Blind Loyalty - M J Marlow (i am reading a book .txt) 📗

“but they arrive too late to save you.” Joanna did not know where she got the strength but she was moving and the man cried out in pain as she slammed her fists into his eyes. He dropped her and she backed away from him as he blinked and wiped at the tears with a curse. When he could see again, he took the whip off of his belt. She covered her face and waited for the blow to fall, but she heard a gunshot and the man’s cry of disbelief instead. The man fell dead at her feet and she began to sob. She did not stop crying as she was carried upstairs to where Adam was waiting. He took her in his arms and held her as the reaction calmed and then quieted. He looked down to find her sleeping. He carried her out to the helicopter and refused to let her go as they strapped in and took off. He was still holding her tight when they arrived at the English counterpart to the Aerie. He would not leave her side, as the doctors looked her over. “Your daughter,” the English commander, Hawk Thorson, stated as he came into the room where Joanna was sleeping, “is a very fortunate child, Major. We got to her before they could give her more than one dose of their foul drug.” He looked at the girl. “She looks exactly like her mother, Jeffries.” Adam nodded and kept hold of Joanna’s hands. “You know she’s safe here, don’t you?” “That bastard stole her from me, Hawk,” Adam said tightly. He looked at his old friend and hoped. “Please tell me we have him in custody.” “I wish I could,” he said and saw Adam’s eyes go dark with rage. “We caught the other six members of his foul Council. They will soon tell us where all the safe houses are that Leighton might use.” He put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “You would be well-advised to leave the child here with us, Jeffries.” He saw the look in his old friend’s eyes and knew his advice would not be followed. “If you take her home, he will come after her again.” “I’ll be waiting for him then,” Adam replied. “My daughter,” he smiled briefly at the phrase before his face went cold again, “is coming home with me.” Joanna opened her eyes briefly and her eyes were filled with confusion and fear until she saw her father. She smiled and gave a happy sigh and went back to sleep. “He is not getting his hands on her again.” “The doctors tell me you can move her now,” Hawk nodded. “Your jet is fueled and waiting for your team.” Adam nodded and picked Joanna up in his arms. “She is a very strong willed girl, Jeffries. I’ve seen their victims cringing and cowering years after their rescue. They had to be committed to mental institutions. We’ll pass word among the other sanctuaries to watch for her hunter.” Adam nodded and left the Tower with his men falling in behind him. They got on the jet and still he refused to let her go. They arrived back at the States and he was still carrying her. It wasn’t until she was back in her bed at home that he stepped away from her. Rachel and Lora and the rest of the family were more than happy to take up the watch. Adam went to the study where the Judge was waiting. He poured himself a whiskey and downed it in one gulp. He was on his third before he slowed and looked at his father-in-law. “She’s my daughter, Judge,” Adam said softly, trying to get used to the news. “That bastard took Hannah away from us when she was carrying my child!” He slammed the glass down on the desk and cursed. “He has got to pay!” “He’s still out there, isn’t he?” Winbourne asked. Adam nodded and Winbourne hissed. “What does it take to put that snake down?” “Joanna,” Adam replied. He finished his drink and went to look out the window. “He is fixated on her, Judge. He will come after her again. But this time,” he said tightly, “she will be ready for him.” “She’s going to the Aerie?” Adam couldn’t blame the man for his censure. Hannah had been a trainee at the Aerie and it hadn’t kept her safe from Leighton. But Adam was certain that Joanna was made of even stronger stuff and training at the Aerie would give her an added edge if Leighton came after her. He wanted his daughter to have every advantage that he could give her. He was not losing his child to that monster again! “For training,” Adam nodded. “After school and on weekends as her school schedule permits.” He saw the man’s frown. “I can’t be around to keep her safe 24/7 and neither can my team. She needs to learn how to protect herself.” He saw the folder and a familiar purple book on his desk. “You have Hannah’s diary.” “As well as several very interesting legal documents,” Winbourne nodded. “Charles Dearborn turned them over to the authorities in exchange for immunity.” He saw Adam cringe and didn’t know if he didn’t agree with him. Charles had watched everything that had happened to Joanna and done nothing to help her. As far as he was concerned, the man was as bad as James Leighton. “Did you know that Leighton’s father left his entire estate to Joanna.” Adam stiffened. “It seems he did not approve of his son anymore than we do. The financials have been placed in a trust fund that will be hers to control when she reaches the age of 21.” He frowned as he looked at Adam. “If I were her father, instead of her grandfather, I’d advise her to sell that place.” “I’ll discuss it with her,” Adam nodded. He