Chapter 7
Allen
I got a little sleep Saturday night and met Brandon for lunch at our favorite pub to go over the plan.
It was odd having a plan to collect my new possible wife, but nevertheless, I needed one. I dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt, ignoring the looks that women gave me as I strode through the door and to our usual table in the back. Brandon wasn’t there yet. I nodded at Laurie as she approached and asked me if I wanted the usual. I always had a beer or two here when it was my day off. Hell, some of the cops drank nightly at the local bar, so this seemed casual to me.
“Sounds great,” I replied as I looked at the menu automatically. I’d slept with the pretty redhead a time or two, and I felt her eyes hot on me today. I glanced up and dismissed her with my gaze as she blushed and walked over to the bar, making her hips sway along the way. Fucking women. I should be turned on by that, but I was distracted by hazel eyes and gorgeous curves today.
Brandon walked over, looking between Laurie and me as he approached me. “Is that starting back up, Allen?”
I glanced at her, and then stared at him. “No, Bran. I have some willpower.”
“Holy shit. You’re really going through with this? You’re going to marry her?” Brandon asked me as I glanced around and shot him a warning look. He held up his hands and thanked Laurie as she brought him a beer. We waited until she was gone before I leaned forward and gratefully sipped the beer. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I need to find a way to make that money fast so I can get her out of there,” I replied as Brandon pulled out his phone and pulled something up. He read it and looked at me, sizing me up as I raised an eyebrow at him.
“I got a lead on some weekly poker games in the basement of a restaurant. High rollers.” He looked me over, shaking his head. “I don’t even know you right now, man.”
“I don’t fucking know myself,” I said.
“So, the games are a twenty thousand buy in.”
I whistled, but I could swing that, and I was good at poker. Living in Sin City had its benefits. I licked my lips as I nodded.
Brandon continued. “You can get up to seventy-five grand a game. It’s the real deal, but we can’t get caught there. We’d be done because these are illegal. I should take the steps to shut it down, but it isn’t hurting anyone.” He looked guilty.
“I think I can win pretty quickly and get out of there. Hell, maybe I’ll get some extra out of it.” I leaned back and watched as Laurie approached us to take our order. We both got burgers, and I focused on the Sevenfold song that was playing over the speakers. I knew that I was fucking up as a cop, and I sighed heavily as the guilt washed over me. “Fuck. What’s happening to me?”
“You’re transitioning. You’re a good guy, Allen. You’re not going bad cop or anything, but this is different for you.” Brandon looked at me for a moment. “I don’t think it’s anything to condemn yourself for, but it just came out of nowhere.” He surveyed me. “I never thought I’d see this happen over a woman.”
“Neither did I.” I thought back to seeing her on that stage as my cock twitched in my pants. The guilt washed over me again. “I can’t wait to take that mother fucker down regardless of her.”
“Me, too. I don’t care if they agreed to it or not. That asshole pressured them somehow or bribed them. Women deserve the chance to choose.” Brandon frowned.
He was probably thinking about the woman in his botched case who was more than willing.
“Hey, she’s okay. She got out of it,” I assured him.
He nodded and looked up at me. Brandon didn’t see her anymore since that was a condition of keeping his job, but I knew he still thought about her.
“I know. I just couldn’t see her again and keep the job. What if the same happens to you?” Brandon looked at me as I looked back at him. He was nowhere near marrying Tiffany when they slept together, and feelings had still been hurt.
“I am not giving my name to anyone. Just give them the cash, and she’s out of there. I don’t want her involved in any of this, Bran. I want to save her from it.” I stared at my partner as he frowned in understanding. “I want the guys to go down for this stinking business they’re running out of the club. Does it matter if she’s involved or not?”
“Technically? No. She can just be a woman that got lost in the shuffle. I expect that there are plenty more involved in this and enough to arrest the owner and everyone else involved. We can likely keep her out of it.” Brandon assured me.
I sipped my beer and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“I don’t even know her goddamn name. I am saving a woman that I don’t even know, Brandon. Am I losing my mind?” I opened my eyes to look at him.
