As Bridget entered his office, Kian observed the marked change in her.

Who would have thought that a cold bastard like Turner would be good for her?

Not that he was.

Not in the long run.

A fling with the human was okay, but by the glow on Bridget's face, it was much more than that.

She was setting herself up for a hell of a heartache. Even if the guy was relationship material, which he definitely wasn't, Turner was human and most likely would remain that way.

"How is Turner doing?" Kian asked as she took a seat at the conference table.

He'd given the guy a week to recuperate before summoning him for a meeting.

"He is good. He is training again."

"Training for what?"

She waved a hand. "Martial arts. He's been doing it for years."

"I didn't know that."

A smirk lifted one corner of her mouth. "You don't get a body like that by sitting behind the desk all day."

"I'll take your word for it."

Bridget's leveled her eyes at him. "Don't get all sanctimonious on me. You put us together."

Kian lifted his palm in a peace sign. "I never expected you getting involved. But I don't have to tell you why it's a bad idea. This is not going to end well."

With a sigh, she lowered her head. "I know. I'm pretending like there is no tomorrow and trying to enjoy the day."

Kian knew exactly how it felt. The despair, the hope against hope. Perhaps the Fates would deliver a miracle for Bridget as they had for him, but it was highly unlikely. In immortal terms Bridget was young, and her life had been good. She'd been blessed with a son, had a respected position on the council, and was liked and admired by everyone.

It seemed that the Fates favored those who had either sacrificed greatly for others or had suffered a major misfortune.

And it wasn't as if Turner was deserving of the Fates’ favoritism either. The guy was cold and ruthless. Except, Turner provided vital services and had helped many. Carol was not the first and wouldn't be the last victim the guy had helped rescue.

Fuck. He was once again letting himself get sucked into believing in nonsense. The Fates were an illusion, a simple way to explain the inexplicable that was too tempting to resist.

"Good evening." Anandur sauntered into the office with Turner by his side. "Eva is on her way. She just stopped to chat with Nathalie for a moment."

"Take your seats." Kian pointed at the chairs next to Bridget.

As Turner walked over to the doctor and leaned to kiss her cheek, Kian had to stifle an incredulous snort. Seeing a rattlesnake cuddling with a kitten would've been less shocking than witnessing the guy exhibiting affection.

Turner put his briefcase on the table, opened it, and pulled out four packs of stapled pages. He glanced at Anandur. "I didn't know you would be joining us. I didn't bring one for you. But I can email you the presentation and you can read it on your phone."

Anandur slapped the shorter guy on the back. "That's okay. I'm here as an observer. If I want to take a look at it later, I'll run Kian's pack through the scanner."

"Very well." Turner started handing out the packs as Eva walked in.

"Did I keep you guys waiting?"

Kian pointed at the seat next to him. "You didn't. Turner is just getting started."

"Oh, good." She glanced at her watch. "For a moment I thought I was late."

"You're right on time."

"Shall we begin?" Turner asked.

"Please do."

After he'd given a brief overview of the project, Turner got down to business. "We need men to pose as buyers. But before I recruit operatives and start training them, I need to find someone to coach them. Someone who was part of the system and knows how it works."

Anandur crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. "We could revive Alex. The scumbag sure knows a lot about the trade."

Kian raked his fingers through his hair, smoothing it back. "That is actually not a bad idea. The guy worked on the supply side of the business, but he should know all about the buyers as well."

"I was kidding." Anandur uncrossed his arms. "Alex is exactly where he should be."

Listening to the exchange, Turner frowned. "Revive? Did I hear you right?"

The guy already knew too much. Kian wasn't going to reveal more clan secrets for him to store away for when he needed to use them for his benefit. "It's a need to know, Turner. And you don't need to know."

The operative nodded. This was a language he understood and accepted.

Kian looked at Anandur. "Before we discuss whether we want to involve Alexander or not, we should question the Russians. Are you up for a trip to Hawaii?"

Anandur grinned from ear to ear. "Am I ever."

"So that's settled."

"Russians?" Turner asked. "Or is that also on the need to know list?"

