as her budget allowed.

Alana was a carefree person who cared greatly for others. She had chosen to become a psychologist because she loved to figure out what made people tick. She had lived with Rosalyn for two years and she still did not know much about her. She wondered how heavy was the load that Rosalyn carried. Rosalyn had spent a small fortune on a security system. Granted the apartment was perfect for the two of them, but a security system? In Alana's opinion that was overdoing it.

The apartment was a furnished two bedroom, one bathroom. It had a small kitchen and living area that merged with each other. This place was as small as their dorm, which gave Rosalyn comfort. The walls were plain and white, with a couple of abstract pictures on the wall to give it some color, nothing fancy. In the living room area was a plain brown sofa and a small table with two chairs, a perfect place to eat a light breakfast. The kitchen had a small microwave, a stove, dishwasher and refrigerator. The bedrooms were decorated the same, a twin size bed, a dresser, a desk and a chair.

As soon as they had moved in, Alana had proceeded to fill the place with family pictures and knick-knacks to make it feel cozier. Rosalyn on the other hand, had added nothing to personalize their place.

Alana continued to go to school, and Rosalyn got a job as a receptionist. Life was good for the two friends.

So whether we are at home or away,

we make it our aim to please him.

2 Corinthians 5:9

Chapter 4

Myrna and Sonia were so excited to reach their life-long dreams. They had wanted to come to the States since they were young children. Her parents along with everyone in their small community had told them how awesome everything was in this beautiful country. They had worked hard to save every penny possible to be able to afford this trip. Now their dreams had finally come true. They were here. They were going to work taking care of children and go to school all at the same time. The program allowed them a stipend and six credit hours at the university, plus a day off a week in exchange of taking care of the children for ten hours a day. It was going to be so much fun.

Myrna and Sonia did not come from a poor family, but neither did they come from a wealthy family. They had never gone hungry, or gone without any necessities. The problem was their culture. It did not encourage females to go to school. On the other hand, it was highly discouraged.

One of Myrna's dreams was to become a teacher, but in her country she would never have the chance. Education was way too expensive and women were not awarded scholarships. The scholarships were saved for the men, but not many of them wanted to become teachers. The men usually studied business, architecture, science, and other things other than education. In her opinion the system was not fair.

Myrna was tall and slim. She had just turned 18 the prior week. She had gorgeous brown eyes and luscious long curvy hair. She knew she was beautiful. She was not conceited; she was realistic. It did not matter where she went, every eye would follow her. She had always thought it was funny when a wife hit her husband for staring. It was well deserved, she thought. She did not want every eye looking at her, only that of her future husband. Someday she would marry and have children. Those were her dreams. She had come to the States because her best friend had begged her. One year, two at the most, and then they will be home, where her mom and friends were. She already missed them so much.

Myrna felt that her dreams and her goals did not match somehow. She had always been jealous of the freedoms she saw women from other cultures have and wanted to feel that freedom, but she also wanted what her culture dictated: a woman was supposed to be submissive and she was supposed to take care of her husband and kids. Could she have both?

She knew Sonia did not care to go back to their country. Her parents had so many kids that they didn't even know them by name. Oh! They loved Sonia, but Sonia had always felt like an outsider and that is the reason they were here. Well, as far as Myrna was concerned, this was an adventure and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Boris had made sure everything was ready. The house for the new arrivals was clean and they had food and all the comforts of home. Tomorrow night the customers will arrive and business will take place as usual. He felt sorry for the girls, but not enough to help them. He liked his money. Money gave him power. What Davor and Kruno did not know is that he had kept two of the girls for a couple of his more powerful friends.

He found it interesting how all men were the same. It did not matter what walk of life they came from or what their education was. A real man wanted control of their women. Both of his friends were married to powerful woman. Alexander Burwell was married to an attorney, and Michael Miller was married to a lady senator. These two had too much money, but were lonely and neglected. Both of them felt that their marriage was an act of convenience. They were husbands for show. If they decided on a separation or divorce it would hurt their wives' political careers. What did those women think? A man needed to be appreciated and respected.

He had chosen those two girls for his friends because they seemed innocent, and his friends would pay him well. He knew these men well and he believed them to be kind. He had selected a nice place for them. He had done his research and the penthouse he had selected had been for sale for the last couple of years. The place was overpriced so it did not have much traffic of prospective buyers. He had decorated the penthouse like a honeymoon suite. Everyone involved would be happy.

He was not going to worry about his unwanted partners. He hated Davor and Kruno. While he did most of the work, those two were the ones who got most of the profits. He figured 'what they didn't know was not going to hurt anyone. He just wanted to even the score a bit.

Sonia was going from room to room of this luxurious penthouse. She jumped on the sofa, and opened the small refrigerator pulling a cold soda out. From there she run first to one room and then the other. The two bedrooms had king size beds, and the decor was exquisite. She had never seen such luxury. She uncovered the bed and found red silk linens, hmm, she said to herself as she rubbed her hands over the softness of the sheets. Did nannies get this kind of luxury? Living in America was going to be great.

At that precise moment Myrna walked in, "This does not feel right. We need to get out of here."

"What are you talking about? Have you seen the sheets?" Protested Sonia with a pout.

"Precisely, nannies do not need silk red sheets. Open the side table; nannies don't need that either. We need to get out of here NOW! Before it's too late. If you do not want to come, you are on your own." Myrna shouted at her friend as she walked purposely to the front door. She tried to open it. It wouldn't budge. "It's locked. Nannies are not locked in a fancy penthouse building either. We need to figure out a way to get out of here. Check the patio." she commanded in desperation as she went to check the windows.

Sonia had not been overly concern with her friend's imagination until she saw that the door was locked from the outside. The doors that led to the balcony were open, but they led to nowhere. They were so high up that if they were to decide to jump, they would become a flat pancake when they hit the ground. If they chose to scream, no one would be able to hear them. She looked at Myrna, concern in her eyes. Myrna had always known what to do in everything. She was the one who solved the problems.

Myrna went to the bar area looking for something to pry the door open. She could not find anything of use. She did find a corkscrew opener. She looked at Sonia, trying to figure out if Sonia had the mental strength to defend herself if need be. She didn't think so, but saw no other solution. "Here, hide this under your pillow. If anyone comes into your bed, stab him, and then run for the door. Do not wait for me, just run. Get help. If I can get away, I will run and try to get help. I am not coming to save you. We are not strong enough to fight men."

Sonia started to cry. "I don't think I can do this."

Myrna got a wine glass and wrapped it in a cloth napkin, and then she crushed it against the granite countertop. She stared into Sonia's eyes. Sonia had never been exposed to the things Myrna had been. Myrna's stepfather had more hands than an octopus and he tried to put them on her. She had learned to defend herself at a very young age. She felt sorry for her friend. This might be an experience that will scar her forever. "Listen to me, if this is what I suspect, whoever comes won't have any problems hurting us. We need to hurt them first. Stab him in the eye or their privates. Don't hesitate." She got a couple of the larger pieces of glass and placed them under her pillow."

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

Psalm 25:21

Chapter 5

"I hate my job!" Rosalyn screamed as she entered her apartment and flop on their only sofa.

"Bad day at work, I see," whispered Alana as she sat next to her friend.

"The days at work are all the same. I feel stuck. This company gave me a start, but the salary is low and there is no room for advancement."

"Why don't you look for something else? Alana had asked matter-of-factly.

"I have, no one hires me. I make it all the way to the interview, and they always choose someone else? What is wrong with me? I graduated top of my class and I have a dead end job."

Alana did not want to hurt her friend's feelings, but there were some things that needed to be said and she did not know how to say them. She walked to Rosalyn and pulled her by the hand to her room. Pushed her gently toward the door mirror. "What do you see Rosalyn?"

Rosalyn did not want to look. She did not even have a mirror in her room. She had been avoiding her reflection since forever and she was afraid of what she would see. She had become a master at avoiding her reflection. She hated bathrooms because they all had mirrors. She learned to avoid those as much as possible. Looking at her reflection was a reminder of things best forgotten. "This is ridiculous, I see me of course," replied Rosalyn avoiding the mirror, frustrated with herself, more than with her friend.

"You are misunderstanding me, look at you, what do you see?" When Rosalyn continued to act clueless, Alana continued, "Your clothes, how you are dressed. Your clothes are two sizes too big." Alana sighed. She knew there was deep pain in Rosalyn, she just did not know how to help her if Rosalyn did not open up and share her pain. If Rosalyn were to see, what everyone else saw, things would be so different. Alana was exasperated with her friend's attitude.

"I do not see anything wrong with what I am wearing. They should hire me because of my brain, not my outward appearance." Rosalyn felt frustrated.

Alana sighed, "I am hungry, let's go out to lunch."

Rosalyn would have liked to do a victory dance and scream at the top of her lungs, "You see? I told you so. Clothing does not make a person!" But she knew better. She knew the reality of human nature and outward appearance was important. Ideally she should be hired because of her brains, but realistically, she knew that the way she looked was very important in the world.

At the small cafe Alana had chosen, they ordered two lattes and a couple of sandwiches. They went to a corner table and sat down. Alana looked at her friend with compassion before proving her earlier point. "Most of these people are business people, look at how they look."

So Alana had not given up on the conversation, she just wanted to show Rosalyn the realities of the business world, thought Rosalyn defeated.

Alana knew that Rosalyn was uncomfortable, but she continued, "Pay close attention to the women. Just because you are smart, does not mean you should not look good. Remember you are always a lady and in the business world you must look professional."

Rosalyn took a deep breath. She was not ready to change that drastically, but she got the point. She looked nothing like those beautiful sophisticated women. Alana was right, she was wearing clothes that were two sizes too big, and these ladies were wearing nice suits or dresses that accentuated their figures. A few wore short skirts and showed cleavage, but most looked classy and professional. She wasn't sure she could do it. She hated to be noticed, but she was in competition for jobs with ladies that looked so very nice. Can I do this? The last time I dressed nice, I got hurt. Was that a fluke?

A couple of days later, she found herself sitting at the same cafe, looking at the women. She had some money saved up and could afford a new wardrobe. She had already tried it her way unsuccessfully, now she had to try it their way if she wanted to move up in the world. She felt stagnant in her current job, so she had to try something else.
Understand, o dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

Psalm 94:8

Chapter 6

Boris was a man of habit. He liked to follow the same routine. He took the same route to work and back toward home again. He ordered the same meals at restaurants and he visited the different restaurants the same day of the week at the same time each week. He knew who frequented which restaurant and always knew if there were any new faces in the places he frequented.

It was his opinion that in order to keep alive and out of jail, one had to be diligent in every aspect. Particularly in his line of work, he needed to know every detail of his surroundings, or it could cost him more than he was willing to pay. He did not think he was immune to disasters, instead, he believed himself to be prepared for them. One little mistake and that was it.

Today, he was walking with a swing in his step. He was expecting a nice sum of money to be deposited into his account. Life was good. As he was walking toward his normal spot at the bar, he noticed her. She was a beautiful brunette with green eyes, a very unusual combination. She was about 5'2" and very well proportioned. She wasn't model thin, but she had curves in all the right places. Instead of sitting at the bar this time, he managed to get a seat at the table across from her. She was so beautiful he had to look at her. He guessed she was in her early to mid twenties. He figured she was single. If she were his, she would never be allowed to be alone in a public place. He frowned at the fact that she never looked his way. He was not used to being ignored.

As he was trying to memorize the features of this rare beauty, he noticed the television above the bar. The news was flashing, "Senator Miller's husband found dead in penthouse apartment." The news anchor came live and explained that the cause of death was unknown, pending an autopsy, but they had found a knife, a corkscrew, and an iron next to the body. The news anchorman continued explaining that cops were still investigating and that they were asking for information. A large reward was being offered for anything that let to an arrest. They were looking for the people involved and would not rest until they were found.

Boris began sweating profusely, could they pin this on him? Did the temperature suddenly rise in this place? Where was the other man? Nothing had been mentioned about him or the girls. He needed to plan. If Davor or Kruno suspected foul play, he was a dead man.

The first thing he needed to do was find the girls and dispose of them. Then he had to call homeland security and report that he had two no shows. Once he reported the girls missing, they would become immigration's business, and Boris would be covered. He needed to make sure no one else found the girls.

A week later, the case of the murdered senator was still running rampant. The cops, and it seemed to him, every other law enforcement agency had gotten involved. He was still looking for the girls and the missing customer, but they all had disappeared. He had to find them before the cops did. Those two had to die before they pointed the finger at him, but where could he find them? Was it possible that the other man had them? He had called his house and the housekeeper had said that Mr. and Mrs. Burwell had gone on an impromptu second honeymoon. She did not know where they had gone or when they would be back. She would love to take a message. Boris had chosen not to leave a message. He did not need to give the cops anything else to pin on him. What was he going to do now?

He chose to continue his life as normal as possible. If Davor and Kruno suspected anything, he would not be alive to tell about it. He was sure no one could connect him to the Senator's husband, and the penthouse belonged to someone out of town. He did not even know to whom it belonged. He had done a little research and found out that it was vacant. No one could connect him to anything, so it was time to relax and see if he could see his green eyed beauty again.

When he got to the cafe, she had been there again. He continued to frequent the place, breaking every one of his rules. She had been there everyday during the lunch rush hour. As the weeks progressed, so had her attire. The first day she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, tennis shoes and no make-up. Her clothes had been too large for her. She had looked like a little girl wearing her mother's clothes. Then, the following week, it had been more of business-like attire. Today, she was wearing a black pencil skirt and white blouse, black stilettos and make-up. She had not worn make-up before. She was like a caterpillar. She had metamorphosed into this sophisticated young beautiful woman.

Since the moment this beautiful woman had walked into Boris' life, he looked forward to going to the cafe. All he could think about was the green-eyed beauty waiting for him. He was annoyed that she was playing hard to get. He was not a man to be toyed with. She would be his very soon.

Boris had been disappointed in himself. He had not obsessed about any female since he had been a teenager. He did not have that kind of luxury. She could be an undercover cop. Impossible! How could anyone know his taste in women? He wondered about her. He had to find out who she was. He had managed to sit facing her again, but he had been invisible to her. It annoyed him greatly that he could not get enough of her, and she had not even looked his way. He could not understand the reason she was toying with him.

Boris was so intrigued about her, he had ordered people to check her out, but the information had not come easily or cheaply. This gorgeous woman never used a credit card, which made him suspicious. The thought that she could be an undercover cop resurfaced again, and he needed to know about her. The people he put on her had followed her and found nothing out of the ordinary. They had finally found her name, Rosalyn Miller. Rosalyn, it suited her. She was as beautiful as a rose. He wondered if she was as prickly as one, and smiled at the thought. They had also found out that she had just graduated from the local university a year earlier and that she was at a dead end job. He was in a situation to solve that problem for her. The information also reiterated that she filled every one of his requirements. Her background was impeccable. She was a very private person and had no social life. He loved the fact that she did not even attend church; people spoke too much when they felt the need to bare their souls. He had found a few minor problems with her background check. For starters, he did not like her roommate. He was mildly concern about her. Did they confide in each other? He did not think so, since they had never been seen together. His other concern was in that she seemed so very independent. He wanted his employees, especially the females to be dependent on him. He will make sure to become indispensable to this beauty.

He had a reputation for helping his employees. Of course they all had to pay him back with work. Most everyone who worked for him felt indebted to him for hiring them when others wouldn't. These same employees were willing to cover for him and even break the law for him. Little favors for people went a long way. He loved the way he ran his business. Once he hired Rosalyn, pulling her out of the dead end job she had, she would be extremely thankful to him for having given her the opportunity to succeed.

He had to figure out how to bring her onboard, and later he would figure out his other problem with the two runaways. Now, he needed to tell her about his company. He needed her there and he would have her there. He dialed a number.

Commit your work to the LORD,

and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

Chapter 7

"Hey, White. I have a case for you." Said his RAC (Resident Agent in Charge) as he tossed a file onto his desk. "These two girls are overstays. The company who had sponsored them has declared them missing. Now their families are calling the embassy demanding to know where their little girls are. This is causing an international incident. We do not need this publicity." He continued as he walked out the door. "When you find them, let us know. I want to be there when you apprehend them."

John looked at the information. He was so tired of getting the insignificant cases. These two girls probably had planned everything from the very beginning, had found a guy to shack up with, and were having too much fun to call home. He'd get to it once he had a free moment.

There were real cases out there, but somehow his boss did not want to hear about them. There were innocents who needed rescuing, and evil people who needed to be put behind bars. Every time he opened a case involving child pornography or white slavery, his boss shut him down. He couldn't figure out for the life of him if it was because the boss was dirty or because the boss preferred to give those stats to some of the lazy people in the office, those same agents who were female and who happen to be friendly with the boss.

Myrna and Sonia had run away as fast as they could from the apartment. How did we manage to get into this much trouble so soon after getting here? Myrna wondered. Myrna was terrified of the repercussions from the law. She knew it had been self-defense. She had hid in the hall closet while her friend had gone to bed. When she had seen the two men come in, one had gone to her friend's room and the other man had gone to the other room. Myrna had run, and pushed a chair against the door holding it in place. Then she had gotten the iron that she had left on a chair by Sonia's room, just in case she needed it, and when she had heard her friend scream and then the man screamed, she had burst in to the room. The man was on the floor screaming at Sonia. He had the corkscrew in one hand and a knife on the other. Sonia was cowering against the headboard; Myrna had not known what to do. She hit the man over the head and grabbed her friend by the hand, pulling her toward the door. By the time the other man had opened that door and gone into the room to see the reason for the screams, the girls were on their way out the front door. The man had seen them, but did not try to stop them. He had been the one to call 911 from the dead man's phone.

Myrna's idea had been to go to the cops, but when she found out that she had killed the man, she knew she was going to be sentenced to death. It did not matter that she did not hit him hard or that it had been self-defense, in her country, men were always right. It did not matter what they did to women, the women were always at fault.

Now they were hungry and alone hiding in this abandoned home, along with a bunch of other people, and from the looks of them, they were high on something.

They needed to eat. In her desperation to find food, Myrna had gone to the dumpsters in the area. Most of them were locked. As she went from restaurant's dumpster to restaurant's dumpster she found herself in the back of this small café. The dumpster was not locked. When she had tried to climb in, this man had grabbed her from the waist and pulled her back down. She had been terrified. She got a hold of a bottle from the dumpster and hit him on the head with it. "Ouch! Why did you do that for?" She heard him say, but he did not let go of her hand. He dragged her inside the restaurant where he had her sit at a stool. He proceeded to put some food together and handed it to her. Since then, she had gone back every night to pick up a carryout bag. She was sure he had felt sorry for her and was trying to help her, but that could not last forever. She had to figure out what to do now. They could not continue to live like this, nor could they go to the cops.

Although Boris had covered all his bases, he was worried of the loose ends. These girls were loose ends. He needed to find them and dispose of them. The cops were still investigating the Senator's husband's death, and the senator, herself, had promised that the responsible party would be prosecuted to the extent of the law and then some. There were only three people who could point the finger at him. The two overstays and the attorney's husband. Burwell would not rat him out. He would be in as much trouble as Boris, if he did.
For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the LORD,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Chapter 8

Rosalyn had become more independent and confident in the last few years. She did not understand how it had happened, but now she was ready to go out of her comfort zone to look and search for a new job. Her current job was horrible, and she was ready for something new. Rosalyn was twenty-eight now, she wasn't a baby. She was going to go out and look for a job.

After Alana had taken her to the cafe, she had decided that a change was inevitable. She wasn't happy with that, but it was time she learned how to play the game. She had bought several outfits and was very proud of how she looked. It seemed to her that she looked a bit taller and slimmer than she had ever look before. The first time she had dressed in one of her new outfits and gone to the cafe, she felt that every eye in the place was on her. She knew that wasn't the case, but she still felt as a target, nonetheless.

Ignoring her inner voice, she continued to frequent the little cafe. The food was good and inexpensive, and it had free Wi-Fi. Her usual order was a latte and a BLT. As she ate, she would proceed to open her laptop, check the employment sites, and before applying to anything, research the different companies. This day was no different with the exception that this very pregnant woman had joined her.

"Hi my name is Helen Durov, I am a personal assistant for the CEO of Global International Import/Export Trade and I am looking for a temporary receptionist," she heard the woman say as she extended her hand toward Rosalyn.

Rosalyn whose manners had disappeared and her tongue had gotten stack, managed to stretch her hand toward the older woman and the only word she could manage was, "hi."

Mrs. Durov seemed oblivious to the breach in manners and continued as if everything was perfect. "While I train you to take over my job, I will be teaching you everything you need to know to make Mr. Brockovich happy. He is not very demanding, but he likes order." Rosalyn had no idea what the woman was talking about, and just nodded.

"It would only be for two months, but if you are good, we will find a place for you in the company. Are you interested in taking the job?" Rosalyn had tried to process all the information, and could barely contain her excitement. She nodded as no words were coming forward. She had taken the job immediately.

After Rosalyn had accepted the job, Mrs. Durov had handed her a business card, and departed as quickly as she had arrived. Rosalyn, who was still numb with the events, dialed Alana's number. "I have a job! I am so excited." She managed to say.

Alana had smiled, "I knew you were going to get something. Maybe we can celebrate tonight."

"That will be great!"

Alana did not know how to break it to Rosalyn, but Luke had asked her to marry him. They had been friends for a long time and they had only officially become a couple three months earlier, so she had been stunned when he had proposed. Of course she had said yes. She was going to have to tell Rosalyn tonight. She hoped that the new job came with a raise in salary for her. It was going to be hard for Rosalyn to afford their place on her own.

As Rosalyn was paying the restaurant bill, her cell phone rang. The ID caller said it was Mariah; weird she never called her. It had been months since she had heard from her, and weeks since she had heard from her parents.

"Hi Mariah, how are you doing honey?"

"I am sorry, this is not Mariah. This is officer Richards. I need to tell you that there was an accident today."

Rosalyn did not let her finish, "Oh no, is Mariah okay?"

"Your daughter is fine, unfortunately; your parents were the ones involved in a wreck. Both of your parents are in ICU at University General Hospital."

At first, Rosalyn did not know what to say. She had been avoiding her parents for so long. The idea of losing them was something she was not ready for. Her parents were not old. They were supposed to live forever.

"Ma'am?" the cop insisted.

"Yes, I am sorry. I am going to leave right now, and I should be there in about ten hours."

"Ma'am, you have a child here. Do you have friends in the area, or would you like us to call the Department of Children and Families?"

"No, please. I will call my parents' pastor. Mariah can stay with a member of the church. Give me fifteen minutes to arrange it and I will call right back."

Rosalyn had called Alana to apprise her of the situation, and then she called her parents' pastor. She forgot all about her new job. She did not have time to think, she just had to act. She needed to get to them. She felt that she was going to implode with the desperation she was feeling. She had to apologize to them. She had been feeling sorry for herself, and wasted so much time away from them, from their love. She had been so stupid and selfish.

That phone call had changed Rosalyn's life. One single call and her life had turned upside down. Her parents had died within a few minutes of her arrival. They had not even known that she had been there and all her chances for reconciliation were gone. Mom, dad, forgive me. Rosalyn had no idea how to proceed; what decisions was she supposed to make. She had so many regrets, and could not make it right. She had thought that by giving her daughter to them instead of giving her up, she was making it up to them. Somehow, it had not worked as she thought. Her parents had not been satisfied with Mariah; they still wanted her. All the phone calls she received from her parents had made her feel guilty about not visiting, but not enough for her to actually visit. "Honey, you need to come and visit," "Honey, we miss you, when are you coming?" She had hated those calls, and their relationship had deteriorated every time they spoke. She had made poor decisions and now she could not get the time back.

The phone calls drove her crazy with guilt, but she could not face them. Every time she saw them, she saw the pain and disappointment. They were great loving parents, but she had caused them so much pain. How could she have done differently? It had all been her fault and she deserved the isolation and punishment.

Now she needed to face responsibilities she should have faced long time ago. Responsibilities she had been too afraid to tackle alone. She knew she had wanted to for a while, but was worried of making things worse. She had tried to pretend everything was fine. She had believed her daughter was better off with her parents rather than with her, and that might have been the case, but now she did not know how to be a mother.

