Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (books to get back into reading TXT) 📕

to see if he was alive or dead. I just jumped over him trying to escape. I could’ve killed at least one of these men when I had the chance but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

My father was yelling at Ben from the plane, “Son, I’ve got you covered! Don’t worry about that cocksucker on the ground, you just get my little girl!”

With that Ben redirected his aim from the bleeding man to the stocky Asian man that was holding me. They each had a gun pointed at the other.

“I take Dr. Langley,” the Asian man said, “or I kill Dr. Langley.” He then put the gun to my head. “Your choice.”

Ben said nothing, his eyes never leaving the stocky man and his gun still aimed at him.

So, they wanted to take me? I thought they wanted to kill me? What changed? I heard the low hum of a muscle car approaching us. I turned my head to see who it was and it was a yellow Dodge Charger. The driver was another Asian man. The bleeding Asian man on the ground was yelling something in Mandarin at the stocky man, except he didn’t reply. The bleeding man kept yelling but my captor stayed quiet, waiting to see what Ben would do. The Charger was now next to us, rumbling loudly. By the sound of it, there was no way my little Jetta would be able to catch this thing in a car chase. I couldn’t let them put me in that car. Once they did that I would never see my family again. My heart was in my throat.

Ben stepped closer. “Isabel, a little help?”

Fuck! He wanted my help? How? I nodded and thought of only one thing I could possibly do. The bleeding man was now yelling louder and trying to get up to go for his gun. My father shot him in the ankle, causing him to flop to the ground once more and then shot his gun out of reach. The stocky man that had a hold on me was briefly distracted, so I took the hand that had the gun to my head, pulled it to my mouth and bit his wrist as hard as could. He let out a horrific yell, yanked his hand out of my mouth and hit me hard on the back of my head with my pistol. It was so hard that my ears started to ring and my vision blurred. I was holding my head, trying to ease the pain. I shut my eyes, feeling a little queasy from the ringing and the blurriness. I couldn’t hear or see anything very well.

Somebody fired their weapon, I thought. Was someone yelling in pain? Was it Ben or was it the Asian man? Next thing I knew I was in the yellow Charger, with the stocky man speeding away, the engine revving so loud I could feel the vibration throughout my body. I gingerly lifted my head and took a fleeting look out the back window. Ben was on the ground trying to get up. He was holding his right arm. He had been shot.

27

The man driving was saying something to the stocky man in Chinese. Their tone was harsh and abrasive. It sounded like they were arguing. Perhaps about the man they left behind bleeding but still alive. If he didn’t die or get killed then the FBI had a suspect they could question and possibly force him to help find me. All I can do was hope for that.

The ringing in my ears was beginning to subside and my vision wasn’t as blurry anymore but my head hurt like hell. I heard a small voice whimpering beside me. Oh, good heavens! It was a very young girl sitting next me. She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and was shivering from the cold. Oh, my goodness! Where did she come from? I wrapped my arms around her and she quickly hugged me.

“Angel, what’s your name?” I whispered.

“Betty Lou,” she answered softly through her tears.

“Betty Lou,” I repeated, “that’s such a lovely name. How old are you?” My eyes flickered to the Asian men. They were still arguing.

“I’m twelve,” she said.

Right then and there, my heart broke into a million pieces for this little girl. She was just a baby. How did she get to be with these men? This had got to be the worst kind of nightmare for her. This couldn’t be happening.

“Angel, tell me how you got in this car.”

“My mom’s boyfriend sold me to them. They came and got me while my mom was at the store,” she said. “I tried to tell her he was bad but she didn’t listen to me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and kissed the top of her head. I was shivering with her but not from the cold. I was angry and scared for her beyond belief. “Betty Lou, has anyone touched you in a way you don’t like?” I asked, pulling her closer to me.

“No, but they look at me in a way I don’t like.”

I sighed softly and muttered a short prayer under my breath. These men were the devil incarnate. You had to be a special kind of evil to be okay with buying a little girl for the sole purpose of selling her or prostituting her out to some depraved, dirty old man. I couldn’t let anyone touch her… even if it killed me. “Betty Lou, my name is Isabel Grace Langley. Try to stay close to me whenever we get to our destination, okay?”

She nodded. I smiled warmly at her. “Betty Lou, I believe in praying, do you?” She nodded.

“Great!” I whispered. “I want you to start praying now and I want you to continue the entire time we’re in this mess. It’s okay if you stop to take a break