CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Seth
No more pussyfooting around.
It was time to take Tony, and the other traffickers he was associated with, down. The problem was, I needed to keep my emotions in check. Knowing that Tony had sold Joss’s virginity made me hate that fucker with my every breath, but knowing that the local PD and VICE would be watching my every move, I had to be on my best behavior.
Joss had made a call—or maybe a few calls. I wasn’t sure since I wasn’t involved, but she’d called my hotel room and told me that we had backup. I breathed a little sigh of relief because I wasn’t sure what I would be walking in on. Pimps and traffickers weren’t known for being reasonable. In my experience, even if they weren’t trained, most of them carried a piece on them. If Bryce were telling the truth, then Paul and I would be outnumbered. For this plan to work, I needed a driver.
“We need to recruit Gabe.”
“What?” Paul questioned as he attended our initial I-need-a-bodyguard-meeting.
“I’ve been thinking. Given that we’re not getting a one on one with Tony, I need you by my side even when we drive up.” Originally I didn’t want Gabe involved. He had a family he was building, but all I needed him to do was drop us off so Paul could be by my side.
“He’s not going to go for it.”
“He won’t be in the line of fire. All he needs to do is drop us off.”
“Why can’t we get someone else? Or take a taxi?”
I laughed. “A high-powered business man isn’t going to take a taxi—”
“Then a limo.” Paul paced in my suite as he thought about what I was telling him.
“Yes, we need a limo or at least a high-end SUV. But I think it would be best if we didn’t have a stranger drop us off at some random place.”
“I’ll ask him.”
I shook my head. “No, I will. Call him and have him meet us here.”
Thirty minutes later, the former Army Captain was walking down the stairs in my suite. “What’s so important you had to meet in this …” He looked around the room. “I can’t even describe it.”
Guys weren’t very good with describing shit. I couldn’t describe the suite either other than it was fucking perfect and I felt like a king up in it.
“Like I said on the phone, Seth wants to talk to you.” Paul nudged his head in my direction.
Gabe turned to me, and I nodded my agreement. “I know you said you didn’t want to be involved in our undercover mission—”
“I don’t” he stated.
“I only need you as a driver.”
He balked with a frown. “A driver?”
“A driver carrying actually.”
Gabe shook his head. “No.”
“All you need to do is drop us off, and then you can go home to your fiancé.”
He looked to Paul and then back to me. “You can get anyone to be your chauffeur.”
“True,” I sighed. “But I can’t risk someone seeing something or knowing anything. Just drop us off.”
“But you need me to carry a gun?”
“It’s only for your protection, or in case something goes wrong.”
Gabe chuckled. “Exactly why I don’t want to be involved.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Nothing will go wrong, and I’ll be forever in your debt.”
“Don’t lie, Gabe. You know you’ve always wanted to work for the FBI. Look at this joint.” Paul spun around with his arms outreached.
Gabe paused, looking from Paul to me and then the suite. “All right, but if something happens to me, and my baby is left without a father, then you better take care of Autumn and my kid.” He pointed at Paul and glared.
Paul smirked. “Oh, the promise of a threesome with my wife and Auttie.”
My cell dinged. Gabe was downstairs in a black, FBI issued Cadillac Escalade.
“Ready?”
Paul nodded and moved to the stairs.
As we walked up, I said, “Once we leave this suite—”
“I know, I know. I was a Lieutenant in the Army. I know how to take orders.”
I chuckled, though I was nervous. Sure, I’d been in hot situations before, but not like this. Not where so much was on the line—personal stuff—and me pretending to be someone else. Yet, I had to act as if I knew what the fuck I was doing.
The FBI had given me a tie clip with a camera and microphone hidden in a diamond in the center. They were going to watch and record everything. Once Tony agreed to take my money, they’d swoop in. Before that happened, I had to get the other three traffickers to admit why they were there to lock in the case that would be brought against them.
“And just so we’re clear, if they search us, you stay outside.”
“I know. Not sure how I can protect you if I’m outside, though.”
I didn’t want Paul without a gun. If they searched us and took my piece, he needed to keep his. Also, if they searched us, that likely meant only Tony and Bryce would be packing and not the other traffickers.
I smirked. “I’m a cop, Paul. I’m sure I can handle some businessmen.”