Every time she thought about bringing her daughter home with her, she had put excuses and pretended that her daughter was better off with the grandparents. She had even adopted the phrase: if it ain't broken, don't fix it, as an excuse to leave things alone and she had convinced herself that everything was as it should be. She knew she had been in denial. Her life, her relationship with her parents, and her relationship with her daughter had all been broken for a long time, but she had a hard time accepting it. It had been easier to hide from everything and run, than to face her failures.

At one point, her mother had tried to convince her to bring Mariah home with her. But Rosalyn had made one excuse after another: she worked too many hours; she did not know anything about kids; her parents were so much better at parenting than she could ever be. Her whole life had become one excuse after another. She had pretended to have a normal, perfect life, but she knew better. Her life was far from perfect and now she did not know her daughter.

She had no choice. She felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of a child. What was she going to do now? How was she going to raise her daughter? Her mother had been taking care of Mariah from the moment she was born and now it all came down to her and she had no clue on how to do it. She had been protecting her daughter from her sin and she had been protecting herself from getting hurt, and now she had to face reality. She loved her daughter, and now she had to try her best to do it right.

The other problem she faced was her memories. What was she going to tell her daughter if she was asked about her father? Those were memories she did not want to ever face. Those memories frighten her and were one of the reasons she had moved away. She had loved her daughter from the very beginning. She had wanted to have her daughter with her, but she had been too afraid to try it. She had mastered the art of blocking her feelings, but Mariah with her sweet nature, had managed to tear down her carefully built walls. Every time Rosalyn had looked at her, she had wanted to reach out and hold her. She knew she could not do that. Eventually she would end up hurting her daughter, as she had hurt her parents.

"Mom, where am I going to live now that gramps and grams are not here anymore? Are you going to keep me?" a very shy Mariah had asked.

Rosalyn had been over thinking her life and options that she had not heard when Mariah came into the room and her question caught her by surprise. Rosalyn began to cry. How could she have done this to her baby?

"I would like you to live with me, if it's okay with you."

"I would like that." Mariah had said, but then she got up and walked back to her room. Rosalyn had heard her crying.

She had to fix this somehow for Mariah's sake. She knew Mariah was innocent of all wrongdoing. She was so very sweet. She had always been wonderful. Now Rosalyn needed to make some changes to own her life so that her daughter did not have to pay for her mistakes. She was going to work at having a relationship with her daughter. She was going to become the best mother she could be, but where did she start?

There were so many decisions to be made. As usual she started creating a list. She thrived on organization; first— storage for her parents' belongings, second— sell her parents' house, third— move. Move, where? To her very small apartment? Her place was not meant for more than two people. She had chosen her apartment because of its size and its location. The size gave her comfort. She knew there was no place for ghosts, and the location had been perfect when she had been looking for a job. She was so close to the downtown area she could walk to work if she so desired. She had not worried about school zones or having room for anyone else in there. What about Alana? Would she mind having a child in the house? She had not even told Alana that she had a kid.

Okay, do not panic, she told herself, one thing at a time. First, she needed to research schools, and rent a bigger place in the correct school zone. She would make this work. Her job? Oh! No, she did not have a job, and the one she had been hired she didn't show up to. Now, what? She doubted that she would get a second chance.

According to class discussion, this company was the hardest to get a job in. One student teasingly said that it was easier to get hired as a CIA agent than to get hired by this company. Everyone she knew wanted to work there because they paid higher salaries than most other businesses in the area. How could she have forgotten to call them?

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Psalm 33:10

Chapter 9

Boris was starting to panic. The cops were relentless in their investigation. They had found the girls' fingerprints all over that apartment, and now the girls' pictures were all over the news with a huge reward offered for whoever turned them in. He was expecting the cops to come knocking at his door at any minute now, since his company had sponsored the girls. He had covered himself and his company when he had turned them in as absentees from the company, but he was sure the cops were going to begin snooping around. He needed to have a plan, but he would not worry about it now. The new girl would be coming today and then she will be his.

"Helen, have you heard from the new girl, what happened to her?" Boris had asked.

"I do not know, she has not shown up nor has she called. Perhaps she heard about your reputation." Helen's answer was full of venom.

"She'll come, when she does, make sure you welcome her."

"You are so full of yourself, aren't you? If she is smart, she will avoid this place like the flu."

Boris looked at her, ready to explode, "if you know what is good for you, you'll shush. Now get out."

Helen knew she had crossed the line. What was wrong with her? Did she not care for her life anymore? She knew the repercussions for crossing the boss.

Helen was thirty-three years old, and had been working for Boris while she was working on her master's degree at the university as an international student. She had needed a sponsor, and he had provided the sponsorship. He had trained her himself and she had fallen for every single one of his charms. Their relationship had only lasted until the next hired girl. At first, she had been heartbroken. She had realized that getting involved with the boss had been the biggest mistake of her life, but her heart had not accepted the facts and she had tried to please him in everything to lure him back to her.

She was done with that. Now, Helen wanted revenge. She had been a good girl with high standards and a good reputation when she had met him, and Boris had taken advantage of her naiveté. He made her do things she would never have done otherwise. She had loved him so much. Now she knew that it could not be love, but loneliness. She had learned of the two girls. She wanted to find them first, and then what? She knew that she could not go to the cops with the girls. Boris had too much on her. Perhaps she could help them run away. She would be satisfied in knowing that he could not have peace while the girls were missing.

As Helen entered her office, the phone rang. It had been Rosalyn. She should warn her about the boss, but instead she just told her to come to the office in two weeks. Helen sighed and walked back to the boss' office.

"Now what?" a very annoyed Boris had asked his personal assistant.

"She just called. She will try to be here Monday."

Boris, who liked being in control and wanted everyone dancing to the tune of his horn, turned red on the face. What was the matter that nothing was going according to plan? "What do you mean TRY?" He had shouted.

"She has issues she is dealing with." Helen was doing her best to be ambiguous with her general answers and aggravate him in the process.

"What ISSUES?" Boris was shouting loud enough that everyone in the building could hear him, and even though Helen was terrified, she looked and sounded in total control of the situation.

"Well, she is out of town dealing with family problems." She said this, as she pivoted out of the room. She hated him so much. She loved it when she could get the upper hand. She was going to enjoy this as much as possible. On Monday, when Rosalyn did not show up, she would let him know more details, but until then, she was going to enjoy his bad mood.

For now, she had to figure out where she would go if she were those girls? She imagined them being afraid and alone. She had been afraid and alone before. She was going to be sent back to her country with no money and no prospects and Boris had rescued her. For what? She looked at her protruding belly. To make this out of her, she thought in disgust. Her parents would be ashamed of her.

Boris stayed in his office fuming. When did he lose control of the situation? He had noticed Rosalyn from the very beginning. The first time he had seen her, she looked so out of place. As the weeks had passed, she began to look the part of the businesswoman both in appearance and decorum. He had promised himself, that he would make her fit into his world. Now he doubted himself. He did not let women control him. He was in charge. He was the only one to have control. Women were on this planet to please men, in particular to please him.

Helen was another problem he had to deal with, lately she had been crossing the line, and she was going to have to pay. How dare she talk to him like that?

His now deceased wife had done that. He hated that wench. How he could have loved her so much, and hated her within a blink of an eye was a wonder to him. Perhaps he never loved her. The day she died, he had gone to the bar to celebrate. Everyone thought that he had gone there to mourn. Stupid people, they should have known better.

He had married his wife Annette when he had been young. He had only been twenty, six years her junior. He thought himself in love with her. Her experience had excited him. She made every fantasy a reality, but it had not lasted.

He worked at the docks over sixty hours a week for her. All the money he made had never been enough to satisfy her need for things. She loved jewelry and designer clothing. She had wanted more and more of everything he gave her. He began his life of crime then. Petty things to begin with, and little by little the crimes had escalated into felonies in the eyes of the law. He would have to make sure not to ever get caught.

His number one goal had been to make his wife happy and have all her dreams and desires come true. Unfortunately, making him happy had never been her goal. He did not know when it had started, but she had been unfaithful. He had tried to provide for her the best money could buy, and while he was working, she had been in the arms of other men. He had learned his lesson well. Women were not to be trusted.

At that moment, he had realized that women had one purpose in life - to please him, not the other way around. Rosalyn will be his, but in the meantime there was the new girl in accounting. She did not understand it yet, but she will soon see how lucky she was he had chosen her.

He heard a knock on the door, "come in." He had been waiting for her. This one was not going to be difficult. "You called sir," said the timid voice. A young graduate of the university was waiting for him. She was an international student from South America, who had come begging to be sponsored. Her parents had sacrificed all of their savings and retirement to send her here. If she went back, all of their sacrifices would have been for nothing. If he had not helped her, she would be on a plane back to her impoverished family with no job prospects. She owed him and once she realized how fortunate she was to have been chosen, she would love him forever. She did not have to do much to become a favorite of his. Unlike his customers, he chose his girls locally and they all loved him and wanted him.
This God is my strong refuge and

has made my way blameless.

2 Samuel 22:33

Chapter 10

John, an agent with HSI, was waiting for this particular young woman to show up. He was doing this on his own time, under his own budget. A friend, who was an investigator at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), had called him asking for his assistance. "Hey, White Townsend here."

"It's been a while, is this business or pleasure?" John had asked. "What can I do to help?"

Townsend felt ashamed of his job, but he needed to do something. He had joined the force to make a difference. "I don't know if you can help since this is really our jurisdiction. The boss here has a chip on his shoulder and refuses to take this case."

"Spill it, I don't have all day," interrupted John, who had little patience with people. He was blunt and to the point and expected everyone to do the same.

"This young woman came to complain about her boss. She was so shaken up, I promised I would do everything I could to help her and now my hands are tied."

"Ok, give me the details and I'll see what I can do to help," said John.

"White, I'll do what I can to unofficially help you, but now that the boss has warned me off, I have to watch my back. He is a very vengeful man. I have already been warned to stay away from that company." Said Agent Townsend.

"Okay, you have my curiosity. What company? And who are we talking about?"

"Global International Import/Export Trade and its CEO, Boris Brockovich."

"Its funny, this is the second time in a month that I have heard the name of this company.

"Really?" said Townsend.

"Yeah, but the first time, they were the injured party. They had sponsored a couple of girls and they didn't show up to work." John took a deep breath. He needed to proceed cautiously with this situation. "Listen carefully, keep this quiet. Brockovich and my RAC are golf buddies. As long as I am working to help the company, I wont have any trouble investigating it. As soon as they find out I am looking for evidence against the company, then that would be a different story. If we come to the boss without strong evidence, he'll yank the rug out from under us," replied John in frustration. He was so tired of politics and red tape. He knew that if his boss learned of him doing this, even if he had all the evidence in the world, his boss would sweep it under the rug.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations,

whose designer and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:10

Chapter 11

John sat at the cafe, drinking his coffee. He did not understand the reason EEOC was looking the other way. Their job was to investigate sexual harassment, not to cover up for friends. They needed to protect the innocent. The fact that the girl was a foreigner was of no consequence.

As he repeated the conversation with Agent Townsend in his head, a gorgeous young Brazilian woman sat at his table. She took his breath away. She had beautiful big brown eyes, and had the most beautiful olive complexion he had ever seen. She was tall, and her body was what men dream of. She must have been in her early twenties. He realized that had to stop ogling and act professionally.

"Hello, my name is Ana Souza, are you Agent White?" She said as she extended her hand to shake his, and he felt like a teenage boy on his very first date when he extended his hand to shake hers.

After hearing Ana's story, he had decided to help her. Her boss had insinuated that she owed him for the job he had provided and there was only one way to pay. Ana had not succumbed to her boss' demands yet, but if she did not get help from someone, she would have no choice but to accept the boss' proposition. He could not help it; he had to help her even if it meant his job. Someone dear to him had been raped and nothing had been done about it, so he took all cases of abuse seriously.

In order to help Ana, he had to go back and look at the file his boss had given him. As he investigated the missing girls he would look for other victims. Men who abused their power usually had several girls who had succumbed to the sexual harassment and were to embarrass to come forward, before there was one who had the guts to file a grievance.

Preserve me, O God,

for in you I take refuge.

Psalm 16:1

Chapter 12

Myrna had gone to the café, as she had done for the last few weeks. Bobby was a kind man, and he always waited with a carryout bag. When Bobby opened the door, she realized that this time, friendly Bobby wasn't friendly at all. "Hi," she had said with a hesitant smile when she saw his frown. He had not smiled back as usual. He looked angry.

"Myrna, is that correct?"

She knew she was in trouble. How did he learn her name? She had refused to give him her name and now fire was coming out of his beautiful hazel eyes. The lines around his mouth were very pronounced making him look unreachable. In the past, he had always had a friendly smile for her. Not this time. She was scared at the irritation she saw in his beautiful facial expressions. She started backing away as she asked, "Yes, how did you learn my name?"

He immediately reached for her hand. He was being gentle but firm when he held her. His tone of voice gave a different message; "Sweetheart, your name is all over the news along with your picture and your friend's name." he exploded.

She looked at him not knowing what to do, and then she tried to dislodge herself from his grasp and run. He tightened his grip on her and pulled her flush against him. She knew she was in trouble. All men were the same, and she did not think she could run this time. He pulled her inside the café with him. "I'm sorry, please don't hurt me." He heard her say. Ashamed of himself he immediately let go of her.

"Do not think about running, you need to explain to me what happened in that penthouse. I don't like trouble, and you have put me in the middle of it. Perhaps we can figure a way out of this, and no, I am not planning on hurting you, not yet anyhow." Bobby did not know why he had added the comment at the end. He had never hurt a woman in his life, and he was not planning on ever doing it. He had three younger sisters whom he adored, and no matter how much they had pestered him, he could never hurt them. Every time he looked at their eyes, he remembered the first time he held each one of them. He loved them so much, and if a man ever laid a hand on them, he would make sure he regretted the day he was born.

He looked at this beautiful European girl, and he knew he had to help her. She might have killed a man, but somehow he did not sense a mean bone in her body or a malicious thought in her head. "I have all night. Begin talking and start at the beginning." He turned giving her his back. If she was the kind to hurt someone, this was her chance. He took two cups from the shelf and moved to the coffee pot. The whole time, not looking at her. He knew that she was sitting right next to the knife he was using to cut the meat for the next day. If she was a killer, he was ready.

Myrna looked at her surroundings. She was trying to figure out if she could make it to the door, but she knew she could not outrun this man. There were two doors, and one of them led to the front of the café. She knew that door would be locked. For her to get to the other door, she had to run past him. There was no way she could make it.

She took a deep breath and began telling him every bit of her story. How they had saved money to come to the States, and how long they had looked for a company to sponsor them. How every Au Pair Company was so far out of their price range, they felt their dreams were unreachable. They continued to save money, but every time they found a company, their savings was never enough. When they found this particular company (Global International) for half the price, they jumped at the opportunity to come. They had paid without giving it a second thought. They were so very excited to come work here taking care of children, and were looking forward to attending school. Their plan had never been to take care of men.

Bobby listened intently, and he believed her. He was trying to figure out who he knew that would be able to help them. He had never broken the law, not even a traffic infraction. He understood their fear of cops and of being convicted. His church family had gone on many mission trips and he had heard many stories of how repressive everything was overseas. Even though police were supposed to investigate each case until they were sure they had the guilty party behind bars, he knew from listening to his police friends, that they were so overworked that once they got their suspects, they stopped looking further. In most cases, it would be declared a solved case without looking for any other guilty party. He believed Myrna to be innocent, he had given her a chance to run and had even given her a weapon and she had not even looked at the knife.

"This is what we are going to do," he said, "I have an apartment upstairs. It is a one bedroom with a bathroom. I live there." At his words, she panicked and begun looking for an escape route again. He wanted to beat himself over the head. He felt so stupid. He raised his hand, "Wait a minute, not like that. You and your friend can take the bed, I will sleep on the sofa. Is that okay with you?"

"You are going to help us? And you do not want . . ." As she spoke, her face was turning all kinds of shades of red and she was holding her hands so tight together, they were turning white for the lack of circulation.

"Yes, I am going to help you, and no, I do not want . . ." he smiled. This girl was so innocent; she could not even say the word sex without turning red. She had not even said it and she was as red as a beet.

"Now we need to go get your friend. Where is she?" He continued.

"She is very scared. I am too, but I'll show you."

When they got to the condemned home in the worst part of town, he decided he needed to bring this to the attention of his pastor. His church was always looking for mission opportunities. They did not need to go far to find one. This place was a dump. It was dirty with trash all over the place and broken bottles on the floor. It stunk of feces and urine, and the smell of marijuana was enough to get him high, if they did not hurry. Myrna guided him to a door in the back of the building. She knocked in a rhythm that got the attention of someone on the other side of the door. He heard a shy voice, "Who is it?"

"It's Myrna, open up."

Bobby had never been so happy to get out of a place, as he was to get out of there. He had all these people starring at him.

He was surprised they had not tried to rob him.

At his apartment, he helped the girls settle in and wondered what kind of trouble he was getting himself into.

"Listen girls, I hate to say this, but you cannot go to the window, or walk out of here until we find someone to help us. Your faces are all over television, billboards and Internet. They are offering such a large reward that your own mother would turn you in. You understand?"

Both girls were quiet, but nodded.

"Do not open the door for anyone, I'll bring you food."
Let each of you lookout only to his own interests,

but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

Chapter 13

Within five days of the funeral, Rosalyn had packed the house, placed it on the market to be sold, and moved Mariah to her small apartment. She gave Mariah her room, and she slept on the sofa. Rosalyn figured this was the best she could do until she found better arrangements.

Rosalyn had not realized how empty her life had been until now. Why had she chosen to live so far from home? Her parents were not the enemy, and poor Mariah, she was an innocent. The fault had been hers. If she had not lied nothing would have happened.

The next day after they arrived at the apartment, Alana woke up early as usual. "Good morning, what are you doing on the sofa? What time did you make it in?"

Rosalyn opened her eyes slowly, hoping that the recent events were just a nightmare. Her parents were dead, and her daughter had moved in with her. She was responsible for another person. She could not pawn it off on someone else anymore. She could not run anymore. She looked at her friend and knew that she had to face the facts.

How wonderful it would be to look as lovely and carefree as her friend? Alana was the only person she knew who could look beautiful and feminine wearing flannel pajamas, no makeup, and those silly Minnie Mouse slippers she liked to wear. Rosalyn took a deep breath; she did not know how to break the news. "Alana, there is something I need to tell you, do you have time?"

Alana flopped on the sofa next to Rosalyn, "I think so, I don't know. I have not had my coffee, yet. Is it important? I guess it is, since you never want to talk."

Rosalyn smiled at her friend's inner dialogue. She was used to Alana, and knew that it was normal for her to speak without even taking a breath, especially early in the morning, but she still wondered how her friend would react at the news. "I have a daughter."

"Ok, that's nice." She started getting up, and then flopped down, her eyes as big as saucers, and she screeched, "You have a what?"

"Sorry I didn't tell you before, it just never came up."

Alana could not help it, she was squealing, "We have lived together for about four years and you are telling me that this never came up? When am I going to meet her? Do I get to meet her? How old is she? What is her name? Oh, my gosh! This is so exciting. It IS exciting, isn't it?" she finished hesitantly.

"Yes, you get to meet her." As she said that, the bedroom door opened up slowly and out came a very sleepy Mariah.

Alana jumped up from the sofa completely awake now, the coffee forgotten. She ran to Mariah and embraced her. "Oh my goodness! This is her, right? It is so nice to meet you. I am Alana, and your mom and I have been friends for a long time. It is so good to meet you. Oh! Rosalyn, she is beautiful. She looks like you, other than your eyes of course. Yours are green and hers are brown." Alana knew there was a story and she perceived that there was so much pain involved. She felt sorry for this young girl and wanted to make her feel welcome, but how? She probably had gone overboard as usual. Then she remembered...I have to tell her, maybe after breakfast. She felt so guilty because she suspected she was going to abandon her friend when Rosalyn most needed her.

Rosalyn took care of the formalities and then said she had to go get ready. In the bathroom, under the force of the shower hitting her, she cried until there was no more hot water left. Alana had not known her daughter, but she managed to make her feel welcomed. I am making a mess of things. I have not even hugged my daughter, thought Rosalyn, and her grandparents died. She has received hugs from everyone and their neighbor, but not from me. What kind of mother am I? What kind of human being am I, that I cannot even show compassion to my child?

Rosalyn had shown Mariah where the food was, and had gone out. She was not trying to avoid her daughter, she just needed to take care of completing her tasks: find the best school and a house to rent. She needed to speak with Alana. She hoped that Alana would want to move with them. She seemed to like Mariah and now she needed her friend more than ever.

Mariah found herself emotionally lost. A week after the accident, she had moved in with her mother, an absentee mother, and a mother that filled the role of an acquaintance or a distant aunt, more than that of a mother. For the first time in her life, she had been in her mother's apartment, a very Spartan apartment from what she could see. How could anyone live like this? She barely had a place to sit, and just a small television decorated the living area. Mariah never felt she had been overly spoiled, but her mother lacked so many of the comforts in life, but it seemed to Mariah that her mother lacked companionship more than anything else. She had tried holding a conversation with her mother several times and all she got out of it were yes and no responses. She had never felt this lonely in her life. She missed her grandparents so much. She missed her home. She missed her room.

The room that Rosalyn had given her had a small twin bed and nothing else. Where was she going to put her things? Mariah had not been invited for a tour, so she had not seen Rosalyn or Alana's rooms. She suspected that it would be as plain as everything else. Moving in with her mother was going to be an adjustment. An adjustment, she did not think she was ready for. She wanted her life back, her friends and her school.

Mariah wondered when Rosalyn would make the time to enroll her in school. She spent her days crying, reading, sleeping and crying some more. Every evening, Rosalyn brought takeout, and Mariah had a choice of cereal and frozen meals for the rest of the day. When they had sat down to eat, Rosalyn had not spoken, and neither had Mariah. If Alana was present during dinnertime, she filled the awkward silence with nonstop chatter. The two friends were as opposite as water and oil. Mariah spent the time quiet. She did not know how she fitted with them. It had been awkward at first, but then, she accepted it as part of life. She missed her grandparents, and the void in her life caused by their absence made her so very lonely.

Rosalyn had loved her daughter from the very first. She had dreamed of holding her and loving her. The very first time she felt her move in her womb, Rosalyn had been so excited, but at that moment she had decided that she was not good enough for her baby. She did not deserve a beautiful child and she would have given her up to be adopted by a nice family if it had not been for her parents, who had fallen in love with her immediately. She loved her parents so much she gave them Mariah.

Since it had not worked as she had planned, she had decided to protect her daughter from her dirtiness by keeping her distance. She could not afford to be close to her daughter. She would just mess it all up. Mariah deserved a chance at a good life and Rosalyn could not allow Mariah to fall in love with her. Rosalyn had tried so hard to protect her baby from herself.

She would have liked to be closed to her, to see her grow up, and to observe the changes she went through, as she transformed from a baby to a young woman. Her parents had not understood that she was trying to shelter her baby from her sin. She was not a good example for her daughter. They had not respected her views, so she had to move away. The pain was too much.

She had wanted to protect Mariah, but she also wanted to protect herself. If she got to close to Mariah, she would hurt and disappoint her like she had done with her parents. If she allowed herself to become attached to Mariah, she knew her daughter would resent her lack of motherly skills. So she had allowed her mother to take over.

The first time she had held Mariah had been the most painful for her. At the hospital she had refused to see her, but at home, living under the same roof had made it difficult to avoid. Her dad had been at work and her mother had been fertilizing her rose garden with cow manure, when Mariah had woken up. For a week old baby, she had very strong lungs. Rosalyn was sure that if she didn't do something the neighbors were going to come and check on them. Rosalyn got the bottle ready, and had to hold Mariah to feed her. It was just she and Mariah, she had cried the whole time, while feeding her daughter.

She cried for herself. She remembered the horrible evening and how frighten she had been. She cried because she felt relieved and in wondered that something this beautiful and poor was the result of all that evilness. She cried because she had been stained and she did not want to mar Mariah.

There had been other times when she had to deal with Mariah, and she had pretended that Mariah was a child they were babysitting. She did not want to get attached to her daughter because she felt she wasn't good enough for her. Mariah was so sweet; Rosalyn felt her defenses collapsing and her heart begin to melt every time. Her resolve to protect her daughter also crumbled and it frightened her. Her solution had been to stay away. She knew that her daughter needed a good mother, but Rosalyn knew that her failures would come back to haunt her. She did not deserve to be anyone's mother.

