Upstairs, men begin to shout.
I turn to the women. “I’m going to clear the way,” I growl.
Or die in the process.
“Once the shooting stops, run. Don’t stop running. I wish I could do more for you.”
We didn’t have time to plan a proper exit strategy.
One woman with a piece of cloth binding a broken finger steps forward. “You’ve done enough. But there are more. More rooms like these. More people like us.”
Of course, there fucking are.
I rush toward the corridor, picking up the dead man’s gun and checking the magazine for ammunition. On the staircase, I drop two more of the pricks, stepping over their dead bodies. In the storeroom, one rushes me. I grab his wrist. Push it up. Plaster falls all around us like snowflakes as he tries to redirect the gun to my head, and a shot goes off.
Snap. I break his wrist.
Crack. I shatter his nose.
Anothersnap,and his neck twists at an angle no man can survive.
I crouch near the hatch. “Julian, bring them up!”
I drive through the city, taking the most scenic route anyone could think of as I make my way home. The girls belonged to one of the women down there. We stuck around long enough to make sure none of the mafiosi followed them. However, we were then forced to scatter.
“Did you hear what she said?” Celine pants from the backseat, her arms wrapped across her middle. Shellshock in her eyes. “There are more women like them – more rooms. More people are suffering.”
I grind my teeth. “You’re safe,” I say. “Fucking hell. You’re alive. Celine, that’s all I can think about right now.”
“Aretheysafe?” she demands.
“They’re safer than they were in that goddamn basement.”
“What about the others?”
Julian, sitting beside her, gently takes her hand. “We’re all alive. None of us are wounded. That’s a miracle.”
I call Agent Keane. The first thing I say is the address of the gambling recovery center. “A lot of women and girls escaped. They’re going to scatter. Perhaps go to the cops. I want you to find them. Get all the evidence necessary to make sure the mob doesn’t get their hands on them again.”
It takes him a moment to register. “Holy shit. You were right. Your instincts were right.”
Big fucking surprise.
I wish they weren’t.
“I can do that,” he goes on. “The Bureau won’t be able to ignore this.”
“There’s more. One of the women spoke about the mob having more women.”
He sighs heavily. “One thing at a time. This is going to be a huge operation already.”
“Fucking hell, Thomas.”
“It’s the way things work.”
“Just find these women,” I snarl, hanging up.
Finally, I drive up behind my house and pull my car into the concealed garage. All three of us climb out. Celine stares at me for a moment, then glances at her brother.