“All right, but I want a crack at Tony too. He hurt my wife.”
I stopped walking. “That’s not part of the plan.”
Paul stopped and turned to look down at me. “Well, make it part of the plan.”
“Paul—”
“Listen, man. I know Joss is your best friend, but she’s my wife. This asshole hurt her—hurt her for years.”
“And that’s why you need to let the professionals take care of him.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “So what? Tony getting locked up for a few years is all he deserves?”
“Of course not.”
“And you’re telling me that you’re going to go in there and not rip his head off?”
I thought for a moment. Paul was right, Tony needed to be put down. Going to jail for five, ten, twenty-five or so years wouldn’t be enough justice. The problem was that I was a cop and justice was my life. It was what I swore to do.
My phone dinged again with another text from Gabe. “We gotta go,” I said and began walking up the stairs again.
“I’m just asking for one punch. Maybe two. Draw some blood.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
I wasn’t sure if I could, but we all deserved to knock Tony around a few times. And Joss deserved to deliver the final blow even if I had to ditch my surveillance camera.
We pulled up to the warehouse. Joss and the other feds were around the corner, ready to move in on my go, but first, I needed to get the birds singing. I knew the plan was to get all of them to talk, but Tony was my main target.
“Thanks, Gabe. Go home to your girl.”
His green eyes looked back at me from the reflection in the rearview mirror. “Will do.”
I nodded to Paul. He got out, then opened my door. I buttoned my black, pinstriped suit jacket and walked to the door where two guards were standing. Bryce had told us that my name would be given to the guards and they’d let me in. Sure enough, when I walked up to the door and dropped the name Michael Wade, they let Paul and me inside. I expected them to search us, but they didn’t. That told me that there were more on the inside packin’. I hoped Paul had caught that, too.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but loud music wasn’t it. It felt as though I’d just walked into prom. People weren’t dancing, but the men and women weren’t dressed in jeans and a T-shirt either. If I had to describe what the men looked like, it would be pimps. Big hats, fur coats, canes. And there were more than just three of them. I was in a room full of pimps and hos. It was a cop’s dream—or nightmare—however you wanted to look at it.
“I feel underdressed,” I muttered, hoping Paul could hear me.
He nodded.
A dance floor, tables and chairs were set up around the warehouse with a DJ and a couple of bars and a stage. As we moved in, I caught the eye of Bryce. His outfit was purple and velvet. No cane, and no hat, but bling around his neck that consisted of large gold chains and diamonds. Instead of mocking him when he got to me, I stuck my hand out to shake his.
“Should have told us about the attire,” I said behind gritted teeth.
“You’re not a pimp,” he stated.
“What does that mean?”
“This is a Player’s Ball.”
“A what?”
“Every year, a ball is held, and an award is given to the best pimp in town. I’ve won the last three years in a row.”
I smiled, trying not to cause a scene or to show we were talking semantics. “I thought you said it would be me and the other three traffickers?”
“I said they’d be here. Plus, this year is different. Usually it’s just the pimps that bring their girls, and we party. But since Tony has been kidnapping tourists, he’s going to parade them in and let whoever take their pick.”
Still smiling, I gritted out, “I feel you’re jerking us around, Bryce.”
“I’m not,” he hissed and leaned in closer to me though it was probably hard to hear us over the loud music in the first place. “Tony’s going to bring the girls out, and then the pimps will lay claim to them. You’ll have enough proof and can make arrests as they leave or drive away.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but if we moved in to make arrests as the pimps left, word would get around and then all hell would break loose. So we needed to move in and block all exits before the night ended.
“I need to go make my rounds,” Bryce stated and walked off.
The liquor was flowing, and the pimps were mingling. I’d noticed the girls looked at the floor. Not a single one looked up, not even when a person was talking to them. I knew that if they made eye contact with another pimp, they were trading up. How that worked in a room full of pimps was beyond me.
The music cut out, and I looked toward the stage to see an older man grab a mic and start talking. “Welcome to the fifth annual Player’s Ball!”
Cheers were hooted and hollered around the room by the pimps. The girls continued to look down at the floor. I realized this was Tony, the man who had hurt my sweet Joss and made her run away. He was the man who had beat her mother, forced her into the life too. He was the man who caused Joss’s mom to kill herself. He was the man who forced a sweet little boy into the game. And all of it was for money and power.