Now she had no choice, she needed to make the best decisions for her daughter and try to do her best as a mother. She had two goals: find a good school and provide a nice house for her daughter. She deserved the best, so instead of going to work, she had gone to look for schools and their neighborhoods. She hoped that she had the wisdom to choose wisely. She truly wanted to rectify her mistakes. She loved her daughter and regretted her past decisions.

She met with a realtor, and visited plenty of schools. She also had driven by a seemingly insurmountable number of neighborhoods, until finally she found the right middle and high school. After the schools had been decided, she had found the perfect house.

Their new house was in an affluent suburban area. The neighborhood was clean and friendly. The house she had liked had been for sale. She had to beg to be allowed to rent it for a year. Afterwards, she would either have to buy it or move. She intended to buy it. It had been a little challenging, because it had been above and beyond her budget, but Rosalyn figured that if she shared the rent with Alana and received a big enough increase in salary at the new job, they would be able to afford it. She had signed the contract.

Rosalyn wondered about Mariah. Would she be happy about going to the best school in town? The house she had chosen was so much bigger than her parents' house had been. Would Mariah like it? She hoped so. The house had three bedrooms, a great room with a fireplace at the center, a state of the art kitchen, and her favorite was the huge yard and a pool right outside the porch. Those things should make Mariah happy.

When Rosalyn had lived at home, she had loved to cook, and her parents had encouraged her to do it. Smiling, she remembered that her love for science had come from mixing ingredients in the kitchen. Sometimes the meals were scrumptious, other times they were not. No matter what, her parents had always encouraged her in all her adventures. If the food was good everyone enjoyed it, it was eaten with gusto. If the food was inedible, her parents waited for her to make the first move toward the trash. Once she declared that the food was awful, it was pizza time. Her mom and dad had been so good to her.

She realized that she knew nothing about her daughter. Did she cook? She needed to develop a relationship with Mariah; she so desperately wanted to build memories with her daughter.

Rosalyn had gotten home excited, and could not wait to share her news with the girls. She had found the perfect house and the perfect neighborhood. Now she knew things were going to work out for all of them. They could move in there immediately; things were going to be great.

"Alana, Mariah, guess what I've been doing all day!" Squealed Rosalyn as she walked in the apartment. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't know, but we need to talk," responded Alana in a more somber tone. She had been putting it off and now was dreading what she had to say.

Mariah had stayed quiet the whole time. She did not know her mother at all, and would not have any idea of what to guess. If her grandma had come saying 'guess what I've been doing all day' she would have known that her grandma had spent the day gardening or at a nursery buying plants. She loved plants so much. On the other hand, her mother's hobbies or activities were foreign to her.

"Ok, you first." Said Rosalyn, hoping to save the best news for last. It could not be better than a new place to live. They had been living in this tiny apartment for so long, that it would be a great thing to move to a home.

"I am getting married. I was hoping you could be my maid of honor. I know is short notice, but Luke got a transfer and received a promotion in his job and we need to get married this weekend." Alana had been so afraid of Rosalyn's reaction, she had said everything in one breath. She hated to leave her friend at a moment like this.

"You are moving? I am happy for you, but you are moving?" said Rosalyn in a barely audible voice.

"I am sorry, I was going to tell you the day you left to North Carolina. We are getting married this weekend. My parents are flying on Thursday. Please say you are happy for me."

"I am happy for you. I am ecstatic for you. I am just going to miss you. Where are you moving to?"

"We are moving to Colorado. It won't be too bad, you can come visit, and I will be closer to my parents. I have missed them and you and I will be one phone call away. What is your news?"

"Oh! Well, you have perfect timing. I found a cute little place to move to. I enrolled Mariah in school. I hope she likes both the house and the school."

Rosalyn had no idea what to do now. The place was too expensive for her. She had never acted impulsively, except for the one time when she had gotten in trouble. Now for a second time, acting without thinking about the consequences had come back to bite her. She had made a mistake.

She needed to come up with something. She was going to speak with Mrs. Durov, and sign the paperwork. She hoped the salary was going to be high enough, if not she was going to have to get a second job.
"With man it is impossible,

but not with God.

For all things are possible with God."

Mark 10:27

Chapter 14

Rosalyn had started her new job. She loved it. Unfortunately, she had not been able to be trained long. Mrs. Durov had gone into premature labor and had been rushed to the hospital. It had been a false alarm, but the doctor had ordered bed rest.

Her receptionist duties were going to be to answer the phone, speak to customers about the products and services they provided, type letters, simple office work. Now that she was the temporary personal assistant her duties included the boss' appointments, making coffee and she had no idea what else, but Mrs. Durov had said as she walked out the door, 'make sure the boss is happy.'

She will have the office running efficiently, no matter what it took; after all, she was so organized everything was going to work smoothly. She did not want someone else's job; she just wanted to make sure she got hired on. This might not be the job of her dreams, but it paid the bills.

She had decided that she was going to prove how efficient she was and she would never be sent back. She would make sure to become indispensable. She was going to keep the job, the higher salary and the benefits. She owed Mariah.

Her new office was on the top floor. The desk was huge! She would guess the desk to be bigger than her twin bed. Helen had the office decorated so feminine and beautiful with cut flowers in the corner and porcelain dolls all around. Her desk was decorated with pink and purple office decorations. The tape dispenser was a pink stiletto, the sticky note dispenser was a miniature pink and purple purse, even the pens were pretty and girly. There were beautiful pictures of women in gardens on the wall. The tan leather sofa on the opposite side of the wall could seat three people comfortably, and the magazines on the corner tables were all up to date. Everything was just so delicate and pretty.

Rosalyn was looking at the wilted fresh flowers on the corner of her desk. She was going to have to throw them away. Was she expected to buy new ones, or could she stick the vase in a drawer in the desk?

As she was looking for a place to hide the vase after she tossed the flowers out, she found a set of accounting books. She pulled them out and realized that they were different from the other book she had been given.

She needed to figure out how this lady organized everything. How was she supposed to use both books, and what information went where? She had learned of smaller companies working under the umbrella of larger companies, maybe this second set of books belong to a different company. She begun looking at all the files and paperwork left in the desk and file cabinet to make sense of her new discovery. This was an import/export company, but the paperwork did not make sense to her. The numbers did not make sense. Based on the bank accounts there was so much money going in, and so much money going out, but the invoices did not match the deposits. Which deposits went with which book?

She was going to need more time to learn this. She did not want to seem inept, so she decided to copy the e-books to her flash drive and make copies of the other books, so she could figure it out without seeming inept. She needed to keep this job.

She knew that she had little experience, but she was qualified. She could not ask the boss; she needed to figure it out on her own. The more she looked, the more confused she became. No matter how she tried to match the amounts on the bank statements with the invoices, she couldn't. She'll figure it out later.
The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night

did not depart from before the people.

Exodus 13:22

Chapter 15

Bobby was lying on the sofa, trying to figure out what to do with the two girls he had on the other side of the door. He did not believe for a moment that they were guilty of any nefarious crime, other than self-defense. The girls had said that the company who sponsored them was Global International Trade. He knew Mr. Brockovich. Perhaps he should ask him for assistance, after all, someone had used his company for this criminal activity. It was Mr. Brockovich's job as the CEO to find out who was committing crimes in his company. He would speak to him tomorrow.

Myrna and Sonia were arguing in the bedroom. "I am tired of being here. I feel so restricted," complained Sonia.

Myrna looked at her friend with sympathy in her eyes. Sonia sometimes acted so young. "Sonia we are in a bind, we need to stay put until we can figure something out."

"We do not need to figure out anything. Don't involve me in your issues. You are the one who told me to stab him, and you are the one who killed him. I am going out tomorrow and you can't stop me."

Myrna had not realized this until now, but her friend was a petulant, spoiled, immature and irresponsible brat and she was the reason Myrna had gotten into to so much trouble back home, and now here. She wanted to scream, to throw something, but that wasn't in her nature, so she opted for walking away. Myrna opened the door quietly and went to the small kitchen where she sat at the table with a glass of water. She just needed to be alone for a little while.

Tears were streaming down her face. She was not sad, but frustrated. She had let her friend use her for all these years, and now it could cost her everything. Her life was on the line, and all because she wanted to protect that woman whom she called 'friend' for so many years. The funny thing was that Sonia was older than Myrna, and acted as if she were five years old.

Bobby heard the argument and then saw Myrna come out of her room. He decided he would pretend to be asleep on the sofa. This girl was gorgeous and he did not need any more temptations. He needed to follow and do what he knew to be right and moral. He would never take advantage of an innocent. Unfortunately for him, he heard her crying. He could not help it. He went to her. He just sat next to her and begun murmuring encouraging words. "Things are going to get better. I know someone who can help. You'll see." He moved his chair closer to her and she leaned into him. His body warmth felt so good, and it made her feel protected. She had never had anyone to protect her before.

Sonia was angry, how dared Myrna include her in the problems she had caused. She was innocent, and she could not be confined anymore. She had enough of living like a Jew in the time of the Holocaust. She was a free woman, innocent of all wrongdoing. As a matter of fact, she was a victim. She did not need to hide in this hellhole. To prove her independence, she went to the window and opened it. She stood there enjoying the wind in her face. The street was dark, and it was late. No one could see her. Life had too much to offer for her to live scared. She stood by the open windows.
For their feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

Proverbs 1:16

Chapter 16

Boris walked into his office with a bouquet of flowers. It paid to be kind to his female employees. This time he had spent extra time choosing just the perfect flowers for his future flower. He imagined her eyes lighting up with grateful emotion at seeing the flowers. He imagined her beautiful lips as she smiled and gave him thanks. Life was good. He found out that little gifts, made the girls fall in love with him so much faster, and he had been waiting for Rosalyn for so long now. He expected Rosalyn to fall at his feet without any problem.

Since Rosalyn had come to work for him, Boris had realized that he looked forward to being at his office. He knew that she would be sitting there, looking pretty. Just like he liked all his women to be. He wanted them ready to do as he commanded. He wondered if she was ready for that yet, but if not, she would be very soon.

Boris looked serious as he said, "I am glad you threw the wilted flowers in the trash. Here is something to replace them with." Then he smiled. "Don't be so serious Rosalyn, I like the office to look and smell nice." Then he stopped, looked at her, smiled again and then asked her, "How are things so far? Are you able to keep up with everything?" His goal was to groom her, flirt with her, so she relaxed and let her defenses down. He already loved her. She would be his.

"The flowers are nice. I did not know what to do with the vase, now I know. Thanks" Rosalyn hoped she was not rambling, but her boss made her nervous. There was something about him in the way he looked at her that she did not like.

Rosalyn had been working for him for over a week now. It was time. He could not wait anymore. He loved her and she needed to know. As Rosalyn stood up to put the flowers he brought her in water, he instructed her to come to his office when she was done.

Rosalyn had walked into his office with her laptop. She sat in front of his desk, all prim and proper and got ready to take dictation.

Boris had looked at her and smiled. "Rosalyn, you are so efficient."

"Thank you, sir." She was ready to work, but he was looking at her in a peculiar way that made her feel so uncomfortable. He was creepy.

"Rosalyn, I want you to understand that your job is not on the line here." Rosalyn stared at him, not knowing what to say or answer. She begun to panic, and needed to keep it under control. How would I pay the rent if I lost my job? My daughter, how would I support her? Did I do something wrong already?

He walked around his desk, got closer to her and began playing with her hair. She felt scared. She did not like anyone touching her. This man was in her personal space. He was saying something. She took a deep breath before she collapsed, "Rosalyn, I have fallen in love with you, and I want to get to know you better. Come to dinner with me tonight. It will be fun."

Her panic escalated. It was ready to take over. Before she could pass out, she had casually closed her laptop, stood up and took one step backward. She looked at him straight in the eye as she said, "Sir, with all due respect, I think you should know that I do not care for men." She felt the nausea take over, and quickly walked out of his office and into the bathroom where she got violently ill. What was she going to do now? She could not work for this man any longer, but what other choice did she have. Her parents had died leaving her alone with a child, her child.

To make things worse, her best friend had moved away. She had to figure out something. He had said it would not affect her job; perhaps she could continue to work without any repercussions from the boss.

Boris felt stupefied, is she gay? He would not have thought it. She did have a female roommate. How could he not have known? But he was not going to give up. The roommate had to go. He did not spend all this money and time to give up now. Boris' plan was to be patient and friendly. She will belong to him, and as long as she did not belong to anyone else, he could wait. He needed to find out about the roommate and get rid of her. He made a call.
Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the LORD,

and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 3:7

Chapter 17

Helen was looking for the girls. She hated Boris and she was going to get even with him. He would regret the day he met her. She had been a good girl with high morals, and he had used her and then discarded her as if she was garbage. He would learn not to play with other people's feelings. She smiled; a scorned woman was a dangerous woman.

She had faked her labor pains because she was tired of witnessing all of his abuse and neglect. She had felt sorry for the poor Brazilian girl, and now Rosalyn also. Those girls did not deserve what was going to happen to them if someone did not stop him. It was going to be up to her. She was just so scared of the repercussions. She needed to plan her moves very carefully.

Helen had gone to the building where the Senator's husband had been found dead, and she began walking in all the possible directions. First she went east, and that let to nowhere. Then she went west, with similar results. Now she had gone north, and she was in the downtown area. She had not realized how close to the downtown area she was if she walked. All she had to do was walk through the park. She had driven and gotten nowhere fast, all the roads wound in a round about way that made downtown seem a long way from here, but walking had been a short distance. All she had to do was cut through the park. Now where could one hide? As she was looking around for an abandoned place, Helen looked up and saw her.

Helen smiled. Now she knew where they were. She just needed to figure out what to do with all of this information. Should she go to Boris and threaten him— If he did not marry her and adopt the baby, or should she go to the cops and ask for immunity? She could not trust the cops. She had not learned who were on Boris' payroll.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;

he will keep you life..

Psalm 121.7

Chapter 18

Bobby knew he liked this girl and needed to find a way to help her. They were two people he trusted with this information—Mr. Brockovich was one of them. He had waited for him, but then one of the waitresses had gone home sick, and the restaurant was busier than normal. Bobby found himself doing two jobs, but approaching Mr. Brockovich was a must.

"Hello, Mr. Brockovich, May I take your order?"

"The usual, and make it fast. I am in a hurry today." Boris had said in a 'greater than thou' tone of voice.

Bobby had always liked Mr. Brockovich, but he had never experienced him as a customer. The waiting staff did that. Bobby was usually in the kitchen or walking around helping serve the tables. He normally did not deal with the bar area. The tone of voice that Mr. Brockovich had used made him pause and rethink trusting him. He liked to follow his gut feelings, and right now it told him to run away as fast as possible.

The only other person Bobby knew, was that cop at church. He just did not know him personally, and did not know if he could be trusted. He definitely did not want anyone coming and arresting these girls.

As he continued to serve, he heard the crashing of glass and the slamming of doors. When he looked toward the sound, the door that led to his apartment burst opened and a very angry Sonia walked through the back door. She looked at him and said, "I am done. I hate it here. Have a nice day." Then she left through the front door. Bobby had been so surprised, he did not move for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and followed Sonia to see her get in a taxi and disappear into the traffic.

He walked back in to see Mr. Brockovich go toward the back door that led to the upstairs where Myrna was. "Excuse me sir, may I help you?" Bobby said as he hurried toward the back door.

Boris stopped and looked at him and smiled. "Is the other one up there? If she does not come down I will call the cops and you will be in trouble."

"I am sorry, I do not know what you are talking about? If you want to call the cops, please do, but my residence is private and only my guests get to come. If you do not mind..." Bobby said as he guided Boris toward his seat.

Boris smiled. Of course he was not going to call the cops, he was just going to end this stupid game. The girls would die today.

Bobby was scared to death; he knew that he was in so much trouble. That brat had chosen to have her tantrum during the busiest hour of the day. Everyone and their neighbor wanted that reward. He was expecting the cops to be at his door at any minute now. What was he going to do now?

At that precise moment, John walked into the cafe. Bobby immediately made a beeline toward him, and asked him for his assistance. John was amazed at his luck. He immediately went upstairs and took Myrna and Bobby with him. Bobby ordered the cook to close the place for him at the end of the day.

John took Myrna and Bobby to the office and begun interviewing them. He took careful notes on all the information. He asked Myrna to describe the person who picked her up, and was not surprised that her description fit the CEO of Global International. He never liked the guy. After interviewing the two, he let them go. He knew where to find them if he had more questions.

Sonia had been so frustrated living like a recluse, and could not handle the seclusion anymore. When Myrna had told her to stay away from the window, she had lost it and thrown the first thing she had found at Myrna. Who did she think she was to tell her what to do? The problem of course was that now it was dark and she had no money. She needed to go back and apologize.

Sonia walked into the restaurant through the back door. Everything was dark and quiet. Bobby probably had closed early. Now she needed to eat crow.

As she walked to the kitchen, she heard a sound behind her and then everything went black.
Blessed in the nation

whose God is the LORD,

the people whom he has

chosen as his heritage!

Psalm 33:12

Chapter 19

A week after Alana's wedding, Rosalyn and Mariah had moved to their new home. The move had been done in one load, and they had not needed any help. There was almost nothing to move. Rosalyn had also arranged to have her parents' belongings delivered from the storage, a china cabinet, a few dressers, a trunk. All antique pieces that had been in her family for a few generations, but it was not enough as the house continued to feel big and empty.

Buying new furniture as she had hoped to do was not going to happen any time soon. No matter how she did the math, this place was way beyond her means and adding more debt was irresponsible. Unfortunately she did need to spend money in beds.

Rosalyn went to nearby furniture store and bought two bedroom sets that she had delivered to their new place. The one she had chosen for Mariah was girly, just what a teenage girl might want. It was a queen four-poster bed with a canopy and a trundle bed, for when she had friends over, a dresser and a vanity table. The whole set was made in a natural wood.

For herself she had chosen a plain bed frame and a dresser. She did not need more than that and she did not care for fancy. Her daughter's set had cost more than she wanted to spend, but she had wanted Mariah happy. She wanted to show her daughter how important she was to her, she just didn't know how. She would not worry about money, she had not gone hungry yet, ands she was not afraid of hard work and she had the time to add a part time job to her schedule. She never thought that she would go back to waitressing, but she knew that tips were good and it would allow her to pay the bills.

Mariah spent the day decorating her room with posters and things she had brought from her grandparents house. She was so exited at how nice her room was looking, she run to her mother's room, "Mom, thank you. I love my room. It looks so very nice."

"It wasn't a big deal, I would've done it for anyone." Rosalyn had been distracted looking at job announcements in the newspaper, and her answer had been automatic and unemotional. Rosalyn had not even glanced at Mariah.

Mariah nodded and walked out of the room, to her lonely bedroom. What else could she expect? Their relationship had always been like this.

After Mariah had gone to her room, Rosalyn had put the paper down and broken into tears. What kind of answer was that? If she wanted a relationship with her daughter, she needed to be warmer and caring. She knew that she had bought the best bedroom set she could find. She would not have done that for anyone except her daughter. She had wanted to show her daughter how important she was to her, and instead, she told her how unimportant she was.

After she reflected on her poor choice of words, Rosalyn had decided to make a list of things she needed to develop a relationship with her daughter. What did her daughter need? She was going to need a credit card to buy clothes. They were going to need to furnish the rest of the house. The living room would be next on the list. Did her daughter have a computer? She was going to need one. What about the kitchen? She had not asked if Mariah cooked. She knew she was trying desperately to make her daughter happy. She just did not know how. She had spent too much time alone with her textbooks. She hoped all of these decisions were the right ones. She could be happy with very little, but she wanted to give the best to her daughter. The best was expensive.

Mariah really liked her mother and had seen this as an opportunity to get to know her better. She loved her grandparents, but had always felt weird that all the other kids had parents, and hers were gone. She had no idea who her father was, and her mother was never there. She had hoped that now they would get to know each other. Unfortunately, any time she saw progress in their relationship, everything seemed to fall apart. On one hand, Rosalyn showed her how she loved her by buying her beautiful things; on the other hand, her words would say that it meant nothing. On one hand there were all the beautiful things to decorate her room and the house, and on the other, she had no one to share them with. What was the point if she could not share her joy, experiences and love with anyone?

Mariah wanted so desperately to know her mother; she was so lonely. There was never an opportunity for them to be together. Her mother had signed her up at school, and she had started her job again. She left for work before Mariah went to school and came home way after Mariah had gone to sleep. The only communication was a phone call every day at 3:20. Mariah was feeling so very sad all the time. At home, with her grandparents, she had them and she had friends both at school and at church, and here she had no one. She wondered if mom went to church.

Her life at school was awful. The other kids were so very mean. She had tried sitting at the table at lunchtime, and everyone had ignored her. There had been one girl who had spoken to her. "So you come from a school in North Carolina." It had been more of a statement than a question, but she had responded anyhow. "Yes"

"So which one do you like better?"

Mariah knew this was a trick question and did not know how to answer, so she settled for a half true. "I miss it, but this is okay."

"Okay" the other girl had repeated, then laughed and walked away. Mariah tried to continue to eat, and then quietly she had gotten up and thrown her untouched food in the garbage. She had held her head high as she had walked into the bathroom, and once there she went into one of the stalls and wondered what had just happened. She wanted to be accepted. She was lonely at home and she was lonely at school. Were things going to get better?

Mariah was desperate. Something needed to change. She had never been so lonely in her entire life. She had a plan and she was going to put it into motion. Her mother wanted to stay away, that was okay, she was not going to live like this anymore. She needed to feel useful and loved. She missed her life in North Carolina.

Bringing Mariah home had been a wakeup call for Rosalyn. Sometimes Rosalyn saw Mariah as the kid she was, other times as the young woman she was becoming, and she had moments of panic for her daughter. She tried to set rules, rules she felt would have prevented her from becoming a victim of abuse and hurt. The more rules she set for her, the more Mariah rebelled against them. Rosalyn felt like a failure. She could see her daughter was succumbing to a deep depression and she did not know what to do. What if her parents had been less naive and more watchful, would she have gotten hurt anyway?

It seemed to her that she had totally blown it out of proportion when Mariah had told her about cheerleading. She had wanted to try out for the squad and Rosalyn had said no. "Mom, there are cheerleading tryouts this weekend. I have decided I am going to try out for the team." Mariah had said with her usual cocky and fun attitude. Rosalyn had not remembered Mariah being a disrespectful child from the times she had visited. "No, you will not try out. You need to concentrate in your academics, not at being half naked dancing in front of all the players and who knows whom else. "But mom, I really want this." Mariah had insisted. Getting up from the sofa, Rosalyn had not even looked at her as she said "the answer is no, and don't argue." That had been the extent of their conversation-- no explanation, no discussion, no anything. It had been an attitude of I am the adult here, you do as I say. Rosalyn had felt guilty. She knew how permissive her parents had been. Besides that, she knew that there was nothing wrong with cheerleading. When she had been Mariah's age, she had wanted to try out for cheerleading. She had not done so because she had been too aware of her body. She had developed faster than most other twelve year olds, and she had been embarrassed by the changes. So, if she understood that, why did she say no without even giving it a thought? Somehow, in her mind it had not been so innocent. How could she be messing it up so much? Mariah's sad face was hounding her. She was giving Mariah the best things money could buy; she just did not know how to give herself.

Rosalyn was feeling defeated. Every decision she made seemed to be the wrong one. She had made decisions concentrating on the material stuff, and now she understood that her priorities had been wrong. She didn't know how to change things.

Her parents had died, her daughter hated her, her rent was too high, and her best friend had moved away. What else could go wrong? She did not think she could handle any more.

The weather was a reflection of Rosalyn's mood. It was raining so hard, she could barely see the road; She wanted to cry and not stop. She wanted to run away to a foreign place, but she was stuck here. As she was reflecting on her sorry life and her stupid decisions, she heard her phone ring. It only took a second to glance down, and when she looked up she heard a car horn and she realized that she had crossed over the centerline. She attempted to straighten the car out, but it was too late. She heard the loud squealing of tires, followed by the sound of metal hitting metal before she felt it through her body. Her head hit the side window and for a second she felt oblivion take over.

