“I’m part of her boss’s crew,” Jameson said, avoiding eye contact.
“How deep are you in this with this woman?” Julio asked bluntly.
“We’re friends. The night I arrived, he beat her for spilling his drink. I found her hiding from him later and lied when he asked if I saw her. I’ve built up her trust. Not to mention, I’ve stopped a few of them from trying out the merch before we get a chance to nab them.”
Julio’s eyes narrowed on his friend. “Keep a clear head. We can’t risk her blowing your cover.”
Julio’s phone rang, jerking him from the conversation. Leo Armstrong’s name appeared on the screen.
“What’s up?” he answered.
“Congratulations on the raid, I heard you took down a couple of big names,” Leo said, making Julio sigh.
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“Something wrong?” Leo asked.
Frowning, Julio glanced up at the ceiling. “Rebecca hasn’t responded to my last text.”
“Does it have you concerned?”
“Not yet. She can handle her own,” he said, hoping he overreacted. Something twisted in his gut, warning him of impending danger.
“I’ve seen this before, you know. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure I kept the same face when my wife’s dead husbandreturned,” Leo said smugly. “Why don’t you admit it? It’s not like we haven’t noticed you and Rebecca growing closer.”
Julio scratched the overgrowth along his jaw. “We hoped we kept it a secret. There’ll be repercussions if the brass finds out.”
“As far as we’re concerned, our lips are sealed,” Leo assured him. “How’s Jameson Stanton working out?”
“He’s in deep within the circle. They’re trafficking girls through a nightclub and selling them at auctions with special invitations. He mentioned a woman named Caroline, who’s helping him. This one seems fierce and refuses to let them win.”
“Freaking assholes,” Leo muttered. Julio agreed with his sentiment. “What will you do about Rebecca?”
“I’m at the airport now and catching a flight to New York. Jameson returned to the ring, and hopefully we’ll have some more intel soon.”
“Keep me posted,” Leo said, before hanging up.
Julio glanced at his phone and scrolled through his photos, staring at the picture of Rebecca, he snuck while she slept. They had made love all night, and he woke at sunrise to see the sheets tangled around her waist. She hugged her pillow close to her chest, and her long blonde hair lay in a tangled mess around her. Her cheeks still carried the flush from their exertions, making him smile. Determined to find the woman he loved and celebrate the rest of what remained of Christmas, Julio boarded the plane. In a few hours, he hoped to hold her in his arms and smell the scent of her jasmine perfume. He lay back in his seat, tipped his hat down low and drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the woman who held his heart in the palm of her hand.
Julio entered Rebecca’s apartment.From the city’s lights shining into her living room, he saw the place in shambles and pulled out his gun. Clearing each room, he returned to the kitchen and flipped on the lights.
Rebecca’s neat and homey apartment appeared as if a hurricane hit it. Her desk lay on its side, her sofa and chairs slashed with a knife. Paper littered the floor. Julio pulled out his phone and texted Jameson.
Call me
Ten minutes later, his phone rang. “It’s me,” Jameson said.
“Someone ransacked Rebecca’s apartment. They’re searching for something. Have you heard anything on your end?”
“No,” Jameson said quietly. “They’re expecting an important visitor later. You need to know I came back to find two girls dead. They killed them to scare the others.”
Jameson didn’t say it, but Julio knew it tore him up.
“They don’t know about the arrests,” Julio said. “We took them in separately, and they think they’re the only ones caught. Trust me, they don’t want this organization to discover they gave us the information.”
“They took Caroline with them. She kept them from taking a young teen named Sidney,” Jameson informed him. “They’ll hurt her if we don’t find her.”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Julio growled. “You know how this works.” He moved to the bedroom closet, trying to decide whether she flew out and didn’t have time to contact him.
