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

drugging her.”
“Drugging her?” another of the men who had not been interested was suddenly quite involved. Carl Schneider straightened his long-limbed frame in his chair and his brown eyes were filled with concern. “With what?”
“A drug of his own developing,” Adam spoke up. “Rachel got a sample to my sister, Lora, immediately and Lora developed an antidote.” He was annoyed by the interruptions. “I’ll have Lora send you her research, Schneider.”
“It is meant to make her forget what he just did to her.” Rachel looked at the picture of Joanna then turned to the others. “I have been encouraging her to run,” she told them bluntly. “I’ve talked to her about the process of becoming an emancipated minor and she was beginning to hope that she could have a life free of this bastard. But, after this beating, she is too terrified to make a move.” She was nearly in tears. The sight of the Ice Queen in tears disturbed the team immensely. “When I went in undercover I never dreamed I’d be witness to such abuse.”
“So we’re to stage a raid,” the loud mouth sneered, “to rescue one poor little rich girl because her Daddy slaps her around a little?” He paled as he saw the next slide, a detailed list of every bone broken and every beating given over the past ten years with the excuse for it. “He broke her wrist because she dropped a cup of tea on the floor?”
“He was having her taught how to pour tea like a lady,” Rachel remembered what one of the maids had told her. “She was shaking so hard; because she was afraid she wouldn’t do it right,” Rachel nodded, “that she couldn’t hold on to the cup. She was thirteen then.” She looked at her watch. “I’d better get back. The bastard only allowed me two hours to get the medical supplies. If I’m late, he’ll find an excuse to hurt her.”
“He won’t hit you?” Adam looked at his former sister-in-law in shock. The thought of anyone putting their hands on Rachel was suddenly quite unacceptable. He saw the anger in her eyes and realized her concern was all for the girl. He knew Rachel well, and he was not surprised to realize that she would rather the bastard hit her instead of the girl. She’d fight back.
“Of course not,” Rachel sniffed. “He wants Joanna to believe she is being beaten because she is a disobedient and willful child. It wouldn’t do for her to see that he is just a sadistic bastard who likes to hurt people.” She nodded to the Commander. “If you don’t come soon, I’ll risk my cover and my life to get her out on my own. He’s fired me and I only have three days left to do all I can to keep Leighton from destroying the child. This is personal. This girl is family.”
No one said a word as she left the conference room. They sat in numbed silence as theimages continued displaying and all of them were certain of one thing, Joanna Leighton had become their priority now. Adam began to give his orders and his people snapped to attention and listened. The Commander nodded and held his hand out for the CD. This was going into the file they had on Leighton, abusing his own child was going to loosen the hold Leighton had on some of the legal authorities in this county and get the ball rolling.
He sat back and listened to Adam, smiling to himself. After five years, they were finally going to bring his bastard of a cousin down; and all they needed to do was convince the man’s terrified daughter to testify against him.
“She looks just like her,” Adam said softly once all the others were gone. He looked over at Braxton. “That bastard never said a word to the Judge about this child.”
“Leighton would hardly have been able to abuse her,” Braxton replied tightly, “if her grandfather was aware of her existence.” He laid his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I appreciate that this is going to raise some painful memories…”
“I loved Hannah, Commander,” Adam broke in. “I owe it to her memory to do everything in my power to help her daughter.”
He did not bother to continue that his thoughts were also for the strong-minded woman who had just left. Rachel had rescued him from himself when Hannah had left him. She was his closest friend. When she had come in on this case, he had begun to realize he wanted more than friendship with her. If she said this child needed their help, then he would move heaven and earth to do so. He looked at the picture again. Hannah’s daughter, he frowned. He wondered if the girl took after her flighty mother.

Joanna woke up early the next morning just as the first light of the sun was peeking up over the hills surrounding the estate and went out onto the balcony to look out over the grounds of her prison. This was her world, she sighed. She was never getting out of here. She wasn’t feeling right she thought as she slid into her bathing suit and went out to the pool to swim a few laps. Maybe if she wore herself out, she would calm down. It started to rain but she did not stop. Only when she was so worn out she could barely lift her arms did she get out. She collapsed onto a chaise near the pool and curled up in a ball, sobbing in misery.