The car had hit the rear driver side of the car, as she tried to straighten the car, and the car had done a complete turn and she had ended up on the side of the road facing the opposite direction. Her driver side window had broken, her rear tire had gone flat and her car was a mess. She felt dizzy and nauseous.

The driver of the other car had just wanted to go home. It had been a hard day's work, and all he wanted to do was get home to his wife and kids. He got out of the car, took a quick look at his car, and then walked over to inspect the other driver. He hoped the driver was okay, because he wanted to say some choice words to him. He tried to pull the driver side door open, and it was stuck. He tried again and then he saw her. "Rosalyn?"

"I am so sorry, my insurance should . . . Sean? What are you doing here?"
Blessed shall you be when you come in,

and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:6

Chapter 20

After much pulling and lifting, the door finally came loose.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Asked Sean.

"I think I'm fine," said Rosalyn still confused as she got out of her car. Then she looked at her car and burst into tears. The accident had happened outside Sean's office. Sean did not let her finish. He pulled her into his arms. He was as surprised to see her, as she was to see him, and silently gave a prayer of thanks and another prayer asking for wisdom. He did not know what to do; it had been so long since they had seen each other. "Rosalyn, it is so nice to see you. I am the pastor here. Come inside, I want to know about you. We need to catch up while we wait for the cops and the paramedics." Rosalyn was not thinking, as she would normally have declined any offer of going inside a church. He gently took her by the hand, and pulled her toward his office, without giving her a chance to refuse. "We'll call the cops from my office."

After they got to the office, Sean called the cops and let them know about the accident. Both of the cars were on the side of the road. Rosalyn's had ended there after it finished spinning, and Sean had parked his car behind Rosalyn's car. Sean came and stood in front of Rosalyn. "How are you doing, are you hurt?"

"No, I am doing fine thank you," then she burst into tears. "No, I'm not doing fine. I am so tired. Everything had been going wrong since I was fifteen. God has been punishing me, and I am so tired. I try to run away be creating this make-believe world, and living there was bearable. Now I cannot run anymore and every decision I am making is the wrong one." She started crying louder. Her sobs were tearing at Sean's heart. Once he had thought that he was in love with her. His love for her was not romantic, as it had once been. On the contrary, it was a platonic love. He got closer to her, and held her in his arms as she cried.

At that precise moment, his wife burst into the office finding them in an embrace. "Ahem." Rosalyn heard her and pulled away. "I am sorry. This is not what it might look like."

"To me it looks like a woman who is broken and in need of a shoulder to cry on. Hi I'm Madeline." She said that looking straight into Sean's eyes and then at Rosalyn.

Sean loved his wife so much, but at that moment he could not have been prouder. "Rosalyn, I want you to meet my lovely wife Madeline. Madeline, you have heard me talk about my first crush. This is the girl. Let me introduce you to Rosalyn Miller."

His first crush? "Nice meeting you. I should get going."

Madeline looked at her husband, then at Rosalyn. "Mrs. Robinson saw the accident and called me. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It seems to me that you two have a lot to talk about." Then she looked at her husband, "Don't take too long, dinner is almost ready."

Rosalyn tried again. She did not want to cause Sean any problems. "I really should wait outside. Sean and I were only friends. Nothing more."

"I know, but your eyes tell me that you have much to discuss. There is pain deep inside you. My husband is your friend and he can listen. Sometimes talking about something that hurts our souls is enough to start the healing process." She looked at her husband again, "Honey, I'll wait for you at home." With that she gave Rosalyn a hug and walked out.

Sean went to a small fridge in the corner of the room and got two bottles of water. When he came back, he sat on the other side of the sofa. He had prayed for Rosalyn since the moment he first laid eyes on her. He understood that she hadn't been the right woman for him, but he continued to pray for her anyway.

Nothing in this world was by accident or luck. Everything had a purpose and God was in control. At one point he might have thought that he was in love with Rosalyn, but he had learned better. The following year, after he had left Southern University, he had met Madeline, and they were madly in love with each other. They had gotten married and they had two beautiful boys. One of them, Jonny, was five years old, and the other one, Andy, was two years old.

Sean adored his wife and children, but Rosalyn was special to him. He understood that she could not have given him what he thought he wanted or needed. She had not been ready. There had been some deep pain in there that she had not been ready to share with anyone, not even a friend. He would try his best to have her open up to him. He knew that he was the friend she needed.

He believed God was bringing her back, and it was going to be up to him. God help me do it right.

When Rosalyn had calmed down enough, she wanted to get up and go. She had to restrain her panic and wanted to say no thank you to anything Sean had in mind. Instead of running, she started to apologize, "Sean I am so sorry. You were always so kind to me, and I never reciprocated."

"Rosalyn, we were friends and I want to believe that we are still friends. Let's not worry about hurt feelings among friends. Tell me what is going on in your life that has you so distraught." At first she went with the normal formalities, then all of the sudden the dam opened and she told him everything. She had grown up in a loving home; she was a great student with so many dreams, and one day when she lied to her parents. God had punished her and she had been raped. She had a crush on this guy at school, and she would have done anything he asked of her. God had taught her a lesson. She told him about Mariah, and how she was making a mess out of everything. She told him that regardless of the circumstances, her daughter was the center of her world. Rosalyn wanted to protect her, but by doing so, she was alienating her. She even gave examples of how awful she was screwing things up by mentioning the cheerleading incident.

Sean listened attentively and prayed. There was so much pain in this precious person. He understood her circumstances now. Her lack of trust in God; her secluded life; her pushing him away were ways she protected herself from more pain.

He was angry for her, but he had to trust in God's plan. Lord, I do not know what to say or do, You have brought her here, use me in her healing. He was not in a position of advising without praying, and right now he could not say that everything would be okay. He just needed to convince her to come back. "Rosalyn, you and I have been friends for a while, and I can tell you, that I do not know the reason bad things happen to good people, but I can tell you this, you are not, nor were you ever being punished."

"Then, how do you explain it Sean?"

"Our God is a loving God, and the one reason, that probably sounds like a cliché for bad things happening to good people, is simply that there are evil people in this world.'

"You are right, it sounds too much like a cliché. I have to go." Rosalyn replied.

"No listen to me, let me finish."

"What is the use Sean? Lets agree to disagree."

"No, listen!" Sean was a patient man, but this stubborn woman was driving him to his limit. "I am not going to tell you today that everything is going to be okay even if I believe that, but I want to see how God will manifest Himself in you and I know He will, if you give Him a chance."

"I am tired Sean. I cannot have this conversation right now."

"Just listen, and don't say anything. I would like you to give me the opportunity of seeing God at work in your life. Come to church. I promise that in the future we are going to look back at your life and see how these circumstances have changed things for you, and we can list all the bad things that have happened because of it. Then we can follow it with all the positive things that have happened in the last fifteen years. This will become your testimony. Please think about it. Lets make TODAY a day of forgiving. You must begin by forgiving yourself. Rosalyn please come to church Sunday."

What was she thinking to have shared so much of her weaknesses and fears with Sean? The accident must have rattled her brain. How could she have told Sean every single bit of her life story? She could not bear to see pity in his eyes, so she looked around the room as she got up from the sofa. She saw all the pictures. There were pictures of Sean and Madeline, pictures of the two of them with two kids, and individual pictures of Madeline and the kids. "I am so sorry to burden you with my problems, thank you for listening, but I must go."

"You cannot go anywhere until the cops get here, and then you need to go to the hospital. You need to be checked. You hit your head and head injuries could be dangerous."

Sean knew she was trying to run away again, "Rosalyn, after the cops complete their paper work, I am going to take you to the hospital. You need to get checked." Sean pleaded, "I promise you that afterwards I will bring you home. If you want to, I will even pick you up in the morning to take you to work. If I were you though, I would take a couple of days off. You will be bruised in the morning and in a lot of pain. We will help you as much as we can until your car is in working order."

As the cops wrote their reports, asked all the pertinent questions and wrote the pertinent citations, the paramedics checked Rosalyn. This is going to be so expensive, how am I going to pay for everything? If she had been paying attention, nothing would have happened. Everything was her fault as usual.

The paramedics ordered Rosalyn to go and get checked at the hospital. Immediately Sean volunteered to take her. His car was drivable, as it had not received as much damage as Rosalyn's car had. He called his wife to inform her of the change in plans, and they were on their way.

Although, she had refused his help, he had insisted. At the hospital they found out that she had a mild concussion and that she needed to rest. Sean suggested that she come home with him and his wife, but she had refused. He took her home, which was not that far away from the church, promising to check on her later.
And all theses blessings shall come upon you and overtake you,

if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 28:2

Chapter 21

As John was getting ready to go to work, he received a call. "Hey John, this is Sean."

"Hi, what can I do for you?"

"You always get right to the point. I just got a call from one of my parishioners. Mr. Sanders has been rushed to the hospital. He had a heart attack. I am on my way there to be with his wife while he is in surgery."

"Okay, continue."

"Yesterday, an old friend of mine crushed her car into mine and I promised to check on her."

"You said she was a friend. What did you do, dump her for another girl, and she is getting even?" He laughed. It was obvious that Sean had not been hurt in the wreck.

"Nothing like that, this was coincidental. She needs a ride to work, can you do it for me?"

"Yeah, sure. Give me her address."

Thirty minutes later, John found himself ringing the doorbell at this psycho's house. He did not believe that this person had hit the pastor accidentally. In his line of work, there were not that many accidents.

While he waited for the door to open, he realized he did not know whom to ask for. He had not even gotten a name.

"Hi, may I help you." Rosalyn said. She was still in her pajamas, and her left eye was swollen shut.

"Rosie? Rosalyn? Oh my God, who did this to you?"

Rosalyn thought she recognized the voice, but her vision was blurry and she could not see much. "I am sorry, who are you?"

"John White. Who hit you?" John pushed past her looking to see if there was a man in this house he could hold responsible for her injuries.

"John? John White? What are you doing here? And no, no one hit me. Who do you think you are, barging into my house?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just a friend who has done his best to keep in touch with you for the last decade or so, and you have been doing your best to avoid, and I don't know why."

"Perhaps because I do not want to speak to you."

"Why in the world not? Rosie I know your mother gave you better manners than this. Aren't you going to offer me some tea or coffee?

She rolled her eyes, and very sweetly said, "Should I offer you some cookies to go with that tea?"

John knew she was full of sarcasm, but he took advantage of her generosity anyway. "Yes that sounds wonderful, but I prefer coffee."

She was ready to scream. What was wrong with him? "Forget about the coffee, it's time for you to go."

He ignored her, and walked straight into the kitchen and begun searching her cupboards for the kettle. "No, I'll make the tea."

He filled the kettle with water and continued searching, ignoring Rosalyn's complaints.

"Where did you get all those bruises Rosie?

"I had a car accident."

John grinned, "So you are the lady who hit our sweet pastor, ha!"

"Guilty. Now would you mind leaving? I would like to go back to bed."

"You are not going to work?"

"No, I called in sick. I'll feel better tomorrow."

John stayed quiet while he waited for the water to boil, and set the tea and sugar in front of her. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, and on his way out, called over his shoulder. "Don't forget to lock up. I'll be back after work to check on you."

Rosalyn was not going to be bullied into anything; she did not want him back. "No, that's not necessary. I'll be okay." She screamed as he closed the door behind him.

John would do what he wanted to do anyhow, so might as well agree with her. She could believe that she had won. He knew better. They had so much to talk about. He opened the door a crack and said, "Ok, but I will take you to work in the morning."

Rosalyn was so angry, she could scream. How dare he come and order her around as if she were a little girl. She would not put up with that. Once upon a time, she had been so in love with him that she would have done anything for that kiss he gave her, even if it was just a brotherly kiss.

Rosalyn had been pacing the floor since John left. She could not figure out how it had happened. What was John doing here? John, her childhood infatuation, the hottest guy in school, and her first non-reciprocal love was here. She had been so in love with him, she would have done anything for him and all he had wanted was math help. Not only had she gotten hurt that night, but she had also learned how truly stupid she was and had been too embarrassed to see him. She did not want to hear him say 'sorry, for the misunderstanding.' He had been writing to her for over fifteen years and she was terrified that his letters would say exactly that. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I never wanted to go out with you. She was afraid of the letters almost as much as she had been of seeing him. She did not want to see pity in his eyes at her stupidity and its consequences.

She wished he gave up. They had not even gotten to go on a first date together, why couldn't he just leave her alone? She had a drawer full of his letters, unopened letters that she was too afraid of reading.

He had been a good kid. She understood that it had not been his fault, but her inexperience. Now he needed to move on. She was trying desperately to move on, to forget that night. Her conscious asked are you really trying to move on, or are you trying to push everyone away so that you can feel sorry for yourself?

What was she going to do now? She had moved away from home because she did not want any reminders of that night. She loved the fantasy life she had created, and now Mariah was there as a reminder, and on top of everything, John had found her.

She was thankful that there was no one at home. Her tears begun spilling slowly, and with each second that passed another memory resurfaced and soon after her sobs had brought her to a place in the past that had her paralyzed.

Hours later, Mariah found her mother on the sofa, still in pajamas asleep. "Mom, I'm home. Are you feeling okay?"

Rosalyn slowly opened her eyes, not remembering anything that had happened in the last few hours. She remembered John coming, but the rest of the day was blank. She could not go through this anymore. She hated remembering. She had tried so hard to walk away from anything and anyone from her past because it always brought her to this. She saw her daughter's worry look, "I am okay, I am going to take a shower."

Rosalyn never blamed John for that night, but if it had not been for her weakness and infatuation with John, she would never have lied to her parents, and she would not have been punished. What was she going to do now? She wanted to move to a new place, or better yet, a new country. Somewhere so far away, she could go invisible.

She knew that she couldn't do that anymore. It was time to be a responsible adult. She needed to make a plan. Tomorrow, she would get up an hour earlier and call a taxi. By the time John came, she would be long gone. It was doable. If he came after work . . . she could not think of that now. This was too much for her right now. She needed to rest.
Let the evildoer still do evil,

and the filthy still be filthy,

and the righteous still do right,

and the holy still be holy.

Revelation 22:11

Chapter 22

Boris was pacing his office. He had sent those idiots to take care of the girls, and they had only found one. The cops had come to investigate so many times that he had lost count. They kept looking at his books, and thankfully, his second set of books was so carefully done, no one could tell they were fakes. For that, he needed to thank Helen. She was good at keeping the books in order

He had to admit; he had not foreseen all the problems that were coming his way. First, the senator's husband's unforeseen death, which investigators had declared a homicide had the cops all over his business. Then the two women had run away. All they had to do was their job, and they would have been set for life. Finally, there was the problem with the Brazilian. She had dared to make a formal complaint to EEOC. Little did she know that he was a good friend with anyone who could put him away. No one would ever believe him to be anything but an angel.

The three women were going to have to pay. He already had one, now he had to bide his time for the other two. No one crossed him and lived to tell. Oh, they would die, but first they had to work to pay him what they owed him. He had several customers who did not mind breaking their spirit and teaching them some manners.

The Brazilian, especially, was going to regret denying him. He never forced anyone to enjoy his attention, but he had no problem forcing the attentions of his customers on the girls. She was perfect for business.

Not only his situation with Ana had blown out of proportion, but also Rosalyn was gay. He had never had a problem with women, and all of the sudden two of them were giving him a hard time. Didn't they realize how fortunate they were he had chosen them? Most women would die to be with him. He was just everything a woman wanted in a man: Good looking and wealthy. What else was there?

Now, Rosalyn had not shown up to work. What was wrong with her? He was not ready to give up on her, yet. After all, she had not crossed him. He just needed to prove to her that he was better than her roommate. He laughed. He was competing with a woman, for the attention of a woman. Imagine that. If she did not show up to work tomorrow, he would have to go find out why. There was no way he believed her story of the car accident. That was lame.

As he was planning his next move, two of his partners showed up - as always, unannounced and unwelcome. He hated these two men. When he had suggested this business to these two men, he had been drunk and he had not realized the extent of their greed. Those two were animals. He could never call them civilized. Boris understood his weaknesses, and his sin did not hurt anyone. He fantasized, he dreamed, but he never forced anyone, and he only took lives to protect himself. He always made sure that his arrangements satisfied everyone involved.

"Your company has been on the news lately and we do not like it." Said Kruno as he sat on the chair across from him. Boris just nodded, he was afraid that they could read the guilt in his eyes. These men terrified him. Boris continued, "How come those two were not in the list with the others?"

"I don't know. I thought they were. I'll have to ask Helen. You know she is the one that does all the paperwork and arrangements. She can answer your questions when she comes back from her maternity leave," Boris replied as he was straightening the papers on the desk.

"When is the new load arriving? We have the customers lined up." Said Davor who had sat down on the sofa across from the desk. Kruno was giving Boris a speculative look. He knew his friend, and knew that Boris had too many weaknesses. Right now he knew that Boris was lying through his teeth, and very soon Boris would find that he had outlived his usefulness. He had become a liability.

"Tonight, everything is ready," boasted Boris in a cocky tone of voice. Finally they had asked him something he could answer with a clear conscious. Boris felt that without him, there would be no business. He hated the fact that he had to share profits, if only he could just get rid of them, but how?

Kruno and Davor looked at each other before Kruno continued. "You need to clean up the messes you are creating. You have the two European girls who are missing in action and now you have the Brazilian who has called attention to you. We have told you. You need to keep your business and your pleasure separate. How are you planning on fixing this?"

"I already have one of the girls. She is in one of the houses. I have not figured out a way to get the other one yet. The bartender does not let her out of his sight, but I am ready for the first opportunity. I have a customer ready for the Brazilian. She will regret having denied me. He is a wealthy Mexican. I do not want to cross him," boasted Boris. He wanted them to know that he did not need them to run the business. He was capable of getting his own customers.

Davor felt his patience leaving him. He inhaled and exhaled before explaining, "Boris, is this the same Mexican guy that uses the girls like punching bags?"

Boris felt ashamed. He wanted to prove that he could make decisions on his own, but it had backfired. "The one and only."

Davor and Kruno looked at each other. Davor shook his head, giving a silent message to Kruno. "Have you stopped to think that if this girl disappears, and the agent she spoke with gets wind of it, he will be at your door sniffing like a dog in heat?"

Boris looked crestfallen. He had not thought of it. "She needs to pay, they all need to pay." was all he seemed capable of saying.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Isaiah 62:3

Chapter 23

Wow! This was his Rosie? In high school, John knew that Rosie was attractive, and that she had potential for pretty, but he had never imagined that she would turn out to be the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Even with all those bruises, she took his breath away.

He was in shock. He had been searching for her for so many years unsuccessfully. He had ended up in this town because this was where she went to school. After graduation and her parents' death, he had lost track of her whereabouts. Now he did not know what to say or do. Since that fateful day he had not stopped thinking of her. He wished he had been allowed to see her, to apologize to her. Maybe, just maybe, he would have been able to move on with his life and dreams, if he had just been able to settle things.

What a sense of humor life had. When they were in high school, he had invited her out, to try to help her fit in, and to ask her for math help. He was so full of himself. He deserved everything that happened to him over the years, but not Rosie. She was a nice, sweet girl.

She was, and probably still is, brilliant. He remembered she wanted to be a scientist of sorts. She was probably running a lab where some horrible disease was being eradicated. He would not be surprised at her success. He wondered how to go about restarting their friendship again. Every few months for the last fifteen years, he had been sending a letter to her. He had been sending it to her parent's address. It started after that fateful day. He had to apologize. He had gone to her house so many times, but never got past the door.

He started by sending her one card apologizing. When she did not reply, he had sent a second one. Then it became a habit to write and tell her about his life. He told her about the good and the bad, about his dreams, about decisions he faced, and about his parents. He wrote to her about every nuance that was going on in his life. She never wrote back, but it was okay, he felt that by writing, he was rectifying something that was broken in his soul. He had continued to do that ever since. He did not know if she read them or not, but it had become a habit he was not willing to break.

When he learned of Rosalyn's parent's deaths, he had wanted to go to the funeral, but he was deep in an undercover case and had not been able to get away.

Now he was given a second chance. Dear Jesus, help me rectify a wrong. He would go and check on her after work and then see where things went from there. She had not been happy to see him, but he was not one to give up easily.
Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

Ecclesiastes 7:3

Chapter 24

John felt a bit frustrated with Rosalyn. Last night, her daughter had come to the door, saying that she had been asleep. He knew that to be a lie. Today, he would be there an hour earlier. She would not ignore him. They had to speak. His conscious had been bothering him for too many years.

Oh! He knew and understood if he thought carefully about it that it had not been his fault. He had no control of the events of that night, but somehow he felt responsible for them. If he had not asked her out, she would have been in the safety of her home. His conscious would probably not bother him as much if he had asked her out for other reasons than selfish reasons. Why couldn't he have asked her to help him in school? There had not been any need to have her wait at the dark park alone if he had thought of her instead of himself. His heart told him that everything had been his fault.

While in high school, his reputation and status had been so important to him. He had wanted to be a football player. They were popular and admired. Football players needed special physical attributes to do that and he did not have those. If one was not big and mean, one needed to be fast. He wasn't big, mean or fast, but he had hoped he could overcome what he had seen then as his imperfections. That night the fantasy had died. He had accepted his limitations and accepted that he was not football player material. Instead he had chosen to join the marines. He loved it there, but he realized after one deployment that he did not want to serve his country overseas, but in his own land. After he had served, he did not re-enlist, instead, he had joined the local police department until Homeland Security recruited him. There is where he had felt accomplished. He used all his energy in cases relating to child pornography or white slavery. Now he was even thinking about going one step further. He was thinking about starting a private investigations agency specializing in sexual assault cases. His investigations had come to a stand still many times because of red tape and politics. He was tired of it. He lived to see those bastards put away.

He recognized how his life had changed that night. He loved what he did, and he took pleasure every time he put one of those excuses for humanity in prison, but he had not found fulfillment in his private life. He hoped that after he had a conversation with Rosalyn, he would be able to close the doors to the past and move forward.

As he was waiting to see movement, he saw a taxi drive up. Nonchalantly he walked to the driver, gave him a fifty, and told him to get lost. The driver hadn't even argued, and as fast as he had appeared, he disappeared.

Rosalyn did not know what was taking the taxi so long to get there. Cars came with GPS nowadays, and she needed to be gone before John arrived. She kept looking at her watch, as she was pacing from one side of the living room to the other. She went outside to wait, and froze in her tracks. John was sitting on the bed of his truck waiting for her.

She remembered that John had been good looking, but now that did not describe him. Sitting on the bed of his truck, one leg stretch and the other bent at the knee made him look like a model. He was so very handsome and he took her breath away. She hated to admit it but he still had the power to make her heart flutter, and she needed to make that stop. She needed to put a stop to him.

Defeated, she got in the passenger side and said not a word. "Good morning, where to?" inquired John with a smug grin on his face. She really wanted to do something about that. He had not won yet. Just because he had outwitted her this time, didn't mean that he would do it again. "Global International import/export trade." She replied quietly.

John choked, and looked at her, "Say that again?"

She turned to look at him. She had been clear. Was he deaf? She repeated the location, and he was quiet for a few minutes before he continued, "So, Rosie, what do you do there?"

She wanted to ignore him, but politeness took over, "I am covering for an employee on maternity leave. You know, you do not have to be friendly. I know you are doing this as a special favor for Sean."

Sean, ha, not Pastor Sean, but she referred to him as Sean. Somehow he did not like it. "So what is going on between you and our pastor?" He knew that the question had come out wrong, but somehow he spoke it without thinking. He never did that. What was wrong with him?

"Nothing is going on with Sean. We were friends in college, he went to seminary, we lost touch, and then I crashed my car into his. That's it. Nothing more." She chided.

"Wow! I just asked a question. You know, trying to be friendly. So tell me about your boss."

"What do you want to know?" Asked Rosalyn irritated with him. What could it hurt to be polite?

"Who is your boss? Is he nice to work for?"

"How do you know it is a 'he'? And yes he is nice, a little too nice."

"What do you mean a little too nice? Inquired John.

"Never mind, I do not know what I am talking about." She replied in exasperation.