“She touched you somewhere deep down. I’ve never seen you like this before. What are your intentions with her? Do you want to marry her?” Brandon repeated the question.
“I guess. That’s what I told him so I should see it through to keep her away from that club. I don’t know what else he would do if I just left her there. We can annul it later down the road,” I said carelessly as I rested my head in my hands. “I have to keep my word.” I never went back once I decided on something and though this had been impulsive, I meant it.
“So, we figure out a way to get into that poker game without anyone figuring out who we are. If they do, they’ll think we’re there to bust it and cause a lot of trouble. I think these guys have some sort of deal with the Vegas underground.” Brandon said. “Hell, we could go in some type of disguise or something.”
I knew that they were dangerous but neither of us had ever messed with them in the past.
“There will be no record of us ever being there,” I said. “No names, right?”
“Absolutely not. They keep everything on the down low themselves. I just need to get the word from my buddy, and we’re good. You can play poker with the best of them. Win and get out of there, and we can save your girl.” Brandon teased me as
Laurie brought over our plates and looked sharply at me.
Brandon smirked as she walked away. “You probably should have never slept with her.”
“I know,” I said glumly as I shook my head and reached for a fry. I didn’t think before I acted when I was picking up women. I just used them as I saw fit to get a release out of it. But I wanted more with the woman I saw on the stage that night. She deserved more and whether she was anxious about my proposition worried me. Did she want me as well? Did she hate me for making her a piece of property?
I needed to explain to her that I just wanted to save her. I wanted to get her out of there safely, but I did want something more than to go separate ways. I’ve never felt this way before about any woman. I needed that money. Two more nights seemed like forever when I didn’t know what conditions she was living in. If that asshole so much as laid a hand on her, I’d kill him.
She was mine.
We finished lunch and talked further about our plans, getting them laid out completely as we always did. I was thankful for Brandon’s support in all this. I gave it to him when he needed it most, and he was doing the same for me. I still remembered how close I’d come to losing my own job in the process of standing up for him, and now he might be doing the same for me.
We were more than partners and friends. We were brothers. I grinned at him as we ordered another beer and hung out to watch the basketball game on the TV as we drank and laughed at something on a commercial. We were easing out of the serious conversation, and I relaxed as I let out a long breath. This was going to work out just fine. I’d keep my job and have her safe in my care as well.
We left the pub and went to drive by the club to see if there was any activity there. I saw a few cars in front of it but there was nobody outside, and I looked around slowly as we stopped at the light. “Where do you think she is?” I asked. “I told him to keep her safe.”
Brandon shrugged. “He practically pissed himself when you told him what you’d pay for her. I could see that from our table. He doesn’t want her, but he does want the money. I don’t think he’s touched her or any of the girls for that matter. That’s not his thing.” Brandon said.
“You think he’s into guys?” I asked.
Brandon laughed and shook his head.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I just think he sees these girls as his payday and he found something to keep the customers coming back. In his mind, it’s just prostitution. But for the girls, it’s trauma.” Brandon paused before continuing. “It’s trafficking. We don’t know what happens to them after the fact except for the redhead. She was clearly there for at least her second visit.”
The light turned green, and I pulled forward as we both fell silent. We knew there was sex trafficking all over the world. Every cop did. It was something so many of us worked hard to stop and prevent. The idea crossed my mind of my girl being sold off to someone while I was waiting to get the cash to save her. I wanted the money in my hands now, and I looked over at Brandon as I drove past the restaurant where the poker games were held on Tuesdays.
Tuesdays were a low-key night. There would be little suspicion as to why people were walking into an eatery, even though a few cops probably knew about it. I looked around the area and hoped this would go down without any problems.
It was my job on the line otherwise. Hell, Brandon could go down as well after I worked so hard to save him. All of that might end up being for nothing, but I forced myself to think positively as we headed back to the pub so he could get to his car and head home.
After dropping Brandon off, I drove back by the club to see the same cars but no activity. Then I went home to try to focus on my plan.