Blind Loyalty by M J Marlow (ereader for android .TXT) 📖

he said as he saw her eyes go blank, and turned on the tape recorder. “Tell me everything you’ve been doing since I’ve been gone.” He frowned as he heard more about the special lessons her new governess had been giving her. It was worse than he had imagined. The woman definitely had to go. “You want to please me, my pretty girl,” he said simply as he gave her a second injection, the one that would remove all memory of what had just happened for the past half hour from her mind; “don’t you?”
“Yes, Father,” Joanna said softly.
“Tell me then, my child,” he said as his hand stroked her cheek. “Will you continue to disobey me?”
“No,” Joanna sobbed. She looked horrified at the thought. “I will do better, Father. I want to please you.”
“That’s my girl,” James smiled triumphantly. He helped her off the table and her knees buckled under her a moment. James picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. Joanna’s mind was spinning as he took her up the back stairs and along the corridor to her room. By the time they reached her room, she did not remember anything of the punishment. All she knew was that she had disappointed her father and she had to do better at doing as he asked. He only wanted what was best for her, after all. He was her father and he cared about her. “Joanna is to keep to her room for the rest of the day,” James ordered as he set Joanna on her feet. Rachel nodded and hid the anger in her eyes. “Have Cook send her up a tray.” He looked over at his daughter with some regret as she went to her bookcase and pulled out a textbook. “Come to my Study, Ms. Caldwell.”
Rachel followed him and he went to the windows and looked out as she shut the door. He did not speak for several minutes but Rachel knew he was seething. She had seen enough of him during his ‘visits’ in the past six months to read him. He was a hard man who demanded, and was impatient with anyone who did not jump for him as he directed, when he directed. Rachel knew he was going to fire her; he could not have her teaching his daughter that there was such a thing as personal freedom.
“You have been encouraging my daughter to think she is ready to face the world, Ms. Caldwell,” he said as he looked out at the grounds. “I do not agree and since I am her father it is my opinion that counts.” He looked at her coldly then. “You will leave at the end of the week. You may return to Joanna now.”
Rachel nodded and went back upstairs, seething with anger. There was no way that Rachel was going to let him turn this child into a cringing coward. Over the past six months, Joanna had become as dear to her as if she were her own child. The fact that she looked like her mother, who had been Rachel’s sister, was only partly the reason. She found Joanna huddled in the chair, sobbing, and held her until the tears passed. Rachel took a chair nearby and sat back to ponder just how to go about removing Joanna from James Leighton’s custody in three days. She came to a realization that she was going to need help and that meant she was going to have to go to the family that did not know this girl existed.
“He fired you, didn’t he?” Joanna said softly as she looked over at her governess in distress. “What am I going to do without you, Rachel? You’re the only friend I have here, except for Charles.”
“Don’t worry, Joey,” Rachel said softly, using the pet name she had given her charge as she pulled the girl into her arms. “I’m not going to leave you in here. I’ll find a way to get you out. Trust me.”
They talked about other things for the next several hours. Joanna asked Rachel where she was going to go after she left here. Rachel described the town of Maverick where her family lived. Joanna could almost see the buildings and the people; the woman’s description was so vivid. Rachel told her she would not be working as a governess again. That seemed like a waste to her, Joanna had learned so much from the woman.
“You should be a teacher, Rachel,” Joanna said as she sat cross-legged on the bed. She was concerned about her friend’s future. “I’ve learned so much…”
“Joanna,” James’ voice cut through her words like a knife, shattering their peace. They looked up to find him in the doorway, scowling. “You are supposed to be getting ready for bed, young lady. Rachel,” he looked at the woman coldly; “your shift is over. You can go to your own room now.”
Joanna watched as Rachel left the room with dread. The look on her father’s face was not a happy one. He was going to hurt her again. He closed the door and locked it and she watched him go to the bathroom and pull out a bottle of pills. He filled a glass of water and brought her a pill. She took it without argument and drifted into a stupor. She had to be having a nightmare, her mind told her; because fathers just did not touch their daughters the way James was touching her as he helped her undress. She finally lost consciousness as the frightening feelings his touches brought overwhelmed her already vulnerable mind.

