“What a dick,” I say, and she laughs.
“Yeah.”She watches me closely.“What are you doing here?You don’t act like the usual people who come to pick up shipments.”
Straight to the point.I like her already.
“If I show you a photo, can you tell me what container it belongs to or if you recognize someone?”I ask.
She bites her bottom lip, her gaze moving toward the camera, then back to me.
“I’m Amirah Ledger.You won’t get in trouble for telling me anything,” I say, and her shoulders drop slightly.I reach into my pocket, pull out a fifty from my purse, and leave it hanging between us.
She looks from the money to me before taking it and shoving it inside her top.“I can try, but the containers are all the same.”
I pull out my phone, bringing up the photo of Jewel, and pass it over the desk to Chelsea.She takes it and zooms in.Then she frowns, her nose scrunching up.
“I can’t identify that container or her, sorry.”She passes back my phone and pushes her chair away from the desk.She walks around, brushing past me.“Follow me out,” she whispers and opens the front door.
What the hell?I quickly follow her out, down the three steps, and into the parking lot.
We head past one of the sheds, and Chelsea pulls me inside.Half the shed is full of crates that are wrapped in plastic; the other half is empty.
“I can’t talk in the office.You never know who’s listening, and I don’t wanna take my chances,” she says, her gaze moving from the roller door and back to me.
“I told you who I am.Anything you say to me won’t get you in trouble with The Brotherhood,” I reiterate, but she shakes her head.
“It’s not your brother I’m worried about.You saw the way Nick treated me.”She runs her fingers through her short blonde hair.“I have to be quick.I can’t tell you what container that was, but you won’t find your friend in a container kept here.They knew you were coming.”She stops.Voices grow louder from outside the shed.She leans in, holding on to my shoulder.“They cleared them all out.”
My stomach drops.
Chelsea steps back.
“What was in the containers?”I ask, suspecting the answer but wanting to hear it from her.
“You know ...”She stops as footsteps smack against the concrete floor of the shed.My stomach lurches.I’m going to be sick.
“Here’s the second shipment.We’re still loading the rest in,” Nick says, and Lucas walks beside him.He looks our way, and Chelsea beelines for the door.I quickly follow her until we are a good distance away from Nick and Lucas.
I grab her arm.She looks as white as a ghost.
“If you don’t see me again, it’s because of this,” she says, and I shake my head.
“I won’t let that happen.”
The corner of her mouth lifts.“They need your help.”Then she pulls away from me and hurries back to the office.
I stumble backward until my back hits the shed.This is so much bigger than I thought.This isn’t one missing person.If what my gut is telling me is correct, it’s more than that—someone is holding a large group of women against their will.Maybe even ...trafficking them.Does my brother know about this?Is The Brotherhood aware of these shipments?
They have so much on their plates with the new leadership, Lucas’s addiction, Freya, and the rumblings of discontent in the Hood ...I have to do this alone.But I need more power, more resources, and for that, I need The Brotherhood’s help.I need my brother’s resources.
I want to save them all, but I have to start with saving Jewel.
Chapter Seventeen
Zion
It’s a risk coming to the ville now that we have Amirah.Hell, it always is, but I need to see my daughter.I have to know she’s safe.To see her with my own eyes.I can’t relax until I do.
The rumble of a car comes down the driveway, and I stay hidden behind the tree until Callan leaves.I check around the quiet street one last time before I move, flicking my hood over my head.My eyes are cast down until I reach the gate, then I open the latch and move toward the backyard.
