Chapter 9
—You know what rhymes with Friday? Wine.—
“How are things looking?” Leighton asked Skye over the phone even as he glanced at Maria, who was silently crying. God, he wanted to kill Kuznetsov himself for how much pain he’d caused people. Savage was their getaway driver, but he’d been mostly silent since picking them up.
“Good,” Skye said. “I ran into Lucy and some security guy on the way out but they didn’t even pay attention to me. You think she’ll be a problem for us?”
“I don’t think so. I think she can be an asset.” Leighton seriously hated using that word in relation to Lucy, but it was appropriate. “And I think I know how to bring her into this whole thing with us. Maria has told me that there are a lot more girls. She’s been staying at a house fairly close to the hotel. She said they would drive her around for a while before going to the hotel, but it felt like they were driving in circles. She remembers what the house looks like at least and some markers nearby.”
“Okay. Colt and I are headed back to the safe house.”
“Good. I need to call Hazel.”
“Gage already took care of it. He wanted to let her know so she could contact Maria’s mother.”
“Good.” As far as Leighton knew, her mother and sister had relocated across state lines in a coastal Mississippi town after the mother had left her husband. It wasn’t far, but Hazel was certain they’d be safe where they were. “I think we need to bring Lucy into this sooner rather than later. As in today.” Leighton quickly outlined his plan to Skye, who was silent for a few moments after he finished.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she finally said. “Though it could backfire on us if she’s involved with her uncle’s organization.”
“I know.” Lucy could put targets on their backs if he was wrong about her. “But I don’t think she is, and you don’t either. When she approached Maria and me tonight, she looked right at Maria and asked her if she needed help.” Her expression had been so fierce, and when she’d looked at him, all he’d seen was confusion and more than a hint of anger.
“Then I say we go for it. What happened with Broussard?”
“He tried to stop us on the way out. Started to threaten Lucy as we headed for the exit.”
“Did he get a picture of you?”
“No.”
“Okay, then. The room is cleared out with no evidence left behind that you were ever there. And Gage corrupted the security feeds, targeting any feeds that had you in them. So you should be in the clear. Oh, and Axel is currently at the place where the backup feeds go—he’s breaking in tonight. Or this morning, actually.”
They were definitely a well-oiled machine. “All this is good, but we can’t be done. We need to save all these girls.”
“Agreed. Do what you need to do with Lucy and then head back to the safe house. Do you think I should pick up Maria?”
He started to say no, but then changed his mind. “Yeah. Actually, why don’t you meet us? Not Colt though. Too many people might spook Lucy when we tell her about…all this.”
He disconnected and looked over at Maria, who had thankfully stopped crying. He’d given her a jacket earlier and she had it wrapped tightly around her. Soon he wanted to give her different clothes. It wouldn’t erase anything that had been done to her, but he wanted to do whatever he could to make her comfortable.
“How do you feel about what I laid out?” he asked, because she’d heard the whole conversation between him and Skye.
She sniffed once. “I want to save those girls too. None of us were there by choice. It was the only reason they were able to keep us in line—almost all of us were afraid for our families. Those men were awful. This whole situation is awful. It shouldn’t be happening, here of all places. Right under everyone’s noses.”
“I know. You really don’t mind making a stop before we take you to your mom?”
“No. I heard everything you said.”
“Okay.” He looked at Savage in the rearview mirror. “You know where to go,” he said to his friend.
Savage simply nodded once, his expression dark. He was just as angry about this whole thing as they all were. They definitely weren’t going to stop with just helping one woman. Leighton wanted to burn the entire organization to the ground.
* * *
Lucy opened the door to her condo, then shut and locked it behind her before disarming her security system. She was exhausted and cranky. That being an understatement.
She’d tried calling her uncle and he hadn’t answered, so she’d tried Marco again, but that jackass hadn’t answered. The security team had been in a state of frenzy because someone had corrupted their files, and she absolutely understood why. But that wasn’t her area of expertise so she’d let them do their thing. As far as they knew, no crime had been committed, the casino hadn’t been robbed and their data seemed secure. Well, secure-ish, considering their feeds had been hacked. And Spencer Johnson hadn’t done anything illegal. That they knew of anyway.
So she’d finally headed for home—and she’d never felt more useless in her entire life. If she thought it would do any good, she would call the cops. But she had no idea what to tell them at this point. That she suspected potential prostitution at the casino… So what? They would need proof.
Ugh. She needed sleep to clear her mind, and maybe once she was clearheaded, she’d figure out what to do. Heck, maybe her uncle would have called her back by then and he’d know what to do.
She slipped out of her heels and slid off her jacket, hanging it on the hook by the door before striding down the dark hallway. One of her motion-sensor night-lights flicked on as she moved past, illuminating her way. As she stepped into the kitchen she realized the lights were on—and she didn’t remember leaving them on.
Less than a second later, she nearly let out a scream when she saw Spencer sitting there at her island countertop with the woman in the red dress. The woman was wearing a big jacket now and it looked as if she’d washed her face of all the makeup.
“How did you get in here?” Oh my God, who cared? What were they doing here? Preparing to make a break for it, she automatically tensed when Spencer held up his hands, palms outward.
“I hacked your security system then picked the lock. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done it by now. So I hope you’ll listen to what we have to say before you call the cops.”
She nearly snorted. Because she had a feeling if he wanted to stop her, he could easily stop her from calling anyone. “I’m guessing your name is not Spencer.” Not a question.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. I work with a group of people who help individuals in need.”
Well that wasn’t vague or anything.
