Deadly Lessons: Deadly, #5

By Lorelei Confer

Arriving late to a Human Trafficking awareness seminar she's attending for work, Lexi Morris catches the eye of Luke Miller, the FBI presenter. After the meeting, she walks to her car distracted by texting plans for a fun weekend, but her plans come to a crashing halt when she's abducted with the intentions of being sold into sex slavery.

Luke Miller, Special Agent on the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force/Coalition in central Pennsylvania felt a connection with the beauty who arrived late to his talk. At his cabin in the woods for the weekend, he observes suspicious activity at his late uncle's cabin. When he investigates, he finds Lexi held captive and rescues her after a shootout with traffickers.

Passion ignites between Lexi and Luke until Lexi finds lots of money, in Luke's pocket? Is Luke her buyer and not her liberator? What will it take for her to trust him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lorelei Confer
• Release date: Aug 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393069348

Lorelei Confer

Amazon bestselling author of romantic suspense, Lorelei Confer, has been writing since the fourth grade. She lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with her husband and AJ, a longhaired Chihuahua, who are both her constant companions.In 2010, her first novel, Deadly Deception was published, the first in the Deadly series. Another series, Saddle Creek, began with the first release, Rustlers and Romance in 2016. This series is set in the shadows of the Grand Teton mountains in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Mentoring children years ago led to helping aspiring authors set goals, and generally, meet their objective to finish the book. She practices her own discipline every day.After six years as a copy editor and two years as an editor at The Wild Rose Press, she ventured out on her own as an indie author.Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.loreleiconfer.com/subscribe to receive exclusive excerpts and bonus material, receive alerts when books are released, and take part in great giveaways.

Book preview

Dedication

A special thanks to the men and women who work tirelessly to eliminate Human Sex Trafficking through public awareness of traffickers’ means and methods.

And as always, thank YOU.

Chapter 1

TWENTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Lexi Morris rushed down the long hall to the large seminar room. The flyer about attending the Awareness of Human Trafficking seminar presented by a local FBI agent had passed over her desk a week or so ago but she hadn’t planned to attend. She’d worked late every night this week and still had entirely too much work to do. But at the last minute her supervisor, Nancy, stuck her head in her office doorway and with a few choice words, mandatory being one of them, of course, encouraged her to go, even if she’d be twenty minutes or so late.

The door at the end of the hall closed with a bang; the vacuum seal sucking it shut. She hurried toward the sound of a man’s voice rumbling and glanced through the small rectangular window. Moving her head slowly left to right she surveyed the rows of chairs. She spotted one of the few empty seats in a back row beside a colleague she knew, Carol. An end seat, too? She grinned. She could get in and out without making a disturbance.

She slipped inside the room; her attention drawn to the front of the room by a booming voice. When she glanced up her eyes connected with the speaker. She stopped, immobile, holding the door behind her until it closed softly. His eyes roved over her stature from top to bottom. Heat spread throughout her as he undressed her with his eyes.

Yes, come in. Please, join us. Since I’ve already begun, I’d appreciate it if you can get an update from one of your colleagues, the handsome blue-eyed FBI agent said. Lexi felt her face flush as she stared dumbfounded at the man making a spectacle of her. Mental note: Never be late again to this guy’s presentation.

He was cute in an FBI agent way, intense nothing-gets-past-me blue eyes and a muscular body that knew how to fill out a suit. Longish sandy-colored hair curled on his light blue dress shirt collar and a day or two of beard growth highlighted his strong jaw.

There was an audible gasp throughout the room. Lexi stood in front of the closed door mesmerized by his handsomeness, his echoing voice, and his words.

As I was saying before being interrupted, she was taken to a local hotel and held in a room, beaten and raped for days until she gave in to prostitution. The hotel staff was asked to do favors for her trafficker, such as unlock her door to let the men inside. They complied. No one called the police. No one asked questions. No one helped her escape. He glanced around the room and caught Lexi’s attention.

When one of her drunken rapists inadvertently left the door to her room unlocked, she escaped. She had been sexually abused by her father from the age of two and forced into prostitution at age sixteen. Now she was eighteen. Fortunately, she was strong and spoke out. When the hotel manager was questioned why the staff supported or helped the trafficker, the answer was, he curled fingers to make air quotes, they were only concerned in renting rooms and paying bills.

He raked his hand through his hair and eyed the ceiling.

Lexi saw his Adam’s apple move up and down when he swallowed.

He continued, "One thing to remember is that abduction or kidnapping for slavery, whether for sex or not, happens to both males and females at any age. There are girls and boys as young as five years old in servitude and more happening every day. This is not, I repeat, this is not something that only happens in third world countries. This happens right here in your home town and right here in central Pennsylvania."

Lexi shook her head to clear it of the vision of his face, not letting his words sink into her head. She turned toward the empty seat beside Carol, and stepped the short distance. When Carol lifted her face to Lexi, her cheeks were wet with tears. Lexi placed her hand on Carol’s shoulder and asked, Are you okay?

Yes, I’m fine. How are you? Carol whispered. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.

I’m fine, very busy. Especially this time of year. When Carol raised her eyebrows, Lexi said, Budget time, you know.