For a moment, Kian debated how much he should tell Turner. On the one hand, he didn't want the guy to know too much, but on the other hand, as the brain behind the operation, it was best if Turner questioned the Russians directly and not through an emissary.

“Remember the rescue you helped us with in Mexico?”

“Of course. I assumed that incident was the catalyst for what we are attempting to do now.”

"Among other things. What I didn’t tell you was that the perpetrator was one of ours. The guy decided to use his special abilities for making quick money by kidnapping and selling girls. He trafficked them in his yacht, which was operated by an all-female Russian crew. The women weren't happy about what they were made part of, but they saw no way out until we provided them with one. I'm sure they would be more than willing to share everything they know."

"I can contact my snitches," Eva said. "Perhaps we can capture someone who is directly involved in the abductions and the coercions and interrogate the scum." The dangerous gleam in her eyes suggested the woman would've gladly volunteered for the job. Apparently, pregnancy hadn't mellowed her out. If anything, Eva looked all too eager for some action.

Turner shook his head. "I prefer you didn't. Snitches talk to you and many others. I want to keep this as tightly under wraps as I can." He turned to Anandur. "Tell me more about the Russians, and how well they can be trusted."

"They hate the trade and are grateful to us for giving them a new lease on life. They will do everything to help, and they are very good at keeping quiet. The question is whether we bring them here, or go to them?"

"I already told you. You go there," Kian said. "They have a business to run. I don't want to take too much of their time if I don't have to."

Anandur nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Though having one or two helping us out on a regular basis could be beneficial."

Kian narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure."

"I'm not saying this because I want to bang Lana. And another thing. I think we can use clan males to pose as buyers. If needed, they can thrall the sellers to give out more information."

Turner straightened in his chair. "That would be perfect." He looked at Kian. "If you are willing to risk your own people, that is."

"Most of our people have no training, and I can't afford to allocate Guardians to the mission. I need them to keep everyone here safe."

Bridget lifted her hand. "Leave that part to me. I have an idea."

"Let's hear it," Kian said.

She took in a deep breath. "I'm working with Turner on the presentation, and it's going to be powerful. I think I can get more of the retired Guardians to come back and take part in this."

Yeah, right.

"I managed to tempt only two by offering them an outrageous compensation package. What makes you think they are going to volunteer for this?"

"Because this will give them a sense of purpose, of righting a wrong. I might be overly optimistic, but I think they would love to sink their teeth into this. Naturally, they will have to be paid, but nothing extravagant, just a simple Guardian salary would do."

"That ship has sailed. I'm already paying everyone more."

Bridget grimaced. "I have another item on the agenda that will cost a bundle. We can buy the property in Ojai—the burned down monastery—and build a boarding school for the girls we rescue."

Kian loved the idea even if it was a costly one. "Perfect. Building a school for the rescued girls on the same spot the Doomers enslaved others for the same purpose is just precious."

"We will need teachers," Eva said.

Turner nodded. "Not just any teachers. We need women who are both compassionate and trustworthy." He looked at Eva. "As I said before, confidentiality is crucial to our success."

"I'll take care of the vetting," Eva offered.

Fuck. As much as Kian was all for it, he couldn't see how he was going to pull it off financially.

With a groan, he flipped through Turner's proposal. "It's going to cost a fortune. We will need to liquidate some major assets to finance all of this."

"Not necessarily," Eva said. "We need to talk to Brandon about arranging fundraisers. All those famous actors and actresses, producers and directors could donate significant money. We need to form a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of rescued sex slaves. The contributors don't need to know about the other part of the operation."

Sounded good in theory. "First of all, I think you are overestimating the Hollywood crowd's generosity. Secondly, that's not where the big money is. You need Apple, Microsoft, and the like. But good luck convincing them to donate."

Eva smiled. "Self-entitled and elitist should be the middle names of the majority of that sparkly snowflake crowd, and the chairmen of big corporations will not be easy to approach. They would sooner contribute to saving the gleaming-white polar bears that don't need saving, than get their hands dirty helping rescue abused and exploited children at home and all over the world. But if the fundraisers are done right, they can be shamed into donating."