His hand shot out faster than I could react, palm connecting with my chest in a shove that would have sent most people stumbling backward, but I’d anticipated such a move. If the tables had been reversed, my reaction would have been ten times worse. I would have already rendered him unconscious, so the fact that I was still on my feetspoke volumes about Brock’s notorious control. I absorbed the impact without moving, letting him feel the solid wall of my refusal to be intimidated.
He shoved me again, harder this time, his face twisted with a rage I was freaking too familiar with. “I trusted you,” he snapped. “To keep her safe. That was the one fucking job you had.”
“You think I just let her go? You don’t think I would have done everything in my power to keep her from making such a reckless choice?”
His fist clocked me on the cheek, and my head snapped to the side, familiar pain blooming on my face. It felt good. I needed the pain, needed the fight. “You have no idea how much restraint it’s costing me not to hit you again and again.”
“I have a pretty fair idea, and I won’t fault you for it. Hit me again and again if you need to, as long as you hear me out.”
“Why the fuck should I?”
“Look, I know I fucked up.” I shook my head. “I should have locked her up, handcuffed her to a—” I almost said bed, but changed my mind at the last second. “Pipe.” My own anger began to simmer beneath the surface, anger at myself. “You don’t give Kaylor enough credit. There’s no denying she’s related to you. She’s foxy when she wants to be. Smart. Stubborn as hell.”
“What happened?” he demanded through gritted teeth, pushing away from me. “How?”
“She slipped through every defense I had in place.” Including the one I’d built around my heart, but that particular wound was too fresh, too raw to expose to his scrutiny. I kept that thought buried, storing it away in the dark corner of my mind with all the other suppressed feelings and memories I couldn’t deal with. Not now. Not yet. “Right now, I need you to put aside your hatred and help me get her back.”
Brock began to pace alongside the Range Rover, his fingers running through his dark hair, leaving it disheveled. “I’m assuming you’re here because you have a plan?”
“Sort of.”
“You’re not instilling me with much confidence, Corvo. You better have one hell of an idea to redeem yourself.”
“I’ve been going at this all wrong.” I began to pace too, unable to stand still while adrenaline coursed through my system. “I kept looking for where they’re keeping her, trying to track her current location, following leads that went nowhere. But that’s not the smart move.” I stopped, turning to face him directly. “The auction, that’s the moment they’ll expose themselves. When they have to gather all the buyers in one place, when there are more people to manage, more variables they can’t control. That’s when their security will have the most gaps. That’s when we strike.”
“So you want to crash it? Go in guns blazing?”
“No.” I shook my head. “We get someone inside. Someone who belongs in that room, who won’t raise red flags. Someone rich. Connected. Sleazy enough to pass for the kind of person who buys human beings. I need a buyer.”
“That’s why you came to me.”
It wasn’t a question.
I faced him as he leaned against his car. “You’ve got ties. And a black book full of names, or so I’ve heard.” I held his gaze, letting him see the desperation I’d been trying so hard to hide. “I figured you’d know someone who’d owe you a favor. Someone with enough skeletons in their closet that they couldn’t afford to say no.”
“Goddamn it. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe she gave herself over. And yet, it’s exactly something I would expect from Kay. I should have seen this coming.”
“She was determined. She would have found a way because that is the kind of person she is.”
He didn’t argue the point. “I’ll have Fynn find someone who fits the profile.”
“Thanks.” Relief flooded through me, but I forced myself to stay focused. “We need him to secure an invite.”
He raised a brow. “I’ll have Fynn work on putting together a fake online presence that will get their notice.”
“I’ll bring the manpower. I need to know if there’s a website, promotional photos, video feeds, anything these fuckers are using to advertise her to potential buyers. Some kind of catalog or preview system. Is this something Fynn might be able to find?”
“You think they are broadcasting these girls online?” Brock’s expression darkened.
“It’s a hunch. Rusty sent me a video of Kaylor, a warning.”
He gave a tight nod, his jaw set in grim determination. “Send me the video, and I’ll see if Fynn can get a read on anything. He’s been digging through trafficking channels and monitoring suspicious activity since Kenny was taken. If there’s digital evidence out there, he’ll find it.”
“Anything you uncover could be the key,” I said, and a fragile mix of hope and desperation unfurled in my belly.
Brock pushed off from the Range Rover’s hood. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow morning with a name. Once you’ve got your inside man, find a way to get them on the guest list for the shadiest fucking auction Elmwood has ever tried to hide.”
“I will.” The promise fell from my lips like a blood oath. I turned to walk away, but his voice stopped me after three steps.
