Black Fuel and Bikes

Chapter Five

Warnings: Mentions of violence, abuse, sex slavery.

Talia sat in the chair, taking a shaky breath. Here we go! she thought. Surprisingly, her voice didn't waver as she began speaking. "I was born in Paris. My parents died when I was a child. I never knew how they died. With no other family left, I was sent to an orphanage, where I lived most of my life." Talia said, fidgeting with her hands. "You see, in the place I lived, you were forced to work for the orphanage as a child. I didn't mind since it kept me busy and it kind of taught me the value of hard work. After your 18th birthday, they have the policy that you can make it on your own."

"So, what? They throw you out on the street just like that?" Shannon asked, shocked.

Talia nodded. "I saw it happen plenty of times. With the streets crawling with orphans, there's just no room to keep the adults around."

"What about money?"

Talia laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "Sometimes you get paid if you do the job well enough. If you're lucky enough to keep the money hidden, you can save up a bit. But that is only useful for the first two weeks once you're out on the streets, as I came to find out later on."

Shannon gulped. How could they throw a child like that on the streets? He knew what it was to grow up moneyless. He was thankful for their mom, appreciating her now more than ever. Shannon reached out a hand, holding her's firmly.

"I was out on the street for three weeks when I met Adrian. I still remember his faithful words 'the street is no place for a pretty girl such as yourself.' Oh, how I wish I would've turned away. But he promised food and shelter. He seemed friendly at first. They all do. So, I went with him. At first, everything seemed perfect. Adrian claimed he had gotten me a job recruiting people to work at a factory. He said I was trustworthy and that I had good people skills. The money was good so at first, I didn't know that... that I was..."

Talia could feel it coming. The bile rising in her throat. Shannon got up, kneeling in front of her, taking her face in his hands. "Talia, breathe sweetheart." Shannon said. "If you want, we can stop."

"No..." Talia said, taking a shaky breath. "I need to finish this. And then you'll let me go because you'll see how bad of a person I really am."

Shannon shook his head, cupping her cheek. "Finish the story." He prompted.

"After I asked for the millionth time, Adrian took me to the supposed factory. That's when I noticed something was very wrong. Every single girl was there all right. But it was awful. They were being kept in rooms, chained and drugged up, naked. It was a sex slavery organization. I didn't know what to do. Why did Adrian bring me there? Was I supposed to become one of them?" Talia closed her eyes, the tears running down her face. "I wish he would've kept me there. I deserved it for all the wrong I'd done to those girls. But Adrian claimed I was too precious to be kept there... that's when I understood I was supposed to be his. His own personal sex slave."

Shannon couldn't take it. The tears he was trying to hold in ran freely now. Why would someone do that to such a beautiful soul? She didn't know, she had been naïve enough to trust a stranger. "You didn't know, Talia. It wasn't your fault."

"I wish I could believe that. But the lives I ruined..." Talia whispered. "And then, when I had the chance, I stole some money from the organization and I ran here. At first, I thought I could be happy and free here, but Adrian always finds me. I don't know how the organization hasn't found me yet. I'm assuming Adrian is covering my tracks. He's sick, he's obsessed with me. But he's the price I gotta pay to stay out of that place. So, you see Shannon, I made my bed, I gotta lay in it."

"No!"

Talia jumped at the conviction behind Shannon's voice. "I d-"

"No! After today, you won't have to deal with Adrian anymore."

"He's danger-"

"Yeah, I don't give a shit if he's dangerous. You're staying with me! I know some people who can help. Surveillance 24/7. I won't let him get you again."

"Why, Shannon? Why would you do that? Didn't you hear my story?"

Shannon sighed, squeezing her hand. "I did and I paid attention. What I heard is the story of a child thrown out on the street, fending for herself whatever way she could. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know."

Talia bit her lip, wiping the tears from her eyes. "What can I do?"

"We're emptying out your apartment and you're moving in with me."

"Shannon, I can't acc-"

"You can and you will. Please..." Shannon said. "I want to help you. Please, let me help you."

Talia didn't know what made her give in. Perhaps it was the desperation in Shannon's eyes. Or perhaps it was her desire to trust someone again. She only hoped she was making the right choice. She nodded, giving in. A relieved smile appeared on Shannon's face.

"Good." Shannon smiled, reaching up and kissing her forehead. "We should get moving now if we want to be done by tonight. I don't want to risk him coming back." Shannon said, moving to the door.

"Shannon?" He looked back to see a relieved smile on her face. "Thank you."

He smiled back, motioning for her to follow him.

* * * * * * * *

They headed back to her house and he helped her pack. She figured the furniture could stay back. She didn't care. All she wanted was a fresh start. Maybe this time she could get away from Adrian. All in all, it didn't take long.

All the way to Shannon's house, Talia kept looking over her shoulder. She couldn't relax, no matter how many times Shannon told her he would keep her safe. She was able to gather some of her thoughts as he led her to her own room.

He left her to unpack as he went to make the call to Christian. Christian was his buddy from back in the day when he used to get in trouble. He was always there to get him out of it.

His marine skills would be useful, along with the people he knew. He explained the situation, grateful when Christian said he could get a few more people to help. All the help they could get was precious.

He was gonna send someone over to his house right now to keep an eye on them while he sorted some things out.

He decided to tell Talia the good news. He approached the spare bedroom door, knocking.

"Come in."

"Hey." Shannon said, smiling. "So, I have some good news. I spoke to my marine friend and he has someone on the way."

Talia let out a sigh of relief, jumping into Shannon's arms, locking him in a hug. Shannon chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, breathing her in. "Thank you..." she whispered, pulling back to look into his eyes.

She would recognize that look anywhere. She debated whether she should do this. She had to thank him somehow. And he wasn't as disgusting as Adrian.

She pressed her lips to his. Shannon kissed back for a moment before he figured out what was going on. "Talia, wait." He said, pulling back.

Talia opened her mouth, shocked. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..." She turned away, sitting on the bed and letting her tears fall.

Shannon sighed, moving to kneel before her, tipping her chin up. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how else to repay you."

Shannon's eyes widened as he realized what was going on here. God, people in her life really fucked her over. "You don't have to repay me, okay? I'm doing this because I want to help."

She nodded, closing her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." Shannon whispered, sitting on the bed beside her and pulling her into his arms, kissing her forehead. "We're gonna get through this. I'll get you through this."

All the people in her life had failed her. It was up to him to show her things could be different.