He was also the man who, by the end of this, would know who I really was, and I wasn’t going to go lightly on him.
“To mark our fifth year, I’ve decided to do something different. Vegas is expanding and not just with new casinos going up. People come here with a shitload of money in their pockets, and a lot of them are looking for pussy.” More cheers. “So being the businessman that I am, I came up with a way to get us more girls—more money in our pockets.” More cheers.
“Now, I know we all can’t take on a lot of tricks in our stables, so I’ve invited a few men who want to get in the game. They’re here to buy some and ship them off to Canada, Cuba, Russia, Korea and of course Mexico. Tonight, before we give out the Pimp of the Year Award, the girls will come in. When you see one—or more—who will work with your stable, claim them by taking the number they have attached to them. Each girl is five g’s.”
I quickly did the math. If Bryce was right, and there were at least two hundred girls here, Tony would make a million dollars. A million dollars for girls he’d kidnapped. A million dollars for selling what wasn’t his to sell.
A line of girls started to file in from a door off to the far side of me. None of them looked like prostitutes. They all looked scared, worried—fearful. They had a piece of paper—or something similar—attached to their bra strap, and their backs had the same number painted in black. They also looked like they hadn’t showered in days. One thing I knew about pimps was that they took care of their merchandise. They’d buy these women, get them all dolled up, and then put them out on the street corner—probably in a day.
Since having what looked like every pimp in town in one room, the plan needed to change. I needed to figure out the best course of action. All I needed to do was get all the pimps on camera paying Tony, and then Joss and the team could move in. That was the plan until I saw her …
Until I saw Cat—my Kitty Cat.
The love of my life was standing—waiting—to be bought by scum and forced to sell herself. My body went still, ice doused my veins, and I was about to go nuclear. This had just changed from a sting to a murder scene because not only had Tony taken Joss’s virtue, but he’d kidnapped my woman.
And he was going to pay.
As I kept my gaze on Cat, I wondered if Joss could tell that it was her from the hidden camera. I had to move closer, buy her—do whatever I needed to do to protect her. I was no longer questioning what I needed to do to make it look like I was a buyer. I was going to buy Cat now, and keep her by my side the entire night. Except I didn’t have five grand on me.
I turned my body to Paul and whispered, “They have Cat.”
He blinked and then whispered low, “What?”
Then the pieces started to come together. Bryce had told us that Tony was using taxi drivers as facilitators to bring tourists to the warehouse. Just yesterday I’d put Cat in a cab, and only because I had to start this case right away and couldn’t drive her myself. I should have fucking drove her. I should have told Joss the truth and then brought Cat to the airport. It wasn’t lost on me that once again lying might potentially rip Cat from my life—this time maybe forever. However, if I had to shoot every fucker in this place, I would. I was going to do whatever it took.
“What do we do?”
I spoke low, hoping to God that Joss and the team could hear. “Joss, I need you to get me five grand. Now. They have Cat. They fucking have Cat.” Then I said to Paul, “Follow me.” I stalked to where Bryce was talking to other pimps. When he saw me, he excused himself. I didn’t blame him for cutting his conversation short and jumping to talk to me. I was on a mission. A mission that was going to end with me going to jail.
“What’s up?”
“What’s up?” I mocked. “Tell me what the fuck your sister’s best friend is doing here?”
“What?” he asked and looked at the line of girls.
“See her.” I pointed to my Kitty Cat. “Number thirty-five.”
Bryce nodded. “Yeah.”
“You used to play with her too.”
He went still. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, man. Your fucking father is trying to ruin another life that circles back to you.”
He turned to me. “What do you want me to do? I can’t go up to him and tell him, can I?”
I shook my head, closing my eyes briefly. “You’re going to go outside, get money from Joss, and bring it to me.”
“Joss?”
“She’s listening, dude. Right now, they are getting the money together.” At least I hoped that was the case. “She’ll meet you outside, and you bring in the money.”
“What if someone sees me with a fed?”
“Joss ain’t stupid,” Paul cut in.
“Right,” I agreed. “They are coming up with a plan. I just need you out there to help. You’re the only one who can walk in and out and not look as though it’s suspicious.”
