“Confirmation that there’s an auction tonight,” he says.“These girls were pulled especially for this event, and they’re selling tonight rather than being shipped out to Russia or wherever they were going.”
Selling tonight rather than shipping.
My gut tells me that includes Brooks, and that she’s in this building somewhere, and every instinct I have is screaming for me to go find her.But I’m the best man on a computer, and I need information, too.Because if she’s not here, then we still have to figure out where she is.And to do that, I need updated shipping manifests.
She’ll be here.I’m positive she’s here.
She’s got to be.Because otherwise, I won’t know how to find her.And I’m not going to lose her again.
I’ll sell my soul to the devil before I let that happen.
Brooks
Imanage to stop running moments before I get to the door of the room where they’re keeping the other girls, and walk in like I didn’t just hide a dead body in a closet.
Unfortunately, my absence hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Where have you been?”a guard snarls, hurling me against the wall.
I grunt when my head hits the wall behind me, but don’t let it slow me down.I don’t have time to stand around talking to this asshole.Please see what I said above about leaving a dead body in a closet.
I’m pretty sure these guys are going to be pissed when they realize what I did.
“Bathroom,” I gasp.“I had to pee.”I open one eye and glare at the man in front of me.“Actually, as long as I have your attention, what the fuck is going on here?How long are you going to hold me?Because I have a date tomorrow night and I need to get my hair done before I go.”
He freezes, the way I knew he would, and then practically runs away from me.They always do that when I ask too many questions, like they’re afraid I’m somehow going to kill them with any knowledge they give me.
I mean, I might.
I smile after him, then turn and continue into the girls’ room.I need to get Kate, and we need to get the fuck out of here.
She’s across the room when I enter, talking to one of the girls, and I motion for her to dump the girl and get into the corner where we have the most privacy.I’ve been watching the guards since we got here, and at this point I can guess here they’re going to be and when.That includes knowing that they never come near the corner I’m now in.
Handy, when you’re trying to foment rebellion and need to meet with your lieutenant.
“What’s going on?”Kate asks when she arrives.“And why do you look...”
She gestures vaguely at my face and I lift one eyebrow, waiting for her to get to the point.
“Like you just went into the hallway and took heroin or something,” she finishes.
I frown.“What the fuck does a person look like after they take heroin?”
“I don’t know, flustered and worked up.Go look in the mirror and you’ll get a good idea.Were you out there taking drugs?”
“Yeah, I found some in the hallway and figured I’d try them out,” I say, almost laughing.“That’s what every good rebellion needs, isn’t it?People too high to know what they’re doing.No, I wasn’t doing drugs, but we’ve got trouble.”
Her face turns immediately more serious.“What kind of trouble?What actually happened out there?”
“Short version?I saw a buyer bothering one of the girls and took him off her hands.Then I killed him and shoved him in a closet.”
I have never seen Kate at a loss for words, but she opens her mouth and then closes it again, like she doesn’t have any language available to her.She stares at me for one beat, then two, before she finally finds something to say.
“You killed him and shoved him in a closet.Right.I guess that means it’s time to get out of here.”
“So glad you agree with me,” I hiss.I grab her arm and tow her toward the door of the room.“I don’t know how long it’ll take them to figure out what happened, but I’d rather not be here when they do.It’s time for us to make our escape.”
She snorts, now.“You think they’re just going to let us walk out?”