“Don’t you think it would be easier for you,” Charles said as he came out of the shadows, “if you would just accept your limitations, child?”
“Why should I, Charles?” Joanna asked as she sat up and looked at the immense man who had been her personal protector her entire life. Charles was always there to listen to her when she needed to talk to someone. He went into the bathhouse and got her a robe and a towel, the early morning light turning his white blond hair silver. “I know Father has told me the world is evil and it is safer for me to remain here where he can protect me, but I’m beginning to realize that’s all just words.”
“You don’t trust your Father, Joanna?” Charles asked her bluntly, his blue eyes filled with concern. She looked terrified at the thought of admitting her true feelings, but she shook her head. He helped her into the robe and raised her eyes to his. “Don’t worry, child. What we just said to each other goes no further; you know that.”
“You’re going to be my only friend again, Charles,” Joanna frowned as she looked up at him. “Father fired Rachel. Friday is her last day.”
“That’s a shame,” Charles said honestly. “I like Rachel. She’s been good for you.” He went silent for a moment as he thought of how this was going to complicate things. He would have to see just how before he amended his plans for getting the child out of this prison. “Trust her, Joanna,” he said as he leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. “She cares about you as much as I do.” He looked at his watch. “You’ll be late for breakfast if you don’t get moving.”
When Joanna got back to her room, her throat felt scratchy and swollen. She went to her mirror and saw nothing wrong, but she still didn’t feel right. Even after she took a shower and dressed she didn’t feel any better. She went down to breakfast and she had a hard time swallowing. She finally quit eating and looked at her father in distress. He came over to her and saw the swelling at the back of her throat as he made her open her mouth wide. As he felt the heat coming off of her, he knew she was ill. He helped her to her feet and they went off the estate. Something very serious was wrong with her if he was taking her off the estate, Joanna realized. She clung to his hand as they drove to the hospital.
“Doctor Leighton?” the ER doctor snapped to attention as he saw who his next patient was. The Ice Man, as the staff called Doctor Leighton, was holding a dark-haired girl in his arms and looking – distressed! He had brought his daughter to the hospital; that was something that he’d never done before. The man was so private; very few people even knew he had a daughter. “What’s wrong?”
“My daughter is complaining of a sore throat,” James told the man as he set Joanna down on the examination table and stepped aside so the man could do his job. “She was having difficulty eating this morning and is running a fever. I’m thinking tonsils.”
“There is a lot of swelling here,” the Doctor said as he shone a light over the back of Joanna’s throat. She whimpered in pain and he looked at her kindly. “We will look into this immediately, sir,” the Doctor nodded.
He got the staff hopping and they had Joanna in a private room where she was put on an IV and tests were taken. She drifted off to sleep and woke up to see the worry on her father’s face. The door opened and the doctor from the ER came in with another doctor in tow. They sat down to go over the test results with James.
“What is it, Father?” Joanna finally snapped. The three men looked over at her. They had forgotten she was here, she realized.
“Joanna, dear,” James said as he came to sit on the bed and took her hands in his. “I’m so sorry. I should have caught this sooner.”
“Caught what, Father?” Joanna frowned. “I don’t understand. It’s just a sore throat, isn’t it?”
He put his arms around her and she was terrified. Her father never acted like this.
“I’m not dying, am I?”
“No, Miss Leighton,” the strange doctor smiled to her. “Your father is being overly concerned, like all loving fathers will.” He looked at her kindly over the rims of his glasses. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, Joanna thought to herself. “Your tonsils need to come out.”
Needles, scalpels, and pain; that was what Joanna immediately saw in her mind. She looked at the man in shock and then turned to her father. He nodded as he saw where her mind had gone and she shook her head. It was just a sore throat! There was no need for such drastic measures.
“Surgery?” Joanna shuddered. “Isn’t there something else you can do?” James squeezed her hand and smiled at her gently. “No?”
“It is better to remove them now,” the Doctor told her. “Or they’ll keep flaring up on you.” He saw her fear. “It is a simple operation, Miss Leighton.” He made a call and asked about available units. “There is a room open at three o’clock, Doctor Leighton.”