God, I fucking hoped Joss have a plan and quick.
Bryce nodded and turned to walk out the door. I kept my gaze on Cat. I wanted her to look up so she could see I was here. So she knew I was going to protect her. But she didn’t. And as I stared at her, I noticed the pimps were moving in. I had to get to her before someone else did.
I was moving, my legs taking giant strides as I got closer. Then I watched as one pimp took his nasty hand and rub a finger down her cheek and then her bottom lip. I saw red. I saw blood. I was going to take my gun out and start shooting every motherfucker in this place. Fuck justice. A pimp would serve time and get out to only go down this road again. If I put them in the ground, then that was one less trafficker I had to worry about.
Paul grabbed my arm and stopped me. “You need to calm down.”
I shrugged him off. “What would you do if that was Joss?”
“I know. I would be out for blood too. But I’m here for a reason—we both are. She’ll be safe.”
“They’re touching her!” I spat as low as I could without causing a scene.
We both looked to Cat and that was when I saw the pimp that was caressing her cheek, yank her number off of her then moved to the next girl. I was no longer seeing red. I was shaking, sweating, and on the verge of losing my shit.
Paul stepped in front of me blocking me from my view of Cat. “That doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t,” I hissed. “What if he takes her in the back and …” I couldn’t finish that thought. Once he paid Tony, he could technically do whatever he wanted to her. Take a test drive as Bryce had put it.
I needed to get to Cat, at least tell her I was here and to not go anywhere with that guy. I broke around Paul and went to the line of women, scanning them as if I was looking to buy them. As I got in front of Cat, I whispered, “Kitty Cat.”
She went still.
“Don’t say anything. Don’t look up. Everything will be okay.”
Cat nodded slowly.
“I know you were just bought, but you aren’t going anywhere with him.”
She nodded again.
I looked up to see I was near Tony. How the fuck was I going to buy these girls to send to Canada like the plan if I had no money? I didn’t think payment would need to be made tonight. I thought that meeting theoretically would be tomorrow. I looked to my right and noticed Bryce walking toward us. I didn’t move. I wasn’t going to move away from Cat no matter what.
Bryce handed me a piece of paper. “Joss said this is an account number to give to Tony for a transfer. There’s enough to buy fifty girls.”
Cat shivered—or what I thought was a shiver. When I looked closely, I saw tears streaming down her face. I wanted to wrap her in my arms, touch her skin, kiss her lips—anything to show her that everything was going to be okay. But I couldn’t. I was living in my worst nightmare and couldn’t wake up to see it was all a dream and Cat was lying next to me with a smile on her face.
“Kitty Cat, this will all be over soon.”
She nodded one more time.
I looked to Paul, and even though I thought I wasn’t going to leave Cat’s side, I needed to get this shit over with. I needed to catch Tony on camera, and then everyone would move in. We didn’t have time to fuck around. This was Cat, and she’d just been sold. I watched the pimp who had taken her number hand over stacks of cash to Tony. At least we had one fucker on camera. “Start going down the line and grabbing numbers. You do twenty-five and so will I.”
“Got it,” Paul said and moved, ripping the numbers off of the bra straps of the women. They each flinched as the paper tore away from their clothes.
“Stay right here,” I commanded Bryce. “She’s not to go anywhere.” I took a deep breath and then collected my twenty-five numbers. With each one, I wanted to tell the girl who I was and what was happening. Instead, I bit my tongue and caused each one to flinch, showing their fear all while my heart raced. I knew not everyone was cut out for undercover work, but I thought I was. I was until my future was on the verge of being a memory that I’d die to forget.
I moved to where Tony was sitting on the stage in a fucking chair that looked like a throne. I nodded to him and introduced myself. “Michael Wade.” I wanted to push him, cause the chair to fall back and then stick my gun in his mouth and pull the fucking trigger.
Tony stuck his hand out, and we shook. “My son told me that you’re looking to expand into Canada.”
“Yeah. Fifty.” I handed him the numbers and the routing and account number Joss had given me.
He smirked. “Give me a few minutes to get my guy to transfer the money, and then they’re all yours.”
I turned around so I could look at Cat as I waited.
But she was gone, and so was Bryce and Paul.