I picked up the ledger and started reading where I'd left off, shocked moments later to see my name. I read what he wrote in stunned silence and, not for the first time since coming here, wondered what kind of man my dad had really been. He'd done this for me. A man who couldn't be with his son, who'd missed the best years of my life growing up, had wanted to share something with his blood.Somehow he'd been keeping track of me, enough to know some of what I did but not all, thank fuck. And his answer was to do his part on his end. The sentiment behind his reasoning made me regret not searching him out sooner, but it was too late for regrets. What I can do for him now to make up for the time we both lost is take care of the job he'd left for me to do.So I put thoughts of anger and missed opportunities aside in favor of dealing with the here and now. The old man's thoughts had been all over the place, moving from one thing to another as if he had too many irons in the fire at once.I w
Dinner that night was… strange, no other word for it. There were no arguments between the men, who all seemed to have picked up manners and etiquette from somewhere in the last couple of hours. I watched and listened to the light banter that was mostly shared between Mace and Celine. She had no idea she was being questioned by an expert.Each probe was meant to put her at ease, each follow-up revealing more about their life under the tyranny of Sam. I was even gladder now that I'd sent Wolf after him. He and I were gonna have a lot to talk about. As much as she gave up, it wasn't enough. There was still the question of why she'd let her husband abuse both her and her kid or why she let things get to the point where he was going to sell the poor girl to some bastard.I stowed away the little tidbits that seemed to be of use while trying my best not to focus on Silla. She hadn't said much of anything since coming downstairs. Instead, she sat at the table with her head almost touching he
"It' about damn…" I started to bellyache at whoever was unlocking the door, but the words died on my tongue when I saw the two men standing there with Billy between them. "Billy, what…?" I started to ask the other man what he was doing here before he was tossed into the room with me. The door was closed and locked before I could even think of making a move as he scrambled to get up off the floor.What was Billy doing here? Does that mean that they know? Had that little bitch told them? "Sam, you piece of shit, you sold me out to save your own ass.""I don't know what you're talking about; sold you out to who?""The boss' son! If it wasn't you, then who could it be? Who else did you tell, you idiot?"It had to be that little bitch that told. Celine is too afraid of me to ever go against me, so it must be her. Though this last time, Celine had gone too far in trying to find help. Maybe the thought of her own flesh and blood being sold didn't sit too well with her. But after all the years
I crept back to my room with my heart in my lungs. I knew it was too good to be true. I'd been about to go face him after building up my courage. I wanted to know what kind of timeline we're looking at, how long he expected us to be here. Not that I'm in any rush to go back to my childhood home, but it would be good to know when I could look forward to finally getting my life started.I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I'm glad I did. Why is he setting up a meeting and coming up with a cover story for Billy? Does that mean he plans to hand me over to him? What if he's in on it? What if beneath that fake kindness he's as much of a snake as Billy and Sam? I have to get out of here. First, I need to grab mom.I bit my nails as I thought of my approach. All day she's been singing his praises, especially since we arrived here at the house and were shown such courtesy, at least by the others. She's so traumatized already I don't know what learning this new truth would do to her.I'm pissed at m
I stood in the middle of the yard, looking back and forth between the two men. One had disappeared behind the closed door, and the other was heading to the gate to open it up. This has to be a trick. If he planned on selling me, he wouldn't just let me leave like this, surely. Maybe he's calling my bluff?Mom was no help; she still believed that I was wrong. How had we been found out anyway? I'd made sure to look normal as we made our way down the stairs. If anyone had seen us, then I would've said we were heading to the kitchen and once there made a run for it. I'd noticed all the exits when we went down for dinner, so I know there's a back door and a side door as well as the front.No-one stopped us, and once we cleared the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. I found our bags beneath the window I'd thrown them out of and was making our way towards freedom when someone came out of the darkness. His movements were so silent I didn't even hear or see him until he was right up on us.Mom
I got up and headed out the door giving one low whistle to let the guys know it was time to get a move on. They came from all corners and levels of the house and fell in behind me at the door.Mace stood in the entryway to the den, watching us. "I'm leaving her in your hands." He just nodded his understanding, and I turned and left. It's only when I felt the evening air brush against my skin that I realized what I'd said. No doubt the other three had caught on and were probably gearing up to stick their noses in my shit.Thank fuck everyone was in work mode, and no one called me out. We walked through the darkness into the trees that lined the back of dad's property. I'd chosen this spot when I scoped the place out before moving here. The building we were headed to fit in, not giving anything about its true purpose away. From the outside, it looked like any structure you'd expect to see on a farm in the Midwest. I have the necessary papers to show that that's just what it is. No one e
