Alessandro whimpered as he took a breath. “What? You will kill me if I don’t help you?” He grinned, his teeth crimson from the blood pooling in his mouth.
“Yes.”
“You’ll start a war if you do.” Alessandro hissed as Cristian tugged a little harder on his hair.
“It’s a chance I will take to save these women. I don’t fear death, Hombre. Death fears me. Pick him up.” Cristian waved to Marco and Benji. “I’m done fucking around with him. If he will not help me willingly, then kill him.”
Benji pulled a blade from his hip and stepped up to where Marco was holding Alessandro. He pressed the blade against his throat, piercing the tender flesh with the metal.
“Wait!” Alessandro cried out. “If I help you, you’ll let me go?”
“That was the deal, unless you try something—then I’ll kill you myself.”
“Fine. I can get you in to the event. It’s going to cost you a hundred grand though.”
“Didn’t I just tell you I would not pay you a fucking dime?”
Benji dug the blade in a little more. “It’s not for me. That’s the buy in for the auction.”
Cristian waved his hand to Benji. “Let him up.” Wrapping his fingers around Alessandro’s throat, Cristian growled. “If you're lying to me in any way, not only will you never see another stitch of Lithium from my brothers and I—I’ll cut off your head. Do you understand me?”
Alessandro nodded as Cristian released his hold.
“Make the call.Now.” Cristian handed Alessandro his cell phone, observing him to ensure he didn’t pull any tricks. “One wrong word and I will cut out your tongue.”
Alessandro pressed the phone to his ear and spoke, “I have a new buyer interested in the event. Yes, he’s good for the money and can be trusted. He will come in my place. Fine.” He tossed the phone to the table, causing it to skitter across the smooth surface. “It’s done. He will email the info. The money will need to be transferred as soon as he sends the link.”
Cristian clapped his hands. “Good. Now kill him, Marco. I will not be leaving a loose end to ruin my plans.”
“What is so important you would risk a war?”
“That is not of your concern.”
Cristian walked from the room, Alessandro’s screams echoing off the walls. Marco would make his death a painful one—ensuring a message was sent from the Silva Family. Alessandro’s men were standing guard as he stepped into the primary room of his house.
“Your boss made a poor decision and is paying for it. If you value your lives and the lives of your family, you will pledge your loyalty to the Silvas. Otherwise, death will be yours.”
One man spoke while gripping the gun at his side. “How do we know you won’t slaughter us anyway?”
Cristian gritted his teeth. He needed these men’s help. His family was powerful in Chile, but beyond that, they were one in a million. “I need your help. This man, Darby Conteh, is selling women. I plan to put an end to his sick business and free the women in his hold. Your late boss was planning on buying himself a lady. I don’t know about you, but any man that has to buy a woman, is no man I want to follow.”
The men’s murmurs filled the room. As Cristian suspected, they didn’t know their previous leader's plan. Most men hated to see women abused and tossed aside. These guys were no different.
“You’re telling us that Alessandro was involved in human trafficking?”
“Yes. Whether for personal desires or monetary compensation, he planned to go to a human auction and purchase girls.”
“Un-fucking believable.”
“So, I’ll ask again. Will you swear your loyalty to the Silva’s and protect us?”
Marco and Benji stepped into the room. They both wore the blood of Alessandro on their hands and clothes. The men eyedthem with trepidation and uncertainty. Cristian prayed they would not have to slaughter these men, but he would, if it meant saving the girl.
One by one, the men standing in front of him swore their allegiance to him and his brothers, giving the Silvas a stronghold in Ecuador. Cristian gathered Alessandro’s computer before leaving. He would need to continue the facade and get into the auction. It was the only way he could bring this monster to his knees. If there was one thing Cristian knew, this man, Darby, might be a monster. But he was no match for the monster he carried inside him.
Everlysatintheroom's corner, her gut coiling with disgust and rage. The girl laid dead on the bed; her body broken beyond belief. The men had abused her in ways that Everly would never forget. Her screams still echoed in her head, bounding around in her mind like a nightmare she can’t shut off. Everly wondered what her future held for her. Was she destined to be someone’s property and to be used as a sex slave for their own pleasure?
Noise outside her room had her hackles up. Something was happening—something big. There was no way Darby had let her remain untouched if he didn’t plan to profit off her.
