Prolouge
New York City…
Dominic Sanchez dragged the brush along the canvas. He stepped to the side to take another gander at his model. Judy Falco, the prettiest girl in school. He smiled as he looked at her. As naked as the day the Lord made her with nothing but a silk sheet to offer modesty. Her long blonde hair hung down her back. He still couldn’t believe he talked her into posing naked.
He wasn’t entirely sure what swayed her. It could have been the idea of being immortalized in an art piece. It could have been the prestige of his name; Dominic was a third-generation rich kid. His family was pillars in society. His father was a successful musician who also owned and operated the popular recording label Blue Moon Records and an international recording studio Chase Recording. His mother was a renowned ballerina who owned her own ballet company in New York.
He was one of five boys with two older brothers and two younger brothers. His twin brothers Lucas and Lance were six years older than Dominic. Lucas was trying his hand at making a name for himself as a daredevil while Lance was being recognized as a top-notch fashion photographer. Then there was Brandon who was two years younger than Dominic with aspirations of one day being a great legal mind. Finally, there was Justin who was the baby of the family who, following in Lance’s footsteps, had fallen in love with the camera. He wanted to one day be a great photojournalist.
Like his brothers, Dominic had big plans for his life. He was going to be a world-renowned artist. All he’d ever wanted to do was paint, and he was pretty good at it if he said so himself. Plus, it was a great way to get girls to take off their clothes.
The door to his room opened as his father came in. Damien Sanchez stopped short when he saw Judy who was now clutching the sheet to her breasts. He shook his head and looked at his son. Dominic offered his father a sly smile; he was caught.
“Dominic, I thought we had discussed this. You can’t have girls in your room.” Damien looked at Judy. “Why don’t you get dressed miss?”
Judy grabbed her clothes and went into the adjoining washroom to get dressed. “We weren’t doing anything,” Dominic grumbled.
“You can’t have naked girls in your room. Your Mother will flip out.”
“I was just painting.” He complained.
His father came to look at the canvas and whistled. “You’re getting better.” He shook his head. “What am I saying? You can’t paint a nude of a sixteen-year-old girl. I’ve explained this to you already a nude model has to be at least eighteen.”
“So, if I find an eighteen-year-old model I can have her in my room?” Dominic asked hopefully.
“No.” Dominic frowned, he was never allowed to do anything fun. He couldn’t wait until he was old enough to run his own life.
***
Devon Montana, ten years later…
“I’ll be fine.” Nicki Taylor assured her father. “It’s not the first time I’ve been alone. Besides, Millie and Clint will be home from school in a few hours anyway.”
“Ok,” Her father Mitchell said heading for the door with her sister Lacy. The Sheriff had just left having arrested the new farmhand that was staying with them. One of the local troublemakers had accused the new farmhand of assault and the Sheriff, who was crooked though no one could prove it, had dragged Bryce Adams off to lock up.
Bryce was of course innocent. He had been with Lacy all night. His alibi was ironclad, but they were still being dragged out of the house and down to the station to bail Bryce out. Nicki decided not to go along. They didn’t need her, and she would only be in the way.
Nicki stood on the porch watching Lacy, and her father got into the truck and headed out. This whole thing was bogus. The accuser was known to be working for an industrialist named Jack Moore. He had been bullying the local farmers off their land so he could get by it up cheap. He had big plans for Devon but he needed all the land, and a few farmers like her father were holding out. Bryce had arrived in town a few weeks ago and was helping her father plant the fields; he’d been posing an obstacle for Moore, which was why he had his goons fabricate this story to try and get Bryce out of the way. If her father couldn’t get the crop planted he would never make the mortgage payment and be forced to sell the farm.
So, while Lacy and their father went about getting Bryce out of lockup Nicki would clean up from lunch and read a little. Unlike her outgoing siblings, Nicki was more reserved and quieter. She preferred the world of books. Every time she opened a book she was transported from her quiet little insignificant life in the middle of nowhere to wonderful, exciting worlds she could never really be a part of.
Nicki began to clear the kitchen table when she heard footsteps on the porch and the sound of the screen door opening. She shook her head. Her father always forgot something. “What did you forget this time?” She asked coming into the living room.
Nicki stopped in her tracks; her heart almost stopped as four men came through the door with balaclavas on to hide their faces.
It was a home invasion, Nicki was frozen to the spot, what did she do? The men came at her and Nicki tried to run. She bolted for the back door but was overtaken in the kitchen. One of the men grabbed her by the arm and threw her into the table. She tried to regain her balance, but another one pulled her by the hair and slammed her into the wall. Nicky fell to her hands and knees and tried to crawl away while the men surrounded her and began to kick her.
They gave her a vicious beating, and when she couldn’t move, they toppled the fridge on top of her and proceeded to destroy the house. She lay beaten on the floor when she watched one of the men toss a note on the floor next to her that read: accidents will happen. She watched the intruders escape before the world went black.
***
When Nicki woke, her whole body ached. She looked around the hospital room, and her pulse raced. She couldn’t remember how she got here. All she remembered was the beating in the kitchen. Nicki reached up and pulled the oxygen tube from her nose. Every movement was blinding pain. She tried to move her leg and cried out in agony. It was excruciating. She pushed back the blanket to see her left leg. There was a long incision in her knee like she had undergone some surgery.
Her cry brought her father and sister running in. She looked at her leg and whimpered. “What happened?”
Her father stroked her dark hair and tried to get her to lay back and relax. “It’s ok sweetheart; you’re safe.”
“My leg.” She cried. Her father and sister shared a suspicious glance. Like they knew something she didn’t. “What?” She asked.
“We’ll tell you later you need to rest right now,” Lacy said with a forced smile.
They were keeping something from her. “What? Tell me what?” Neither said anything. “What?” Nicki screamed. She was in no mood to be coddled.
“Honey, the doctors, did as much as they could but your leg it was damaged, they tried to repair it but…” Her father was unable to continue.
“You’re never going to walk right again. Not without a cane.” Lacy informed her. Nicki lay back against the bed and began to cry. Any hope she had for the future was lost. She would never leave her father’s farm.