Denied Read Online Free PDF

payphone, the old fashioned handset with ‘public phone’ written across the top. She no longer had her cell phone and had never bothered to get a landline fitted at her apartment—why should she? No one, except work, had ever needed to call her, and if they did, they just called her cell.
    She needed to call the clinic she’d worked for and tell them she was safe. If her disappearance had made the newspapers, she assumed her reappearance would, too, and she didn’t want her boss and colleagues to find out through a third party. Though she wasn’t close with anyone there, she assumed they’d at least have been worried about her. Plus, she needed to let them know she wouldn’t be coming in to work any time soon—if she even still had a job.
    Lily lifted the handset and placed the call.
    A familiar voice answered, and Lily jumped right in.
    “Maggie, it’s Lily Drayton.”
    She heard the sharp intake of breath on the end of the line. “Lily? Oh, my God. Are you all right? We’ve been worried sick here. The police have been around asking questions and everything!”
    “Yeah, I’m so sorry. I should have called sooner, but I’ve only just been allowed home.”
    “What happened?”
    She decided the closest thing to the truth was the best to tell. After all, look at what had happened when she’d lied to the neighbor. “I was abducted by traffickers.”
    A gasp of shock. “Oh, that’s horrific.”
    “Yeah, it was,” she admitted. “Don’t worry. I didn’t end up sold on to someone who wanted me for … that … but I did see some awful things. I’m going to need to take some time before I come back to work, if that’s okay. Assuming I still have a job to come back to, of course.”
    “There will always be a position here for you, Lily, so take your time. Get some counseling if that will help. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
    “Yes, thank you. Counseling sounds like a good idea.” Once I’ve tracked down the bastards who took me.
    “ Good. Well, I’m so happy you’re safe, and if there’s anything I can do, please just say.”
    “Thank you, Maggie.”
    “Of course.”
    Lily hung up the phone, guilt working its way through her. Was she doing the right thing? Perhaps she should let the police do their job, and she should go back to doing hers? Wouldn’t that be the right way to handle things?
    But how could she go back to her old way of living, going to work in the morning and coming back to an empty apartment, an empty bed? Already her life felt pointless without Monster in it. He’d shown her a different way of living—a life full of color, passion, and intensity. Everything now felt hollow and soulless. She couldn’t imagine how it would feel weeks or even months from now. Would she slowly forget about how it felt to be alive and go back to the numb existence she’d had before, or would she gradually die from the inside, withering away until her body eventually caught up with her broken heart?
    But you can’t just go back to the way things were, a voice reminded her. Those men know where you live.
    She wasn’t safe. She hadn’t been safe in Cuba, but she still wasn’t safe here. However smart Monster might be, he’d been an idiot when he’d made his decision.
    He’d left her with no choice.
    She needed to get a weapon, but from where? She didn’t plan on sitting around for any length of time while she waited for permits and background checks to be done. Cigarette Hands would have tracked her down and killed her before any kind of license came through. Would she even qualify for a permit now? She didn’t know what kind of records the police had on her, and even though she’d not been charged with anything, something might come up as a red flag on her profile. She couldn’t take the risk.
    Lily was at a loss. She didn’t hang around with those kinds of people—people who would know how to get an illegal weapon. Hell, she didn’t hang out with people in