John knew that he could not push more, she had clamped down. He had to take her out to lunch or dinner. This wasn't personal anymore. "Rosie, I'll pick you up at five. Don't try to leave without me." He warned her as she got out of the car and closed his door with a lot more strength than was necessary.
Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened,

that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

Isaiah 59:1

Chapter 25

Boris had been informed of the new arrivals. These girls were between eighteen and twenty-one years old. Their dreams and hopes had pushed them to save their every penny and apply for the au pair program he ran. Little did they know that instead of young children, they would be taking care of grown men. Every time a new group of girls came, he felt sick to his stomach. He hated this business. He hated the person he had become, but he loved the income and power it gave him.

The customers were already waiting. The money had already been exchanged. The business was booming. The number of customers was growing by the month and they were starting to put requests as to what kind of girl they wanted. They were buying girls in the same fashion as buying cars. Some men wanted specific physical features, blue eyes, blonds, skinny, fat, Oriental, European, Latin, etc. There had been more than one occasion when they had asked for very young girls. He drew the line at that for now. He would not provide children for their twisted pleasure. He was busy enough trying to find the right females for these men. The more he satisfied their sick fantasies, the more they were willing to pay. They did not care for purity as much as they cared about breaking them in, breaking their spirit and showing their power. The more of a fight they gave, the more the buyer enjoyed it.

He was thankful that he was not there to see their faces when they realized their role in this business. There was a woman in the house to instruct them on the appropriate behavior expected. Before long they will know, and there would be nothing they could do about it.

Boris did not want to spend time dealing with this business at the moment. He had more pressing matters to attend; unfortunately, he had to be ready for the worse. He had seen the list of customers and they were all cruel people. Cruel and twisted people with too much money caused problems for him. Problems he did not need at the moment with the cops dogging at his heels.

Since the senator's death his life had been going from bad to worse and everything was happening at the same time. He had finally found the girls, but he only had one. He had to worry about the second one. As if that had not been enough, the ungrateful Brazilian had called more attention to him by pressing charges against him. He had been lucky his friend with the EEOC had put a stop to it, but he had also called to warn him, and to let him know this was the last time. Finally, there was Rosalyn. She belonged to him, but now he had to surrender his fantasies and had allowed the Mexican to have her. He hated to admit it, but it had been his fault. He had been so set on revenge, he had not been thinking straight. He could not believe how many mistakes he was making. He had become involved with one of the cruelest men he had ever known. This man found happiness only when he was inducing pain in others.

Boris moved to the bar to grab a brandy. What had he been thinking when he enlisted this man to teach the Brazilian a lesson. He looked at his hand, this had backfire on him instead of her. He had to remember how unappreciative women were. Everything that was happening to him was because of a woman beginning with the woman who had abandoned him as a child, following with his wife, and then all these others that had decided to make his life difficult instead of doing their duty. If Ana had said yes and been thankful someone like him was pursuing her, none of this would be happening. He had to make her pay, but because of his two older friends, Kruno and Davor, he had to wait a bit longer, but Francisco Guerra did not want to wait.

As Francisco Guerra had mockingly agreed to wait until the cops backed up a little, he had come to shake his hand. When Boris had extended his hand Francisco had grabbed his pointer finger and middle finger and very slowly proceeded to separate both fingers breaking them at the base. He had not stopped until Boris had provided a replacement to the Brazilian. The only name that had come to mind had been Rosalyn and when Francisco had seen her, the deal had been sealed.

Boris did not feel bad for Rosalyn. She deserved everything that was coming to her, but she was his and was not willing to share her with Francisco. He just needed to figure out a plan. He looked at his hand again. It was throbbing. Rosalyn had been working for him for six weeks, and he had gotten nowhere with her. Now, if he did not do something, he would never get her. The customer had paid for a Brazilian beauty, and instead he was getting a brunette with green eyes. He could not bear to let her go, but if he wanted her to come back to him, she needed to learn a lesson. Francisco was good at teaching lessons.

Boris was in over his head. Francisco scared him. He really should let Davor and Kruno deal with the customer. After all, it was their fault he was in this fiasco. If they had let him solve the problem on his own, none of this would be happening. Ana would have learned her lesson and Rosalyn would have been his.

He should have learned his lesson already. He needed to go solo on his business. He had started the business with Davor and Kruno. He had been the brain behind the operation and now he was the go boy for them. Now he started the business with Francisco Guerra and this evil man was taking over. He had been forced to hire Francisco in his company. Boris looked at the bandage on his hand. He knew he should have gone to the hospital, but how could he explain it.

Francisco Guerra got what he wanted and he did not care who he hurt in the process. He felt sorry for Rosalyn, but she had made him look the fool. Trying to convince him that she was gay, when she was friendly with the cop.
Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

Psalm 4:5

Chapter 26

Rosalyn had worked for the CEO for six weeks, and when she arrived today, she had found Helen sitting at the desk. "What happened to you?" Helen had asked. Although it had been a couple of weeks since the accident, Rosalyn's face still showed the fading bruises. Helen had tried to smile, but she could not hide her surprise at Rosalyn's bruises. Had Boris done that to Rosalyn? It was too soon.

When Rosalyn saw Helen, she began to panic. She could not afford to lose her job. Helen had seen Rosalyn's clutching her hands and realized the problem. "You can relax Rosalyn, you are not losing your job. You are being transferred. Your job was temporary, but since you have done a great job, the boss is offering you a permanent position, if you choose to accept it."

A new manager had been hired, and Rosalyn felt relief she continued to have a job, and loved the fact that she would not be working for the CEO anymore. His love declaration had been a complete breech of decorum.

The new office was on the same floor as the CEO's office, just a stone throw away. It was not ideal in Rosalyn's eyes. She would have liked to move as far away from the boss as possible. Mr. Brockovich gave her the creeps. She really hoped that her new boss was happily married. Having people ogling at her made her feel uncomfortable.

As she was pondering her lack of choices, a tall, Latin gentlemen walked into the office. "You must be my new assistant. Boris told me you were pretty, but he was not very accurate in his description of you. My name is Francisco Guerra" He extended his hand to shake hers. She shook his hand out of politeness and softly replied, "nice meeting you."

This man terrified her more than her boss. The way he had held her hand and then looked into her eyes was so very personal. What was wrong with this company that the men did not know how to behave professionally. She took a deep breath. She had gone from the frying pan into the fire, as her mother used to say. She felt so uncomfortable. She felt her new boss undressing her, one item at the time; just by the way he looked at her. She hated that. She knew she was not being overly sensitive, because calling her pretty had not been very professional.

Rosalyn realized that she had wasted her time and money studying business. She was not cut out for this. She had never felt so unfulfilled and she needed to make changes. Once she paid off everything, she was going to go back to school and study biology, where she could work alone in a lab.

Be not witness against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips.

Proverbs 24:28

Chapter 27

Rosalyn did not know how it had happened, but hanging out with John had become the normal in her life. John had become a wonderful friend. She had become so dependent on him; it terrified her. She knew that she should not encourage him, but she was so weak when it came to making decisions about him. Just as it had been years earlier, a smile from him had the power to make her impossible dreams a possibility.

John had used the excuse that her car was in the shop and began picking her up from home and from work. He even took her to her evening job. He had bullied her into a friendly relationship. He did not care how he had managed this, but the results were not as he had expected.

John was enjoying her company and her wit so much that he needed to come clean with her. He was going to have to tell her that he was investigating her company. He did not want her to feel used as she had so many years ago. There was so much he needed to discuss with her and was terrified of scaring her off. He not only needed to bring up the past, but he also wanted to find out about the sexual harassment issue with Ms. Souza. He was trying to figure out how to bring it up when Rosalyn said. "I am done working for the CEO. His PA is back and I am so happy about it."

John was cautious about what to say next. "What are you going to do now? Are you still working for them, or do you need to go back to the employment agency?"

"I never went to an employment agency. Mrs. Durov, the CEO's PA approached me at a cafe and hired me; and yes, I continue to work for them. I just went from one creep to another."

John took a deep breath, "Creep?"

"Yeah, you know the way they look at you, as if you were a meal and they had not eaten in a month or so. It's totally disgusting. You know the boss actually told me he was in love with me, what a joke."

"What did you say Rosie?" John cautiously insisted.

"Oh, I told him that I was not interested in men, and he has left me alone for the most part. Working for him was uncomfortable and working for the company is weird. I feel that I wasted my education. You know that they must have several companies working for them. During my first week on the job, I found a second set of books. I was trying to impress the boss by doing more than was required, but I was never able to figure out the books and invoices. I felt like an idiot."

"A second set of books, what kind of books?"

"I don't know, some sort of accounting. I made copies of both the physical books and the e-books. I tried to make heads and tails out of it, as I said, I could never do it."

"Do you still have those copies?"

"Yeah, sure, why?"

"Can I have them?" John was beginning to feel the adrenaline of excitement.

"I don't see why not. When you drop me off I'll give them to you."
For if anyone thinks he is something,

when he is nothing,

he deceives himself.

Galatians 6:3

Chapter 28

Every time Francisco Guerra or his brother was one of the customers, Boris found himself having to hire a clean up crew. They were vile and aggressive people. It had never been as bad as this time though. Not only had he had to hire a clean up crew, but also he had to scramble to move the girls to a new location, and dispose of the body. It was a good thing he was always prepared for the worse.

If he knew this, why did he call him for the Brazilian? He chastised himself. He had been so hurt by Ana's traitorous behavior; he had wanted to get even with her by having the meanest person he knew teach her a lesson. Now he was the one paying for his own stupidity.

It was all Ana's fault. He just wanted to help her. She would have been so happy with him. What was wrong with her? Couldn't she see how great he was? Rosalyn was also playing hard to get. It was just a game for these two. He had to figure out a way to make them pay.

Thanks to these two, he was in this predicament. He could have called Davor and Kruno for help, but he wanted to prove to those two that he was capable of taking care of business. It was a good thing he had watched enough cop shows, otherwise he would not have known what to do with the body. In one episode they had thrown the body into the ocean. They had tied weights to the body. By the time they had found the body, all the evidence was gone. He was going to have to take care of it himself. This would be fun.

Guerra must be stupid. What was he thinking of? Killing the girl was going to make his bill that much higher, but the problems that could encompass these events could be detrimental. Guerra could go to jail, so would himself. He had to do a good job of making the body disappear. After he dumped her, he would call Homeland security letting them know that one of his au pairs had not shown to work. He wondered who the victim was, but it did not matter, as long as he was covered and continue to be the perfect citizen. He was brilliant.

In the meantime, he would warn Guerra that the scores were even. He could not touch Rosalyn any more. She was his. Of course, he needed to figure out who the new guy was. Boris was always optimistic that killing the boyfriend was easier than having to fight a gender problem. He smiled and then he looked at his hand and wondered if Guerra would be easy to get rid of. He did not want to ask Davor and Kruno for help. He had made a mess of things this time.

He knew he was on his own, but that would make things easier with Rosalyn. She will be his. The phone rang. "One of the girls is missing." Said the voice in the other line.

"When and who?" bellow Boris.

"I don't know. I just called roll and she is no where to be found."

************

Kenny had gone out early in the morning on his boat. He loved to fish. He wanted to stay as far away from home as possible. His wife had two types of temper, a really bad temper that came with her red hair, and a very passionate temper, and that had gotten him in trouble many times. They had four kids and one on the way, which caused her temper to be like popcorn in the microwave. You knew it was going to pop, but not exactly when. That was his sweet Amanda. She was going to pop at any moment now. He laughed at his own joke.

While she was pregnant, he chose to avoid her as much as possible. Fishing was quiet and peaceful and at the moment that was just what he needed. He felt his line give a tug, and he pulled. It had to be a big fish! He stood up to get a better angle and pulled very slowly. He could not afford to break the line. When he saw what he had caught, he backed away, tripped over the side of the boat and landed in the water. He frantically swam for shore.

************

John had not been called to investigate the case, but his friend, who knew of John's interest in these types of cases, had called him. "John, I have something for you. A fisherman caught a female body, and by the looks of it, she had been recently assaulted." John got information on the location, and went to check it out. He took pictures, got fingerprints, and documented all the bruises. The coroner had declared that the body had died within the last 24 hours and had been in the water for a very short time. He would give more details later. It was lucky that the man had gone fishing that morning.

As John was talking to the coroner and begging to be given a copy of the report, his phone rang again. This time it was a buddy of his from dispatch. A girl had just called in saying that she had been raped yesterday, and she had run away. The dispatcher gave him the information and he went there.

This girl looked all bruised up and could barely stand. She said that men had come the night before and beaten them and raped them.

"What is your name?" John had asked

"Natasha"

"How old are you?"

"I just turned 18 last month."

"What happened last night?"

"I don't know. We were all excited, we were going to take care of rich people's children, and then these men came and beat us when we did not do their bidding. Then they raped us." She broke into tears.

"How many girls?"

"Ten, but one died. Everyone was screaming and they started pushing us into a van. I ran and hid in the bushes. When they left, I run here, to this neighbor's house, and asked for help. I want to go home, please." She implored as the tears were spilling from her eyes.

Her sobs were breaking John's heart. He was furious for this girl. She was so young. When they walked out of the house to go to the hospital, he saw a group of men getting in a van and leaving. He took the license plate before heading to the hospital. While he waited for Natasha to be seen he started filling out the paperwork. Within an hour of him submitting the preliminary report, he had been pulled off the case. He hated politics.

Sadly, he was not surprised he had been pulled from the case. This wasn't the first time, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. His boss was overprotective of his friends and John suspected most of them to be involved in nefarious activities. This case involved one of his golf buddies. He knew the excuses all too well: It is a waste of time and funds, or another agency was investigating. He had gone through this so many times it sickened him.

Based on what Natasha had told him, he knew that there were some big fish involved, and Global International was involved. He just did not know exactly who, yet. He suspected the CEO was the head of this operation, but did not have enough evidence to bring to the prosecutor. He also knew that these girls had been brought here under false pretenses, and that they were not willing participants. Later, when he had gone to the house Natasha had described, he had found it empty and extremely clean. There was not a speck of dust anywhere, and the smell of bleach was overwhelming. There had not been any evidence to be collected. He was not surprised.

He called dispatch to run the plate, and it came to a stolen vehicle. He should have known better and called it immediately.

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

Psalm 63:7

Chapter 29

John had sent the fingerprints of the victim to a friend in another county. He learned her name, and was not surprised to learn that this was Sonia. The other girl involved in the Senator's husband's death. Wow! Now he had to figure a way to investigate without his boss knowing about it. He had enough experience to know that the boss put his friends above the law. He had seen him break so many rules it was pitiful.

He also needed to warn Myrna and Bobby. He would not be surprised if they tried to silence her as well. He had looked at the books Rosalyn had given him, but it had been hard to decipher them. Now he knew the names of some of the girls, and he suspected some key people involved. He had to look at them again. The girls needed to be protected.

John had left his office and had gone straight to the cafe. He had informed Bobby and Myrna of Sonia's death. Myrna had become inconsolable. Sonia had been a sister to her all the years they had been neighbors. She felt that it had been her fault, and that she should have tried harder to convince her not to run. John looked at Bobby, who was holding Myrna's hand during this painful news and told him to take Myrna on a mini vacation, somewhere away from here. No one would be safe until they apprehended the people involved.

Bobby had no problem taking the time off. The people who worked at his cafe had been with him since he opened the cafe. He trusted them with his life. This would not be the first vacation he took. He often took a week off here and there to go visit his sisters. The problem was where to take Myrna. He could not take her to one of his sisters' homes because he did not want to put them in danger. He had to get a hotel somewhere away from here.

From the café, John had gone to his house to get a copy of the books. He wanted to look at them. He knew some of the people involved. He was sure he could put it together now.

The books Rosalyn had given him had confirmed Natasha's story. Now he had to figure out how to convince the U.S. Attorney to take the case. Most importantly, he had to figure a way to go around his boss. He knew his boss would block his every move. He was going to need to call the guys.

The guys consisted of his younger brother Andrew and his brother's best friend Marcus. Andrew had moved to his parents' house at the age of eight. He had a very difficult childhood surrounded by drugs and crime of all sorts. When Andrew had moved in with his parents, John had already been living on his own, but he had been included in every aspect of Andrew's challenges. He remembered having to run after him on more than one occasion. Andrew did not know what to do with all the love his parents were giving him.

It was funny. Once he had understood that love at the age of fifteen, everything had changed. Andrew had become the model citizen, the model student, and the model son. All he needed was to know that he was loved unconditionally.

Marcus on the other hand, had other issues. His parents were very successful, and he had grown up with plenty of servants. Mom and dad were always busy trying to make their next million. They gave attention to Marcus only when he got in trouble or his grades had dropped. If Marcus' accomplishments were noticed, Marcus never knew. His parents were too busy to bother with that.

Marcus and Andrew had become friends from the very start. Both of them had needed to feel love and acceptance. John's parents had been great at giving that love and acceptance that both boys needed. Now they were men, and closer than brothers could ever be. John knew he could not compete with their bond. He loved Andrew and knew that Andrew loved him back, but he also understood that Marcus was the confidant. John also understood that if Andrew or Marcus ever found themselves in a bind, he would be the first person they would call.

John knew that at any moment his boss was going to do something to prevent him from investigating, as the preliminary report contained the name of his golf buddy, Mr. Brockovich. His RAC wouldn't pull him from the case. It would look bad on him. He would just give John so many insignificant cases to keep him busy until the end of time. It was okay though. Once Andrew and Marcus came to help with this investigation everything will be easier, and his involvement in the case would not be as noticeable. He was not going to give up this easily again.

The next day John had been sitting in his car across the street from the import/export company taking pictures of everyone coming in and going out, when he saw two people he recognized. Both of them had come up during prior investigations, but because of their connections and their overpriced lawyers they had gotten off scot-free. He took pictures of the two of them as they exited the business.

At home, John continued to look at the books. The more time he spent studying the information, the more excited he got. This time they were going to go away for a long time.
A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who breathes out lies will perish.

Proverbs 19:9

Chapter 30

Boris was red with fury. How could everything be going wrong at the same time? They had found the body. What luck to have a fisherman there? He had made sure to tie weights to her wrists and feet, but the rope must have come loose. Now, he had the stupid Mexican guy working in his office and he refused to give up on Rosalyn. He needed to come up with something. As he was trying to figure out how to fix the mess, Kruno and Davor barged into his office. He hated when Davor and Kruno just came in as if they owned the place. He despised these men. "How may I help you gentlemen?" he asked.

"Who took care of the clean up? Whoever it was, screwed it up." Boris knew that it was going to come back to him eventually, so he might as well fess up. "I did, the rope must have come loose somehow."

"Well, I got a call today, and the cop, you know the one that has tried to get us before, is at it again. We need to get rid of him," said Davor.

Boris, who was always paranoid, and expected every episode of his favorite cop shows to come to life, got up, went to the stereo and turned it on. To have this kind of discussion, total privacy was a must. "I take care of the girls, you take care of the cops." He said in exasperation.

********

Rosalyn was getting some supplies when she saw those men come into the building. They scared her. Every time she saw them, she hid in her office. She knew those men were evil. This time, she was in the supply closet outside the CEO's office. She had come to get some things: paper clips, pencils, anything to get away from her office and her boss. Her new boss had walked next to her, and had dared to pinch her butt. He had apologized, but she knew it wasn't sincere.

She had been mortified, and had run to the supply closet to hide, and now these two men were here. She figured that she would stay in the closet until the coast was clear. She had almost perfected the art of not being noticed, but with these men, she knew it would not work. She needed a new job and the faster she begun looking the better it would be.

Rosalyn heard the words through the thin walls, but did not process the information. Her only concern was how to get out of there without being noticed. She needed to get to her office get her purse and leave. She opened the door slowly, and looked in every direction. When she did not see anyone she walked to her office as fast as she could. Every click her stilettos made seemed to take years off her life. She was in a state of panic. She needed to go home before she got sick. She grabbed her purse and left her office. She did not stop until she was in her car. She was so thankful she did not have to wait for John anymore.

*********

Kruno had been looking out of the office window and saw a brunette walk out of the supply closet. He could not see her face, but that would not be a problem. He wanted to know if someone could hear their conversation, there would be time enough to figure out who she was later.

He walked to the supply closet and entered it. Every word they said came through the thin walls even with the radio on. Whoever had designed this building had done a poor job. There was no privacy. This brunette might have to disappear. He did not like giving the orders, but he disliked the idea of losing his money or freedom more. A girl was cheap.
For you have been my help,

and in the shadows of your wings

I will sing for joy

Palm 63:7

Chapter 31

Rosalyn made it all the way home and into her room without getting sick. Once there, she ran into her room where she felt she could relax; instead, she began to hyperventilate. She could not have these panic attacks every time she did not like someone. Today had been different. Her boss had actually touched her. She had to do something to stop any further liberties. At the moment she did not know what to do. She was willing to try anything. She was desperate.

John had been encouraging her to come to church with him. She did not know if she was ready for that or not, yet. Sean had been calling her on a daily basis to check on her, even Madeline had been calling her. She did not want to be best buddies with anyone. She missed Alana so much, and where had that taken her? Her friend had moved away and it hurt.

Rosalyn knew she deserved everything that had happened to her. If she had been a good obedient girl, nothing would have happened to her. She sat in the bathtub as tears were flowing down her cheeks, trying to figure out if she could ever be forgiven. Was it possible for her to be happy? Would God love her enough to forgive her? Hanging out with John felt right, but she needed to end it before he realized how unworthy she was.

When Rosalyn had calmed down enough, she got ready to go to the cafe. She had not been surprised when John showed up and waited for her to get off. She knew she did not deserve him, and she should end it now, before it was too late. Instead, when John had asked her over to his place for steaks and a football game, she had accepted. One more time was not going to hurt. She would break it off afterwards.

********

John had invited her to have dinner at his house. This was the first time at his place. When she had come in, he had her help with the salad as he grilled the steaks. He had tried not to make a big deal of things. He knew that if he had gone with candles and wine, she would panic. He settled for eating in the living room, while watching a football game. This was something that friends did during the football season.

Rosalyn was feeling very tense. The whole time, John had been watching the game his hand had been touching her. He had either touched her hand when he said the blessing, or had touched her hair to move it from her face or when he had been done eating he had sat and place his arm over her shoulder encouraging her to lean into him as they watched the game.

She could not do this. She wanted to make sure John understood her limitations. She picked up the dishes from the coffee table and took them to the sink to start washing them. This had been wonderful and she had needed to relax. John needed to understand that she was off limits. She could not give him more than friendship.

John followed her. She could not look at him, but needed to say what was on her mind. "John, I love talking with you, but I want you to understand that all I can give you is friendship. I cannot give you anything else."

John understood her reluctance. "Rosie, let time dictate, let's not worry about the future."

At that, she became aggravated and raised her voice. "You are ignoring the problem John. Nothing will happen in the future." She was afraid of saying her next words, but they needed to be said. She did not want to lose him as she had lost Sean, but she was afraid of not saying the words. "There cannot be anything else between us, only friendship. I am not capable of giving you more. Please understand."

Rosalyn was looking at the floor. John had moved in front of her, and stood so close that if either one of them took a deep breath their bodies would touch. He was mesmerized at how beautiful she was, but he also noticed that she looked scared to death.

He knew she was terrified of him and what he might do. He knew that unless she faced her fears, she would never get over them. He got closer to her; she tried to back up, but the sink was blocking her. He had both of his hands holding her shoulders. "Rosalyn, look at me."

" I can't, I'm scared."

"Look at me sweet heart" he commanded.

She slowly lifted her face to him, and lowered her eyes, staring at their feet.

"Not good enough Rosie, look at me."

She did, he knew that looking at him was costing her all her energy. "Sweet heart, I am going to kiss you, that is all. Only a small kiss, I will stop when you stop me." Rosalyn was going to say something, but he did not give her a chance. So very gently, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. He gave her time to push him away, but when he felt her relax, he deepened the kiss, careful not to get to close to her. It was torture, all he wanted to do was lose himself in the kiss and lose all control. He wanted to crush her to him. He kissed her until she melted into him and then, and only then, did he stop. Very slowly, he lifted his head and pulled her to him, resting his chin on her head. Very carefully he began to rub her back. He was doing this as much for her as for himself. This kiss had shaken him to his core and he needed to take control.

Slowly without releasing her, he pulled away enough to look at her, and those beautiful green eyes were staring right back at him. He could never get tired of looking at those eyes. She smiled and said, "That was nice."

He laughed, "Is that what you call it, nice?" He got serious "I want to kiss you again Rosie." Slowly he lowered his lips to hers, as he did so, she leaned into him, and moved her arms up slowly and rested them around his neck.

