The Legacy Enslaved. William Speir

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      The Legacy Enslaved

      Book Eight of the

      Knights of the Saltire Series

      The Legacy Enslaved

      Book Eight of the

      Knights of the Saltire Series

      By

      William Speir

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

      Text Copyright © 2018 William Speir

      All rights reserved.

      Published 2018 by Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, LLC, www.progressiverisingphoenix.com

      ISBN: 978-1-946329-76-9

      Printed in the U.S.A.

      1^st Printing

      The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

      Cover Photo: “Female assassin with a gun, digital artwork” ID: 613623596 by Jamie Carroll. Image used under license from Shutterstock.com.

      Illustration “The Arms of the Order of the Saltire” by William Speir

      Cover design by William Speir

      Visit: http://www.williamspeir.com

      Book interior design by Polgarus Studio

      Visit: http://www.polgarusstudio.com

      Introduction

      I first began writing The Knights of the Saltire Series in 2010. Over the next several years, I wrote, published, edited, revised, and republished the first seven books in the series. Then I put aside the characters that I’d created in the series so I could work on other projects. After a while, I truly thought that I’d never write another book in the series.

      Since writing Legacy of the Grand Master, which is about the daughter of the series’ main characters taking her place in the “family business,” I’ve written six more novels: one Science Fiction, one Fantasy, and four Historical Fiction. I am immensely proud of these novels, but like a first love, I have a special place in my heart for the series.

      Recently, I’ve felt an irresistible pull to explore new material for these characters that I’ve come to think of as part of my family. In the earlier books, I dealt with thieves, murderers, stalkers, rapists, drug dealers, smugglers, corrupt politicians trying to take over the government, arms dealers, mercenaries, foreign and domestic terrorists, crooked cops, and counterfeiters. But there is one crime that I’ve never written about, and it’s such a scourge on humanity that I believe it’s the perfect material to include in the series: human trafficking.

      So armed with stacks of research on the ins and outs of human trafficking, I began writing The Legacy Enslaved - Book 8 of the Knights of the Saltire Series. I hope you enjoy it.

      I’d like to thank my wife, Lee Anne, for her tireless support of my writing career. She encourages me to write without placing demands or conditions on my craft. Without her love and support, I could never have accomplished so much – having my fifteenth book published in nine years. I also want to acknowledge my children: Sonya and her husband Tom, and Brad and his wife Susie and son Colten. They are my inspiration.

      I’d like to thank my sister Linda Speir for her valuable edits, critiques, and suggestions. I am grateful for the time and effort that she has put into helping me with my writing. I’d also like to thank Ray Flynt and Jim Newman for their critiques and their friendship.

      A final thanks goes to Amanda Thrasher and Jan Powelson at Progressive Rising Phoenix Press for believing in me, and to my fans who show their appreciation daily by buying my books and encouraging others to do the same. This is for you.

      William Speir

      February 2018

      To the friends I’ve had who constantly inspire me., and to all of the fans of the Knights of the Saltire series.

      Table of Contents

       The Scourge Revealed

       Auctions and Rescues

       Contracts and Consequences

       Confrontation

       Only Scratching The Surface

The Scourge Revealed

      1

      “Team Two, give me a sit-rep.”

      Jamie Michelle Anderson’s earpiece cracked with the voice of her team leader. She glanced at Hunter Sinclair, who nodded while warming his hands with his breath. Jamie was the senior member of the two-person team, having been a member of the Order of the Saltire for almost four years, while Hunter had only been a member for three.

      “Team Two in position,” she said softly. “No sign of the targets. Standing by.”

      “Roger, Team Two. Check in every ten minutes, and notify me when you’ve sighted the targets.”

      “Roger that,” Jamie responded. She put her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, grateful that she had remembered to wear gloves.

      Jamie and Hunter crouched down behind the large bronze statue in the center of the park, waiting for the targets of that night’s surveillance to show up. Fifty yards away were the basketball courts, where the team expected the targets to make an appearance.

      A cold blast of wind caused Jamie to turn away from the basketball courts. Her black compression pants were thick enough to block most of the cold, but she still shivered. The pants, and her black compression shirt underneath the hoodie, were her normal running clothes, but she wished she had worn something thicker to withstand the early spring winds. Hunter was dressed similarly, but he had forgotten his gloves. He pulled his hood tighter around his face as he watched the courts for any sign of the targets.

      There was a new gang operating in that part of the city. The Order had learned that the gang used three city parks to recruit new members. They’d wait until nightfall and then approach anyone playing basketball. Those who agreed to join were taken away to begin their initiation into the gang; those who refused were beaten severely as a warning to anyone else who might refuse. Two youngsters had died from the beatings. The Order approved an intervention to bring the gang members to justice before anyone else got hurt.

      Three intervention teams watched the parks where the gang recruited its new members. Even though the teams had placed surveillance cameras all around the parks to capture audio and video of any gang activity, Jamie and Hunter’s assignment was to capture any gang members before they tried to recruit the youngsters playing at the basketball courts that night.

      Years earlier, the