Alicia

The thrumming in my ears gets louder. Louder. Louder.

I cover my head and scream. No, please! Make it stop!

“Alicia! Wake up! Alicia!” Anne shakes my shoulder, and I gasp awake.

I look around and remember where I am.

It wasn’t a nightmare. It’s real.

Sobs escape, and I turn, wrapping my arms around Anne. She hugs me tight.

“It’s okay. We’ll get out of this. We will. We have to be strong.”

I shake my head as the tears fall.

As much as I hate this woman right now, she’s my only hope. My only support.

It all happened so fast. I had been working at the salon, trying to keep myself from losing my shit, when Anne walked in, wanting me to fix her hair. She was a bitch, snapping shit in my face when my boss appeared from out of nowhere and demanded I follow him. Anne followed behind us after I told her not to. I rounded the corner toward the back and two men jumped us, shoving us into the supply closet. My boss stood before us as Anne and I huddled in the back, both of us cowering and shaking.

Without a word, he tied our hands and blindfolded us. Slamming the door shut behind him, he was gone, replaced by two men.

We were brought downstairs, in the basement of the salon. An entire world brews down here; one I never knew was here nor would’ve ever guessed. We couldn’t see anything at first, but I knew the area—signs I’ve become familiar with. The basement door opening, the rickety steep stairs, the musty smell.

It wasn’t hard to figure out. We took only a few steps from the closet to the stairs. We were thrown in an empty, dark, and cold room, still blindfolded and tied up.

I cried for hours in a corner by myself. I didn’t want to go near Anne, nor believe what was happening.

Time passed, though I don’t know how much.

We were fed at various points, nothing but water and stale bread. A bucket was left in the corner for us to use the bathroom and the room stank like human waste.

One night, both of us were crying as we lay there, hungry and thirsty, feeling hopeless, when Anne scooted close to me and said sorry. I apologized too and now we plot together how we’re going to escape.

* * *

Anne tries to pick the lock while I work on the only window. It’s hard to reach, and I stretch to reach between the bars.

Anne desperately twists and turns the bobby pin into the lock, waiting for the click sound to tell her she did it. She continues to try when I hear footsteps and tug on her arm, motioning for her to stop. The footsteps pause in front of our door but then continue on.

We both breathe out a sigh of a relief and wait before Anne tries again.

“How did you learn to pick a lock?” I ask her, trying to ease some of the stress.

“A few self-defense classes can teach you a lot.” Her tongue slips out of her mouth as she concentrates. She wiggles and twists until we finally hear the click, the lock disengaging.

“Yesss,” she mumbles and turns to look at me.

I nod once, and Anne turns back. She grips the doorknob tightly and slowly turns it. The door creaks open, light streaming in. The smell of onions and sweat drifts in, and I concentrate on not vomiting.

Anne grabs my hand, and I follow her lead, slinking our bodies up against the wall. We move past bedroom after bedroom, some of the doors open, some shut. Vile smells fill the air, and my stomach turns. This whole thing makes me sick.

We reach what seems like the end when my eyes catch the frame of a girl I know so well. One I’ve come to love and cherish.

Kayla! No! NO!

I can’t help myself. I cover my mouth, but the screams escape, exposing us. Anne’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head. I try to say sorry, but it’s too late.

We’re bound and blindfolded, each of us placed in a separate room this time.

I scream until my voice breaks.

Until my cries drown out my screams.

Until my body gives in and I’m left spent, on the cold, hard floor.

* * *

Gabe

I arrive in Buffalo less than four hours from when Blake delivered the news. I sped down the highway, making it in record time.

After dropping Luna off at the townhouse, I head to the station downtown where Blake and Joe wait.

The first part of the plan is to carry out a sting. We have Seth and Felix, our fellow agents, going in as a person interested in buying one of the girls.

Undercover vans sit a block away from the salon, watching Seth and Felix the entire time. Snipers stake out the surrounding buildings and SWAT teams are on standby to storm in.

We’ll have a better idea what we’re dealing with once Seth and Felix scope the place out. This way we can swarm the place knowing what’s inside. Hopefully they don’t have to go in earlier than planned, which is always a risk.