The stats on this area for human trafficking are abominable and something I hadn't been aware of until now. The shit reads like a seventeenth-century trade log, with numbers of young girls and boys just disappearing off the streets like smoke. Why the fuck it's not being broadcasted on the news every hour on the hour instead of the other brainless drivel they spout is a mystery. I'm beginning to think that dad had barely scratched the surface of what was going on here, but at least he knew enough to call me in when he got in over his head. He, too, didn't seem to know what was going on until he started saving runaways off the streets, which tells me that someone is going to great lengths to keep the enormity of this thing hidden either to avoid panicking the public or for their own personal gains. I'm leaning towards the latter, and since fish always stinks from the head, that's the one I want. That's why I need this to work. Since Calhoun is savvy enough to keep his location hidden,
"How? Did you think she was just going to hop on and go with you without a problem?" He looked at Sam and fidgeted a bit before looking back at me. "Is that how you take all the others to him?""No, this time was different. The kids usually go out to this place for work and a hot meal…""What place?""It's a place in town that went out of business a while ago. Calhoun rents office space there, but there's nothing in there but some phones and computers. It's set up to look like a call center.""Keep talking.""I tell them they just have to answer the phone and such to get paid ten dollars an hour. I don't know what kind of setup Calhoun has after that. I just pick the ones I think he'd like and send them to the place, and they disappear until the next batch.""Now answer me, how were you going to get Silla on the back of your bike?" Something tells me she wouldn't go near his ass if her life depended on it. "Well, see, Calhoun gave me this thing…it's only supposed to knock her out for a
This is insane. I thought I had it under control, but I didn’t expect the night to be like this. It wasn’t because of all the people that were here in the arena, though it had to be at full capacity, which was around two hundred and fifty thousand people, give or take about ten. No, what was bothering the hell out of me was the fact that my girl was in the middle of this shit. I didn’t think it would bother me this much, especially since I knew that there was no danger here, that the whole tunnel thing was the only thing going on, and the other players had already been taken down, but I couldn’t shake it off. I had this feeling like the feeling you get when someone has you in their crosshairs, but you don’t know which direction they’re in. It could be a case of transferred anxiety because Lyon has been ranting and raving since he got here about some shit going down. It was hell trying to hide my thoughts and feelings from Silla, who was happier than I’d ever seen her. Part
Lieutenant Morgan was more excited about the tickets than even I expected. She was so distracted that that excitement led to her being the one who invited me to tour the tunnels. I didn’t have to use my well-rehearsed speech to talk her into anything. It was so easy I almost grew suspicious until I remembered that this was just like the woman I know. She had no reason to suspect me of anything, and with my clearance, she’d see no issue letting me on site. But as we walked and talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else seemed to know her as well. Namely Lyon’s daughter. But how was that possible? I’m pretty sure the kid never met her in the flesh. While she talked about how excited her kid was going to be I was looking around for anything that would give any indication that there was more going on here and saw nothing. Not that I didn’t believe Lyon, I did, but that’s how good the operation was. We hopped into a golf cart, and she drove deeper into the tunne
“Where did you go? Did you have fun?” I tried not to sound too much like I was grilling her, but Flanagan and Quinn had me a bit paranoid with the things they’d said about their women and the shit they got up to. Not that I expect Silla to do any of those things; my little innocent is too sheltered for that. But there are other issues at hand. Like the fact that I’d only just started to convince myself that with Sam out of the picture, she was no longer in any danger, plus the fact that the mess I’d just waded through was geared toward kids, so she wasn’t in any real danger here. But I don’t know why I get the feeling that the guys are holding something back. I think Lyon might have told them to ease me into it, which begs the question of just how much worse it can get. I still have no idea what it is that they want me to do in the tunnels or even if I’d actually get the chance. Just because I’m military doesn’t mean they’ll roll out the red carpet, especially if they’re using
