Julio grabbed him by the neck, jerking him from his seat. “They aren’t pets, asshole. They’re better people than you’ll ever be.” He turned the man around, pressed the gun into his back, and headed for the computer on the desk. Leading him to the chair, he shoved him down in the seat. “Open the logs. I want the records.”
“I’m not stupid. They’ll kill my family and me if I give you any information,” Darren said, shaking his head. “I can’t give you what you want. I only fill the orders.”
Julio shook with rage. He didn’t have time to play games. “You might want to evaluate your risks before getting involved in things such as trafficking. Tell me how this works. Who supplies them?”
“I take the order, and I get a call when it’s ready. They don’t give us access to the people who run everything. It puts all of us at risk.”
“How many people will come to tonight’s gathering?” Julio asked as he opened the laptop, turned it on, stuck in the drive, and watched as it copied all the files.
“You won’t leave here alive,” Darren sneered. “My men will kill you as soon as you leave this room.”
“Then I’ll take you with me,” he promised.
Julio pulled the drive from the port when Darren whipped the cigar from his mouth and held it to Julio’s arm. The burn seared his skin and the smell of burnt cotton rose as Julio flung the offending item in the air and stepped on it. The man grabbed for the gun, but Julio wrestled it away from him.
“Guards,” Darren shouted. Julio punched him in the jaw, sending him to the floor. He struck him again as two men rushed into the room. They pulled Julio away from Darren as Jameson slipped inside and cocked his gun.
“What’s your name?” Jameson asked as he took pictures of them all.
No one spoke, paralyzed by his sudden appearance, and the man holding Julio released him.
“Where are the keys to the basement?” Jameson barked.
One of the men tossed a set of keys and held up his hands, “I don’t want to die.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you betrayed us,” the other suspect said before turning and shooting the man in the head. Shots were fired as Jameson killed the second one.
Julio pressed his sidearm to Darren’s temple. “You see, we don’t play. If anyone else enters the door, we’ll shoot them on sight. Tell me how to get an invitation,” he demanded.
“They watch you now as you speak. It’ll only be a few minutes before they surround the house. My life won’t matter to them, but my family will remain safe,” Darren said, lifting his chin in defiance.
“Shit,” Jameson muttered.
“Plus, you won’t kill me. You scream of some type of law enforcement. No one will issue you an invitation. If you planned to kill me, you would’ve already done it and taken my computer. You don’t want anyone to know you’re here,” Darren surmised.
“I have news for you. Iwasin law enforcement, but I quit. It seems your friends have their hands tied to our government’s lawmakers. At this point, no one’s playing by the rules and I’m damn tired of it. How do I get an invitation?” he said, his voice going deadly.
Darren Garfield regarded Julio for a moment before speaking. An alarm sounded overhead. Jameson locked the door, making Garfield’s men pound relentlessly on it, calling his name.
“We gotta go,” Jameson warned Julio.
“Not until this bastard tells me what we need,” Julio demanded.
“You need money. They won’t even consider an invite unless you have ten million in the bank. You must have a friend who refers you…one who has preferably purchased merchandise from us in the past. You won’t find anyone willing to vouch for you when it means their lives,” Darren gloated as his eyes watched the door.
“Call all your men in here. Tell them you accidentally set off the alarm during a disagreement about an order,” Julio ordered.
“No. I won’t send my men in here to die,” Darren said stubbornly.
“Funny, how you have a moral code for them yet think nothing of stealing humans off the street, torturing and beating them,” Jameson said wryly.
“Take him with us,” Julio said, stepping outside and scanning the grounds.
“No, they’ll kill my family if I disappear, assuming I spoke with you,” Darren said stubbornly.
Julio grinned. “I guess you might have a heart after all. We slipped in tonight despite all your guards. You’ll call them and explain the false alarm. You’ll secure me an invite and personally vouch for me or have someone else do it.”
“I can’t” Darren exclaimed. “Plus, you forget you must have the money. Surely someone like you doesn’t have the funds to participate in the auctions.”