The speaker cleared his throat and asked, "

Can I have your attention now?"

Lexi’s eyes locked on his; he stood facing her, as if speaking to her personally. He continued with his presentation. It was extremely hard for her to focus on the words coming from his perfectly formed lips, and his deep and smooth as maple syrup voice. When his eyes drifted her way she smiled, and he turned away revealing his muscular back.

Her phone vibrated in her hand too many times to count, blowing up with texts from her friends who wanted to meet for happy hour drinks. It was Friday after all, but she still had a lot of work to finish before she left for the weekend.

The louder sound of the speaker’s voice drew her away from her reading and responding to every email, every text. Her meanderings of a slow restful weekend also flew out the window. His deep voice vibrated closer. She lifted her head toward his voice; surprised he stood so close to her. His eyes stared deep into hers. When she inhaled his spicy, woodsy man scent, her body quivered. That’s when her phone dropped from her hand, reverberating on the tile floor, drawing her eyes away from his striking good looks. She reached for her phone. He stood closer to her now; close enough she could see his leather shoes.

Lexi grabbed her phone and sat back up, her shoulder bumping into something hard. Her eyes followed his arm behind her where he’d placed his hand on the back of her chair. He leaned in closer, their eyes connected; his manly scent penetrated her nostrils and his body heat pierced her skin. A trickle of sweat ran down her back, spreading goose bumps throughout her body, reaching her inner core. She was welded to the spot with his sparkling blue gaze as he spoke directly to her.

I hope you’ve learned a lot here today and will put it to good use. Awareness is the key here. Don’t go walking alone in unfamiliar areas, his intense eyes stared into hers. "Always have someone with you, try to go in pairs or with a group. Always know your surroundings. Be aware of who is around you. Be aware of bushes, houses, streets, and hiding places. Any questions?" He stared into her eyes for a few seconds more, then turned and walked to the front of the room. Her eyes followed his broad muscular shoulders.

Again, thank you for coming. Feel free to come forward with any questions, he said as the room began to empty.

Lexi stood in place and watched as a few students and colleagues stepped forward to talk to him personally. When he glanced around the room his eyes found hers and locked on them. Unable to move, his eyes devoured hers, warning her of his strength. His man’s scent wafted through the air. Her eyes absorbed his handsome face like a dry sponge and she saved the image for later, when she was alone or lonely.

When someone next to him touched his elbow to gain his attention, he slowly turned away from her. Now, she was able to move. Turning, she bumped smack dab into Carol standing beside her.

So sorry, Carol. She smiled and glanced at Carol’s cell phone as it lit up with a new text. I’m drop dead tired from working on the annual budget and I guess I’m a little frazzled. How have you been?

Oh, you know me. I always bounce back. Carol smiled.

Lexi nodded, remembering their latest discussion about her recent breakup. Relationships are hard. And on all parties involved. When Paul broke off our engagement a year or so ago, the experience was bittersweet. How about you? Are you seeing anyone?

Carol chuckled and glanced around. Nope. What about you?

She touched Carol’s arm. I haven’t even wanted to date anyone let alone get serious again. Don’t want the heartache of finding another cheater or the drama that comes along with it.  So, I’ve kind of sworn off men. Just taking one day at a time. Lexi chuckled as her eyes were once again drawn to the handsome blue-eyed man at the front of the room. He lifted his head and their eyes met.

Carol interrupted her. We’ll have to get together for lunch or drinks or something so we can commiserate.

Lexi straightened her long red tunic top, walked backward to the door as she waved to Carol, I better get back to work. See you soon.

She had an annual budget to finish and it would be harder than ever to concentrate when she could only think of him. And she didn’t even know his name.

AS SHE STEPPED OUTSIDE her office building, Lexi pulled her coat tighter around her neck and chest against the cold night air as she stepped outside the university’s accounting office building. She settled her briefcase strap on her shoulder and stretched her back. In the crisp, fall mountain air the scent of the passing rain and of wood burning fireplaces filled the air. The long week’s work on next year’s budget left an ache in her neck. Her pulse thumped behind her eyes and she rubbed her fingers over her closed eyelids. No change.

The weekend loomed before her. She was free to do as she pleased and she would NOT think about work—that was for sure. She glanced at the time on her cell. It was later than usual. Where is the security guard, Gerald? He usually gives me a ride to my car when it’s this late.

Glancing at her pinging cell, she’d received more messages while working the last couple of hours. She tucked the earpiece in under her hair to listen to her calls while she forced one foot in front of the other toward the far corner of the dark, deserted parking lot. Lexi stopped to punch out a text reply to her friend Monica who had called to invite her to get together for drinks.

Know it’s Friday, but I’m exhausted. Rain check? Call you in thirty when I get home.

Starting toward her car again, she wished for a massage to work the kinks out of her upper back and shoulders. It wouldn’t make any difference if hot stones dotted her body, or aromatherapy tickled her nose, or an elbow dug into her knotted soft tissue. She snorted at her fantasy. She’d settle for a tall glass of chilled Chardonnay and a long soak in a bubble bath.

It began to drizzle again as she fumbled for her keys buried deep in her large satchel. Lexi cursed her habit of over-stuffing her