A Distant Shore: a Novel by Karen Kingsbury

Author:Karen Kingsbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Published: 2021-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING it was time to work. Eliza couldn’t wait.

Dressed in shorts and colorful tank tops, she and Jack took a ride over the bridge into Nassau. They walked past the fish fry markets and tourist shops and park benches on West Bay Street. Jack was a head taller than her, but their bodies fit together perfectly. Like they’d known and loved each other for years.

Ahead of them was the busiest and most visible stretch of sand in Nassau. Everything about the bustling area felt familiar.

Eliza spotted trouble almost immediately. Two men in white dress shirts and black pants stood near a swing set, talking to a young girl. The child was maybe twelve or thirteen and she was dressed in rags. Her parents didn’t seem to be anywhere nearby.

Eliza stiffened. “There.” She smiled at Jack. Nothing but happiness, she told herself. Keep smiling. Their lives were on the line here. “By the swings.”

Jack slowed and led her to a nearby bench. The seat had a perfect view of the playground. “Tell me what you see.”

“They’re about to capture the girl on the swings.” Ten feet away from the men, two older teenage girls stood together, nervous, unsure. “And those girls are already being trafficked.” She laughed, like she was saying something funny. Anything to keep up the act. “Watch them. They’re waiting for a signal from the men.”

He pulled her close and kissed her cheek this time. Both of them looked straight ahead, like they were trying to see the beach past the swings. Sure enough, the men suddenly backed away from the younger girl, leaving her alone. And in their place, the older girls stepped up, suddenly all giggles and grins.

“That young girl has maybe five minutes.” Eliza had seen this played out too many times to count. Times when she was the one convincing an unsuspecting child that all her dreams were about to come true—if only she would follow Eliza back to the Palace.

No! Eliza’s heart raced. No, not here. Not now. There was still time to save this one. She stood and pulled Jack to his feet. Then without waiting for him, she half ran, half skipped to the swing set. Like she was a child herself. “Hey, girls!”

The two older teens looked at her and then at the child. They moved closer to the girl. Eliza could only imagine what terrible things would happen to the teens if the little girl got away. Things Alexa and Rosa had told her about.

“Honey!” Jack was at her side. “Want me to push you?” He grinned at the older girls. “It’s our honeymoon.”

The teens weren’t smiling. Instead they glanced over their shoulders at the men waiting near the trees. They shifted and took a few more steps toward the swing set. Eliza had seen the look in their eyes before. They weren’t going to stand by and let Eliza ruin this for them.

She leaned her head back and kicked her feet to the sky. “Swings… right by the beach!”

Jack gave her a light push.

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