John knew that he was in trouble. In his thirty-five years, he had not fallen for a woman, and what he felt for Rosalyn was not like anything else. He had wanted to rectify a wrong he had done, but now he was head over heels in love with her. Nothing short of a lifetime with her would be enough. He knew he had to work slowly. This kiss had been a big step for her, and kisses would never be enough for him. He wanted it all.

She had been clear with him. She did not want anything other than friendship, but then he had kissed her. She had no idea how she did not run away. This had been her very first kiss and it had been wonderful. Just thinking about it made her want another kiss and then another. Then she froze, she could not give him more than that. He had to understand that. "John, I think is time for me to go home."

He wanted to ask her to stay with him, but that was not his goal. He could never get enough of her, but if he pushed too hard, she would run away at first chance. "I'll walk you to your car, Rosie."

Once she was in her car, he bent to give her a good night kiss. It lasted an eternity. What was wrong with him, he could not get enough of her. He was acting like a hormonal teenager.

Rosalyn had felt so good in John's arms; she wanted to believe in the fantasy for a little bit longer. She knew it was not meant to last. She was damaged goods, and she had learned from a very young age that men wanted pure, unblemished beauty. She was none of that. In her fantasy she could be loved. She would break it off afterwards. John deserved so much better than her.

For now, she wanted to surprise him. He had been inviting her to church. She would go, and see what happened. She knew she did not belong there, but she had this overwhelming need to make him happy.

Sean had been talking to some parishioners before service, when he saw her come in. He excused himself and welcomed her with a hug. He held her hand and pulled her toward his family. He was so excited to see her.

Madeline immediately took Rosalyn's hand, pulled her to her, and gave her a hug. She had Rosalyn sit next to her while her husband preached. Madelyn and Sean were so happy together it made Rosalyn's heart ache. She could have had this, if she had been a good girl.

John saw her come in, but by the time he got to her, Sean and Madeline had already claimed her. He had no choice but to sit with them. Personally, he preferred to sit toward the back where he had a view of everyone but today was different, she had come.

Sean began to speak, "Please rise while I read God's word from 1 John 3:19-20 ESV 'By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.'"

After reading the Bible verse, Sean continued with his prepared sermon, "As I was preparing for this lesson I was reflecting on God's love for us, a love that does not have a limit. No matter what we do, he loves us. If our house is clean or dirty, if our dirty socks are on the floor or the dirty clothes hamper, even if we walk away from Him, He still loves us. His love is not conditional or dependent on anything we might or might not do. So what is one reason that we do not feel His love? We, not him, have built a barrier, a wall around ourselves. The barrier has a name. We all have a different name for it, since it is different for everyone. I have a term that summarizes all of our barriers-Guilt, Regret. Guilt for something we might or might not have done. The enemy likes to have us believe that we cannot be forgiven. In other words, we want to believe that God's love is conditional. Today I am not talking about forgiving your brother or your neighbor for offending you. Today I am talking about forgiving ourselves. I have to forgive me for whatever I might have done or failed to do. You have to forgive you. We all have issues, but until you forgive yourself, you are not going to be able to see God's love for you. In Psalm 103:12 He says that your sins are no more, He has forgotten them. They are as far as the east is from the west. If He can forgive us, and remove our sins, who are we not to."
Put on the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Ephesians 6:11

Chapter 32

In the parking lot, two men were parked in the far corner, watching for Rosalyn. They had been following her for a few weeks. They knew something was wrong. She had never gone to church before. All of the sudden, she gets caught snooping, then she comes to church, and who happens to be there as well, but the cop. Boris was going to find this information interesting.

*******

Boris, Kruno and Davor went over everything in Rosalyn's office. There was absolutely nothing there that she could use to incriminate them. They went through her computer, through every email, and nothing. Before they decided to eliminate her, they wanted to make sure that it was not going to cause more repercussions.

Davor was bored with the whole situation. He had been ready to terminate their association with Boris, as he kept making stupid, careless mistakes that could cost them their freedom. "We have a Middle Eastern who wants a green eyed beauty. Why don't we sell her and save ourselves the headache. She won't be talking to anyone, then."

Boris felt that the world was collapsing under his feet. He sat down, trying to think of something to stop them, but was saved by Kruno, when he said. "Having her disappear is going to make the cop more persistent to get to us. We need to keep him distracted. She is the distraction for now."

Davor was not happy with that, but accepted it for now. Boris was furious with what the guys had decided. She is mine, and mine alone, he thought. He had to bide his time and was not going to let another man have what belonged to him.

So it came to be, they would give the cop a distraction, Rosalyn, and perhaps he would get bored with his investigation and leave their lucrative business alone.

As soon as the guys left, Boris began looking at his different properties. There was no way that someone else was going to enjoy what belonged to him. She belonged to him, and no cop was going to enjoy her. He had been waiting for her since he first saw her. Now he was not waiting any longer.

He had his fishing lodge. It was located on several acres of land, and no one knew about it. It would be perfect. He liked the idea of having outsmarted Kruno and Davor. He hated those two! He did most of the work and he received the least amount of profits.

Rosalyn had gone to work and then home. Her life was as monotonous as always. She began thinking about Sean's message. How could she forgive herself? She had caused so much pain to everyone around her. Her parents had been so disappointed in her. She had broken their hearts. They had taught her that purity was the most important gift a woman could give her husband. She had ruined that. How could God forgive her after all the hurt she had caused? Church had not helped her at all. She knew better. She was not worthy of love.

Her beliefs were confirmed the following week after work. The cafe was almost empty when Rosalyn spied John outside talking on the phone. His back was turned to her, so he could not see her. Every time she saw him, she could not help the smile on her face. She was so excited to see him.

She took the time to see how the boy had become a man. He definitely was not skinny any more. He had a broad back, bulging arm muscles, a flat stomach, and that shirt he was wearing showed every one of those perfect muscles.

It was not just his looks, but also the way he made her feel. When he looked at her with those beautiful chocolate brown eyes, it was like feeling his caresses. His look was so intense one could feel it. The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful. With him, she believed that the fairy tale could become real. She had started believing that he was her prince charming.

She went to her manager and asked for the time off. She wanted to surprise him. She walked quietly behind him, dreaming about a happily ever after. John was talking on the phone. She froze.

John had come early to see her. He had been pacing his apartment waiting for the right time to come see her. He felt so stupid, he was not a teenager but a man in control of his actions, and here he was acting impulsively. He just didn't care. He needed to see her, so he came earlier than expected. He was not a patient man. He would wait here for her to get off.

As he was walking to the café his phone wrung, "White here."

"Hey big brother, how are you doing today? You know mom is quite upset with you. Yesterday was their anniversary and you didn't even call them."

John cursed under his breath, something he normally did not do. "Thanks for reminding me, how are they doing?"

"Fine, but I understand you wanted me to call you. What's up?"

John took a deep breath, "I am investigating this company. I have heard complaints about sexual harassment and I have proof of a white slavery ring. I need help with surveillance."

"Whom are we talking about?"

"That is what I need help figuring out. I know the CEO is involved, but I do not have concrete proof yet."

"What is the company?"

"Global International Import Export Trade."

"Are you sure you want our help? We'll have to live with you."

"I am not paying you, so at least let me give you food and shelter and your expenses while you are here."

"John you know that Marcus and I would do anything you ask, but are you sure you won't get in trouble if we get caught?"

"I am doing this under the table. An employee has given me information." As John was talking, he heard a drink splash on the ground, splashing all over his pant leg. He saw her. She was so pale, and tears were brewing in her eyes.

"I gotta go," he said, hanging up.

Rosalyn looked at him, "I am not surprised. In high school you asked me out because you needed help in math, and now you are going after my boss. Stupid me, I was starting to believe in the fairy tale." With that, she ran to her car, got in, locked the doors, and backed up.

"Rosalyn, wait. This is a misunderstanding." John tried to go after her, he even tried to snatch the door open, but it was locked, and if he had not let go he was going to lose an appendage. He knew were to find her.

He followed her to her house, but she had been faster. By the time he got there, she was already in and refused to open the door. He would try the phone, and if she wouldn't answer it, he would wait her out tomorrow. They were going to talk.

John went up to his place thinking of Rosalyn and their history together. If someone had told him this was going to happen to him fifteen years ago, he would have laughed in that person's face. Fifteen years ago, he had seen this nice girl. A girl who had dressed like a fifty year old, a girl whose social life included academic clubs and church and nothing else, a girl he wanted to help fit in better, but a girl he never saw as part of his life. He had seen her potential, but back then, he had been so shallow, he would have preferred to date one of the cheerleaders than this gorgeous woman.

John had gone to her house in the morning. He needed to talk to her and clear this stupid misunderstanding. He had waited for her, and it had been for nothing. When she had finally come out, she had smiled, and said, "John, it is so nice to see you this morning, but I have to go. Ta-ta." Her voice had been so sweet; it had nearly made him sick. She had gotten into her car without giving him a chance to reply, waved at him, and drove off. John did not do well with her politeness. He would rather if she scream or throw things at him. He needed to fix this.

********

Rosalyn did not like where her thoughts were taking her. She got in her car and drove straight to work. She still had another hour, before she needed to be there.

John followed her from a distance. She was running away, just like so many years ago. He was not letting her run this time. When they were younger, he had no choice. Her parents wouldn't let him in, and it would have been okay if they had taken care of the problem. But they acted as if it were dust you swept under a rug. Rosalyn had needed professional help after that night, and they had neglected that.

He followed her to her office, and then he had come back after work and he had followed her to the cafe she worked at. He waited before going in. Once he spotted her, he sat at her station and asked for coffee.

Rosalyn's hands were shaking so badly, she was afraid she was going to spill the coffee all over him if she did not calm down. She was going to have a panic attack. She managed to serve him the coffee. She gave him the milk and sugar and was ready to retreat, when she heard him say: "We need to talk, Rosie."

"I am sorry, John. But as you can tell, I am busy."

John looked around. The cafe was empty at the moment. He smiled before asking, "When do you get off?"

She wanted him gone. She wasn't ready to talk to anyone. "Midnight."

John knew she was lying. The whole time they had been going out, she had not gotten off after ten. He simply finished his coffee, left a nice tip and walked out. Rosalyn took a deep breath when he left. She had no idea how she finished her shift, but at ten she was ready to go home. She walked to her car, and John walked up to her. "You do not take no for an answer, do you John?"

"We need to talk, my car or yours? John asked.

"Why? I really do not want to talk. You do not have to be nice to get information from me." He winced. She saw in his face, she had hurt him, but regardless of that, he wasn't going to give up. She looked around and saw a few customers coming in and out. She did not want anyone talking about her. "We cannot talk here; I do not want any gossip. I know of this little cafe about a mile from here on the left. Meet me there." She relented.

John left, and she followed. She was tempted to go home, but she knew him enough to know that he would come back. She had to nip this in the bud. She had a drawer full of his letters, unopened letters to prove his pigheadedness. If she did not put a stop to it now, who knew how much longer it would last.

At the cafe, they found a secluded booth away from other customers. He ordered a slice of apple pie and a cup of coffee, and she ordered water. The more he saw her, the more he realized that this conversation was going to be difficult and painful. She was so angry and hurt, he did not know where to start. Apologizing would be a good idea, he thought. He sighed; she was probably so tired of hearing him beg for her forgiveness. If he had to, he was willing to go on his knees and grovel; instead he procrastinated by filling the conversation with formalities while waiting for his dessert. "How was work today?" This was the wrong thing to say. He knew that as soon as the words came out. Idiot, idiot, idiot.

"John let's leave the formalities for another time, unless of course, you need more information on my boss. Do you?" Her tone was so sweet and full of sarcasm that he cringed again.

John took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to break her defenses "Rosie, I truly want to know about your day. We were getting along so well, I want to know about your day. Not your boss' day, but yours. Please have mercy on me. I keep screwing things up, but I am a man. It is part of my nature."

"John, go home. You were just doing your job. Your job is important, and if you need any more information, please let me know." She got up to leave. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

"Rosie wait! You misunderstood the conversation I had with my brother." He paused speaking as the waitress placed the apple pie and coffee in front of him, gave him a wink, and then placed the water in front of Rosalyn. He took a bite, trying to show how relaxed and in control he was. The truth was, he was far from relaxed.

"John, I don't care if I misunderstood or not. Just ask me if you want to know something. There is no need to be friends. You and I have nothing in common. Now I have to go."

John took a deep breath. "You are not going to make it easy for me, are you Rosie?" When she stared at him saying nothing, he continued. "Rosie, I want to see you again, I want to know where things might go between us. Do not close the doors on me."

Rosalyn was going to say something, but he interrupted her when he realized that she was trying to figure out a way to push him away. "Rosie, you got hurt that night, and I am so sorry that happened, but since then you have not let anyone in. You were expecting me to screw up, so I did and I am sorry, but I truly care for you."

She said nothing, just got up and walked out. John dropped a twenty on the table and ran after her. She had been fast because she was already backing up. Tears were streaming down her face. He hated that he was the reason for those tears.

He went to her window, and leaned in. "Do you work tomorrow?"

"You are not going to give up. Are you John?"

He smiled; "Never!" Unconsciously he rubbed his thumb over her face, drying her tears.

"I will be there five to ten"

"I will be there at half past nine." Smiling, he walked to his car.

*********

Boris' men had been watching. "Do you think they'll let us have her before we eliminate her." Said Jacobo to Trent. Trent's only response was to lick his lips and smile.

"That would be fun," continued Jacobo.

At that, Trent got serious. "They never let us have any of the girls."
Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

Psalm 25:18

Chapter 33

Rosalyn had gone home, straight into the shower, where she broke into tears. How could she have let this happen to her? She knew better. She could not let this happen again. In the shower, she scrubbed and scrubbed trying to wash all the filth off of her. When she finished, her body looked red and raw. She could not go through this again. She would not go through this again. She could not handle the pain that came with caring. First Sean and now John, both of them had made her feel worthy of loving. She knew was not worthy of any kind of love. She was dirty. John deserved better than her.

She had become so dependent on having a human being there for her. She loved having someone to talk to and vent her frustrations with. John listened to her and held her just right. Since Sean and Alana, she had not had anyone to call friend. Now she had to push John away.

John was a good man, and he did not deserve someone like her. She was damaged goods. She had been told that purity was so important. As a matter of fact, she had been told that purity was the only gift worth giving to a husband. How could she do that to him, she loved him so much. She had always loved him. Was she destined to be alone forever? She knew her daughter would one day get married and leave, and then she would be alone again.

She could not encourage John anymore. He wanted to see where things might go. They were not going anywhere because she was putting a stop to it now. Was she going to be strong enough to handle it? She truly did not know. The kiss had felt so wonderful. She did not deserve it. She had to break it off. She would have to say no more to John, and not go to church anymore. People were good to her and she did not deserve it.

Late in the night, when sleep finally claimed her, she had horrible nightmares. "Mom, mom, wake up!" Mariah had been shaking her awake, screaming at her. Her daughter had tears in her eyes. When Rosalyn had finally opened her eyes, Mariah had hugged her. "What happened? You scared me so much." Rosalyn could not say anything. She just whispered, "Would you spend the night here." So Mariah, had stayed the night with her mother, but early in the morning she had gone to her bed. When Rosalyn woke up, the other side of the bed was empty. She did not know what to expect. Was Mariah going to pester her to tell her about the nightmare? She needed to avoid that at all cost. She did not know if she had the state of mind to prevent her mouth from talking.

John had not been a bad kid, he was fun, he like to flirt and socialize, she remembered how many times she had spent her lunch hour starting at him and how carefree he had been. His whole dream had been to become a footfall player. Instead he had become a cop. Had he been affected as badly as she had been that horrible night? Now, she was starting to doubt her actions. Had she misunderstood his conversation? She wanted to believe that.

Rosalyn needed to think about her actions. She knew she liked living in her fantasy world, where she could pretend everything was normal, but her comfort zone was not normal. Most of the people she knew from college or high school were married, some had children, and others had even gotten married and then divorced. All of them had been in long term relationships at one point or another, but not her. If those people knew that her first kiss had happened a couple of days earlier they would have pitied her.

She wondered if John had been right. Was she finding excuses to end something that might have a future? She knew that it was exactly what she was doing. She did not want to hurt anyone anymore. Finishing it would prevent heartache. She burst into tears. It was too late. If she ended it, she would get hurt. She did not think she could handle it. She had to give it a try. At least if she failed, it would not be because she was a coward. Could she ever find happiness? She desperately wanted the happily ever after.

Rosalyn needed to talk to someone; in desperation she called her only friend. "Alana, are you busy?"

Alana had known Rosalyn since college. They lived together until she got married and knew that something was totally wrong for Rosalyn to call her. "Never for you, my friend."

Rosalyn, who had hard time accepting people being nice to her, started wailing in the phone. Alana was patient and listened to everything Rosalyn had to say. As Rosalyn was telling her life story, Alana was crying for her friend. No one should have to endure so much pain. When Rosalyn was done, Alana took a deep breath before speaking, praying that she would say the right words. "Rosalyn, you are hurting more than any person should. The funny thing, sweetheart, is that you are not responsible, nor are you at fault, for what happened. Bad things do happen to good people and no one can explain the reason. Rosalyn you need to understand something. You are as pure today as you were the night before you were attacked."

Rosalyn started bellowing, "I am not!"

"You are, and I am going to recommend a therapist I want you to see. He is a friend of mine. With your permission, I would like to call him and set up an appointment."
Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD,

exulting in his salvation.

Psalm 35:9

Chapter 34

John had had a miserable day, and now he was looking forward to seeing Rosie. He was at the cafe earlier than normal. He had been anticipating seeing her again all day. The guys were arriving later today and he needed to wait for them, but he was hoping to see Rosalyn first. A couple of hours with her and everything would turn out right again. When he had gone to the office, they had sent him to interrogate a stupid kid. That would have been okay, but the jail was over two hours away. On the way home, there had been an accident on the road, and it took an extra hour of travel time.

John had read and studied all the evidence he had gathered on Global International, now it was a waiting game. He knew they had girls somewhere, he just did not know where to look. The guys were going to help him with the surveillance. The little time that John had to do the surveillance had not produced any information. Boris Brockovich went from home to the office and back again. On the surface, he seemed to be squeaky clean, but when John had a hunch, he was rarely wrong. They had to find those girls before it was too late.

The more John waited for Boris to make a mistake, the more determined he became. He knew Boris and his company were involved. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for him because he wanted to know all the people involved and it wasn't enough for the U.S. Attorney because he wanted more than just books to take to court. He wanted physical bodies, witnesses; for that, he needed to find the girls. He had Myrna, but the defense attorney would discredit her because she had killed the senator's husband. It was not going to matter that it had been self-defense.

He sat outside the building every time he had a chance. He had no choice, but to go to work and solve the insignificant cases they forced on him. How stupid it was to go to the jail to interview someone who had already been arrested and convicted.

So far, all the evidence they had collected had come back to this business. He needed to associate the big players to the crime and he had not found strong evidence on that yet.

When John had finally gotten to the office, tired and hungry and in desperate need of a bathroom, his boss had called him to tell him about rumors he had heard. "I got a call today. It seems that you have so much time in your hands you want to harass Boris Brockovich."

"I have a hunch and I follow it. I am not using work time, but my own time, so I do not see the harm."

"The harm comes when I get phone calls from people saying that you are harassing them."

"I do not know who could have called when I have not spoken to anyone."

"Stay away from them. One more phone call, and you are not going to be happy anymore than I will."

John had walked away from that office full of questions. Who could be the one to be calling? And where did he get spotted? He needed to see Rosie, before he figured out how to handle the rest. He had a bad feeling and he needed to make sure she was okay.
The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Chapter 35

Rosalyn went to see the therapist, and as she was sitting in the waiting room, two things came to mind. The first, this guy was obviously a Christian, what had Alana been thinking of? The second was that after living with Alana for about six years, she had not known she was a Christian. Why not?

It had been simple. She never gave her a chance. Alana had loved her and had been there for her, but she had never given her the time to have a conversation. She always thought of her as a girl who only wanted to have fun. Alana did like to go out, and she was fun to be around, but now Rosalyn realized that it had only been one guy during those six years. That had been Luke, the man she married. Luke had never spent the night, and when she had the chance to move in with him, she had not.

Rosalyn looked at the heavens, and took a deep breath. I see it now. I didn't want to see You anywhere, so I blocked anything that came from You. I see now that You are not giving up on me. You keep sending me all these people, who are patient and loving to me, while I've been petty and selfish. If I had wanted to be left alone, why haven't you? 'Because I love you.' Came the reply.

Now I am officially crazy. Where did that thought come from?

"Ms. Miller, Rosalyn Miller." She heard the receptionist call. Rosalyn immediately got up, and tried to wipe her face as fast as she could. She had not realized she was crying, and was embarrassed to have people see her like that.

Inside the therapist's office, she opened up. It was much easier this time, after she had told her life story to both Sean and Alana. It was as if the words had been waiting to get out for so long, now they run out.

The therapist was kind and was listening patiently while she spoke. He took notes and encouraged her to speak with a nod or with a 'continue,' every time she paused. When she finally finished, he looked at her intently, and then said, "We are going to get through this, but right now I want us to start with what I believe is more pressing. Are you in love with this John fellow?"

She was silent for a while, trying to figure out how to answer. "I don't know. I do like him."

"I want you to listen carefully to what I am going to say. God loves you, and He is not punishing you. Yes you did lie to your parents, but God knew of that lie before you lied, and He has already forgiven and forgotten about it. He has never turned his back or his love on you. Again listen carefully. GOD LOVES YOU. It is important that you understand that. You are punishing you. No one else is doing the punishment. Second thing, 'You, Rosalyn are worthy of love.' God loves you so much, that he gave his only son to pay for your sins. Yes the lie was forgiven two thousand years ago, because Jesus took it upon himself to be punished for that lie, and for anything else you or I do, or fail to do. If He loves you that much, he has already forgiven you, who are you not to forgive yourself. Thirdly, and this is very important, you are as pure today as you were before you were raped. Don't believe for a second that you are not."

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

Chapter 36

John continued to blame himself for what happened to his Rosie. He had to take a deep breath. What happened in the past needed to stay there, in the past. He had to see her. He had to apologize and then ask her for a chance to see where life might take them. He felt that if he let her go, if he let her run again, he was going to be missing out on the most important thing in his life.

Now, he realized that he had been so stupid, because his Rosie was all he ever wanted in a woman. He needed to break those barriers she had built around her. He understood it was self-protection, but enough was enough.

He laughed at himself now. All his childhood dreams were shallow. He actually thought he could make a life out of football. How silly that was, when he could barely make it on the team. He had given it everything he had and then some. At 5'10 and at 140' pounds he was smaller and skinnier than most of the other players. His coach was terrified that he was going to get killed on the field, but finally after much work, in his senior year, he made quarterback. He had been good, but not good enough. He was glad that life had brought him to this.

He loved what he did for a living. He loved his life as it was. Now he had fallen in love with Rosie. He knew he was ready for a happily ever after, as she had said. Was she ready for him? Was she ready for a relationship? How would life be different if the events of fifteen years ago had not happened?

For the last fifteen years he had asked himself 'what if' questions. He knew those questions were a waste of time. He could never change the past, he could only learn from it. He couldn't help it. What if he had not asked for her help? What if he had put his priorities straight and concentrated on his education instead of sports? What if, what if, what if. The answer today, was that if that had not happened, he would never have experienced the best kiss of his life, a kiss that offered so much more. She would probably be married to a doctor or a scientist, with a bunch of kids in tow. Although he could never be happy that she got hurt, he was extremely happy that she was single, and he would make sure to take care of that.

He had sat down, ordered coffee and after 30 minutes of not spying Rosie, called the waitress over. "I thought this was Rosalyn's station. Is she running late?"

"No, she called in sick. I answered the phone she has a horrible cold. You know, she sounded very nasal. You know, congested. Yeah, it's better she stay in bed and not share with the rest of us." The waitress had replied. John knew not to ask any more questions. He could not handle another 'you know.'

John pulled his wallet out, and put a ten-dollar bill on the table before he walked out. This day could not get any worse. He began dialing her number. There was no answer. Was she hiding? No wonder, she had not answered any of his texts today. He was thankful that he knew where she worked, but he had been told to stay away from there.