Blake and Joe waited for me to carry out the second part, the stint needing a day or two to develop.

It’s time to storm in and shut this operation down.

Joe had filled me in the day before we planned our attack with Blake.

Alicia’s suspicions were true. Kayla’s adoption had been phony along with many others. There had been at least twenty adoptions done over the past year by fake families, adopting a group of girls, anywhere from two to five at a time.

We knew coming in something was going on at the shelter. A human traffic ring of sorts. We just weren’t able to figure out how the adoptions were going through and where the girls ended up.

We got tips about the man running the salon and when I checked into him, he came up clear. But something was fishy about that salon, as well. People coming in and out at odd times and not seeming to get their hair done. Sometimes there was no staff on, so I knew they weren’t receiving any normal salon services. Alicia confirmed my observations when she revealed details about the salon, stating that some days were extremely busy while other days there were no hours or customers.

The guy was good. Slick. A huge network of protection. No one ever saw young girls, making it hard to find something. And running on a hunch is never good.

There’s been another tip about the salon, and that’s our next stop. Some anonymous caller came in, stating there was a human traffic ring going on under the salon. Not the shelter. But I’m still guessing there’s a connection.

What hurts me the most is Alicia being caught up in all of this. She’s missing and it’s my fault. I put her in danger. I failed at protecting her.

Now, I don’t know if she’s alive or dead.

I shake my head and swallow over the lump in my throat. I have to find her.

Pulling into the lot, I see Joe and Blake waiting on the sidewalk for me. I weave my way around to them and throw the truck in park. They jump in, and I take off.

“Glad you’re back, boss.” Joe nods at me from the backseat. “Doing okay?”

I clench my teeth. “It’s bittersweet. I’m still numb to it all. Only Ava is left.” I shake my head and try to push away the darkness. The darkness I’ve always carried around is still there, it’s just different now.

Blake fills me in on more details we couldn’t discuss over the phone. He explains in detail how the women were captured, and my grip on the wheel tightens. I can’t get to the salon fast enough.

“I’m sorry, Blake. Part of this is my fault. Getting involved with Alicia, her cutting Anne’s hair in a jealous fit…”

“What? Back up, Gabe. What the hell happened?”

I turn into the parking lot and pull up on the side of the building. “Never mind. My point was women and their damn dramatics. Making everything worse.”

Blake rolls his eyes. “Keep work separate.”

“I know, I know.” I kill the engine. “Ready?”

They nod, and we grab our guns and earpieces before quietly exiting the truck.

Blake gives me a thumbs-up and takes off to the front while Joe and I sneak around the back. The plan is to have Blake distract the front, cause a scene, and we’ll come in from the back. Several agents are waiting to follow in behind us.

I’m ready to tear down any fucking wall, door, or window in order to find Alicia.

There could be a steel wall and I wouldn’t care. I’d pound my way through it to get to her.

I stand guard while Joe expertly picks the lock on the back door, his hands performing their magic. The other agents stand a few feet away, watching all sides. Within seconds, the lock clicks, and the door opens.

Joe tilts his head, and I move ahead, going in first. He’s behind me, followed closely behind by our agents. I slink down the hallway until we reach the back supply room off to the right, the door unlocked and open. No one is around, and I keep moving, reaching the end of the hallway into the break room.

It’s dark and dingy, and funky smells of old food hang in the air. Off to the right are two doors along the back wall with big signs reading Off-Limits, No Entry.

Loud yells come from the front, and I freeze.

Shit. There’s commotion and more yelling, and I realize we don’t have time.

I try to first the door and get nothing but a supply closet. The second door is locked.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.

A loud crash explodes from the front, and voices are louder, closer. The team hides, ready to shoot.

“It’s locked. I need you to pick it.” I switch places with Joe, my head thumping in sync with my heart.

He jumps into action as I stand and wait. I call backup and let them know we’re inside and need help. Any second now…

The salon is big but not enormous and any second now, our friend will be here, ready to do anything to protect his crimes. His disgusting, vile crimes.

“I got it.” Joe moves out of the way, and I yank the door open. An alarm goes off, loud and deafening, shaking the entire building.

