I picked up the ledger and started reading where I'd left off, shocked moments later to see my name. I read what he wrote in stunned silence and, not for the first time since coming here, wondered what kind of man my dad had really been. He'd done this for me. A man who couldn't be with his son, who'd missed the best years of my life growing up, had wanted to share something with his blood.Somehow he'd been keeping track of me, enough to know some of what I did but not all, thank fuck. And his answer was to do his part on his end. The sentiment behind his reasoning made me regret not searching him out sooner, but it was too late for regrets. What I can do for him now to make up for the time we both lost is take care of the job he'd left for me to do.So I put thoughts of anger and missed opportunities aside in favor of dealing with the here and now. The old man's thoughts had been all over the place, moving from one thing to another as if he had too many irons in the fire at once.I w
Dinner that night was… strange, no other word for it. There were no arguments between the men, who all seemed to have picked up manners and etiquette from somewhere in the last couple of hours. I watched and listened to the light banter that was mostly shared between Mace and Celine. She had no idea she was being questioned by an expert.Each probe was meant to put her at ease, each follow-up revealing more about their life under the tyranny of Sam. I was even gladder now that I'd sent Wolf after him. He and I were gonna have a lot to talk about. As much as she gave up, it wasn't enough. There was still the question of why she'd let her husband abuse both her and her kid or why she let things get to the point where he was going to sell the poor girl to some bastard.I stowed away the little tidbits that seemed to be of use while trying my best not to focus on Silla. She hadn't said much of anything since coming downstairs. Instead, she sat at the table with her head almost touching he
"It' about damn…" I started to bellyache at whoever was unlocking the door, but the words died on my tongue when I saw the two men standing there with Billy between them. "Billy, what…?" I started to ask the other man what he was doing here before he was tossed into the room with me. The door was closed and locked before I could even think of making a move as he scrambled to get up off the floor.What was Billy doing here? Does that mean that they know? Had that little bitch told them? "Sam, you piece of shit, you sold me out to save your own ass.""I don't know what you're talking about; sold you out to who?""The boss' son! If it wasn't you, then who could it be? Who else did you tell, you idiot?"It had to be that little bitch that told. Celine is too afraid of me to ever go against me, so it must be her. Though this last time, Celine had gone too far in trying to find help. Maybe the thought of her own flesh and blood being sold didn't sit too well with her. But after all the years
I crept back to my room with my heart in my lungs. I knew it was too good to be true. I'd been about to go face him after building up my courage. I wanted to know what kind of timeline we're looking at, how long he expected us to be here. Not that I'm in any rush to go back to my childhood home, but it would be good to know when I could look forward to finally getting my life started.I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I'm glad I did. Why is he setting up a meeting and coming up with a cover story for Billy? Does that mean he plans to hand me over to him? What if he's in on it? What if beneath that fake kindness he's as much of a snake as Billy and Sam? I have to get out of here. First, I need to grab mom.I bit my nails as I thought of my approach. All day she's been singing his praises, especially since we arrived here at the house and were shown such courtesy, at least by the others. She's so traumatized already I don't know what learning this new truth would do to her.I'm pissed at m
I stood in the middle of the yard, looking back and forth between the two men. One had disappeared behind the closed door, and the other was heading to the gate to open it up. This has to be a trick. If he planned on selling me, he wouldn't just let me leave like this, surely. Maybe he's calling my bluff?Mom was no help; she still believed that I was wrong. How had we been found out anyway? I'd made sure to look normal as we made our way down the stairs. If anyone had seen us, then I would've said we were heading to the kitchen and once there made a run for it. I'd noticed all the exits when we went down for dinner, so I know there's a back door and a side door as well as the front.No-one stopped us, and once we cleared the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. I found our bags beneath the window I'd thrown them out of and was making our way towards freedom when someone came out of the darkness. His movements were so silent I didn't even hear or see him until he was right up on us.Mom
I got up and headed out the door giving one low whistle to let the guys know it was time to get a move on. They came from all corners and levels of the house and fell in behind me at the door.Mace stood in the entryway to the den, watching us. "I'm leaving her in your hands." He just nodded his understanding, and I turned and left. It's only when I felt the evening air brush against my skin that I realized what I'd said. No doubt the other three had caught on and were probably gearing up to stick their noses in my shit.Thank fuck everyone was in work mode, and no one called me out. We walked through the darkness into the trees that lined the back of dad's property. I'd chosen this spot when I scoped the place out before moving here. The building we were headed to fit in, not giving anything about its true purpose away. From the outside, it looked like any structure you'd expect to see on a farm in the Midwest. I have the necessary papers to show that that's just what it is. No one e
The stats on this area for human trafficking are abominable and something I hadn't been aware of until now. The shit reads like a seventeenth-century trade log, with numbers of young girls and boys just disappearing off the streets like smoke. Why the fuck it's not being broadcasted on the news every hour on the hour instead of the other brainless drivel they spout is a mystery. I'm beginning to think that dad had barely scratched the surface of what was going on here, but at least he knew enough to call me in when he got in over his head. He, too, didn't seem to know what was going on until he started saving runaways off the streets, which tells me that someone is going to great lengths to keep the enormity of this thing hidden either to avoid panicking the public or for their own personal gains. I'm leaning towards the latter, and since fish always stinks from the head, that's the one I want. That's why I need this to work. Since Calhoun is savvy enough to keep his location hidden,
"How? Did you think she was just going to hop on and go with you without a problem?" He looked at Sam and fidgeted a bit before looking back at me. "Is that how you take all the others to him?""No, this time was different. The kids usually go out to this place for work and a hot meal…""What place?""It's a place in town that went out of business a while ago. Calhoun rents office space there, but there's nothing in there but some phones and computers. It's set up to look like a call center.""Keep talking.""I tell them they just have to answer the phone and such to get paid ten dollars an hour. I don't know what kind of setup Calhoun has after that. I just pick the ones I think he'd like and send them to the place, and they disappear until the next batch.""Now answer me, how were you going to get Silla on the back of your bike?" Something tells me she wouldn't go near his ass if her life depended on it. "Well, see, Calhoun gave me this thing…it's only supposed to knock her out for a