Evan shook his head and sat down at the other end of the bed.

‘I want to ask you some questions – if that’s OK?’

‘I no talk,’ she said, eyeing him warily as she quickly refastened her bra. ‘Is not allow.’

Conscious that the old woman could be outside listening, Evan lowered his voice, and said, ‘I only want to know if you’re one of the lasses I saw getting dropped off in that van? From the farm?’

The girl didn’t answer, and Evan guessed that she was one of them when he saw the fear in her eyes.

‘Please don’t be scared,’ he said, holding out his hand to show he meant her no harm. Quickly withdrawing it when she shrank back, he said, ‘What’s going on here, love? Are you and your friends being forced to do this? Is it those men who brought you here, or her downstairs?’

‘Please leave . . .’ the girl whimpered, rising unsteadily to her feet. ‘I am try to be good like they tell me, but you are cause trouble for me.’

‘I promise I won’t tell them you’ve spoken to me,’ Evan reassured her, as he, too, stood up. ‘But that farm where you’re staying belongs to my dad, and I’m worried about him.’

‘You need leave,’ the girl repeated, the effect of whatever drugs she’d taken clearly not powerful enough to override her terror. ‘Please . . .’ she implored, as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. ‘If men find out, they will be angry, and . . .’

She tailed off without finishing the sentence, but Evan easily filled in the gaps.

‘I know you’re scared,’ he said quietly. ‘And I’m going to help you, I promise. But I need to know how many men are at the farm? And is my dad involved?’

The girl edged away from him without answering, and Evan cursed himself for diving straight in without thinking how she might react when she made for the door. Rushing across the room, he placed his hand on the wood to prevent her from opening it.

‘Please, love, let me explai—’

Wincing when the girl let out a blood-curdling scream, he whispered, ‘I’m sorry! Please stop screaming. I wasn’t going to hurt you, I swear!’

It was too late. The door burst open, and the old woman barrelled in, followed by a huge man with the biggest biceps Evan had ever seen, and a neck so thick it looked like his head was sitting directly on his shoulders.

‘What’s going on?’ the woman demanded, looking from Evan to the girl. ‘What’s he done to you?’

‘I haven’t touched her,’ Evan said truthfully, keeping a wary eye on the man.

‘You must have done something,’ the woman argued. ‘You’ve only been in here two minutes, and look at the fuckin’ state of her.’