****
Braxton
Minutes later, Gae pulls Loren out of the truck and shoves her inside the abandoned downtown warehouse. It’s one of the many we have scattered around the city, where the women are taken and held for auction. The location is always changing, and we never know in advance where we’ll be. Today is the exception.
I clench my fists. How could those fucking assholes have let her get away? Christ, they had one job to do, and they couldn’t even manage to keep her in check until I showed up?
“I think it’s time you let someone else have a little fun, Brax. I’ve wanted a piece of this since I first saw her.” Gaetano flashes a nasty smirk at me and palms Loren’s ass. His greedy fingers dig into her flesh, and her eyes are wide enough that I can see panic in the depths. Tears stream down her face, soaking the gag Gae had stuffed into her mouth, the same one used on the rest of the weeping women writhing on the floor in their own private dungeons, awaiting a life of hell filled with slavery and sodomy. “And Sal thought he could trust you, Brax. Tsk, tsk, dickhead. Looks like you’re gonna have a new boss soon enough.” He fists Loren’s hair. “You too, baby.”
“Look, pick out the ones you want and piss off. I don’t have time for your bullshit, Gae.”
He pushes Loren to the floor and creeps toward me, his eyes narrowed to slits. “I’ll slice your throat without a second thought. Sal brought you into this, not me. And if we have to deal with some collateral damage, hey, everyone’s replaceable.”
I grit my teeth and flex my fingers. Christ, I want to flatten him. “We both know Sal calls the shots.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Brax!” He pulls a gun from the back of his pants and points it at my forehead.
Motherfucker is a loose cannon, but if I’m dead, I can’t save anyone.
“Enough!” Sal’s booming voice precedes him and Gaetano visibly shudders, stuffing the gun back in its hiding spot. He commands the room with a sweep of his beady, black eyes. With the force of a finger, he backs Gaetano into a corner. “I told you to get them cleaned up and ready for tonight. What the fuck is going on here? Do they look good enough to sell? Do they?”
“Sal, I was just trying to—“
“I know exactly what you were trying to do. You never could manage an op on your own. That’s why Braxton is here, because he can clean up the messes you create. If it weren’t for him, we’d have nothing for the buyers.”
“Fuck that! If it weren’t for him, we’d make a shitload more! He let that asswipe Milo taint the rest of those bitches!”
“And like I said, he cleaned it up, just like always.”
“Oh yeah? Ask him about Loren. Why’s he been hiding her for the past six weeks and lying to us, telling us she’s nowhere to be found! See how trustworthy he is then!” Gaetano shoves past Sal. “I’m sick of your shit! I’ve worked harder for you than anyone and you never fucking acknowledge anything!”
Sal inches closer, his voice low and menacing. “Maybe if you did things the way you were taught instead of the way you think they should be done, I’d give credit where credit is due.”
Gae slams a hand down on a nearby table, sending glasses crashing to the cement floor. “Goddammit! You know why that’s a load of crap? Because I did everything the way you wanted before he showed up and you still put him in charge. So, fuck this shit! I’m out!”
“There’s only one way out, Gaetano.” With the calmness of a man who’s just been jerked off six ways to Sunday, Sal pulls out his gun and cocks it.
Gae’s eyes nearly pop out of his head. “So what? You’re gonna kill me? Your own blood?”
“To stop you from sabotaging my organization?” Sal’s hand drops to his side, his shoulders deflating. “I’m looking out for the interests of a lot of people here, Gae. What am I supposed to do?”
Gaetano collapses against the wall as the pleas tumble from his lips. What a sniveling idiot. If it weren’t for the fact that Loren is bound and gagged along with twelve other young women awaiting sale, I’d have cracked a smile.
With his free hand, Sal smacked the back of Gaetano’s head. “Don’t you ever defy my orders again, Gaetano. Now get the hell up, you pussy. I’m not going to kill you. If I wanted you dead, I’d have Brax pull the trigger. I’m sure he’d enjoy it more than me.” A cackle pierces the air and Sal turns toward me. “The buyers will be here for the auction at nine sharp. Make sure this mess is cleaned up. Everything you need will be delivered in the next hour.” His eyes fall to Loren and then back up to me. “You know what to do. Take care of it, just as we discussed.”