The girl stepped forward slightly, her arms wrapped around her thin body. “My name is Maria. I’ve been held captive with many other women. We’ve been trafficked through various places around New Orleans, including The Sapphire.” She held out an arm and pointed at Spencer—or whoever he was. For now, Lucy was going to think of him as Spencer. “This man saved me.”
“How do I know you’re not being held hostage by him right now?”
Taking her by surprise, Spencer pulled out a gun and set it on the island countertop.
Lucy had seen weapons before but she didn’t like them at all. Icy fingers trailed down her spine, all the muscles in her body tensing. He could kill her right here, right now. There was nothing she could do to stop him.
Moving efficiently, he slid out the magazine, which she saw was full, then he popped it back in and handed it to the woman. “Safety’s on.” Then he stepped a few feet away, putting distance between himself and the woman. “If I’m holding her captive, would I give her a way to kill me?”
The woman laid her hand over the gun, but didn’t do anything else with it. “He’s not holding me captive. Like I told you, he saved my life.”
Lucy rubbed her temple once. “Why not go to the police?”
She snorted. “They’re not going to do anything. The man who traffics us, he’s too powerful. And I’m pretty sure he has police in his pocket because…” Swallowing hard, she trailed off.
Lucy could fill in the blanks, however. Her stomach roiled. “So you freed her tonight?” she asked, turning back to Spencer.
“I did. It was a favor to a friend. We got a tip that The Sapphire was being used for trafficking. And I’m going to stop it. All of it.”
“Okay. Let’s say I believe you. If you can’t go to the police, why not someone else? Like…the FBI, I guess?”
“It’s complicated.”
Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin when a woman with auburn hair stepped out from behind her like a ghost. It took a moment, but Lucy recognized her jawline. The hair had been a different color, but she recognized the woman who’d stepped onto the elevator playing Candy Crush. “Who are you?” she demanded.
The woman ignored her as she nodded at the woman in the dress. “Your mom is waiting.”
“I’ll answer any questions you want to know,” the woman named Maria said, already moving away from the island countertop and that big gun still there. “But I need to go to my family. My mother is worried about me. And honestly, I’m exhausted. I wanted to tell you to your face that this man and his friends saved me, that I am grateful, and there’s a serious problem in your hotel.”
“What about the other man who was in the lobby?” Because Marco had to somehow be involved. Now Lucy had no doubt. And this changed everything she thought she knew.
The woman’s face paled. “He is not a good man. He helps run all of us through the different hotels. And he doesn’t stop there. He uses all of us. He rapes us. He is a very bad man. When he saw me leaving with him…” she said, motioning to Spencer, “he tried to stop us. He threatened my family, my little sister,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
“I’m glad you’re safe now,” Lucy said, unsure what else to say.
Once the two women left, and only when she heard the door shut behind them did she turn toward Spencer. “What’s your name?”
He sat back at the island, taking his gun and tucking it into a holster. For a long moment she thought he might not answer. Finally he said, “I’m Leighton. I’m sorry I had to lie to you. But the mission was to rescue Maria.”
She didn’t move any closer to him. Instead she remained in the entryway. “Your mission?”
He nodded once. “That’s right. Saving her was the final objective.”
Words like mission and objective sounded like law enforcement. “Are you in law enforcement or do you work for the government?”
“No. I’m going to be very upfront. The people I work with definitely work outside the law. And I’m not sorry. We don’t have to worry about warrants or other bullshit when people are in danger. I’m here tonight because I think you’re a good person. And I’m ninety-nine percent sure that you are not involved with trafficking those women.”
She felt her temper rise. “Let’s go with a hundred freaking percent. I’m not involved in any of that.”
“Well, someone in your hotel is. More than just one person. And it could be more people than you imagined. And there’s one thing for certain—your uncle is behind all of it. He runs a giant empire of criminal activity.”
She let out a short, sharp laugh at this man’s audacity. “You’re full of shit. I told him what I suspected and he’s opening an investigation.”
The man in front of her, allegedly named Leighton, was the one who laughed now, though the sound was dry. “He’s not opening an investigation. But he did kill Michael Atkins. I assume not personally but the guy is now dead. Likely on his orders.”
She blinked once. “The security guy?”
“Yes. You can find that out on your own by making a few phone calls. His body was found less than an hour ago.”
Lucy shook her head. “Why would he kill him?”
“A guess? Well, you discovered there was potential trafficking in The Sapphire. And Atkins was stupid enough to get caught by you. Since now it’s pretty clear that your uncle has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure you’re not aware of his operations, I’m going to guess that he’s pissed Atkins got on your radar. I can’t know for sure, but he’s clearly tying up loose ends. But that doesn’t mean this operation is going to stop. Obviously it’s not after tonight.”
He retrieved a folder from one of the chairs behind the island and laid it on the countertop.
“Here’s some information I think you’ll find interesting. It’s a file on your uncle. You either believe it or you don’t. If you want to help us stop the trafficking of women through The Sapphire, my contact information is in here. Or if you want to do nothing, then do nothing and be complicit.” He pulled a little recorder out of his pocket and set it on the countertop. “This is a little extra for you. It’s a recording of your uncle. Nothing that will put him in jail, but it’s pretty damning.” He shoved up and started to leave.
“Wait…” Her head felt as if it would explode right now with all this information overload. “Why…” Gah, what did she even want to ask? She should be shoving this stranger right out her door and calling the cops. “Why did you target me?” Because obviously that was what he’d been doing when he’d asked her out.
“Because you’re related to a monster. But it’s pretty clear you’re nothing like him. For the record, however, I kissed you because I wanted to.” He paused, those haunted eyes looking right at her, pinning her in place. “And I’m not sorry about it.”