As she traveled carefully she thought of yesterday, just when she was captured…she thought of that feeling, she was determined to not have it again. She kept going and never looked back towards those patches of woods. She rode until she got to Willsborough, her enemies would go there, or they would have friends there…it was going to be dangerous but she had to figure it out. “It is not going to be easy, but we have to figure it out…don’t we?” Brooke sighed, nodded her head, and kept riding.

Willsborough was a small town, just like Brooke was used to. She tied Rowdy in between two stores and pretended to be messing with his main as she thought: “Where would a bunch of outlaws and gamblers hide another man?”

She immediately recognized the saloon hotel as the best option. “Now, how am I going to get up there?” she leaned her head back against the stores wall, “They may not know who I am! There have got to be more friends holding father and mother…two or three, maybe they won’t recognize me…I had not seen the other men, how would they know me?” Then she shut her eyes in anger and balled up her fists in frustration, then breathed: “Well, if I did not know the first man how did her catch me? Well…I guess that is crystal clear…” she spoke to Rowdy: “I was the only one in the house besides ma, he had to know it was me. So will they recognize me or not?” She shrugged her shoulders at her equally confused horse. Just as she kicked the dirt five men rode up…they had known where she would go. “Oh no…” Brooke said to herself then covered her mouth in response. This was going to be harder than she thought.

“Go to saloon, make sure they are all…safe.” Joan laughed raising his dusty eyebrows.

“I will.” Will responded stepping up and swinging the saloon doors open like he owned the place, whatever else he did she could not see from behind Rowdy, it occurred to her that if they looked backwards…she would be seen. She moved Rowdy to the farthest corner, then got behind him, he was behind a large pile of lumber, they remained unseen. “The only problem was those people would recognize her and they would capture me and then all would be lost to seeing mother and father…unless they put them in the same room-then they could plan, but they would have guards…ah!”

Jade thought.

A man went straight in to the opening that she was in…it was Daxton. He saw her and Rowdy and she tried to scream, tried to do anything, but she was too scared and mad at herself to make a noise…he knew.

He grabbed her roughly and whispered in her ear: “Do you want to see your mother and father? Because you will…you will.” She turned her ear away but he jerked her head back and said: “Now, you are my little sister who was waiting for me to arrive from a trip, after this we are going to the next town where are grandparents are…that is what I am going to say, and you just nod your head and hug me, if you don’t there will be consequences.”

There was a tense moment of silence. He gruffly hugged her with his arm across her shoulder and smiled, she copied his fake smile for she was out of hope. They checked in at the saloon, and he gave his best story of their brotherly and sisterly bond, Jade threw up on the inside. Daxton pushed her at the door of room 10, it was in the corner of the dusty upstairs, right below was the saloon itself, perfect place to hide women and men. The door creaked as he opened it, she saw an open window and a bed that looked a lot more comfortable than the ground, a wooden rocking chair, a table with a lamp and the dusty floors beneath her, Daxton shoved her onto the bed. She looked out the window as he came to close it. He pushed her on the other side of the bed once more, she did not like being in front of him but she did not dare turn around. She heard a pour of some liquid and a glass lifting from a table, he handed her a glass with a brown liquid in it. “No thank you.” She whispered to him.

“You will drink it.” Daxton shoved the liquid near her nose and mouth.

“Now…”

Jade shook her head. He took the glass to her relief, but what she did not see coming was him grabbing her neck and forcing his fingers into the most sensitive part, Jade was under his command by excruciating pain. He leaned in and said: “Drink.” She was tired and thirsty and in great pain, so she did, she did not know what it was either…just drank. It tasted strong and had a familiar smell…she drank another shot. Then it occurred to her, it was whiskey. “Jade you are such a fool. He is getting you drunk and trying to make you fall asleep…oh, but he is grasping my neck harder…I can’t deal with that pain.”

After yet another Jade felt as if she could be sick, she had never drunk alcohol and she was feeling tired. Daxton laid her down, she tried not to keep her eyes shut but the bed was so comfortable…and she was so tired…Jade’s vision grew blurry as she closed her eyes so much that she could only see the blanket she lay on, she heard Daxton open a door then shut it…and it went black.