I hear gunshots as I hurry down the stairs, the smell of urine and body odor pungent when I reach the bottom step. Joe follows me, gunshots firing rapidly from beyond the door.

I reach the bottom and stop short, Joe banging into me.

“What the—” Joe looks around me, his entire face falling. “Oh my fucking God.”

Girls are handcuffed to both walls, while others are locked inside cages, passed out and covered in their own waste. Doors run along both walls, and I wonder what’s behind them. Or who’s behind them. My eyes roam the area, and my stomach clenches. How could someone be so cruel?

I look away, unable to stand seeing them. Joe already has a call into the paramedics, a few ambulances on the way. He didn’t waste any time.

Footsteps pound down the stairs.

Time’s up.

I come face-to-face with the head honcho himself, his name lost on me. Blake is pulled down the stairs, his arms and legs tied, his mouth taped shut.

Without thinking, I raise my gun to his forehead. “Stop or I’ll fucking shoot!”

He smirks and moves his hand in a signal I don’t recognize. More guys come down the stairs and out of the various doors, surrounding us. Joe stands against my back, his own gun raised. Our own men fly down the stairs, and a standoff begins, no one knowing who’s going to shoot first.

My breathing picks up speed as Blake is thrown to the ground next us, his eyes meeting mine in true fear. I look away and lick my lips. My knees are locked into place, sweat forming on my forehead.

Seconds pass, maybe minutes, until boss man speaks. “Give in or you all die. Including your partner and her curly-headed friend.”

Fuck. I shiver and feel Joe tense.

A gunshot goes off in the distance and all hell breaks loose. I grab boss man’s hand with the gun, twisting it as I pull into a headlock. More police and FBI invade the basement, pouring down the stairs in droves. I hold the gun to boss man’s head while Joe knocks out a few men who didn’t run off.

Blake is untied by another officer, quickly working to put boss man in handcuffs. I run off, opening doors as I go, hopeful to see her curls.

Fear pushes me forward, barging down every door, hope keeping me going.

“Alicia! Anne! Alicia!” I call, but no answer comes through.

Joe follows close behind as we search. Men are arrested and girls are rescued, each door opening a new room of horrors.

Four doors left, three doors left…

She has to be in one of the last two, she just has to be.

Two doors left, one door left…

I swing the last door open wide, an ear-piercing scream blowing my eardrum.

Alicia!

She’s huddled in the corner, her body in a fetal position. She’s sobbing and quivering, her entire body shaking. I hurry over and grab Alicia, but she screams and hugs her knees tight.

“No! No! I’m not going with you!”

Joe and Anne come up behind me, relief flooding all of us.

“Alicia!” Anne cries, bending down to hug her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Gabe’s here.”

Alicia’s head snaps up at the sound of my name, her eyes blinking at the sight of me. “Gabe!” she sobs and pulls away from Anne, jumping into my arms.

I hold her tight against me, not wanting to ever let go.

Her entire body shakes as she repeats my name over and over.

Joe helps Anne up, letting her lean her weight on him.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” I signal to Joe to follow, and we make our way back, Alicia wrapped tightly around me. She won’t let go, her fingers digging into my back and her legs clenching around me with a tight death grip.

I’m almost to the stairs when Alicia lifts her head, her eyes frantic. “No! Wait!”

I stop and turn, looking for what she’s talking about when I see her.

The young teen from the shelter.

The one Alicia loves.

My heart breaks. She’s passed out in a cage, paramedics working hard to revive her.

Alicia jumps from my hands and rushes to her, dropping to her knees. “Kayla, no! No!” Alicia covers her face and sobs, her shoulders and neck falling forward.

I give Joe and Anne the nod to move on without us. I bend down next to Alicia and wrap my arms around her. “She’ll be okay,” I whisper into her curls. “She’ll be okay.”

I don’t know if she’ll be okay. I don’t know if any of us will.

I shake my head, so mad at myself for the danger Alicia was put in.

I’m sick to my stomach over what I saw down here.

The biggest human trafficking ring I’ve ever seen.

The worst part is it’s all young girls.