Her eyes opened then widened. “Emily?”
They spoke in whispers, voices hoarse and raw.
“What are you doing here?”
“The same thing you are, I’m guessing. Trying to shut these pigs down.” Her eyes flicked anxiously toward the doorway. “I’m also looking for my sister.”
Emily’s blood ran cold. “No.”
“She worked for Regina for a few weeks then she disappeared. The police barely looked.” Bitterness roughened her tone. “I made finding her my full-time job.”
Gaby’s situation echoed hers in painful ways. “How did you end up at Devil’s Pointe?”
“Everything pointed to Regina as a recruiter. She had the best of both worlds—a continuous supply of college girls needing good-paying work, and a club full of submissive women. I couldn’t get in the door at Gold Coast, so I joined the club to get proof—something concrete that the right people would pay attention to.”
Emily frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t know everyone, Gaby, but I know Alec. He trusts and respects Devil. He’d know if something that serious was happening under his own roof. But you’re on the right track with Regina and Gold Coast. Benny was at the mansion tonight. He’s your recruiter.”
“The sous chef?” Gaby sat back on her heels in surprise.
“Yeah. How he got in with the New York Mafia is anyone’s guess.”
“What?” she exclaimed.
Emily’s eyes shot to the door as she shushed her. When no one appeared, she continued quietly, “Enzo Denali. Italian, diamond stud in his ear, a hissing lisp. He’s the boss.”
“You’ve been here a month and got all that?”
“No. I got that by working with Devil and his team of PIs. I’m telling you straight, Gaby. You can trust them.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” she said, still skeptical.
“You don’t have to. Alec and the guys will be here soon, and you can see for yourself.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Emily gathered her hair, revealing her earrings. “Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend. GPS cubic zirconia is.”
“Smart,” she breathed, clearly impressed.
As Gaby looked around, Emily did too and didn’t like what she saw. Metal walls. Concrete floors. A few grimy windows near the high ceiling. They’d need a ladder to reach them.
“Where do you think we are?”
“Benny mentioned a warehouse,” Emily said.
Gaby fished around in her curls and withdrew a bobby pin. “While we wait for the cavalry, I’m going to look around.”
In seconds, the lock clicked and the door to her cage swung open.
“Wow. That was impressive,” Emily observed, feeling a glimmer of hope. “Do they teach lock picking at the U?”
“Nope. In my old neighborhood,” she said, crawling out and standing to stretch.
“Don’t even think about leaving me here,” she warned. “I can help you snoop or be a lookout or something.”
The door to her cage popped open just as quickly. Barefoot, bruised, and filled with a surge of adrenaline, they crept toward the door past other groggy, just-awakening girls in other cages—at least a dozen of them.
“Hey! What about us?” one called in desperation.
