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
Crap, I can't sleep. Might as well get out of bed. I'd tossed and turned half the night, feeling horrible and wondering if I should apologize to him, but I spent so much time thinking of the right words to say that I fell into a fitful slumber and missed the chance. Now he probably thinks that I'm ungrateful after all he's done. I can still see his cold expression and remember well the way he'd turned and walked away as if he didn't care. When I think of the things I'd said, my face heats up with shame at my behavior. But how was I to know that he wasn't in cahoots with Billy and Sam? What was that phone call I overheard about if not me? I couldn't have misunderstood what I heard. Could I?Either way, I should still say sorry. After all, when you look at it, he'd saved mom and I from a fate worst than death, so it's the least I can do. Plus, for some odd reason, I don't want him thinking poorly of me. Like I'm no better than the rest of miscreants around here. I sat up in the bed tha
My eyes flew open, fully awake the way they have been doing since as far back as I can remember. No matter where I am or what the circumstances may be, I come fully awake with my awareness in check, fully cognizant of the sights, sounds, and smells around me. I thought I heard a sound, but maybe it was just my internal alarm clock going off.I wasn't overly surprised when the pain in the ass down the hall was the first thing that came to my mind. Shit, she was the last thing in it the night before as well. I wonder what fresh hell she's going to get up to today? This shit promises to be long. After the stunt she pulled last night, I'm going to have to reassess my opinion of her. Maybe she's not the timid little mouse I first thought her to be. She couldn't be and stand up for herself the way she did last night.I rolled out of bed and dropped to the floor for three sets of fifty RKC planks before jumping to my feet and heading for the shower. The guys had set up a gym in the basement,
Whoa, talk about sub-zero temperatures. I can still feel the chill minutes after he'd gone. I felt even more self-conscious than I had when I first walked into the room earlier. I'd been halfway down the stairs before I realized there was anyone in here, and with all eyes staring at me, was too gauche to turn and run back up the way I wanted to.Those first few minutes after exchanging good mornings were nerve-wracking, to say the least, and in the end, it was the guys who made me feel more at ease. I got the feeling somehow that they were used to dealing with fractious females, the way they stayed a safe distance away, not invading my space even a little bit.I learned to pick up on stuff like that from living with someone as volatile as Sam had been. The clichéd walking on eggshells comes to mind. And though I didn't feel any imminent danger, it was obvious that they were giving me space, which in turn made me feel bad since I was the one invading theirs.When they went back to talki
I stomped into the kitchen after leaving her on the landing to finally grab that coffee. I felt hot and out of sorts though Mace had the AC blasting already. "Careful, that's…" He held up his hand when I put the freshly brewed cup of java to my lips and swallowed, "hot." Yeah, too late; I remembered that Wolf and he had rigged the coffeepot to make the coffee boiling hot. I was too angry to feel that shit this morning, though. And the kicker, I couldn't tell the most highly skilled psychiatrist what my problem was because I haven't the first fucking clue.I'd stormed up the stairs after leaving her in the gym only to slam out of my room and right into her not five minutes later. Why? Because as soon as I reached the room, the thought of her down there with the two of them made my ass mental for some fucked up reason.I'm not sure what the plan was when I stormed out of the room, but seeing her in the barely-there shorts and that tank that did nothing to hide her charms that had been s
Garrett and Sebastian seemed way more talkative than I remember them ever being, while Mace kept the mother occupied with another one of his digging expeditions. He should've been an archeologist with the amount of old shit he digs up. Wolf, as usual, was minding his own, having not said a word, which means he was taking it all in to decipher later.Even though I knew the other two were just trying to get under my skin, I knew at least that they, too, were on the job. The other team behind the false wall in the barn across the property was probably up and about as well already this morning. They'd have to be in order to begin the early morning torture of the two assholes we were keeping over there. I plan to make both their lives a living hell for the next little while or until I decide whether or not to let them continue breathing. My plan was to get things together for tonight, but now with this friend thing, I'll have to put that on hold until after I'd vetted this person. Mace's q