I guess Flanagan was wrong after all because the places the women drove to just seemed to be the usual tourist traps. They did take a little detour on the way back, but it seemed to be a more scenic route, something anyone might do when visiting a new place. It can’t be overlooked the fact that the mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the country. “I guess they did only go for a joyride after all.” I made the distinction out loud when I saw Flanagan and Quinn mapping the route they’d taken. “It’s good that you think that.” “What do you mean?” “Not sure yet; I’ll let you know when we figure out what they’re up to. I have to get this information to Lyon.” He reached for his phone while I went back to what I was doing, feeling at ease for the first time in hours since she left. Every once in a while, one of my boys would make a sound of disgust from across the room, but since I’d already given them the option to bow out, which they all refused, I saw it a
“What’s wrong boss? Something bothering you?” Mace asked me quietly as I watched the door where the women had just left. “No, it’s not that.” I couldn’t give him an answer because I didn’t know what it was that was making me twitchy about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure if it was my natural sixth sense or my new overprotectiveness where she was concerned. It didn’t help that Lyon’s men didn’t look too settled either at the idea of their women going joyriding in the middle of an Op. Maybe that was it. This whole situation has left me feeling more bereft than my first firefight. I’d rather dodge bullets in the desert than deal with this evil shit that I’d been pouring over for the last few hours. How anyone could deal with this shit day in and day out and not lose part of themselves is beyond me. It's only been a few hours, and my skin is already starting to crawl. Now, I’ve always known that men can be evil monsters; I’ve seen some of the worst they can do to each other, or
Shit, blast and damn. How do I leave her behind without hurting her feelings? She’s so dang innocent; I was sure a rebuff, though not meant to be one, would hurt her feelings. Was I ever this innocent? No, but some of my new sisters used to be when we first met, so I know the signs. I was thinking hard about a plausible excuse when she clapped her hands across her mouth and looked at me like she’d committed a crime.“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I just got so relaxed with you two; it’s like we’ve known each other forever. I didn’t mean to overstep; I’ll just go back to the room and leave you two alone.” She rambled off the words before starting to walk away, and both Kelly and I had to stop her. Okay, this one might be more sheltered than the others, and it almost broke my heart. Over the last couple of years, I’d come to recognize the signs of past trauma in women, and she had a boatload. “No, you didn’t overstep. I was just worried about how your man would r
This is happening. Things have been moving really fast in the last few days and the honeymoon was over. True to his word, Lyon had sent in a crew, or squad as he calls them. Two couples, the men seeming just as anxious as I was, having their women close to this shit. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to do this, keeping the women in the dark, I mean. But I needn’t have worried because Quinn and Shane knew exactly what they were doing when it came to that part of the Op. Silla, I was happy to see, was only too happy to make two new friends, and these women must’ve taken classes or something because they had her hooked in no time at all. I’d barely seen her interactions with Chantal back at the house, but it was good to see that she played well with others. There was no cattiness among these women and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between these two, Arianna and Kelly and Nikki. It’s been days since I even thought about her, but I guess I figured one headach
I looked these people up when I had a chance, and I have to say, Lyon and his kid do get around. I wouldn't have pegged him for the type, but then again, what do I know? Silla was all but jumping out of her skin with excitement ever since I mentioned their names, but I have to count that as a plus since it kept her even more in the dark about what was really going on. I brought my boys up to speed on things later that night once she'd knocked herself out after playing Rodeo Queen on my dick. At least the news knocked the disrespectful smirks off my team's faces, and they switched gears from sticking their noses in my shit and got down to the business we were there for. "I'm only telling you now because it's been finalized on their end. When Lyon called earlier, it was just an idea they were playing around with, but now, apparently, it's a done deal. Here's the thing…" I filled them in on what Lyon had shared in his latest phone call, i.e., the fact that this Ryder person's past con
Penance, it has got to be. I can't come up with any other reason for me to be dealing with this mess right now. I've always prided myself on being at the top of my game in any given situation, but this shit has thrown me for a loop. For what has got to be the first time in my adult life, I find myself in a situation that I'm not completely in control of. Right now, I should be focused on the job; nothing is more important than that, at least there didn't used to be. But now, even with the danger I was sure was here, given the Intel we'd collected so far, all I could think about was her. And not even in a sexual, I wanna jump her bones every time I see her kind of way, but more like how can I put her in my pocket and keep her safely away from all this shit type of thing. It's not something I expected, not to this degree anyway, and no one ever told me that these things could happen, and if they had, I'd have said not to me. But I am living it, so it's real, and that brings me back t