John went to her house looking for her. He needed to have a serious conversation with her. As he approached the door, he heard crashing sounds and suddenly the same young lady he had seen once before opened the door, slamming it shut behind her. She walked away angrily.

He stood on the sidewalk stupefied. The door opened again, and Rosalyn was there.

"Wow! What was that about?"

Rosalyn shook her head. "This is a daily occurrence. I told her she could not go to a college party. She'll be back in an hour or so."

John was still looking after the dust Mariah had left behind in her departure. "I assume that's Mariah"

"You assume correctly"

"Rosie we need to talk. You are right it is not fair that I keep information from you."

Rosalyn was too tired to deal with any more drama, but nodded and let him come in.

"I started investigating the company before I came to your house. The fact, that you worked there was a surprise to me. I could not tell you anything because I did not know exactly what I was investigating. It started as a sexual harassment, and after you gave me the books, I knew it was bigger than that."

"John, stop. You do not need to explain. I did want you to go away, but truthfully, I don't think I could handle it if you walked out on our friendship. Thank you for not giving up"

"Rosie, I am never giving up. I want a chance for something more than just kisses and I do not want any doubts between us."

Rosalyn sighed, "Kisses is all I can give you. It's not right for me to lead you along. You need to find a good woman to love you. I don't think I can give you more than that." Tears were streaming down her face. John pulled her next to him and began giving her small kisses. He would not give up on her.

"Listen Rosie, those animals took something more valuable than your virginity. Understand something, that is just a piece of skin, or a finger nail you cut." He saw that she was ready to protest and he lifted his finger to her lips to quiet her and then gave her a quick kiss. "Listen to me baby, the one thing you have allowed them to take is your choice to be happy. Right now, you are so afraid of getting hurt; you are running away from anything that makes you feel good. Do you not see that you are allowing them to win. You need to make the decision to let go. Give me; give us a chance. Please." John felt desperate. He knew that if he did not convince her to give him a chance, he would always feel incomplete.

Rosie knew he was right, and right now she wanted to run away but he was kissing her. She so desperately wanted to believe in the happily ever after fantasy.

When she felt under control, she changed the subject; she loved his kisses, but she could not lead him on. He would eventually get tired of her. "I heard Mr. Brockovich and his two friends talking about a nosy cop. I think it's you and they are planning on getting rid of you."

John smiled, gave her a kiss that made her toes curl. "I have to go, but I promise I'll take care of myself. Please stay safe. I do not like you working for those people."

As he was entering his apartment, he heard the guys behind him. It was so nice to see them. "Hey big brother" he heard Andrew say as he walked toward him. Both brothers embraced each other. Then John and Marcus shook hands. "Lets come in and I'll fill you in."
For I, the LORD your God,

hold your right hand;

It is I who say to you, "fear not,

I am the one who helps you.

Isaiah 41:13

Chapter 37

John had been desperate. He had called her, and called her again until his phone had run out of battery. This morning he had called her again, and she had not answered. He knew that she was not running. They had settled things yesterday, and now she was not answering the phone. He had a bad feeling.

He had gone straight to her office and had seen her drive in. He felt better, and continued to his office. Was he becoming paranoid? That was so unlike him. As he walked into his office, two things happened. The first one had been a phone call from a college friend requesting his help. His daughter had run away and he was desperate. As John was starting the computer to set up a BOLO, his boss came in and sat. John, who did not know how to be politically correct, looked at him and groaned, "Now what?"

"John I gave you a warning. You continue to go there. As a matter of fact you were there this morning. I am transferring you." John was so angry he refused to answer. He had learned that he needed to calm down if he was going to argue something. His boss stood up and walked out.

After a short prayer, John had turned the computer on and after setting up the BOLO for the missing girl, typed his letter of resignation. He was not going to hand it in unless it was absolutely necessary. If his boss tried to stop him from doing his job, he knew what had to be done. Besides, he had to see her and she worked there.

Immediately after, he had driven to her office. He was getting out of his truck when he saw her drive away. As he was getting back in, he saw an elegant car drive out of the parking lot immediately following her. His gut told him not to pass, but to follow. He did at a safe distance.

Rosalyn had been called to the big boss' office. She hated when he called. That man always gave her the creeps. She could not understand her feelings, since he had never done anything wrong. Perhaps it was the way he saw her, as if he was undressing her with his eyes. It was funny, because since that one day when he declared his love to her, he never did or said anything uncalled for.

As she entered, she heard him say, "I need you to bring these files to this address. It cannot be mailed. You will get a bonus for this job."

She had not been able to decline. The address had been two hours away based on her GPS. She had plenty of time to get there and come back. She did not think she would have much extra time for anything else. Bathroom breaks were overrated anyhow. Ugh!

She actually looked forward to getting out of the office. She needed to think, and driving would give her the time. John was driving her crazy. He was making her feel things she did not want to feel. She wanted a second chance, but was too afraid. She needed to figure out a way to make this work. Pushing him away was not going to work. She had never known a more stubborn and pushy man than John.

Rosalyn never noticed the car, or the truck following her. She was concentrating too hard on making a list of pros and cons. Could she be brave enough to get what she wanted?

Boris left after Rosalyn. He was planning on meeting her there. As he was driving he noticed the stupid cop. He thought that he had taken care of the problem the other day. Now he had to lose him. He knew where Rosalyn was heading, so he was going to take a detour. The cop had better follow him.

John was debating, did he follow her or him. He could always wait for her afterwards. She was probably going to lunch somewhere, he reasoned. He followed Boris, hoping that he would lead him to one of the houses. He was totally disappointed when he felt set up. Mr. Brockovich had driven to John's office. His boss was outside waiting for him.

"White, to my office now." John had not obeyed, instead he went to his office, turn the computer on, and printed a file. He took it to his boss and placed it on his desk.

"White, You do not quit like that. You have to give notice."

"He is crooked and you know it." John replied.

"He will file a restraining order against you."

"Let him try it. My fiancée works for him." John said as he walked out of the office.
And now, O LORD, for what do I wait?

My hope is in you.

Psalm 39:7

Chapter 38

Rosalyn got to the house and knocked. No one came to the door, when she heard a car pull up behind her car. "Mr. Brockovich I thought you wanted me to deliver this."

"I did, come on in." he said this as he walked to the door and pulled a key out of his pocket.

Rosalyn looked around. There was nothing in sight. The cabin was in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. She could not see the highway from where she was. She needed to get in her car. "I am sorry but I think it is time for me to leave." She turned and walked toward her car, which was blocked by his much bigger sedan, but she figured that she could maneuver her car out of this predicament.

Pulling a gun out of his pocket, he said, "I do not think so. Come on in."

Rosalyn knew she was in trouble. What about Mariah? All of a sudden, her breathing became shallow and she had a hard time focusing. Even though she was trying to focus on the trees around her and the sound of water nearby, her surroundings began to darken. She lost consciousness into sweet oblivion. Boris cursed, put the gun down and carried her in. He put her on the sofa and tied her up like a turkey. Her hands and feet were tied together. He had never forced a woman in his life, and he would not start now. She would beg him.

Rosalyn had awakened when it was dark. She tried to move and realized that she was all tied up. "I see you are awake, good." She had heard him say.

"Why am I all tied up? Why do you have me here? I need to go to the bathroom. What time is it?" Rosalyn moaned. She didn't even recognize her own voice. It sounded so whinnied. She was terrified. Her mind kept bringing her up to the one night long ago. The one night she had been trying so hard to forget.

Boris did not speak at all. He undid the chains quietly, and guided her go to the bathroom. The silence was louder than if he had spoken. She had no idea what to expect. She had never imagined her boss to be demented; a chauvinist pig, yes, but crazy, no. As quietly as possible, she opened the cabinet, looking for something to defend herself with. Everything was empty. When she finished searching, he was waiting for her. He tied her up again.

Rosalyn was trying to keep calm, but she was terrified. The ropes were cutting into her skin and she wanted to go home. She was hungry and thirsty. "Can I please have something to drink?"

"No, I am sorry. Those are not the words I want to hear you say. There will not be any food or drink until you say them." Rosalyn was so confused. What was she supposed to say? She fell asleep thinking about it.

When she woke up again it was daylight, and she was cold, hungry and thirsty. Thank God she was alone. She tried to get up. She had actually been tied up around the waist to the sofa. What was she going to do? Where was her purse? She had left it in the car.

She wondered if Mariah was okay. She was probably not going to be missed until about 3:20 today when Mariah did not receive a call from her. Would she be worried for her? Rosalyn began to sob. Jesus help me I am scared. I cannot go through this again. Please don't let it happen again.
Is not your fear of God your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

Job 4:6

Chapter 39

John had gone back to Global international. He hoped to see Rosalyn. He had been waiting for her until the office closed its doors and the last employee left for the night. He had gone to the cafe and to her house and no one had heard from her. He had no idea what to do now.

He called the guys and had Marcus spend the night at Global international, and Andrew at the cafe. He went to Mr. Brockovich's house. After all, he had not been told he could not. He was going to find her.

It had been the most frustrating night of his life until the wee hours of the morning. He saw movement - Mr. Brockovich had driven in. At least he found one. He called the boys and had them wait on the adjacent blocks ready to follow wherever he went.

At six, John decided to drive to Global International. She had to show up to work. He waited there until nine. All the employees had come in, but she had not. He was worried. Where could she be? He knew that she needed her job. She would not quit on a whim.

A woman knocked on his window and gave him a note and a smile. He ignored the smile, but took the note and set it on the armrest. He did not want to miss Rosalyn if she came in and would look at the note later.

The hours passed and the guy had not moved. He knew the guys were hungry and he knew that they would not complain. He called Andrew. "Go and get food and bring it to Marcus, and then park where you can see the house. I will stay here at the business for another half an hour then I will meet you there.

An hour later, Marcus saw movement. He called both John and Andrew. Boris was moving, and hopefully he will go to where Rosalyn was. Disappointingly, he had gone to his office. The same office where Rosalyn was supposed to be working at and wasn't. He was ready to send the guys home, when Boris moved again. They got in position. John could not be seen, and Boris did not know Marcus or Andrew. Andrew followed for the first ten miles or so on the expressway. He passed Boris and got off at an intersection. He got back on immediately after Boris and Marcus had passed by. Marcus continued following. When Boris got off the highway, it became tricky. It was a country road with only two lanes of traffic. John could not be seen or his cover would be blown.

John regretted not having changed cars with one of the guys. Where was Boris leading them? He hoped it was not a wild goose chase. He saw Boris' turn signals. He was going into one of these side roads. There was nothing here, only woods. At that moment John realized that they needed to pull back. He called the guys back, "Do not follow. If he spotted us, it could be a trap." Marcus and Andrew went straight. John turned. He was far behind Boris, he was sure he would not be noticed. He pulled over to the side behind some trees and begun to walk. He saw the house. He hoped Rosalyn was there.

He began to jog toward the house, always being aware of his surroundings. He stayed close to the tree line in case he needed to hide. As he approached the house, he heard crying and arguing. Boris was arguing with a woman. Although John was fluent in several languages, he had difficulty with dialects and slang. He peeked through the window and saw them. There were about eight girls sitting on the floor. All of them were crying. There were all so very young. All of them were bruised, black eyes, broken lips. Their faces were swollen. All of them were in their underclothes, panties and bras nothing else.

Now what. He wished he had not quit. He had been fed up with all of the red tape for so long. He knew whom to call though. Before he called his former boss, he was going to call a friend of his. "Hey, Walker."

"I promise, whatever it is. I have not done it." Walker knew John, and the last time it had cost him a broken nose. He could have reported it, but both of them had been together in the marines. One did not go against a buddy.

"I know; I need your help."

"Okay, shoot."

"I have something newsworthy for you. You must give me your word that you won't mention me at all, and you have to act fast. You have thirty minutes before I call my boss."

It had been done. He had gone to the dark side, but at the moment he did not know if his boss was in Mr. Brockovich's pocket or not. True to his word, he called his boss thirty minutes later, and his suspicions were affirmed when five minutes later Brockovich came out holding the phone to his ear. He could not see him, but he saw the dust from the news van driving in. He got in his car, leaving the girls alone and drove off. John had been waiting for him. The media would take care of this fiasco.

Boris was furious. How did they find out? He had been so careful, how did the cop find out. He knew how to get even. He will get her and sell her. The Middle Eastern man still wanted a green-eyed beauty. He would like to keep her for himself, but that would be too risky now.
He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might

he increases strength.

Isaiah 40:29

Chapter 40

Rosalyn was in so much pain. She had not had anything to eat or drink since yesterday morning. Mr. Brockovich had left the A/C at a very low temperature. She would not be surprised if she got pneumonia. She was wearing a pantsuit with a silk blouse. The clothes were not protecting her from the cold.

What did he want? Why did he bring her here? He had said that she had to ask for the correct thing, before she got food or water.

Jesus, I know you have been trying to reach me. I am so sorry. Please hear me, I am afraid, and hungry and so very cold. Please do not let him hurt me. This might sound selfish, but I would like a second chance at love. Please help me. I know You did not create me to be lonely and sad. Amen

After her prayer, she just began to cry in earnest. She was so afraid. How was she going to be rescued if no one knew where she was?

She heard the door. She begun shivering, more out of the fear than the cold she felt. "Did you miss me? Do you know what I want? I know what you want. I brought you some fast food. Just say the right words," said Boris.

Rosalyn had tried not to cry, but she was so hungry and cold that at the mention of food, that she started sobbing again. He came and loosened the chain around her waist. As terrified as she was of him, his hands felt warm on her skin, which made the rest of her body feel colder. She felt so dirty for wanting the warmth of his touch. "Please, let me go. What did I do to cause this?

"Oh, sweet Rosalyn, you need to beg. You do not ask questions."

"What do I beg for? I want food. Am I supposed to beg for food?"

"No, not food, that is just your reward."

"What do I beg for? I do not know. I am cold; I need a blanket. I am hungry and thirsty and I need to use the bathroom. What am I supposed to beg for?" She was screaming now.

He just sat down and waited. He was close enough to her to entice her to seek his body heat, but too far for her to enjoy it. If she wanted it, she had to make the first move. He knew she was cold. He had made sure to leave the A/C at the coldest possible degree. He could see the steam come out of his breath when he spoke. She began to cry. Instead of moving closer to him, she moved away. He could not understand that. What was wrong with her? She was so close to the arm of the chair, it had to be digging into her.

John was looking in through the window. He was waiting for Marcus and Andrew to be in position around the back of the house. They were looking for an unlocked door, or window to come in. He saw her. She looked so small and scared. He needed to go in. From his angle he did not know if the man was holding any weapon. He had to be patient.

Boris was frustrated. In the past, by this time the ladies had begged him to love them. Not Rosalyn. She had been different from the very beginning. He needed to go out for a walk. He wanted to beat her senseless, but he was not a monster.

John saw him at the last minute. He moved to the side. When Boris walked out and went toward his car, John jumped on his back, knocking him down. Even though Boris was older, he was in great shape and jumped to his feet almost immediately. He looked at John and smiled. "Come on, fight like a man. Come and get me." He taunted.

John was in great shape, but he wasn't expecting this old man to be. He had tried to minimize the damage. He did not want to do anything to jeopardize this man going to jail for good. Boris smiled and signaled to John with his finger to come to him. John was planning his attack. He had underestimated this man. He got close enough to complete a round kick to his head. Boris ducked. Boris' fist hit John's jaw,

Andrew and Marcus were standing there, just watching. "Ouch," both of them said. Neither one of them had seen where the punch had come from. "Do you think John needs help?" asked Marcus. "No, he can handle it," replied Andrew with a smile.

John was ready to shoot this man. John was down and in pain. Boris anticipated every move, and now he was going to have a black eye and a broken rib. He waited. Boris got close, and kicked him. Make that two broken ribs.

"Not so tough now, huh," Boris snarled through clenched teeth.

John rolled and immediately jumped on Boris' back, not giving him a chance to react. He cuffed him and then looked at his audience. "The fun is over. Now get to work," exploded John, as he ran inside to check on Rosalyn.

It broke his heart to see her lying in a fetal position crying. He went to her and started looking for a way to open the locks on the chains. Marcus walked right behind him with a set of keys. Rosalyn was looking at him, not saying anything. John on the other hand was saying plenty. "Sweetie, I will get you out of here soon. You know, when I could not find you, I was so worried and scared. I do not want to think about it anymore. You will not run away from me again. You have to promise not to run from me. I love you Rosie"

Rosalyn could not believe that John was there. She was too afraid to speak. She was afraid that he would disappear into thin air. When finally the chains had fallen out, she jumped into his embrace knocking him down. She began to sob. "I don't know what he wanted, I don't know what he wanted me to do. He kept telling me that I was supposed to ask, but never told me for what. I was so scared. Thank you, thank you."

"You are saved. You are saved. He won't be able to hurt you again." As he said those words he was desperately kissing her forehead, her head, her cheeks. She had taken at least ten years of his life and the only thing he wanted to do now was hold her and not ever let her go.

Marcus felt the cold and saw the steam as John spoke. He went to his car and grabbed a blanket, brought it for Rosalyn, and then he went out to call the law. Boris was going to be a goner.
This is the day that the LORD had made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Chapter 41

John had taken Rosalyn to his place. She did not want Mariah to see her in the emotional state she was in. John made her hot coffee and some biscuits to eat. Although she was starving, she did not eat a lot. She was so tired; all she wanted to do was sleep. He placed her in his bed and covered her up with the blankets. Even though it was not cold, he decided to set the heater on. He placed a pitcher of water next to her and walked out to speak with the guys.

"Is she okay?" asked Andrew.

"She will be." John would not rest until those animals had been put behind bars. He went straight to the business at hand.

"My informant tells me that there is at least one more house where these girls are kept. We need to find it. These are the addresses for the other two men involved."

Marcus and Andrew each took one of the papers and went to the different houses.

John knew he needed to be present during the interview, but there was no way he was leaving Rosalyn alone. She had been so terrified; he needed to be here when she woke up in case she needed anything.

The news had gone live. Kruno and Davor were astounded by what they saw. Boris Brockovich, CEO of Global International Import/Export Trade had been arrested. If Boris talked, they would be in deep trouble. They needed to figure out how to take him out. "How can we shut him up?" Wondered Kruno.

"I don't know. I think that we need to either bail him out or give him a lawyer. Once he is out, we off him." Replied Davor.

"Let me call the lawyer and see what he says." said Kruno as he was dialing the number.

Boris could not believe his luck. He had been bailed out and a lawyer had been retained for him. How come the guys did not wait for him? He got in a taxi and before he said a word, the taxi took off a few minutes later the driver stop and looked at him. "Global international, plea-" before he even finished the driver turned around and pulled a small caliber handgun out of his belt, pointed the gun at Boris' head and fired. The driver looked at his target. The bullet had hit right between the eyes. He felt no remorse since he knew that the man had felt no pain. He parked the taxi, and walked out. He had been paid 200 dollars for this job. Not bad for a day's work. He smiled to himself.

There was still one house left. They could not figure out if they should leave it alone or if they should move the girls. They did not think Boris had been stupid enough to spill any information in the short period of time in which he was detained. "Now that Boris is gone, we need to check on them," said Kruno

"I wish we had waited until he checked on them," replied Davor looking in the rear view mirror.

"I know. I really do not want to be caught. I am too good looking to go to prison"

Davor looked at him. Was he serious? "Let me ask you this. Do we walk away and start a business somewhere else forgetting everything we have accomplished so far, or should we risk it and move them to a safe location?"

Greed won. Each of those girls provided plenty of money. They needed to get there before the cops or reporters did.

"Neither Kruno nor Davor had realized that for the last couple of days they had a tail.

Rosalyn woke up screaming. John immediately came in to check on her. All she wanted was to be held. He reclined against the headboard and held her until she calmed down. As John was sitting on the bed holding Rosalyn, he was remembering how close she had come to being in harm's way and how scared he had been. Here next to him, she was safe, and if it was up to him, that's where she would stay. He decided that he could not do this anymore. She was going to have to marry him. She seemed to be a magnet for trouble, and he needed to protect her. Heck, he needed to know that she was safe, or his sanity was going to fail. No one would hurt her again while he was alive. He looked at her and saw those green eyes looking right back at him. "Rosie I cannot live like this, anymore. You need to marry me. Please marry me."

She jumped up, and started looking frantically for her shoes, "it's time for me to go."

He sighed, "I'll take you home. But this conversation is far from over."

Marcus and Andrew had been apprising John of every move, and right now John knew they were on their way out of town. He followed their GPS signal. He had told them not to interfere until they called for back up. They needed to rescue all the girls first. He hoped to make it there on time.

Davor and Kruno had only one thing in mind \--The profits that the girls provided. They wanted that money. That was their main source of income. It provided a comfortable living. Davor was driving, and Kruno was supposed to keep an eye out for cops. "Hurry up, we need to get there. We do not know if he spilled the beans," Kruno fretted. Davor pressed the accelerator, but asked, "Are you sure there are no cops?"

"There are none. Cops don't have time to waste on these little roads."

Both Marcus and Andrew were following at a distance "What are those two doing? Don't they know they can get a ticket?" Asked Marcus.

"I don't know, I thought everyone knew about small town cops."

And as predicted, out of nowhere, a black and white pulled behind them with his lights on.

"Now what?" Asked Kruno, when Davor slowed down. Kruno was anxious to get to their destination.

"You idiot, you told me there were no cops."

"I didn't see any, and don't you dare be calling me an idiot."

"You are an idiot, you only had one job and you couldn't do it."

At that Kruno punched Davor on the face. Davor was so surprised, he did nothing for a second or two, and then he threw a punch on retaliation. It was quite uncomfortable to fight across and over the console and with their seat belts on. The punches Kruno dealt came from extending his left hand toward Davor's face, the punches Davor returned came from him extending his right hand toward Kruno's jaw. The cop was at the window knocking on the glass, wondering if these two imbeciles were high. He called for back up. When Kruno and Davor noticed him, it was too late. Both friends were being pulled out of their car and helped into the two patrol cars.

"What in the world was that about?" Said both friends in unison as they passed the two idiots they were supposed to have followed. Marcus and Andrew had no choice but to get a hotel. The two bozos were going to spend the night in jail. Now what? The two of them walked to the jail to find out how long they were going to be in, and realized they had plenty of time for a nice hot meal and a good nights rest.

John met them there a few hours later. He loved small towns because everyone knew everyone. He asked the waitress for directions to the realtors home. It was after hours, but not too late. One could still visit at eight o'clock.

At the realtor's home, John found out that there had been a couple of farmhouses for sale. One sold a few months ago and only a foreigner woman lives there now. John got directions to the place, and with the other two in custody; it should be easy to rescue the women with assistance from the cops.

At the house, Rosalyn went into Mariah's room, where she found a full-length mirror. She stood in front of it staring at herself. She had always hated her reflection, but not today. You delivered me, and you are offering me a second chance. Thank you. I know you want nothing in return except my love. I don't know how to give it. I need your help. Amen.

As she continued to look in the mirror she began making decisions. She was going to accept his marriage proposal. From now on, she would stop running away. She wasn't a victim. She was a survivor. She was created to be loved and to love in return. Today is the first day of my life and I chose to be happy.
And we know that in all things God Works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Epilogue

John felt that the world had righted itself. All these years of trying to figure out where he stood in life, trying to make a difference in the life of others, but not finding fulfillment in his own life had finally come to an end. He could not be happier. The woman he loved was sitting here next to him. She had fallen asleep watching the football game. She was so beautiful. He could never get tire of looking at her. No matter what laid ahead of them he would always love her. He had been to shallow and selfish to realize it, but he had been in love with her from the very beginning. He understood that life was not going to be easy for the two of them. There were some very difficult obstacles to conquer, but together they will succeed.

"I cannot wait until the weekend." John said as he cuddled next to her on the sofa.

She smiled, "what's so important this weekend?"

"You will no longer be Rosalyn Miller"

"You mean to tell me that I am not keeping my name"

John looked at her in surprise. They hadn't discussed this before, but he really wanted her to adopt his name. He was not chauvinistic, just old fashioned. "I had hoped."

"Well, I was thinking that Rosalyn Miller White had a nice ring to it."

He smiled and kissed her. This was his Rosie and with her at his side he would be the happiest man ever.

