Storm's Cage by Mary Stone (uplifting novels .TXT) 📕

a chance she and that man—a man she liked, with whom she shared a genuine emotional connection—would wind up in a more intimate setting, she’d have even dug through her dresser for a lacy bra and matching underwear. She would have absolutely shaved her legs.

But the churning mess of her stomach was a far cry from pre-date butterflies. Where there should have been the titillating flutter of a dozen little wings, there was nothing but a stone. A stone that grew heavier as each passing minute brought her closer to eight o’clock.

Twice on the drive home from the FBI office, she’d almost pulled over to throw up on the side of the road. Though she’d managed to chase away the nausea both times, she could only hope to be so lucky for the rest of the night.

A squeaky meow drew her attention back to the bathroom. Glancing down to the long-haired calico rubbing against her shins, Amelia knelt to scratch behind one orange and black ear.

Hup responded with another meow, followed by the faint vibration of a purr.

Amelia hadn’t adopted Hup from a shelter, nor had she found the six-year-old calico as a stray. Hup had been a key piece of information for Amelia and Zane to find the trail they needed to solve the cold kidnapping case of a girl named Leila Jackson.

Leila had been snatched from her hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin when she was only twelve. The poor girl was on her way home from a friend’s house when a frantic woman had pulled up beside her to beg for help with her unresponsive toddler.

Only there was no toddler. The woman was part of a ring of sex traffickers, and Leila’s desire to help a panicked mother had landed her in the middle of a hell that Amelia couldn’t imagine. For four years, from the time she was twelve until she turned sixteen, Leila was held at a location that remained a mystery.

There, Leila’s captors charged perverts of all shapes and sizes to have sex with her or one of the other children. When Leila’s body matured, when she could no longer pass for a child, she’d been sold to Emilio Leóne’s street prostitution ring.

Even after Leila’s in-depth testimony, the Bureau still didn’t know who was behind the initial kidnapping. They suspected the Russians, but no one could be sure.

At the mere age of sixteen, Leila Jackson had suffered more than most adults could fathom, let alone endure.

Here Amelia was, sick to her stomach because she might have to sleep with one man in order to keep herself out of prison—in order to keep her career, her friends, her family.

Would it be so bad, really?

All she had to do was hold her nose, close her eyes, and let Joseph do whatever in the hell he was going to do. Once, maybe two or three times, and she’d be in the clear. Joseph was quite the ladies’ man, so Amelia was sure it was only a matter of time before he moved on to a new flavor of the week.

Joseph was a good-looking guy. He was close to Amelia’s age, and unlike Leila’s situation, she could go home after the deed was done. Leila hadn’t been granted any of those luxuries.

Besides, plenty of women had sex with men they didn’t like on a daily basis just so they could put a roof over their heads or food in their bellies. Like the witness who’d helped them find Leila, some had to work the streets to pay for their mother’s cancer treatment.

Amelia doubted Angel Hernandez had looked forward to the nights she strode out to the street corner in West Garfield Park.

There were so many women faced with situations far worse than Amelia’s.

Letting out a groan, she slumped down to sit on the cool tile.

Hup meowed as if to say, stay home and pet me instead, as she rubbed her furry face against Amelia’s foot.

Cats definitely had better lives than humans. No doubt about that. Maybe she could come back as a cat in her next life. Amelia rolled her eyes at the thought as Hup continued to fluff all over her.

“You’re right, Hup. I’m making this into a bigger deal than it is.”

If she wanted the chance to help any other girls like Leila, she needed her damn badge, and she needed her freedom.

An image of Zane’s slate-colored eyes that always seemed to pick up a hint of the surrounding colors came to mind. She pictured his easy smile as bile threatened to crawl up the back of her throat.

She should have told him in the elevator, but there was nothing he could do to help. Despite the nagging sense of guilt that gnawed at the edges of her mind like a slow-burning acid, she knew he’d understand. No matter what she did tonight, Zane wouldn’t judge her.

With a sharp breath, Amelia shook off the contemplation. The more she ruminated, the worse off she would be.

All Joseph wanted was sex. He didn’t want her eternal soul, her firstborn child, or even a relationship. All he wanted was to get off, and for a reason Amelia would never understand, he’d decided she was the one for the job.

Did she have a choice?

Dammit. She hated herself. No wonder the majority of assault and rape victims didn’t press charges. She was a fucking FBI agent, and look at her, thinking of sleeping with a man she loathed because of the power he held over her.

But…your job…jail. Your entire future.

That was the voice that kept her from opening her mouth. She picked the cat up and nuzzled her face in the calico’s soft fur. “What would you do in my position?”

Hup licked the very tip of Amelia’s nose. While it wasn’t an answer, Amelia gave the cat a sad smile. “You’ll love me know matter what, right?”

Hup went from purring furball to hissing maniac in an instant.

“Ouch!” Amelia rubbed the part of her arm the needlelike claws had dug into before the cat