PaigeI tapped a frantic pattern on my jeans, waiting for the signal from Tommaso. According to Lyle, who I’d bribed with promises of backdoor access to the slate of programs Henley and Stephenson gave me for free, he’d just gone in. Sera sat in the front seat, almost frozen, like she had been the whole time. When I told her I was going to sit outside, she insisted on coming with, to give me moral support, but she’d gone still as soon as we got in this van. It seemed like she needed the support more than I did. Killian gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white, and released it again. Clearly, he’d rather be inside, but Tom said he didn’t have enough uniforms to add another cop to the roster. I thought he just didn’t want to be under his old boss’s heavy gaze. Olivia had also tagged along, though she intended to stay in the car the whole time. I thought she must be there for moral support.The sharp crack of gunfire split the air. Sera turned green. My blood froze. Eons pa
PaigeI stumbled into the door of Tom’s house my heart pounding in my chest. We weren’t nearly done yet. Olivia grabbed my arm and helped me into a chair.“You’ve got this, Paige,” she whispered. “You got them in the van, and now they’re here.”I laughed breathlessly. At least the women in my van had seemed to calm down once the men were out of sight.Sera stepped in with a few of the women. “Where do we want them? The rest of my friends are on the way.”I swallowed. “Den, for now.”The next hour passed in a blur. The women poured into the den, then out of it for showers. Sera’s little kidnapping goodie bags ended up being really helpful for keeping track of things. I passed around a couple permanent markers and watched the women scribble their names on every single item in the bags just for the thrill of doing it, of having a name you could call yourself again. My throat grew thick as I watched one woman, Andi, who told me later in a whisper that she had been pregnant when they took
TommasoAll the guys who’d helped that night with the raid crowded into my office, and I passed out glasses of my favorite scotch. Killian took a whiff and grimaced playfully. Even though we had to hide out here to keep from scaring the women in the den, there was a celebratory mood in the air. We’d done it! Not only had we gotten all the women out and taken Tony down, we’d gotten off basically scot-free. Vince got winged, but we didn’t even need to interrupt Sera to patch him up. Teddy had done it with a splash of cheap vodka and a couple wound closure strips.“All right.” I lifted my glass. “To the Conti syndicate.”“Conti!” Everyone knocked their glasses together and drank.“Stan, progress report?” I took my seat.He cleared his throat. “I’ve put word out through the appropriate channels, and the Philly PD is claiming a massive success in taking down a sex trafficking ring just outside the city.”The men cheered again.“That doesn’t mean there won’t be questions,” I said. “When som
TommasoMy heart pounded in my throat. Riccardo Marino had seen through my fucking ruse. He knew exactly what had happened, and he was going to bury me for it. Served me right for getting so fucking cocky after one win.“How’d you hear that?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.Riccardo laughed. I could picture him stretched out in one of the back rooms of the Mansion, grinning to himself over the enjoyment he was going to get out of toying with me.“Oh, Tony and I go way back,” he said. “I keep tabs on his operation, and he mentioned that you were heading over there tonight to dip your toes into the skin trade.”I shuddered. “What do you want me to say? The cops broke down the door, and I bolted. My getaway was cleaner than his.”“Interesting.” Riccardo hummed to himself. “Did you know that, other than you, that raid had a 100 percent fatality rate?”“I didn’t.” I squared my shoulders and tried to project confidence. “I don’t exactly go hunting down statistics on crimes I’m tryin
PaigeI stood in the airport with Jamie the next morning, holding onto her hand and fighting to stay with her in my mind. Old memories popped out at me from around every corner. The flight attendant on the plane that one bastard took us on who didn’t notice anything was wrong. The tense flight home next to Tom, waiting for him to tell me he was about to sell me to the highest bidder. That particular memory felt a little silly when I looked back. He’d done nothing but show me kindness, even the few times I forced his hand and made him grab me. Of course, he meant what he said.Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tom. He’d come in a separate car and had been holding a perimeter with a few of his guys, all undercover. Last night, Jamie confessed that she’d only been away from home for three weeks and that no one had really touched her yet—though I didn’t press on the emphasis she applied to “really”—but she was still a little leery of Tom and his men. I smiled at him, and he nodded ba
TommasoThe next day, I climbed into the car and drove out to Tony’s warehouse. If Riccardo knew I was at the raid, my only safe bet was to assume everyone did. But a late-night meeting with Stan after Riccardo hung up resulted in a plan to turn that in our favor. I put the word out to a couple of the guys I’d inherited from other operations that Carp didn’t trust me. I said that I’d be taking over the warehouse, claiming it with survivor’s rights. It shored up the story that I was dipping my toes into sex trafficking and kept anyone from nosing around the warehouse and finding anything out of place we might’ve missed.Of course, nothing in this life was ever that fucking easy, so a couple of the suppliers Tony worked for got their feathers ruffled. Constant calls to the few numbers I’d publicized adjacent to me had Lyle bogged down with messages for days. Through the noise, there seemed to be one ringleader—or at least, one motherfucker louder than any of the others. I’d had Lyle set
PaigeA couple of days after the raid, only a two of the women remained at Tom’s, Andi and another one named Claire. One was a runaway from an abusive family, the other her partner, so they had nowhere to go. They’d moved into their own guestrooms on the same hall as me. I wandered into the guest sitting room, where the two of them had started spending most of their days, and found Caterina and Joyce there with them. Caterina caught my eye and nodded off to the side.“What’s up?” I said when she stepped up to me. I still couldn’t get over Sera’s undead mom just being in my house.She sighed. “I’ve been talking with Joyce, and it seems like what these women need is someone to get them a job and a place to live.”I nodded, mentally filing that away for services my facility would need. “That makes sense. If they were trying to get away, they’re about as away as they can get.”“Andi ran away from home during her senior year of high school, a few months ago, so she doesn’t have much traini
PaigeAll the thoughts in my mind melted away as I opened my mouth to his kiss. I’d spent the last three days—more—putting everything into this work, and so had Tom. His mouth promised a moment of peace and quiet, where we could just be ourselves. I spun my chair around to kiss him more comfortably, and he cupped my face with a tender hand. I smiled against his mouth. He chuckled in return.I stood slowly so he could adjust, tasting him with every swipe of my tongue. I’d already started getting used to the exact taste of his lips, the way he smelled when he was so close. He enfolded me and blocked the world out. I nudged him toward the bed, and he stepped easily back.He pulled away from my mouth to kiss along my cheekbone, flick my earlobe with his tongue, and lave attention down my neck. I gasped quietly.“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.I pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. He sat up and began easing my shirt up my torso. I didn’t flinch, didn’t hesitate. Something s