“Figure of speech.”
Simon gave him a smirk. His eyes slowly drifted over Reid’s shoulder as something behind him caught his attention.
“Don’t look now, but there’s this big, beefy-looking dude who keeps looking at us. Do you think you were followed?” Simon asked, taking a sip of his shake, trying to act as normal as possible.
“No. Not that I know of. What does the guy look like?”
“Big guy. Maybe six-foot-four. Blond, scary-looking dude wearing a biker jacket.”
Biker jacket?
Reid picked up his phone, pretending he was reading a text. He switched the camera into selfie mode and scanned the customers sitting in the booths behind him.
That motherfucker.
“Give me a sec, Simon.” Reid let out a huff, then slid out of the booth.
He began walking toward the big, beefy biker who was seated near the door, hunched over, reading a menu.
Reid slapped the top of the man’s head.
“Have you decided what you’re going to order?”
“Ouch! I don’t know. I think I might have brain damage after being assaulted for reading a menu,” Niko huffed, lowering his menu and rubbing the top of his head. He glared up at Reid, giving him that “what did I do wrong” look.
“Well, you definitely have something wrong upstairs, but it doesn’t have anything to do with me smacking the shit out of you.”
“Umm, I’m pretty sure that it does,” Niko said, placing his menu down and glancing over at Simon.
“What are you doing here?” Reid asked, still not convinced that he shouldn’t smack him again for following his ass. It was a six-hour, fucking drive!
“Well, clearly you are not concerned that I might have a concussion or something, so I guess you can begin by telling me who that man is and why you are meeting him in some shady diner in the middle of nowhere.”
Angry and annoyed, Reid turned around and raised a finger, signaling to Simon that he would be one minute.
“Come. Outside,” Reid ordered, grabbing Niko by the arm and ushering him out the door.
“Man, you are bossy today,” Nikolai huffed as Reid pulled him around the corner to give them a bit more privacy.
Pushing Niko up against the wall, Reid finally spoke.
“That guy in there is Simon. He works with me at the agency.”
“What agency?” Niko asked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning forward as if to hear him better.
The man was a giant pain in his ass.Literally.
Reid let out a breath.
“When the police finally rescued me, a private organization reached out and asked if I would be interested in working with them. They are a small group that investigates and helps to take down human trafficking rings.”
“Like the police?” Niko asked.
“No. It’s a private organization that looks into suspected human trafficking rings. We involve the police when we have information or a lead that warrants investigation. The police are stretched thin as it is, and they don’t have the time to look into and investigate every rumor or every possible lead they get from the public. So that’s where we come in. We do the grunt work, then pass credible leads over to the police.”
Nikolai was shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“This organization wanted to recruit me because of my experience being sex trafficked by Mikhail and being sold myself. I understand the process, how criminal organizations work, how victims are manipulated, and even what sort of red flags to watch for. Having this sort of knowledge helps their team navigate the landscape and take down these horrific rings.”
