“I’m not waiting another month. You’ve wasted my time traveling here for this. Surely you have a supplier close by who can fill my order by tomorrow,” Julio said angrily.
“I’ll make some calls. Since it’s not a proper auction, they might require an expediting charge,” Mr. Presley countered, not missing his chance to line his pockets.
“Money is no object,” Julio growled. “I believe you already know that.”
“My apologies,” Mr. Presley said. “Since you paid for a first viewing, we can have them here around midnight. I’ll have them brought to your room.”
“No. I’ll come down here. If you disappoint me, I plan to leave and take my money with me one way or the other.” Julio stormed out of the library. His nostrils flared as he fought to control his temper. He clenched his fists as he returned to his room. Knowing it might be bugged, he put on running clothes and tennis shoes, pretending to go for a run.
He made it down the driveway and a quarter of the way back when he heard the familiar whistle of Jameson. Kneeling, he bent to tie his shoe as Jameson talked.
“What the fuck, man. I gave you a warning. You nearly blew the whole op back there,” Jameson growled.
“Did you call Leo’s team? We’re getting those kids tonight,” Julio said, peering down at his shoe. He rose and bent, holding his knees as if out of breath.
“Dude, I feel the same way. If we let those kids leave, we can’t catch the sick bastards who purchased them. If we arrest them, they can testify they came for a tea party,” Jameson argued. “We can quietly arrest them as we did in Charlotte.”
“We’re not risking kids. Get Leo on it,” he snapped.
“I’ll buzz when I get word they landed,” Jameson sighed.
Julio continued with his jog. He wanted to rage at the sky about the unfairness of it all. The poor kids ripped from their families, the people sold without their consent, and he waited all day for Rebecca to walk through those doors. He thought about all those years he worked for the FBI and went by the book to catch the assholes. Most of them got off with a slap on the wrist. Hell, they probably bribed the judge with their unlimited supply of funds. He quit the FBI to work for Leo and take downthese rings. What if he stepped into a morally grey area? How would Leo feel about it? It appeared he needed to have a tough conversation with his friend.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rebecca moved slowly out of the bathroom. Jim exacted his revenge with a few of his buddies. Her insides hurt, her body ached and her heart felt ripped apart. She bit back the whimper as she moved past Jim and waited by the door.
Jim rose and moved toward her when his phone rang. “Yeah,” he answered, sending her a warning to stay put.
“You want me to bring them there tonight? I have about fifteen. Which blonde? No, she can’t come. Hassan plans to take her back with him. No, he’s not here. He didn’t send me a message. Fine. I’ll leave in half an hour,” he said, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He moved toward her and grabbed her arm tightly. “It appears your night’s not over yet.”
“I’m not going. You can kill me before I let you or any man touch me again,” she said quietly.
“Why would I do that? We have such a good time together,” Jim said, running his finger down her bruised arm. “Don’t worry, the boss won’t let this guy purchase you. Hassan will have his head if something happened to you.”
“Where’s Megan?” she asked.
“She’s with her new owners,” Jim gleefully broke the news.
Rebecca held her head down as he led her to the dressing room. “Vera, I got fifteen girls to get dressed. Put them in some of those fancy gowns, we’re headed to the mansion.”
An older woman rolled out of her makeshift bed and got to work, pulling out a silk negligee and matching robe. She motioned for Rebecca to change while she hung up several more. When she noticed Rebecca never moved, she shook her head and rattled off something in French. She tugged the shirt over her head and yanked the shorts down. When she saw all the bruises left from earlier, Vera shook her head and let out a string of curse words.
Ushering her to a table, she expertly applied her makeup and dried her hair, creating curls with her brush. Vera pressed two acetaminophens into her hand as she finished, then held a cup of water to swallow them. Jim sent five more women in and Rebecca searched for Ebony. The second group arrived a few minutes later. Spying Kara, she rushed over to her and helped her into the clothes as the men urged them to hurry.
“Where’s Ebony?” Rebecca asked Kara.
“I don’t know. They took her and Heather out after you left to shower. They never returned,” Kara whispered. “Where’s Megan?”
“I don’t know,” Rebecca said, her voice cracking from pain.
“Why did they wake us? What happened?” Kara asked.
“They have a buyer who didn’t seem pleased. They’re hoping one of us will make him feel better,” Rebecca informed her.
Kara’s hand brushed back the soft fur along the edge of the robe. “Oh, Rebecca. You tried to get to Megan, didn’t you?”
“It doesn’t matter now. I didn’t save her, myself, or anyone,” she whispered.
