“Who’s Myles?” Maggie asked Cali as soon as they were alone.
“Myles is the big boss. He runs all of the places where they keep the kids,” she answered.
“What do you mean all of the places?” Maggie wanted to know.
“Well, just like here, there are lots of different places where they kidnap kids and sell them for sex. Sometimes they move us around. I’ve been to three other states since they took me. But don’t worry; if Myles likes you, they will keep you here,” Cali explained, trying not to alarm her.
“Is that why Shana is mad at me? Is she afraid they will move her somewhere else?”
Cali considered how to answer without worrying Maggie. “That’s part of it. The other part is that if Myles likes you, he’ll come back to see you. Before you came here, he came to see Shana. I know you don’t understand all of this, but some of the clients can be mean. Sometimes they do things to us that hurt more than Myles hurt you last night.”
Maggie hung her head, unable to believe something could hurt more than what Myles had done to her. “So, are you saying that someone is going to hurt Shana?”
“It’s possible. Now that he wants you, it means that John William can give her to anybody. It’s the way things work. But you have to remember that you didn’t do anything to make it happen. Shana is just scared now. Myles has kept her safe for the past year,” Cali explained.
Maggie let the new information sink in before she asked her next question. “Does that mean that only Myles will have sex with me?”
“No, baby. It just means that they won’t let you be with anyone who does things that are extra mean,” Cali explained, feeling the younger girl’s fear.
“Extra mean how? Like, what do they do?” Maggie persisted.
Cali let out a loud sigh. It made her sick to have to explain these horrible things to the younger kids. But when she was taken as a young teen, one of the older boys that the cartel was trafficking at the time sat her down and explained everything to her. Knowing the truth didn’t make it easier on the kids, but it did take some of the mystery out of what would happen to them. It gave them a little advantage with some of the clients so they could manipulate which acts they would be required to perform. It also let the kids know that they weren’t alone in their intolerable situations.
“Well, some of the clients like to get rough. They hit and bite you. But…”
The prolonged pause made Maggie’s anxiety soar.
“Sometimes they do really bad stuff, like burn you or put things inside of you that they shouldn’t,” Cali finally said.
The information bounced around in Maggie’s head, making her woozy. “So, then, until my parents come for me, it’s good that Myles likes me?”
“Yes, Maggie, it is. But don’t forget that Myles is the person who started all of this shit. So, he’s still a dangerous man, and you can’t trust him. Just do what he wants you to, and you’ll be OK,” Cali advised.
“Aggie, why are you scared?” Seth asked, instinctively knowing that something was wrong with her.
Maggie scooped Seth up into her arms. “I’m just worried about how we’re going to get home. That’s all. But guess what? I’m going to stay with you until you can go home to your mommy and daddy,” she assured him.
“But I want my mommy now. I’m scared too,” he whimpered.
“I know you are, and that’s why whenever John William lets us, I’ll be right here with you,” she told him, kissing his forehead.
Then she looked at Cali. “We’re gonna get out of here. We have to. Right, Cali?”
“Sure, baby. We’ll get out of here. Just remember that until that happens, we need to take care of each other. That’s all we got. Can you remember that for me?” Cali asked.
“Yeah, I’ll remember. Oh, Cali, John William calls me a little whore. What’s that?” Maggie asked, not having been exposed to such names.
“Maggie, John William is a jerk. Don’t pay any attention to what he calls you. He’s the worst kind of person alive. We all have to listen to him because we’re here. Someday, all of the horrible things he’s done and said will come back on him. Just ignore him when he calls you names,” she instructed.
When Cali went back to her cell, Maggie sat and replayed their conversation. She was thinking that if she was really sweet to Myles, he might let her go home. Then her thoughts drifted to Shana, who was upset that Maggie was Myles’s favorite now. It was just like school, where the kids hated her because all the teachers loved her. She pulled Seth closer to her and vowed to do everything she could to keep the two of them safe. She didn’t know then the price she’d have to pay to keep them safe.