"I love you my sweet Rosie."

"I love you, too."

######

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won't you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

Thanks!

Gabriela Louis
********

About the author

Gabriela Louis has been a closet writer for as long as she can remember, and recently following a challenge and her dreams decided to do something with the stories swimming in her head. She lives in North West Florida where she gets to enjoy the beach in the summer and the cold in the winter. She is married to a wonderful man and has four wonderful children, three sugar gliders, two cats and one dog. Life is always an adventure in our home.

Other books by this author,

Second Chances: The Power of Forgiveness: Release May 1, 2015

Second Chances: The Power of Hope: Coming Soon

Second Chances: The Power of Love: Coming Soon
Excerpt from the second book in the series available May 1, 2015—

Second Chances: The Power of Forgiveness

Okay, game on. They walked toward the stage in the back of the club. The place was a dump, the floor was littered with cigarette butts, ashtrays had not been cleaned, and the place smelled of smoke and urine. They walked towards the only clean table they could see, but then a big meaty hand grabbed Andrew by the arm and another hand clamped around Marcus' shoulder, stopping both of them in their tracks. Andrew noticed that the hand belonged to a big mean looking man. He suspected the guy to be one of the bouncers.

"That table is reserved," he heard the bouncer say as he began to guide them to another table. He signaled for a waitress, a young woman wearing a very small sequined bikini, who could not be more than twenty, to come and clean it.

They ordered a couple of beers and watched the show, the customers, and the employees. The show was distasteful and degrading to women. At least this was not a nude bar, or wasn't supposed to be anyhow. If they served alcohol, the girls were not supposed to go nude. It still disgusted him. The girls seemed so young. The girls were not supposed to be younger than twenty-one.

Andrew could not understand why women danced like this for men and put up with such demeaning treatment. He had a hard time understanding why men frequented places like this, especially those who had a female relative. This was just very sad, in Andrew's eyes.

Andrew had two mothers. He knew both of them loved him, but his biological mother had worked as a stripper. It had been the only job she could have that paid her well enough to support her addiction.

His other mother, the woman who raised him since he was eight was a lady. He had been about five when he was noticed by the authorities and placed in different foster homes. By the time he was eight he had been placed in so many foster homes, he did not remember their names. Some were good to him, others not so good, but he had not stayed in any one place long enough to matter.

Since the moment the Whites took him in things were different. They treated him with kindness and respect. They gave him rules, but also rewards for following those rules or restrictions for breaking them. They enrolled him in sports and made him go to church. In their home, he did not feel transient. Even though they could not tell how long he was going to stay, they treated him as if he belonged.

Then one day, Mrs. White sat him down at the kitchen table, put a plate of hot, out of the oven chocolate chip cookies and a cold glass of milk in front of him and then with tears in her eyes told him about the death of his mother. He said nothing. He did not even cry.

As he reflected on his own feelings he realized that what he felt was relief, concern, and guilt. He pushed the guilt away to stay somewhere in his unconscious mind. His only concerns at that moment had been selfish. Would he finally have a chance at having a forever home? A family to love him and care for him is all he ever wanted. He had felt ridiculous for wishing that.

Andrew reflected that all any child would ever want, was a family. His concern had been about his future. Would the Whites keep him or would they move him to a different foster family? Would someone adopt him? But then again who would want him? He hoped and prayed the Whites wanted him because he loved it with them.

He loved having the stability of a roof, food, and a proper education. He had actually made friends for the very first time in his young life. The friends at school were the same friends he had made at church. It felt good to have a family that cared enough for him to give him boundaries.

He had met Marcus at church, at a baseball game. Marcus was a rich kid looking for his parents' attention and Andrew a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks. It had not matter to them. They had become inseparable.

It had been funny to both of them how wrong the adults were about them. Marcus was a good kid, who always took the blame for his friend and Andrew was the quiet kid who started the mischief. He had heard more than once from his family how Marcus was a bad influence, and Marcus had heard from his parents about Andrew being the bad influence.

No Matter how hard the two families tried, they could not keep them apart. They became best friends. They got in trouble together, salvation together, and now were investigators together. They had each other's backs, being each other's partners.

Somehow Marcus had a way of knowing and always understanding Andrew. Marcus knew his strengths and his weaknesses and he knew how to use them for the success of their partnership and to keep them both and whatever other innocent victims were involved, alive.

Marcus knew Andrew better than he knew himself, and he knew that at this moment Andrew was stuck in the past and he needed to bring him back to the present and the now. He needed him, and they both needed to pay attention to their surroundings. "Are you okay Andrew? I know this is not your usual place but we need to see who frequents it, check the bouncers, and see the girls. One beer, maybe two and then we leave."

As uncomfortable as Andrew was with the situation, he understood that Marcus could not do it alone. They needed to pay attention to every detail and they needed to pretend that this was their usual entertainment.

Their boss John had been called by a friend in Homeland Security Investigations to let him know that there was evidence this place was being used as a cover for human trafficking and prostitution. They suspected the place to have underage girls. Unfortunately, they did not have enough evidence to spend the money and manpower on the case. John had been given the contact of a prominent man, whose daughter had been linked to this place.

Andrew took a deep breath and immediately placed all of his senses on the task "Did you see the cameras? They are in strategic places to see the whole room."

"Not the whole room. Every door is covered except the east emergency exit and it's being used now."

"I wonder who the guy walking in is? He is going to the only reserved table and it is too dark to see him from here or take pictures. We might need to come back tomorrow and sit on the other side."

Marcus became serious. "I would like to know who that man is now. There are no guarantees that he will be here tomorrow. He uses a side door, has a reserved table set in a place with no cameras, and has perfect view of the dancers. We need a better look."

Mariah looked in the mirror. She hated her life, but somehow decisions she made had let her to this demeaning life. This was never the plan.

Why had she been given this lot in life? Some people were born with their silver spoon per say, she was born with nothing. Not even a mother to love her.

She remembered her childhood dreams of one day having a normal family. She had wanted a mother who loved her and father who cherished her, and siblings to argue and fight, but also to share intimate moments with.

Instead, she had no one. At one point she had grandparents who loved her, but an accident had left her alone. Her mother had shown up then, but she had treated her as if she were a bother she had no choice but to take care of. Her mother did not care for her. She had no idea who her father was and she had no sibling to fight or to share intimate moments with. She did not even have family or friends she could trust. Rosalyn had made sure of that.

On one hand, everyone thought Rosalyn was the perfect woman, and the dedicated mother. On the other hand, in everyone's eyes, Mariah was a trouble kid, who was overly spoiled and unappreciative of everything her mother sacrificed for her.

Her desperation at the lock of love and acceptance from her only parent had let her to these horrible circumstances. She did not even know how everything had gotten out of hand. She was in a demeaning job, doing things she never thought possible for a few miserable dollars.

She could not trust anyone in this job. The stories she heard had her looking over her shoulder.

Mariah looked in the mirror. Her custom fit to perfection, but it barely covered her. Time to put a smile on and dance and dream that one day she could walk away from this.

Between the smoke and low lights it was hard to see details. As they were trying to figure out their strategy the third dancer came out. Marcus stared. His jaw dropped and he slapped Andrew on the arm. Andrew looked up, did a double take and said, "Cover me."

Marcus tried to stop him by holding on, "Wait up!" But it was futile and he understood that the case was blown to hell.

Andrew had never acted without thinking, but he was acting on instinct. This probably wasn't his best decision, as matter of fact; it was the worst decision he had ever made. They were not even armed and he was putting Marcus and himself in danger, but he could do no different. Even with the gold wig, the heavy make-up, and the skimpy outfit, he would recognize her anywhere. What is she doing here? Why? The woman of his fantasies, dancing like that? It was so not like her. What had driven her to this? He jumped on the stage, grabbed her, put her over his shoulder fireman style as she screamed and fought him, and he walked out. When one of the bouncers rushed to stop him, he was ready for him. He concentrated all his strength into the one punch. He hit him so hard the man ended up on the floor unconscious. The bouncer was going to have a headache, but it was worth it. He was wound so tight, he actually felt sorry for the bouncer. Unfortunately, it had done nothing for him. He felt the tension in his muscles and the extra blood pounding through his veins. The Adrenaline had given him strength he did not know he possessed.

Marcus followed closed behind and when he saw the extra guy he hit him before the guy knew what was coming. Then they were finally out the door, but they knew they were not save until they were out of there. Andrew ran to the car, "Get in the car now, you drive while I hold her, hurry before the cops come."

"Let me go!" screamed Mariah, "Who are you?"

Marcus jumped in the driver's side, fired the engine and floored it out of the parking lot.

"Please let me go, I am not the kind of..."Then she recognized Marcus.

"Oh no, what do you want?"

Then she saw him-- Andrew. She quieted down because she understood that there was little she could say or do at this moment. She had left home a year earlier without a word, not taking anything except a change of clothes and money she had been saving since she was a child, and now they had found her.

"Mariah, what is this? You actually left home for this? Do you know what you have put your family, your mother, and my brother through? I would like to say that I am happy to see you, but the truth is, under these circumstances, seeing you like this has put a damper on my excitement."

What right did these two bozos have to barge into her life and then complain?

"Yeah it's nice to see you, too. I am so excited you found me."

He was so angry and wound so tight, and her sarcasm was not helping his temper any. He felt he was going to snap if he did not say his next words... "What were you thinking? Is this better than your life at home? This sure was a stupid decision you made."

"Who are you to say anything or judge me? Let me go now before they call the cops on you."

"I'll tell you who I am, I am someone who cares for you and for the people you are hurting with your selfish behavior."

"What selfish behavior? I walked away from where I wasn't wanted."

"What is wrong with you? I could throttle you right now you make me so angry."

"Didn't you hear me? After I turned eighteen she was probably going to kick me out."

"I don't have a clue what gave you that idea, but your mother is going through the motions, but the happiness is not there. She is like a robot doing what is expected, without feeling, without emotion. If she happens to smile, it never reaches her eyes."

"What else is new? Don't you get it? That is how it has always been. I did her a favor when I left."

"You two stop, save this for when we are safely at home. Right now I have to agree with her. She is right, we need to hide the car in the garage where no one will find it. I doubt anyone could have read the plates after we went mudding today, but just in case, make sure that no one is following," said Marcus.

Marcus was driving as safely as possible. He was trying to stay within the speed limit, making extra turns, making sure they were not being followed. First he drove in the opposite direction of the house to make sure there was no one behind them. When he felt safe, he made a big loop toward the house John had reserved for them.

He looked at his friend and then at the girl on his lap. She had caused enough pain to everyone who knew her. He did not blamed her, on the other hand understood too well what she had gone through. He, as well, had parents who were more concern with money and appearances than with their own kids. He knew Rosalyn loved her daughter, but had no clue how to show it. Not everyone was lucky enough to have dedicated parents like Andrew had.

Mariah needed to try one more time. She hated her job, but going back home was worst than her current life. She straightened herself ready to say something when Andrew interrupted her.

"Listen Mariah, I need you to give me time. I don't know what you are going to say, but if you are going to whine and complained please don't."

Andrew knew he had made her angry, but in her selfishness, had she realized how she had hurt the people he loved? He needed to put his personal feelings away and think.

I do not know how to proceed from here, Lord, he silently prayed. Out loud he said, "I need to speak to John. He will know what to do about the whole thing."

"You will not. You have no right to interfere, so stay out of it."

"Mariah, this is a bigger deal than you think, so please stay quiet until we figure it out."

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He knew he had blown the case, and then there was Mariah. What was he supposed to say: "Hey John, good news! I found her, she is doing great, and guess what? You are not going to believe this, but she is a stripper in the bar we are investigating." Yeah, that was going to go well, NOT! I need to calm down, relax, and not jump ahead of myself. I should not worry about tomorrow, only about the now.

Mariah inhaled deeply and then again. She was trying to keep her voice calm when she spoke. She felt caged at the moment and she hated that feeling, after all she was an adult. "Andrew, I am going to tell you this once, only, so hear carefully. Do not dare call John or anyone. As far as the law is concerned, I am an adult. Besides, I will run. I will go out the window or something, but I won't be staying anywhere I do not wish to be. I am not a dog that you say sit and it does. Besides, I made my decisions a while back and I do not need you interfering. Do you understand me?"

Andrew did not even lift his head up, or opened his eyes to look at her. He just smiled, which infuriated her more. She wanted to punch him, slap him, and kick him. She wanted him to feel some of the pain she was feeling. "OUCH!! What was that for?"

Mariah had not even realized it, but she had punched him in the arm. "For laughing at my frustration."

Andrew burst into laughter, and gained another punch for his insolence.

"Mariah, you look beautiful when you pout."

Andrew visited his brother's house quite often and he had seen first hand how unlike mother and daughter were. Rosalyn was quiet; Mariah was loud. Rosalyn was an introvert; Mariah was an extrovert. Rosalyn wanted as little attention as possible; Mariah wanted all the attention. Those differences in Andrew's opinion were the root of the problem in their relationship. Rosalyn, trying to protect her child had restricted her too much, and Mariah being a creature with a wild personality had not been able to handle all the boundaries.

Before Mariah had run away, Rosalyn's overprotection had push Mariah on the road to self-destruction. The few times he had stayed the night, Mariah had snuck out of the house and shown up at odd hours, most of the time accompanied by a cop. She skipped school on a regular basis and she had been caught drinking with friends, the list went on and on.

Then one day, Mariah just left. No one had expected it. It had been on her eighteen birthday. We all got up. Rosalyn fixed a wonderful birthday breakfast of crepes filled with cream cheese and bananas, and when they went to wake her up she was gone.

Chapter 2

Mariah woke up at the crack of dawn hoping that everyone was still asleep. A year earlier she had done the same thing. It would be simple to open the door and walk out. I am sure I can find a taxi or something, she thought, but first things first. She just needed to find something different to wear. Her costume would not do.

Looking in the closet showed exactly what she needed. There were men's clothes in there, probably Andrew's as he had given her his room. The clothes were huge on her slender body. She would have to make it work. Beggars could not be choosers after all. She grabbed the jeans and looked around for a belt. This was not going to do at all. She needed something to make a new hole in the belt. She found his clippers in the bathroom. This was going to take forever she thought.

Thirty minutes later she was looking in the mirror. Not bad, not bad at all. Jeans...check, shirt...check, baseball cap...check; the stilettos will have to do for now. I think I am ready. She needed to decide on the best exit route. She looked out the window, and exhaled in surrender. This room was on the second story and there was not even a tree she could use to climb out. A year ago, she had used the window, but her room was on the first story. She was not going to have a choice but to use the front door. She took her stilettos off. She needed to be as silent as possible. It was still dark outside, and if she walked quietly out, no one would be the wiser.

She walked to the door, making sure that the floorboards did not squeak. She held her shoes in one hand and opened the door with the other, and she walked out...She exhale in relieve when she saw no one. She had to be very careful, and begun counting her steps to freedom. One step, two...tripped and fell on top of the body lying on the floor. As fast as she could she scramble up from the awkward position, her feet slip and she fell again hearing a grunt. This time she got up. She saw that it had been Andrew who was lying on the floor. She was so angry she kicked him. She was frustrated that her plan had been foiled; she could not escape.

"Ouch. What was that for?"

"What are you doing there? Did I take your bed?"

"As a matter of fact you did, now go back to sleep Mariah it is still dark out, we went to bed late, and no, you are not going anywhere, so just don't try. No more running."

She said nothing, just inhaled and retreated.

"And Mariah..."

"Yeah."

"You hit me again, I won't be the gentleman I've been so far. Don't test me, I promise it will be fun for me, I cannot say the same for you."

With that said, he rolled over dismissing her.

Defeated, she went back into the room and closed the door. Now what? What could she do now?

Memories that she tried to suppress assailed her. Oh go away, she thought. Nothing good comes from remembering. But they would not listen.

The doorbell rang. Usually when she got home, her grandparents were home. Today she had to come using the back door. The keys were under a plant in the backyard. It had always been like that. Her grandma was always losing her keys, and after getting herself locked out one too many times, her grandpa had decided they needed a hiding place. They had found one they both agreed on. Mariah had used the key today. The doorbell rang again. She did not want people to know she was home alone, so she walked carefully to the side window and hid behind the shades as she lifted the curtain a little for her to see out. There were two police officers at the door. The female officer noticed her and waved, so much for being inconspicuous. Mariah opened the door. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Is there anyone else at home? Is there an adult at home? Where are your parents, honey?"

Mariah looked at her trying to figure out what to say, and then settled for the truth. "My grandparents aren't home, but they should be here any minute now. They are always here when I get home from school."

They looked at her with compassion. "Where is your mom or your dad, honey?"

"My mom lives in Florida."

"Do you have her number? We need to speak with her."

"Sure," she said. She pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial button designated for her mother, and gave the phone to the cop.

Mariah could imagine how her mom had responded, she always answered the phone the same way, "Hi Mariah, how are you doing honey?"

"I am sorry, this is not Mariah; this is officer Richards. I need to tell you that there was an accident today"

Mariah had not heard her mom, but could imagine that she had asked about her based on what the cop had said. Mariah remembered wondering about the accident, and then it dawn on her: her grandparents. Anxious she continued to listen to the one sided conversation.

"Your daughter is fine, unfortunately; your parents were the ones involved in the accident. Both of your parents are in ICU at University General Hospital."

Mariah heard the words that confirmed her thoughts and all she wanted was to get to her grandparents. She did not have anyone else. Who was going to take care of her while they were in the hospital?

"Ma'am?" The cop had continued her conversation with Rosalyn and Mariah wondered if she would come.

"Ma'am, you have a child here. Do you have friends in the area, or would you like us to call the Department of Children and Families?"

She had not learned what her mom had said, but she remembered her desperation at wanting to go to the hospital and instead she was taken to the neighbor's house. An elderly sweet lady, who did not drive, therefore could not take her to see her grandparents.

That is how Mariah found out about her grandparents' accident. Later she had learned that they had died alone. She should have been with them. She hated remembering that day. That had been the day her life had turned upside down. The only people to ever love her had been in a coma, and hours later they had died leaving her alone. She remembered the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen to her, or whom she was going to live with. Not only had her heart been broken, but she had also been terrified.

It had been a peace of mind when her mother had told her that they would live together, but as a child she had been expecting a little more than a roommate from her mother and a roommate it's all she got.

Mariah had not realized she was crying. When she opened her eyes Andrew was there, looking at her. He brought his thumb to her face, wiping a tear away. She started to cry harder. So very gently, Andrew carried her and placed her on his lap. She felt more fragile than a china doll, and he was making her feel loved by just holding her, consoling her, no words, just tenderness. He was being so kind, and she cried into his shirt, getting it all wet, until suddenly there were no tears left, only exhausted sleep.

Andrew was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall, afraid to move. His back hurt and his legs had fallen asleep, but that did not matter. The only important thing here was that he had loved this girl since the first moment he had met her and this was the closest he could ever get to her.

John would never approve of someone like him for his stepdaughter. He knew John and John would want someone worthy for Mariah. It did not matter what Mariah did, he would want someone much better than he could ever be. No matter how hard he tried, he would always be the son of an addict. He would always be a foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks.

That is how Marcus found them later. "Okay guys, as cozy as the two of you look, we need to figure this out before we have the cops on our doorstep. After all, according to the law, we kidnapped her, and I think that is illegal in every state."

As if pulled out of a nightmare, Andrew jumped up, almost knocking Mariah to the floor, and started pacing the floor.

"I think that the first order of business is to call John and Rosalyn. It is about time to end this nightmare for them. It has lasted too long and they do not deserve this stress."

"No! You hear me; they must never know where I am or what I am doing. Don't you understand? I need to keep away. The only thing that Rosalyn and I have is hurt and disappointment. I do not doubt that in a way she loves me and that I might even love her, but we cannot be together. Our love is poison. It is just killing us one way or another."

Andrew looked at her, clenched fists, shoulders back. He wanted to say something, but had no idea what. She was like a skittish deer ready to bolt if he moved too fast. He prayed for guidance. Oh God, how are you going to fix this one. It is obvious that you want to use me, so show me how.

"Mariah I need you to stop. We'll speak about your parents later. I won't call them yet, but you must call the bar and let them know that you were not kidnapped."

"And what per tell would you have me tell them?"

"I don't know. Maybe you can tell them that we are family of sorts, and that you need them not to worry for your safety. You know, you might as well quit because you are not going back there."

At that, her spine went straight, she squinted her eyes and said something under her breath he could not hear and he realized he had made a mistake. This woman was so finicky; it infuriated him. She wanted to be self-sufficient and his words always made her feel he was trying to control her. All he wanted to do was protect her and cherish her. This woman was going to be the death of him. How could he show her he cared?

Marcus had been quiet observing these two. He was the outsider in this family, but when he realized that Andrew was losing ground he said, "Mariah, don't you see that is not the kind of job for you? We have seen first hand how explosive you and Rosalyn are together, and agree that the two of you cannot live together, but going away to college, moving to an apartment, or joining a convent would have been much better choices than being a stripper. Can't you see that? Can't you see that this was not a good choice?"

"Why? Who do you think you are to tell me what kind of job I can have or not? You two are there reading me the riot act, and until you go through what I have gone through you can't. Understand something, I have waited all my life to be independent, and I am not going to let you, my mother or anyone else tell me what to do."

Marcus continued, "Mariah, you could have independence at school, not dancing and undressing for men?

"You think you know all, you think I didn't try? And for the record, even though is none of your business, all I ever do is dance."

"Mariah, do you not get it? We love you, your parents love you, and any decision you make affects us all because of that love. When you make what most people call irresponsible decisions, you are affecting all of the lives of those people who love you." Andrew was looking straight into her eyes as he spoke. He knew she wanted to walk away, turn around, but her pride would not allowed her to surrender her views and accept that love.

Mariah was ready to run, she wanted to believe him, but he knew nothing. Didn't he know that she was unlovable? Other than her grandparents, no one had ever loved her, not even her own mother. Heck the last time she had been held was when her grandparents were alive. Being held by Andrew had felt so good and she did not know what to do with that feeling.

"Mariah, we have seen it so many times, this is what we worked at, good girls of limited means, decide to dance. They are just going to dance. The tips are great, but then they realized that the girls who do the lap dances, or go topless, make so much more money, they rationalized their views into accepting what they thought they would never do; so they do it. At first it is awkward, but then the money is so good, they lower their standards and they are willing to do a little more. Soon they are so deep in the business, that when they get out, because they are too old and are used goods, their only choice is the streets. Do you really want that for yourself?" Marcus spoke with such compassion in his eyes, she felt tears in her eyes, but she could not cry.

Marcus, Andrew and Mariah were sitting facing each other. Mariah felt as if she was going to break at any minute. She hated her life and these guys were offering her an out. First Andrew, then Marcus. Could these boys really love her? Mariah was quiet; she had nothing to say. She really hated dancing and having those men gawking at her. When she had to be on the floor waitressing was even worse, because she did not have the stage to protect her from their nearness, their nasty words, and their physical touches.

Andrew became serious. He knew Mariah so well, and knew that she was ready to break. Her emotional pain was a weight she could barely handle. Andrew changed topics, the emotional could wait until after she had composed herself and had a chance to concentrate on the business at hand. "Anyhow, we do need you to buy us some time. Please call work, let them know you were not kidnapped. Take some time off until we figure this out. We need to go shopping, and you cannot be dressed like that, those clothes are too big for you. Also, I do not want to be arrested when we go out. Please call."

Three hours later, they were at a local discount store getting clothes and essentials to last her two to three days. She had refused to go to her place to get anything. That was her safe heaven, and as soon as she could manage to get away, she would. It should take no more than two or three days for the guys to lower their guard. She would forgo the make-up. They deserved to see her at her worst for turning her life upside down. She knew that she was unlovable, and the guys meant well, but they just probably wanted her to go back for Rosalyn's sake. And the only reason Rosalyn wanted her back was because she was worried about what people would say. Impressions were so important to Rosalyn. She had never loved her, she only did what was expected.

Andrew knew that she would bolt, given half the chance. He was going to have to be diligent in keeping an eye on her. She could not go back. God, how am I going to keep her safe? As he thought the words, he realized that it was not him, but God who would keep them save. He just had to trust, pray for guidance and be willing to listen to what the Almighty had to say ... Be still and know that I am God.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Frank_Crane

Bible verses come from the Holy Bible —ESV