Later that afternoon, Adam Jeffries walked into the complex the para-military organization he worked for was housed in, frowning. Located only ten miles from the town where Leighton lived; he had been working for the past five years to put a case together against the man. He had been working a lead on the Leighton case and it had fizzled out right in front of his eyes. Damn that man! He seemed to be two steps ahead of them all the time. He entered the conference room where the other members of the team were waiting and they did not need to ask; his expression said it all.
They exchanged a few pleasantries as they waited but went to attention as the man they called the ‘Commander’ walked in. The man of steel, for he was all gray except for his sun-weathered skin: silver hair, and storm gray eyes, Simon Braxton was a hard man. He had seen nearly everything evil this world could create from personal experience and he had dedicated his life to combat it. So he and men and women who felt as he did created the ‘sanctuary system’; a para-military organization with headquarters in every country that targeted people who made a living out of destroying other people’s lives.
“Commander.” The twelve people seated around the conference table in the War Room rose to their feet and were at attention. Every last one of them had military training or had been in legal or medical or technical professions. Former soldiers, police officers, lawyers, and federal agents vied for a place in the sanctuaries. If they were accepted for consideration, they were put through training and testing that made Marine boot camp look like a Boy Scout jamboree. Hard people for a hard world, Braxton and his counterparts would accept nothing less.
He took his chair at the head of the table, carrying a file in his hand and he was not looking happy. “I had your team called, Major Jeffries,” he said as he looked at the people in his most elite team; “because this matter with Doctor Leighton must be resolved.” He saw Adam nod stiffly in agreement. “I take it the lead did not pan out as we had hoped?”
“It was a ruse,” Adam replied tightly. “As usual.”
“I have just received information that will see him sent to jail,” he said simply as he held up the CD he had in his hand and turned it over to the man seated at the computer at the place to his left; “and help an abused child at the same time.” The picture came up and everyone at the table went to attention. “This is Joanna Leighton, his daughter.
“The bastard has a child?” one of the men, a slim black man at the far end of the table said before could stop himself.
“He’s been keeping her sequestered at his estate near Maverick, Colorado,” Braxton nodded. “Even her mother’s family had no idea she existed. As you can see from the record, he has been abusing her.”
He looked at them and saw Adam’s look of shock. He had known the man would react strongly; Joanna was the daughter of his ex-wife, Hannah Winbourne, and she resembled her mother quite strongly. He looked at Adam pointedly; who looked like he had seen a ghost.
“We’re going in?” the man at the computer frowned.
“Three of our people will go in with Judge Winbourne,” Braxton nodded; “who was alerted to the fact he has a granddaughter only hours ago. He contacted Social Services and they have given him authority to extract her from the house while they investigate ‘allegations of abuse’. Inez will act as their representative, and Doug and Tad will go in as police support.” Adam nodded agreement as his team members were selected. “Since Judge Winbourne is her grandfather, the girl will be in his family’s custody until a trial can be scheduled.”
“She must be a nasty creature,” one of the men, a tall lanky Swedish type, said; “if Leighton is her father…”
“No, she is not!” Rachel snapped from where she was sitting in the corner. She was still wearing her governess’ uniform. The men all turned in shock; they hadn’t even noticed her entry. They would have been even more disturbed if they had realized she had been there before they had entered. Braxton was certainly going to have to talk to them about their lack of observation. Her eyes were snapping at the loud mouth as she rose to her feet and came to the head of the table. “She is the gentlest creature I have ever met in my life.”
“Men,” the Commander nodded at the elegant creature who stood before them. “You know Agent Rachel Winbourne?” The men all nodded and the men’s attitudes shifted to outright respect. Everyone had heard of the woman and her skill at undercover work. She was one of the FBI’s best and brightest, currently on loan to them on the Leighton case. “She took over as our inside source when we lost Genie six months ago.”
“That’s not important,” Rachel said as she turned to glare at the loud-mouthed man. He was now wishing he had kept his mouth shut as her hard midnight blue eyes pinned him in his chair. “The latest beating happened because Leighton found the girl’s ‘escape kit’.” She saw their questions. “She has been asking him for the past five years to let her leave the estate. That is when he started beating her and