could feel the strain of the past forty-eight hours hitting him. “I’m going to crash for a few hours, Judge. Have someone come get me when Joanna wakes up.” It was nearly two weeks later when Adam received the news he had been dreading. Leighton had been spotted and he was on his way to Colorado. Adam got in his Jeep and left the rest of the team to see if they couldn’t find the man before he got to Maverick. Joanna and Aidan were just getting into the boy’s car when Adam drove up in his Jeep. Despite the fact that there was a foot of snow on the ground, with a promise of even more, her father was still driving with the roof open to the elements. Her father, Joanna smiled happily; her real father, not the bastard who had called himself her father and abused her for fifteen years. Adam smiled at her briefly and nodded to Aidan who was at her side as he usually was. “Joanna,” he said simply; “you need to come with me. Aidan,” he looked at the boy; “if you’re going to hang around my daughter like a fly this concerns you as well.” They got in the jeep and hung on for dear life. Adam never went anywhere slow if he could go fast. Today was no exception. Joanna saw the direction he was taking and knew where they were going. She frowned at her father but he did not explain. If they were going to the Aerie, it was important. “Wow!” Aidan said as they pulled inside the complex. “That’s some mirage your technicians designed.” He was like a kid at Christmas, Joanna thought. Did it not even occur to him to be frightened at being brought to a secret military complex? They went down to the command level and Joanna fell in beside her father, leaving Aidan to trail behind. “Hello, Commander,” Joanna said as they entered Braxton’s office. She saw his brief nod. “Have you met my friend, Aidan Murphy?” “The Sheriff’s youngest son,” Braxton stated, as he looked Aidan over. The boy met his gaze without fear. “Something of a technician, I hear.” The boy looked quite proud of himself. “Those transmitters you designed still have our lab techs stumped.” He saw the impatient look on Adam’s face. “That is not why you are here, however. Young man, you have a decision to make.” Aidan was all ears. “Joanna is a target. If you value your skin, you might want to distance yourself from her.” “Joanna is my friend,” Aidan snapped at him. “If she’s in trouble, then I want to help!” “Then you both need to see what her hunter is capable of,” Braxton replied; “so you know how far he’ll go to get what he wants.” He turned to Joanna. “You’ve begun to remember most of this, Joanna,” he said as he pulled up a file. “Are you ready to see it all?” Joanna nodded and he looked at Adam. “Your father and I will be back in twenty, then.” He keyed the file to display on one of the monitors behind his desk and he left with Adam. The record began when she was five. It showed her mother’s room. She and her mother were playing with her dolls on the floor. There was a knock on the door and her mother sent her to the closet and pulled herself up into her wheelchair. Leighton walked in. They argued and Leighton struck her. Then he brought out a needle and injected Hannah with something. She went into convulsions and collapsed. He turned as Joanna began screaming and dragged her out of the closet. He struck her across the face and she collapsed. He was holding her in his arms when Charles arrived. His lie about how he had come running when Joanna had begun screaming was believed. The staff all believed Hannah had died of a heart attack while her daughter screamed for help. “He murdered my mother,” Joanna said tightly as theimages continued. “And no one believed me when I told them so. They thought I was traumatized by seeing my mother die in front of me and being unable to help.” The next couple images were the whippings her father gave her when she did or said something he did not approve of. Every time, it was Charles who interrupted the beating somehow and made James stop before he went too far. Joanna had been so wrong about the man. She had to remember to apologize when she saw him again. When they got to the murder of her mare Joanna went white. This was the first memory she had regained and it still terrified her. He beat the animal to death and then turned, his expression telling her that he fully intended to use the bat on her. Charles had stopped him before the bat could connect and she had passed out cold from the shock of what she had been made to witness. According to the record that displayed next to the images, she had not spoken for several months afterwards. “All because I forgot I wasn’t supposed to leave the estate and rode Misty into the state forest,” Joanna choked. She smiled briefly as Aidan gripped her hand in his. The next image was just after that and it was something she hadn’t remembered. She was in bed and her father came into her room. He stood over her bed and the look in his eyes made her feel sick. She had seen it before. James sat down on the bed and gave her a shot. She looked up at him in confusion and then horror as he removed her nightgown and began to… “No!” Joanna went white as a sheet. “I didn’t believe him when he said…” She was shaking in horror. “How could he?” Aidan put his arms around her as she sobbed and held her until the reaction died away. In