Read Online Sold into Slavery by Claire Thompson - Free Book Online

sun was higher in the sky now, the air humid. Leah was bone-weary. She looked around the fenced-in pen, her eyes resting on the trampoline where several of the dogs had already settled down for their morning nap. Would they let a human join them?
    Tentatively, Leah made her way to the trampoline and sat cautiously on the edge. The dogs already there lifted their heads, but made no move or growl to warn her away. Two more dogs climbed aboard and moved in circles over the canvas, finally settling. Leah inched herself fully onto the trampoline. She sat between two of the dogs, stroking their heads. One of them, a pit bull with a perennial doggy grin, lifted his head and lay it down on her bare thigh, closing his eyes in apparent ecstasy as she scratched him behind the ears.
    Leah didn’t want to lie down amidst the animals, aware from growing up with two dogs that it was better to keep her height advantage so they would continue to regard her as the alpha. So instead she scooted between the animals until her back was against the fence. She leaned carefully against the chain links, her skin still raw from the whipping. Drawing her knees up, she rested her head against them, wrapping her arms around her legs. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but at least she was out in the fresh air, and the dogs were far friendlier than anyone else she had encountered in this nightmarish establishment.
    Closing her eyes, somehow she slept.

Chapter 5
     
    Leah awoke with a start as the dogs leaped suddenly from the trampoline, barking excitedly. A man she hadn't seen before entered the kennel with two large buckets in his hands. The dogs raced to the empty food bowls, tails wagging furiously.
    The man moved toward the bowls, pushing through the excited canine throng. All at once he noticed Leah, who was huddled on the trampoline, adrenaline pumping through her limbs, though she remained still as a cornered animal.
    He looked startled at first. Embarrassment and pity moved over his features, and the tight fear that had gripped Leah’s heart at his appearance eased somewhat. He said something to her in Thai, his tone sympathetic, though she didn’t understand a word. She, of course, couldn’t reply, muzzled as she was by the leather harness. Shaking his head, the man turned away, focusing on his task of feeding the animals. When he was done, the dogs eagerly and noisily wolfing down their breakfasts, he turned to her again, shaking his head, sympathy etched in his features. This time she recognized two of his words from her travel guide knowledge of Thai. They were spoken softly.
    “I’m sorry.”
    He wasn’t so sorry that he did anything to help her, however. Turning his back, he left the yard, locking the gate behind him.
     
    Perhaps an hour had passed. Leah was sitting on the edge of the trampoline, several dogs once again curled contentedly around her. All at once, the dogs lifted their heads, looking toward the gate. Several of them leaped from the bed and raced toward the fence, barking excitedly. Lean saw the two guards who had beaten and then dumped her in the kennel approaching.
    She stiffened, her heart jumpstarting into a pounding beat as she watched them unlock the gate and enter the kennel. The German Shepherd had remained with Leah. Perhaps sensing her anxiety, the dog growled softly as the men came near.
    “Come,” the shorter of the two men said, gesturing toward Leah.
    Leah slid from the low trampoline and stood, wrapping her arms around her bare torso. She was almost sorry to leave the dogs—at least she’d been safe among them. And who knew what new horror awaited her?
     
    ~*~
    Devin approached the front desk. The woman behind the check-in counter looked up. “Yes, sir?” She smiled pleasantly.
    He’d tried to file a missing persons complaint with the police, but they’d refused to lift a bloody finger, saying it wasn’t their job to keep tabs on tourists who went missing for a few hours, and blandly